Do we have to do this?” “Is this going to be graded?” “When am I ever going to use this in real life?”
Questions like this are infuriating. They seem to indicate a lack of motivation in students, and it’s so disheartening to feel like we’re having to threaten or bribe students to get them to do schoolwork. After all, didn’t we get into teaching because we’re passionate about learning—and don’t we want our students to share that passion?
In this active and interactive (and dare I say provocative?) workshop, we’ll explore the question of motivation in great depth. We’ll look at common school practices (such as traditional grading, incentives, and praise) that are meant to motivate but which actually demotivate. We’ll also explore lots of practical strategies for tapping into students’ intrinsic motivations so that they’ll be more energized and engaged with daily learning. You’ll walk away from this workshop with a more complete understanding of how motivation actually works as well as many strategies for making learning more motivational for your students.
Mike Anderson has been an educator for more than 20 years. An elementary public school teacher for 15 years, he has also taught preschool and university graduate level classes. In 2004, Mike was awarded a national Milken Educator Award, and in 2005 he was a finalist for NH Teacher of the Year. He also spent many years as a presenter, consultant, author, and developer for Northeast Foundation for Children, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safe, joyful, and challenging classrooms through the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching. Now, as an independent education consultant, Mike works with schools across the United States and beyond, supporting great learning through customized consulting. He has also taught workshops in Canada and Mexico and has presented at many national conferences including NCTE, ASCD, and Learning and the Brain. Mike is the author of many books about great teaching and learning including "The First Six Weeks of School," 2nd Edition (CRS, 2015), "The Well-Balanced Teacher" (ASCD, 2010), and "The Research-Ready Classroom" (Heinemann, 2006). His most recent book, "Learning to Choose, Choosing to Learn" (ASCD, 2016), was selected as the April 2016 ASCD member book and was sent to 62,000+ educators in more than 100 countries.
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