Perhaps this only works in smaller groups, but I've found that working backwards a bit moves you forward. I've often tried to reach out to our youth groups with similar attempts that you have mentioned with some success. However I found that when I pose adverse questions, just to get a response from them, that it snowballs with negativity at first then the other more positive kids redirect the conversation and usually hit the nail on the head. I was previously told this may lead to an unruly situation but as long as you can cut it off from being too negative or extreme, it gives you a glimpse of what is causing the lack of motivation in those hardest to reach kids. My own child's example changed my mind. She was cute but clumsy and whenever she stumbled, she would say," I'm sooo smooth.." or when she made an obvious, embarrassing mistake, "I'm sooo smart.."  I saw her counterparts moved to laughter but not as a result of derision but as more of an admission of a little of themselves in her. In this way of using backwards thinking she endeared herself to others in her classes and youth group who otherwise had been distant or unreachable. I believe the key is using the other kids to make the connection through the back door and get the seemingly unmotivated kids to let go of their initial inhibitions and negative expectations, allowing you to redirect their negativity into action and then into positive action.

Good luck,

A. Beighley

Relevance - at risk students often do not believe that whatever is being taught in the classroom has any relevance or value in their individual lives.  Some of these kids face situations when they leave the classroom that are so far removed from anything that we have experienced that they shut off what we are offering because it simply doesn't seem relevant to them.  Add to that the fact that their lives are so different from our own that we, as their teachers, have no credibility.  Who are we to try to suggest to them what they need to know to be successful in their world when we have no idea what spending a day in their shoes is really like?

I think working to establish both credibility as an instructor and relevance of what we are offering is critical to reaching some of these more difficult students who seem, on the surface, to be unmotivated when simply they don't see the value of what you are selling to their own personal lives.   This works in conjunction with Lynne's suggestion to bring in a guest speaker but I also think there needs to be a more direct, daily way to do this.

Student directed lessons are helpful here; almost as if you allow the student to tell you what he/she thinks is worthwhile learning.  If they could offer a starting point, perhaps they would be more invested in where it leads.

Theresa

Theresa

Quite simply, by getting to know your students. All students are interested in something, and if you can tap into where the interest lies, you can help the student. If I know the student likes sports, I discuss a sporting event for a minute during class, then I make the transition to whatever I may be teaching that day. In many instances, I am able to make the topic relevant to current events. I will admit that this may be an easier task for me because I teach Social Studies, but I think there are ways to make all subjects interesting. DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

Wow...this certainly is the million dollar question every single teacher faces daily. This one question sparked in me a passion so all consuming and deep, nearly 12 years ago that it lead me on a journey I still travel daily and will until I die. No exaggeration. I teach something called Foundations for Success a class I created to battle apathy and failure in the freshmen of my district. I only share because I actually listened to kids and my experiences of life combined with as much research as I could consume and created something, not a magic bullet but SOMETHING that has shown great hope and results in hundreds of students so far. Personally I'm tired of all the TALK and no action.

Obviously it depends on the age and since I teach high school, I am only able to really comment there.

As a mom of 3, I began teaching when they were small so teenage years seemed so far away and those concerns something I could 'wait to figure out'.

Suddenly, I realized mine were racing that direction and the wall of overwhelming apathy in my own classroom terrified me. One day I stopped trying to drag seniors through Hamlet, and just started asking questions. Their pain was intense, all consuming and SO easy to address (for most) AND the answer for many of them was within and I could help them discover it and find the will and skills to address it.

I realized almsot immediately two things that I'd been very angry and resentful of the adults in my life at their age and into college:

1. No one ever tried to show me the connections between high school and real life. No one made any attempt that I recall of showing me all the employability skills, for example, or thinking patterns I was getting chances to practice and refine in every single class I took. Skills that would FEED me or not one day. No one talked to me concretely, or gave me real life information about what it was going to take to become what I wanted, or so I could value the chances I got there to build the power of my brain (which ultimately is all we take with us to create our future life) Like most of us, I spent many hours, dazing out windows, copying things that seemed 'stupid' and bored out of my mind, because I wasn't engaged in real learning. I got good enough grades to get into CAL, but I saw no value for example, for science because I KNEW I wasn't going to be a doctor. I went to college where I hit a wall of inability to perform at that level. I had two choices, pony up and teach myself how to do it or give up. 55% of college freshmen hit that wall and give up. That is NOT ok. Especially in a world where middle-class no college required jobs are evaporating faster than we can calculate. There is no need for it either...all someone would have had to do is talk to me about what learning REALLY is and what it will mean for me. Make it real for me and then show me tools to help me grow in that direction.

2. NO WHERE in high school was I given time, (paid time with credits) to think and learn about me, what I think and want out of life, or the expectations of adult life. I just followed the crowd out into the world, went blindly into college and graduated with no real goals in mind. I picked English major just because I like reading! I got lucky, found a pathway I wasn't thrilled about at first (teaching) that could feed my children and I when the unexpected happened and I was suddenly widowed at 40.

Well...I could go on for pages and pages of my 12 year journey, that began that day with my seniors, when one told me not to worry about his failing my class. He was going to make 'bank' with a cousin whether he graduated or not. His idea of bank ($15.00 per hour) was what started my cruisade, that ended with my project Get Real! a reality project for teenagers that is now a centerpiece for the Foundations for Success class. www.getreallearning.com

It takes kids on a journey of self-discovery first while teaching them indepenent learning tools, then they walk through the major decisions and areas that create successful adult lives. It's highly academic yet doesn't feel like it to them. They read, talk, think deeply and write on topics that truly do begin to create pictures of excitement for them about what they can go out and DO for themselves. It brings them a sense of urgency and points out for them MANY of the things parents/teachers assume they're understanding or that we do NOT seem to find time these days to explain. It also brings to them information that NO parent would ever have the time or energy to go find to help their kids see how complex and different their futures are going to be because of the effects of technology on them as humans and on the world as a whole.

Like I said, I could stand on my soap box and scream about this with all the passion I have, but none of us have time for that. If any of this made any sense and you have any interest in knowing more, please check out my website www.getreallearning.com

I have to add that many people have tried to make me feel guilty for promoting my work. I guess teachers are supposed to give away everything they are and have. It worked for a few years, until my students convinced me that EVERY kid should have the opportunity to take this journey. They know if I could afford to give it away to millions, I would but...alas I have my own 3 to put through college!

Thanks!

Beth

Hi,

I read this awhile ago and it keeps haunting me.  I don't think that I can come up with a specific set of actions.  Each child that is unmotivated is unmotivated for a specific reason or reasons.  There is no cookie cutter response.  What tactics that you come up to deal with the child depends a variety of variables including the children's age, grade, etc.  Often, I think that it could be caused by depression.  It is a difficult situation for all involved.  Bottom line, unmotivated students require a tremendous amount of patience and a willingness to keep trying different things until something works.

K

Simply build relationships.

I won't pretend to have the answer since I've struggled with unmotivated students in my own class.  As others have mentioned, certainly establishing relevance and developing a genuine relationship of caring and trust with the student is important.  That sets a foundation, but doesn't seem to necessarily meet the student's total needs to become motivated.  Our challenge is to find the student's talents and what he or she is truly interested in (if the student is addicted to drugs or some other outside influence, then we as educators are not the entire answer).  At a conference, an educator told about a 16 year old boy who was pretty unmotivated.  Then his Technology or English teacher introduced him to websites, and he developed his own website on Chaucer, and he became engrossed in developing that site, and it became one of the most popular sites on Chaucer at that time.  How do we as educators instill in a student that spark to love what he or she is doing - or do we just provide the opportunities and support for the student to develop that intrinsic love for some cause, some activity, some goal?  Standardized instruction is most likely not the answer.

For several years now I have struggled with the idea that students should be intrinsically motivated and reality has shown me that a large percentage are not.  I have learned that verbal affirmation, stickers, candy, and other rewards sometimes open the door for some students to experience that intrinsic motivation that lifelong learners have.

In the beginning of the school year, I try to give the students a 'multiple intelligence/learning styles" inventory. It gives me some tools to develop rapport in the first days of school and also for those moments that the students need extra motivatio during the year.

Gilmara

Ask them. Find out from students and their parents what they are interested in.  What motivates them at home?  Use that knowledge in the classroom.

You must find a connection with the student.  You don’t have to be buddy buddy, but some form of a connection.  Listen a little to them help them find a connection or reason to why they need to be learning.  Maybe they are bored with what is being offered.  Find out what they want to learn about.  They may even already have a great working knowledge of the topic being discussed.

With many of our population they may not even know how to learn or how to express that they don’t understand and feel that it isn’t cool to say that they don’t understand.  Help them understand that it is ok to not know or not understand.

I make the student responsible for completing a "teacher task".  This shows the student that regardless of what has been said about him/her that I'm giving them the opportunity to prove that they can be trusted and that they are responsible. Of course the student has to complete their assignment, or come in quietly with materials before they are allowed to do their job.   This works for most of the students.  They start to feel good about themselves and realize that they are important.

A properly prepared unit/lesson should include avenues for all students to research. By giving multiple ways to do one project the 'unmotivated' student can choose what he/she adapts to best...or what he/she thinks is the easiest or the most familiar.

Before I conclude that someone is "unmotivated", I'm more likely to conclude that I've failed to motivate them.  Everyone is motivated by something or someone.  The skill comes in finding what is the source of motivation for a person and developing techniques for incorporating that source of motivation into what you're working on or trying to get the person to do.  It takes a little more time, but it's worth the benefits . . . for the person and for me!

frankly speaking,what happens to a man who is not allowed to go outside and lectured continuously ,he  goes inside his own shell,he creates his own reality and becomes out of tune with his emotional vibration,give space and give time,do not teach too much,give them time to digest what they learn,inculcate the creative mind and not the competitive mind,and that is what we are ding,which is sadly the decline of our beautiful and precious children.Give them good environment,give them platform to come out ,and our duty is not to react,but understand them,do not burden them with loads of teachings,so many subjects and so little mind and it is like you are putting too many things in a small box ,imagine what will happen to the box,if children have become demotivated then it is the responsibility of the school to take care that such things donot happen,follow the law:ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL.

I'm not a teacher but just as a parent seems that at the high school level the ONLY way to motivate those who don't already GET that ultimately school will = a pay check (and its size) is to guide them to realize that!

School and how you participate fills your brain which is how you make your future.

One teacher figured out this gap in the system about kids not being helped to see the bigger picture.

Her program is amazing and I am certain kept MY son who could not have been less motivated

from dropping out : www.getreallearning.com

It a workbook project that helps them plan their lives and parents can even participate.

Very cool... individualized because kids go their own route. I know if I hadn't

found this, he would have dropped out.

I did it with him on weekend, etc. but some schools are using it in classes.

Just one voice's thoughts.

I always enjoy reading these, there are always products and promotions which elicit a way to win.  It's difficult to say what motivates some children other than survival and trying to find food because mom and/or/maybe no dad are drug addicts, alcoholics, abusive, spend all their money and time gambling, or who knows what else.  So what could interest them that would be the least bit motivating?

Some children are intrinsicly motivated, some extrinsicly.  Any way you look at it, it is an extremely difficult to motivate all children in every class, every time.  I've found ways to get them interested and hook them.  I will say PBL is probably a more successful way of engaging and motivating children.  Does it work for all of them, not really.  Technology is great because it peaks some of their interest, but not all.  I think one of the most important aspects of student motivation is teacher motivation.  When the teacher is motivated and excited, the students often respond positively.  Is it the sure fire definitive answer, not at all.

I agree with an earlier post that the single most killer of motivation in schools was the focus on standardized testing and scores.  We don't encourage creativity and exploration anymore.  We encourage bubbling and passing a test. So, show some cool movies and videos, let them see what can really be done in your subject or in the world with your subject.  Work with other teachers to create a warm and meaningful experience when the enter the building.  Build them up! Student achievement and success are the most important aspect of our role!  Let them know you care, they matter, and the future lies on their shoulders!

I think another question we could ask in this thread is "How do I motivate children to be interested in academics when a 16 year old is signing a multi-million dollar contract to play sports?"

My very favorite professor said that the best way to motivate our students was to get to know them and then get to know them better.  Wow, she was so right.  Kids will respond and interact best when they know you care.  There are some students who still won't budge, but keep at it, they come with lots of baggage sometimes.  Give them the space they need, while letting them know they are valued member of the class.  Sometimes we are the ones with the issues.  Some people don't want to speak or participate.  Respect that choice.

I am a GED Teacher in a correctional facility. I work with both men and women. There are many strategies I use to motivate the unmotivated, many of which are already listed in this blog. I would like to share a story about a completely unmotivated student I had about a year ago in my GED class. I must say he was the most lazy, unmotivated student I have seen in six years of teaching in corrections. He was a relatively good looking, blond hair, blue-eyed mid-thirties man who lacked direction. Obviously, with being incarcerated, he had crossed the line in criminogenic thinking in many areas of his life.

I tried all my motivational ideas, from talking with him, to giving speeches, to giving sanctions to try to get him to work harder and earn his diploma. I made him sit in the front of the room, and went from soother to demander in my efforts to make a difference. Nothing seemed to work, in that his lack of work ethic didn't seem to change. I kept at it for abour four months, continuing to plant seeds of success and goal setting that I'd hoped would land somewhere inside and take root. I finally backed off, both because I was busy and tired. I pretty much wrote him off.

He eventually qualified to test for his GED. His results came back showing he was short on 80 points, and needed to retake reading and writng. He had passed the area of math, though, and for him, that was his first sign of success. He was surprised, and as happy as I had seen him. We worked to re qualify the two areas that he needed, but he was scheduled to be released before I was able to test him again. I set him up to test at an outside agency. I asked the examiner who was to test him to let me know if he showed up, because once released and out from under the umbrella of my control and urging, who knows what would happen? He didn't show up to test. I was disappointed, but not surprised. About a week later, I got a text from my examiner. Believe it or not, my former student actually called and rescheduled the test! Wow! Let's see whether he follows through this time. I was feeling pretty good, but was doubtful he would actually test.

Well, he did test.

I tracked his results, and he passed! His diploma was sent to me instead of him, because the address in the system was not updated to where ever he had moved too. I locked the diploma in my drawer, and wondered if he would ever contact me to have it sent to him. Regardless, I was feeling pretty good about him earning his diploma.

About a year later, he called from another state and left a message, asking if I would return his call.

So I did.

His wife, unbeknownest to me, had been incarcerated in our facility, and saw that I had her husbands name, my former student, on the plaque on the wall that celebrates GED recipients. After released, she told him that he must have passed for his diploma, otherwise Ms. B wouldn't have his name on the plaque.

He didn't believe her, and asked for confirmation when I called him back. He had never contacted the place where he had re tested to see if he had passed or not. He didn't think he had passed. He said he had been looking for a job for some time and was discouraged because the applications all stated that he needed a GED or diploma, and he didn't think he had one.

Well he did. And I must say that was a sweet phone conversation. He actually thanked me for kicking him in the ****, and for all the effort I had made in trying to get him to try.

The best part was his emotion.

So, never give up.

The seemingly unreachable may be reached, although you may never know when or if the seed takes root.

I was lucky enough to find out.

How do we reach the seemingly unreachable??? I have found that making the lesson relevant is one of the most important keys to success. If we are trying to teach the Pythagorean theorum it might help the student to know that this information is necessary for purchasing roofing material, building stairs, or a skateboard ramp. If you can find a need for the information then there is often a desire to learn the lesson. This type of learning can occur as an outcropping of project based learning. Construction is great for math skills, chemistry is found in cooking, physics is found in music. FInd what is important to the child and often you can leverage the skills needed to be successful and still get the "required" learning across. Years ago (35+) my dad, also an educator, taught poetry using the lyrics of Elton John, the Beatles, Gordon Lightfoot. The music was relevant and the students not only learned  but thought my dad was "cool" too. We are only constrained by our own willingness to take a risk.

Create a comminity in your school or class.  This helps with that one kid during the rough patch.   

Jonathan, I think technology is great.  However, sometimes "simple" is a better way to introduce real-life solutions toward motivating the "unmotivated."  There's a school on Cape Cod, the Nauset Regional Middle School, where the Occupational Therapist joined with a caterer to introudce children (with and without special needs) to the world of work.  They opened a cafe and bakery and it is the most motivating project yet!  The students provide breakfast for the staff and bake the items that are sold in the Cafe!  This project reminds me of when I worked as a teacher in a group home for children at risk.  They were averse to school in general.  Making myy responsibility was to give them instructions in both classwork and life skills a challenge.  Being a non-traditional teacher, I decided to set up programs where they could learn the Three R's, so to speak, along with life skills.  We set up a Wreath Business, wrote and produced a play and created and presented a workshop at a regional conference.  The students took an active part in classroom instruction by taking turns "teaching" by following a lesson plan and conducting the class.  Amazing what motivators these projects were.  They even performed community service at a day center for children with special needs.  They had to earn certain of these opportunities and it was a wonderful sight to see them compete for them.  Remember, these were children whose claim to fame were things like breaking and entering and illegal drug activity.  Just a suggeston.  Hope it helps!

Last night on #SSchat there was discussion of this topic under the title "Engaging the Hard to Engage" moderated by Dave Burgess.

Here's the archive of the discussion.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsYf5TGG8MA-dEh2OFRLOFZCVDUtdUFMU2hIRWJhZlE&hl=en_US#gid=0

Maybe a combination of using technology to the utmost,humer and gamesmanship could be added to the list.

1-Use only the most productive teachers at every grade level to teach the class presented in an on line multimedia form. This will free up the time of other teachers that might be actually moving children to a lower ability by not understanding their needs. They would be used as technology aides. This could be done nationally, statewide or citywide.

2- The monetary savings  would be used to give every child an e-reader or similar computer tablet. These are about $50 bucks in some countries and would cost even less if produced in more volume. No more cumbersome books. No more wasted paper. Upload new ones, delete old ones. Sites like Books Should Be Free, and other similar ones should be encouraged. Kids could also watch the multimedia courses (produced from #1) as many times as they need, rerun as often as they wish. See "Khan Academy" online for a simplified example.

3-Mike Hayes (above) seems to have a knack for making learning fun. The humerous portions of his methods and hundreds of other teachers) should be combined in the format.

4-99% of children love to play games. Wii, Playstation, Xbox, etc programmers and developers should be brought in to make the learning competetive and fun. Tricking the children into learning should be a major part of any teacher's toolbox.

5-Let them take a look at online classes from the world's best universities. Many are now putting them up for free viewing and including textbook downloads. These allow children to grow regardless of their background or parental income level. Using and developing sites like "big shot camera" (for example) which allow children from hundreds of countries to converse (80 language multilingual) while doing "hands on" learning.

6-Keep an eye on the newer design of worldwide manufacturing facilities and share with the children. Show the various types of robots that are being used around the world. This massive use of robotics will continue on a larger scale. The jobs that used to be available for those that were unmotivated or who teachers failed to reach are disappearing rapidly.

7-As harsh as it seems, some of the "scared straight" type programs might be a good suggestion for some of the harder core cases. These people seem to understand how to break through the psychological barriers of the unmotivated. Every child has thier own way of understanding.

At my school site, we use a "big buddy" system to help at risk students improve academically and behaviorally. In this system, a student is assigned to a staff member. It this the staff member's responsibility to track their grades, completion of work, and test prep. The staff is asked to check in at least once a week with their student and encourage and reward all progress. I have seen the success with this method because it does make the student feel that someone cares about their academic success and future.

Although I have trouble motivating the unmotivated like other teachers, I have discovered that the number of students who complete their homework each week varies not by the difficulty of the assignment, but by the “fun factor” or interest generated by the assignment.  I teach science and when I assign a simple “take-home lab”, nearly every one of my 146 students does their homework.  For example, after introducing the concept of density, my students were instructed to fill a sink or bowl with water and find at least ten objects or substances that are denser than water and ten objects that are less dense than water.  They were to list the objects on a table and make a diagram showing the twenty objects in the container of water.  For extra credit points they could bring in the most interesting or surprising object to share with their class. Next week we will be comparing the density of different liquids in class and then extend the learning at home.  The parents even get involved in these “take-home labs” and have fun doing science with their kids. It’s simple, yet effective.