In The Will to Learn: How to Cultivate Student Motivation Without Losing Your Own, I lay out an approach to student motivation in which Five Key Beliefs can be influenced using just 10 basic strategies. The sixth of those strategies is Valued Within Exercises. What is it? How does this strategy influence the Five Key Beliefs? While […]
Archives for June 2024
How to Teach Mechanics and Editing Using Mechanics Instruction that Sticks and Supplements – DSJR One Stop Shop
In 2015, I announced the publication of Doug Stark’s Mechanics Instruction that Sticks curriculum series with the following words from Doug: English teachers are, in my humble opinion, the hardest working people in public education. We have the unenviable task of trying to convince a generation of kids raised on electronic devices and nursed by […]
2023-2024 School Year in Review
Dear colleague, This was a school year of refinding my footing and figuring out what I’m here for, as a husband, dad, teacher, and writer. I’ll spare you the inner journey with all its trials and tribulations, but suffice it to say that I am grateful for the inner work my life required this year […]
Why AP Students Are Some of the Worst Motivated Students in Our High Schools (Or: The Most Comprehensive Talk I’ve Given to Date on Student Motivation)
Dear colleague, This is my penultimate blog article of the 23-24 school year, a fact I am delighted to report to you as I’m ready for some time away for reflection and recentering. On Thursday, I’ll share with you a (very lengthy) end-of-year reflection that unpacks what I’ve learned in my classroom (including an analysis […]