Here’s a common motivational obstacle in the secondary classroom: because a given assignment or course isn’t aligned with a student’s future employment plans, the student decides that the work isn’t valuable. I’ve had parents communicate this belief, too. It sounds like: I’m going to be a welder, Mr. Stuart. History doesn’t matter for that job. […]
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What About When Effort Doesn’t Work?
For our students to bring effort to the mastery work in our classes, they’ve got to believe that their effort is actually going to pay off. You and I are not so different. Why try if it won’t matter? Our students are asking, consciously or not: If I write, will I get better at writing? […]
Simple Intervention: Birthday Buddies
Over a year ago, I posted an article summarizing the results of an odd experiment reported by Greg Walton, Geoffrey Cohen, David Cwir, and Steven Spencer in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. As I summarized, the experiment went like this: Students in Group 1 read a report by a math major, and they […]
Ten Essential Practices for Learning
In my Advanced Placement World History: Modern course, I attach this page to the syllabus, and every month or so I have students read it. What’s interesting is how at the start of the year, students glaze over this thing with boredom. In theory, it is mundane to them. They’ve seen things like this before. […]
The Peter Effect: Strong Teaching Depends on Strong Understanding
Of the factors that affect the quality of one’s teaching, I know of few as powerful as the teacher’s understanding of the content being taught. When we deeply know what we’re teaching — whether it’s language conventions or solving equations or phonemic awareness or how to shoot a basketball — we’re more likely to teach […]