I had the pleasure earlier this week of being invited into one of my teacher's classrooms to watch student presentations. These presentations were the culmination of a semester long project in which each group had defined a problem or issue of interest, gathered data, and then presented their findings with possible solutions. The work of these students was high quality and they were excited to discuss it.
After the presentations, I had the opportunity to discuss the overall project with the class. Each of them indicated that they were more engaged in and motivated by this project than most of the class work they do on a daily basis. So I asked them why. They responded that the choice in topic, structure, etc. allowed them to 'own' the project. In other words, it meant something to them.
That discussion led to me reflecting on student motivation and motivation in general. Why are most of our students not motivated in school? I believe it is pretty simple - they don't have much choice in their learning. For a myriad of reasons, almost all of their school time is on things that are mandated to them. Think about yourself as an adult. Why do you do the hobbies/activities you do? Why do you not do other activities? It is because we have the choice to engage in activities for which we have an interest. Students, in much of our current educational structure, have little if any choice. The project mentioned above gave students choice. They were allowed to follow their own interests, curiosities, and passions which led to internal motivation and semester-long engagement. The best part of it from my perspective - the students were engaged in critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration without even knowing it! These kids really ENJOYED this part of school.
I'm not naive enough to think that we can only put students in courses/projects that they are interested in just for motivation's sake. There is a foundational level of knowledge across multiple subjects that is necessary to be a productive citizen. Additionally, part of school is learning about life and sometimes we just have to do things that have to be done - whether we are interested in them or not. That is called responsibility. However, our entire life is not that way. We, as adults, get significant choice in how we spend our time and we choose to spend that time doing things that interest us. How can create this balance for our students?
As you look at the next semester and at the following school year, my challenge to each of you is to look for ways to utilize student choice as a motivator. Be innovative! Be open! Be different! - Your kids will appreciate it.
