This morning I logged into twitter and what do I see… Craig Martin (@CraigCMartin12) having a dance party in his office and over-the-top fired up for a day of school.

So of course, I joined in because enthusiasm is contagious. I promptly responded with my own video sharing my excitement for the day and WHY.

This morning reminded me of the day I met “The Lego Kid.” This was a student in preschool who I met visiting his classroom. When I walked into the classroom he was working on a Lego creation. He was fully engaged, being creative, and using his imagination to make this creation. When he was finished and put the last brick on the creation, he jumped up like he had just caught the winning touchdown pass and could not wait to share his accomplishment with somebody. It was pure joy and excitement for learning.

Watching Craig’s video this morning and remembering the Lego Kid inspired me to write today’s blog focused on “How are we making sure every day our students have enthusiasm for learning” As a leader, I think a lot about how to support staff to allow all students to be excited every day when they walk in the door.

When I think about “excitement”, I think about words we can use to express our “excitement”. For example:

• amazing
• awesome
• thrilled
• delighted
• charged
• exhilarated
• enthusiastic
• overjoyed
• ecstatic

Do students feel these words entering your class? Excitement is a feeling you get when you know something is about to happen. You look forward to that something. Excitement creates action! And our action as educators is to make our learning environment exciting and engaging.

In my experience, students who are not motivated will not learn to their full potential. Retention and participation diminish and students who are not engaged may even become disruptive. Student all have a story and may be unmotivated for a variety of reasons such as:

• They have no interest in the subject
• Find the instruction un-engaging
• Distracted
• Have difficulty learning and is in need of special attention

Think about current video game designers. They strategically make complicated games easy to engage in. This process is called onboarding. Meaning to increase more users to the site or game. Game designers recognize that the most important time in any activity is the very beginning to promote engagement. We want to onboard learners. If you can grab student’s excitement from day 1 and from the start of each lesson their engagement and retention will increase. Find out what your students are passionate about and then use those interests as intrinsic motivators to increase engagement and daily excitement.

As Manny Scott says “It starts with building relationships.” Getting to know your students is about more than just learning their names. When students know that their teacher has an interest in them and cares about them and their success they feel appreciated and it will create a safe learning environment. Students learn FOR people not just FROM people. When students know you care it motivates them to work harder, as they want to get praise and good feedback from someone they feel knows and respects them as students. Whether a student is fixated on one thing or has a few areas of intense interest, there are many strategies you can use to work students interests into your instruction to create excitement and have a class full of Lego Kids.

[Back-to-School Tips: Setting a Positive Tone From Day One]

Mix up instruction: Mix in a group project, or a blended learning lesson, and even an outdoor lesson one day in order to let kids know that there are many ways to learn and grow. A classroom is a great place for learning, but sitting at a desk too long can make school start to seem stale. Give your students a chance to get out of the classroom by taking field trips, bring in speakers, and even just head to the public library for some research. The brain loves novelty and a new setting can be just what some students need to stay motivated to learn.

Use real time examples: Talk about how students can apply lesson content in real life to help students feel connected to what they’re being taught. Using relevant learning will give students perspective on the lesson content and bring in their own experiences.

Enthusiasm is contagious: A student who views school as a place where they can have fun will be more motivated to take an active part in the learning. Adding fun learning activities into your school day can help students who struggle to stay engaged excited to go to school every day.

Increase student involvement: If you want kids excited about learning, increase their involvement in the classroom. Make participating fun by assigning jobs that assist you and give them responsibilities. Most students will see classroom jobs as a privilege rather than a burden and will work hard to ensure that they, and other students, are meeting expectations. When students work in groups, assign each a task or role. Giving students a sense of ownership allows them to feel accomplished and encourages active participation in class.

Collaborative Learning: Provide time for students to work in groups from mini lessons to large projects. Students will be motivated to solve problems, do experiments, and work on projects with other students. The social interaction can get them excited about things in the classroom and students can motivate one another to reach a goal=

A few more Ideas for increasing excitement about learning:

• Play a short version of a team game like charades, Password, Taboo, Pictionary, etc.
• Do some magic
• Come to school in a fictional or historical
• Display a powerful quote and ask students to give their opinion
• Play music
• Show a YouTube video
• Ask class members to agree or disagree with a series of statements to encourage opinion ad student voice
• Have a classroom visitor share a story or lead any one of these ideas

Students, as most of us, look to others for approval and positive reinforcement. Students are more likely to be enthusiastic about learning if they feel their work is recognized and valued. By creating a culture of open communication and risk thinking, your students will feel important and valued. If the classroom is a friendly place where students feel heard and respected, they will be more eager to learn.

Remember: classes are like mirrors. They reflect the teacher’s attitude and energy. Give to them what you would like from them. #excitement #moreLEGOkids

cross posted at techinnovation.live

Dr. Matthew X. Joseph (@MatthewXJoseph) is currently Director of Digital Learning and Innovation for Milford Public School, Milford, Ma. Before Tech and Learning Boston 2018, he had the opportunity to present at #TLTechLive in Boston and New Jersey in 2017 and other state opportunities focused on Ed Tech Leadership and empowering teachers. Before Milford, he was a building principal for 11 years in Massachusetts. Other professional roles include: classroom teacher, PD specialist, and other district roles supporting technology instruction. Dr. Joseph holds licenses in general education, school administration, and MA superintendent. His master's degree is in SPED and he holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Boston College.

The idea of student empowerment over engagement is a growing conversation and trend in education. Rightly so. Many emerging ideas such as genius hour, project-based learning and others are designed to empower students. As we examine and reflect on any implementation of these ideas, we typically hear some reference to “motivated students”. If students are seen as motivated, any kind of independent learning is more likely to work. Conversely, people’s resistance to giving students more ownership and autonomy is often because they don’t feel their students are motivated.

I had a chance to visit Thames Valley School District this week in London, Ontario. I had been to the district before and seen some of the innovative work they are doing. They have a long-standing art program at one of their high schools that embodies so many of the principles of empowered learning. In addition, they recently have developed a “school within a school” concept. Essentially they are working with grade 9 teachers who were asked one question: “What if there were no subjects?” From there the district outlined the “bumpers” (must still address curricular needs, no major additional funds, must work in teams) and now nearly 20 cohorts have been formed where students are indeed driving much of their learning in a non-traditional way. I talked to many students as they were working and sharing their passion projects and it was evident they owned it. Watching the teachers be true facilitators and support and see real agency being given to students is what learning and school should be. The district’s role was to create the conditions for this to happen.

I also had the chance to chat with several teachers at lunch. As they shared their successes and challenges, I asked them “What do students need to be successful in these programs?” They talked about willingness vs motivation. Motivation suggests they have a sense of what they want to learn and just need to be let loose. While there are students who definitely fit into this category, there are far more who might not be motivated but are willing.

When you look the chart above, the motivated are the ones benefiting from empowerment. While it many might say all students should be empowered, I’d argue many aren’t ready for that yet. They don’t know what they don’t know but they would like to get there. If students or teachers are willing, I think they’re close to being motivated. The disposition of a great learner is an admission of lack of knowledge and skills, but a desire to grow them.

The teachers at Thames Valley recognized that many students, they assumed were motivated, were simply willing. They may or may not know what they’re passions were and definitely lacked the knowledge and skills to pursue them. The teachers have been working to add these skills more intentionally to their experience. The degree to which reflection was embedded for both students and teachers is what will enable their success and sustainability. The teachers were articulate and thoughtful in describing their shortcomings, needs and next steps.

After this conversation, I began to think more about the idea of being willing. The reality is, many of these types of programs exist all over the world and generally are filled with motivated students and teachers. Creating the conditions for these folks to thrive isn’t always commonplace but it really is the easy part. But creating the conditions for learners to learn and create isn’t necessarily what’s going to work for the less willing. Creating willing students and teachers is the real challenge.

I think the diffusion of innovation model shows a fairly similar distribution between the willing and the motivated. I’ll argue that the innovators represent the motivated. They, in fact, don’t even need direction or support. Those early adopters represent the willing but perhaps need some support and direction to move forward with innovation. Those in the early and late majority need a lot of support, direction and perhaps even convincing. They’re waiting and watching the motivated to see if indeed things will work. When schools and districts refer to “pockets of innovation” they’re talking about the first two groups. They have teachers who are doing the right work in spite of the lack of support and those districts that have gotten somewhat intentional have found ways to support the early adopters. These are the easy folks to support. They don’t need much in terms of resources and money. But of course, most teachers and students lie on the right side of the graph.

This is really the greatest challenge we face. I think this is much more of a long-term grind and I’m not entirely sure how to get there. Engagement remains an important part of this process. Teachers sharing their passions and interests isn’t necessarily a bad thing and in fact, should be embedded into all student experiences. But digging deeper into what it takes to develop willing students and teachers is key. I think it’s a fairly complex question in part because it requires deeper relationships. Those relationships need to be founded on trust and the greatest challenge is building a culture of trust. A student may indeed develop a willingness to learn and take control of their learning with one teacher but unless their next teacher and experience allow them to continue that journey, they’re likely to revert. In the Thames Valley district, when teachers were given the opportunity to craft their own programs with no subjects and increased autonomy, one clear response was, “Don’t tease me”. In other words, these teachers, like millions of others had been burned by leaders who may have promised them an opportunity that sounded great but either was not what they thought it was or it didn’t last.

I’ve officially hit the rambling stage, fully aware I’m trying to take a very big issue in education and trying to make some sense of it. I suppose I’m simply asking these question:

Do you see a difference between willing and motivated?

What does it take to create and develop willing teachers and students?

cross-posted at ideasandthoughts.org

Dean Shareski is the Community Manager of the Canadian DEN (Discovery Educators Network) and lecturer for the University of Regina. With 24 years of experience as a K12 educator and consultant, he specializes in the use of technology in the classroom. Read more at ideasandthoughts.org.

Disclaimer: This weblog contains the opinions and ideas of Dean Shareski. While there may be references to my work and content which relates directly to my work, the ideas are mine alone and are not necessarily shared by my employer.

I teach college freshmen and soon will meet a new batch of learners. Students who take my class are preparing themselves for their official Freshman English class. This means my students didn’t receive strong scores on their reading and writing exams. I believe reading, writing, and learning is tied to engagement and interest. Everyone can read, write, and learn and likes to but many need don’t like to do any of this in school. I can empathize, because some of my favorite books I hated reading in school. Not until years later when I reread these books apart from the classroom did I truly get to enjoy them. Each semester I try to find new ways to help my students discover how they like to read, write, and learn. I also try to find new ways to motivate them to stay in college and stick it out, because when you teach college freshmen the retention rate is quite low. Many times by the end of the semester I might have as many as 40% actually make it through. This year I’ve decided to combine the One Word challenge with my Digital Vision Board idea and Buncee template students complete. Below are two examples of my words for my students, which are Try and Stun. Feel free to use the following example template with your students who are free to copy and edit as they like. They will need a free Buncee account to do this.

STUN

I chose the word, “Stun,” for my students, because I want them to astonish people with their courage, determination, creativity, ideas, passions, and talents. I was inspired by seeing the audition from Britain’s Got Talent 2017, winner, Tokio Myer, which I’ve shared below. Tokio stuns the audience in the way he plays the piano. His expressions show you how much he loves to play the piano. In the audition, Tokio, shares how he grew up poor, but one day walked into a hall of music in London and decided to work hard till he received a scholarship to attend.

TRY

Try has always been the word I tell my students they need to do to succeed in my class. As long as they attempt every assignment and strive to attend every class then they will make an A or B. If I see they are trying then I will work with them. I was inspired by seeing the audition from America’s Got Talent deaf contestant, Mandy Harvey. In the example below, Mandy performs her original song, Try. She shares her story how she went deaf at 18 and lost her music career and everything she loved. She almost quit on life, but decided one day she had to try to dream again and try music again.

I hope one of these examples really touches my students this year and gets them to strive at completing their education and chasing their passions. My students come from poor areas of the city and my community college is a step towards a brighter future for them and their families. In some cases they will be like me and be part of the first generation to graduate from college. I’ll keep you updated on which of my efforts motivate them the most!

cross posted at teacherrebootcamp.com

Shelly Terrell is an education consultant, technology trainer, and author. Read more at teacherrebootcamp.com.