Chapter 2: Motivating Young Adolescents

Abstract:

Chapter two discusses the need to motivate students. Students must see what is in it for them or they could care less. The author presents a variety of techniques that may be used to motivate students' but stresses on the importance of knowing your students'. All educators must get to know their students and use students specific interests when designing curriculum. One helpful suggestion the author presented was to ask questions to parents in order to gain useful information about students that could possibly help when tailoring lesson plans. Effective communication must always be used when interacting with peers, students, and mentors. The author wrote briefly about creating a safe environment. Educators must do their best effort to create a learning environment for every student to be successful in, and the first step in doing that is making the environment safe for middle school students. In the beginning of the chapter, the author presented a series of questions which he later answered throughout the chapter. Those questions were: Are you interested with knowing & being with your students? Have you created a classroom where students feel safe enough to share their emotions? Are your lessons vivid? Are you enthusiastic about your subject? Do you build suspense by giving them something to look forward to? Do your lessons take into account the varied learning styles of students? Can all students succeed in your classroom? Is the material relevant to your students' lives? Do your lessons maintain momentum? Do you clearly communicate instructions and expectations? Do your students know why they are learning certain concepts and skills? Are assessments authentic? Do the students play a role in the teaching and learning? Do your students have proof of your belief in their ability to learn?

Reflection:

This topic, how to motivate young adolescents, is one that I feel will be one of the greatest challenges I will face as a teacher. I can remember the teachers who use to catch my attention and motivated me to learn what ever it was they were teaching, and I remember the teachers who could not have bored me any more than they did. I want to be a teacher where all students look forward to coming to my class each day. No matter how well I prepare content notes, power point slide shows, video blurbs, or lecture diagrams, I must find a way to get the students engaged in the material being presented. I liked the hints and suggestions that the author displayed throughout this chapter, I can't say for sure if i will ever actually use them in my classroom, but they could serve as a great reference at some point.