In the Article “Motivating Adolescent Readers by Dr. Michael W. Smith” one of the first recommendations stated is that teachers provide “direct, explicit comprehension instruction” (Biancarosa & Snow, 2006, p. 4). The article states that teachers tend to assign work and then assess students on the basis of how well they do it. The article talks about another study of the literate lives of adolescent boys both in and out of school (Smith & Wilhelm 2002). This study found that the assign-and-assess approach is indeed prevalent. The researchers stated that only one student talked about a teacher who provided the kind of explicit instruction Reading Next calls for. These were some of the comments of the student: “I haven’t started reading until this year pretty much. ... I have been starting novels this year because Mrs. X kinda like assigns the homework and this is the only time it’s really been due so I’ve been reading pretty good novels now and I like John Steinbeck and stuff. A lot of novels like that get to me and Mrs. X’s been kinda showing me the road and the path. I kinda thought reading was dumb, but now I’m kinda getting more into it.
As I read this I reflected on my role as a Father and instructor. As I read this I thought about the pleasure this student finally obtained from reading. I know I need to change my approach to motivate especially the boys in the classes I teach. I'm thinking to my self is it any wonder some of the children are so miserable. They can't sit still and listen. I wonder if it is because while they were younger some adult didn't take the time to read to them......
Sheldon,
ReplyDeleteMotivation is a powerful contributor to reading and it is even more essential for the struggling reader. As educators and reading specialists, we must bear in mind that motivation engages students’ interests and through carefully planned lessons, comprehension will be enhanced.
Research has identified several ways in which we can motivate students such as using visuals, read alouds, providing incentives and the list can go on and on. However, you mentioned something that I have had to deal with constantly in my career and that is motivating boys to read. From our own statistics in Trinidad and Tobago, our boys are at a disadvantage and we need to be more creative in our approach to teaching. We should provide books that are of interest to boys, encourage them to read aloud, link reading to activities that they enjoy and show them that reading is fun.
There are also several texts available written for boys and teachers must have access to these and keep them in their classroom libraries. We need to stop teaching reading as a ‘girly activity’.
One good way to motivate students is to have them involved in activities which they enjoy. In this computer age our students play video games, chat via skype and interact on myspace. Others are already blogging, text messaging and the latest craze is bbm. These are tools which can be used to teach them literacy. There is already an interest here, and children are motivated through their fascination with the technology.Therefore having them use it to promote literacy gives the teacher an edge. The motivation to use ICT already exists and most young people are doing computer literacy at an earlier age. We now have primary school students who are techno savvy. We should therefore use this to our advantage as there will be little effort needed to motivate students as the fascination already exists for the use of ICT
ReplyDeleteI am of the firm belief that the home has an integral part to play in motivation. I have observed in my school that the student whose parent is actively involved in their school life reads more and wants to know more. The home has facilitated this culture of reading and motivation to want to read, if not by providing the physical resources but by parents who express to their children that reading is essential for success. Additionally the fathers who spend time reading with their sons motivated these boys to see read especially within the classroonm .
ReplyDeleteI too am often faced with the dilemma of how much can I do to make my students want to learn. and then I remind myself "not much". You see there is so much a teacher can do and no more. Students have to also be intrinsically motivated and that is outside of the ability of any teacher so to do. However the influence of a good male figure in the lives of our male students goes a long way in boosting their love for school. My experience in the classroom is, a strong male teacher; well-adjusted, focused boys. Sadly the inverse is equally true.
ReplyDelete