Krompegal_Kim_Student+Motivation

Krompegal_Kim_Student Motivation

**__Something that you want us to know about you or something about you that is interesting __**  I love being in my thirties and long to be in my forties because as each year goes by I gain so much more appreciation for life. I love my husband more and more, my children become more amazing and fascinating to me, and I realize how precious my friendships are. Every morning I wake up with new lenses with a reflective scope that brings so much light into my heart and soul. I have started to push my vanity aside and have embraced who I am and all the ridiculously silly and exhilarating things I can do in life.

**__Explain your education & career goals __**  I received my high school diploma from New Horizon in Colorado Springs Co. It was the alternative high school for our school district but I will always be a Sierra Stallion. I attended Rogue Community College for two years in their articulated Early Childhood/Elementary Education Program with Southern Oregon University. I am currently a junior at Southern Oregon University pursuing an Elementary Education BS and Math Education minor.  After completion of my Bachelor of Science degree I plan to continue on to the MAT program at SOU. I hope to work in a public school classroom. I would prefer upper elementary grades and perhaps middle school mathematics but would not be opposed to working with the little ones. I do not have a preference in location or type of school.

**__What brings you joy? __**  FAMILY and FRIENDS!!!! Watching and being a part of the emotional, spiritual, and academic growth of my family and friends gives me the utmost joy. My husband and I have shared the last twelve years of our lives growing and sharing in some of the most amazing and life changing joys of life. My children continue to inspire me and remind me how curious and wonderful our world is. My friends bring some of the biggest laughs and enduring moments to my heart.



**__What is your greatest fear about being a teacher? __**  My biggest fear about becoming a teacher is that I will not inspire children to be passionate about knowledge. I want every child to leave my classroom thirsting for more. I want them to be inquisitive and skeptical. I want them to be problem solvers that will rise to the challenge of creatively changing our world. I want my students to be positively encouraged, supported and passionate to be the change.

**__Did you ever experience a time when something was extremely difficult to learn? __**  I feel like everything is difficult to learn. I have and still struggle with making deeper connections and therefore retaining what I learn is very difficult. I am capable of learning on the surface, I am a studious student but I am not knowledgeable.

**__Explain that time and __**//__ how it made you feel __//**__. __**  It is frustrating. I often feel like my ability to be a good student is not a true indication of my knowledge or lack of. I am sometimes fearful that my “secret” will be revealed (I guess I just revealed it). I am ashamed that I don’t “know” a lot. I feel like an imposter, a fraud. Some people think that I am a smart person and yet I don’t believe it to be true.

**__How might this piece of your history help you connect to students with learning differences? __**  I think I can understand their frustration when assumptions are made that are inaccurate or align with their own self-concept and I believe I understand the shame or fear associated with being “ousted.”

**__<span style="color: #943634; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">What do you want to gain from this course? __** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> I want to learn the skills and strategies to identify the individual needs of all my students. I want to learn some techniques and modifications I can utilize to make learning meaningful so that students will retain and gain a deeper appreciation for their knowledge.

= = =__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Student Motivation __=

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Motivation is defined as the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way; the general desire or willingness of someone to do something. I chose student motivation because I am very interested in learning more about what techniques or strategies I can incorporate into my classroom to keep students motivated to “show up” in class. I want my students to have a reason to come to school every day; a desire to learn and keep learning. I feel that students whether they have or do not have a disability they deserve a teacher who is committed to motivating them in a responsible and positive way.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Introduction of Student Motivation __**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Using predictions about personally relevant topics increases curiosity which enables the brain to make pleasurable connections.
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Top 5 Things I Learned __**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Increase intrinsic motivation with an intentional balance to the relevance of extrinsic rewards.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">An unmotivated student is either going to “check out” or become a behavior nightmare in the classroom.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Part of motivating students is that students understand that learning is about taking risks; trying something new, admitting you don’t know something, making mistakes, or having to ask for help.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Motivation requires students to connect with one another, develop increased competence, make choices, and enjoy themselves in a safe and secure environment.

=<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">This was chosen as my top resource because the reality of being a teacher is that we don’t have a lot of time to read or watch videos. Teachers need great information in quick and accessible forms. This guide provides bullet points in five categories. It is a simple reminder to teachers that motivating students is as easy as using best teaching practice. =
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Top Resource __**

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Wright, J. (2012). Finding the Spark: Ideas for Enhancing Student Motivation, Retrieved May 19, 2012 from [] =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">A three page guide to boost student motivation in five important ways 1) making positive changes to the learning environment, (2) fostering a sense of community in the classroom, (3) enhancing the interest of classroom activities, (4) responding to individual learning challenges, and (5) building in additional outcomes/pay-offs for learning. I gave this a five star rating because it offers a lot of the same information I have seen on other resources but is easily accessible and user friendly. I suspect that teachers will be printing this out and putting it in their resource folder. =====


 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Additional Resources __**

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Jackson, R. (Presenter). (2011, September 22). How to Motivate Reluctant Students. ASCD Webinar. [Webcast]. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/robyn-jackson-webinar.aspx =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Jackson begins her webinar discussing that students need to have their currencies met before they can even begin investing in the classroom; the four currencies explained are knowledge, soft skills, social skills and network. Next, Jackson explains that motivation is an investment decision and that teachers need to assist students with making the decision to invest in the classroom. Finally, she addresses all the "yes, buts..." that she has heard in her work. I gave this resource a five star rating because it provides a lot of examples for what motivating looks like in the classroom. Jackson is very clear and methodical in her presentation; I learned a lot from this webinar. =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Crow and Small write an article intended for librarians but can easily be translated to the general education teacher’s classroom. The article discusses intrinsic motivation; the desire to grow and be self-satisfied based on the pleasure, interest, or satisfaction of doing a task in comparison to a less effective extrinsic motivation. The authors do a fine job of providing concise examples of how to balance the use of extrinsic rewards for the purpose of intrinsic motivation. I gave this a four star rating because it is short, to the point, an easy read and offers ideas and examples that can be immediately applied to the classroom. =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Willis, J. (Presenter). (2010, July 20). Motivating Students to Achieve. ASCD Webinars. [Webcast]. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. http://www.ascd.org/professionaldevelopment/webinars/judy-willis-brain- and-learning-webinars.aspx =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Dr. Judy Willis is a neurologist turned teacher who has published over six books and has many more publications, webinars and presentations available on her website www.RADteach.com. In this webinar, found on the ASCD archived webinars web page, Dr. Willis spends about one hour discussing how the brain works and how teachers can use that knowledge to motivate students. Dr. Willis suggests increasing curiosity through predictions, sustaining achievable challenges with incremental progress, and personalizing participation. I gave this webinar a four star rating because it helps teachers understand the connection of the natural processes of the brain and how to tap into those processes in a way that will encourage students to engage in meaningful learning. It is an hour long, which may take longer than reading a 4 page article but it is a different mode of instruction and may be better for different learning preferences. =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Horace Mann and nationally recognized teacher, Alan Haskvitz developed this site of educational resources for teachers and students. Haskvitz has provided an easy webpage to navigate with links for readers to connect to other websites. There are resources for intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, general strategies related to student motivation, motivating parents, motivating teachers, and notes on underachieving students. I gave this a three star rating only because it does not provide the data directly; instead, you have to click on the resource links and be directed to another website. I clicked on every link and it was frustrating to find that many of the pages were not found however, for the ones that were they appeared to be some really good links. =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Plumley, K. (2010, June 25). Motivating students with learning disabilities. Retrieved May 18,2012, from [] =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In less than 750 words, Plumley provides a quick resource for teachers to glance over for ideas in motivating students with learning disabilities. Plumley discusses that students with LD may focus more on their strengths and avoid weaker subject areas. She suggests students with LD may even begin to blame the teacher, activity, or disability and stop trying. In order to ensure students with LD don’t “check out,” Plumley provides ideas for accommodating students with LD and promoting self-motivation. I gave this a four star rating because it provides a short bulleted list and a few paragraphs with ideas that can be used in the classroom. For a teacher who is looking for quick information this is a great resource, but for a teacher wanting for explicit details this may not provide enough. =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ullman, E. (2012, April). Developing Self-Motivated,Lifelong Learners. In ASCD: Education Update. Retrieved April 25, 2012, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education_update/apr12/vol54/num04/Developing_Self-Motivated,_Lifelong_Learners.aspx =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ullman quotes Bob Sullo, an education consultant and former teacher and school administrator; “Even the kids we describe as unmotivated are motivated.” Sullo recommends teachers ask themselves three questions: 1. If the students do what I ask them to do, will they be able to satisfy the need to connect/belong? 2. If the students do what I ask them to do, will they be able to have some choice, allowing them to responsibly meet the need for freedom? 3. Do I believe the students will enjoy this activity? I gave this article a four star rating because it reminds educators that it is their responsibility to tap into student motivation, and offers some great tips and additional resources. =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">McGonigal, J. (2010, February). Jane McGonigal: Gaming Can Make a Better World [Video File]. Retrieved from [] =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">21 billion hours of game play every week; McGonigal calculates this is what it is going to take to solve the world’s problems like hunger, poverty, climate change, and obesity. McGonigal explains that gamers, game play and the ideas evoked from virtual game worlds such as World of Warcraft create super empowered hopeful individuals. McGonigal challenges her listeners to examine what the virtual world offers its players and consider the possibilities if it was transferred to the real world. I gave this a four star rating because it does not speak directly to student/classroom motivation but it does evoke some powerful thoughts about what motivates the children of today and what is gained when motivation is tapped into. =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">*I found the TEDTalk video via this article which also contains more ideas about turning game play into a source of social change. [] =====

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Schank and his team at the Institute for the Learning Sciences (ILS) at Northwestern University have compiled a web version of Engines that is organized as a network of snippets which are interconnected by the questions they raise. In one chapter, Schank tackles the question: Where’s the Fun? with articles such as Motivation in the Classroom, Curiosity vs. Curriculum, The Cause of Conformity, Teaching Children in the Classroom. I gave this a three star rating because it is somewhat difficult to navigate through; there are so many resources that it can be overwhelming. However, I felt that the information was plentiful and a teacher could come to this one website and have a lot of questions answered and receive additional resources. =====