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Middle School Concept

How to Bribe Your Students

How to Bribe Your Students

Teachers seem to be naturally resistant to rewarding students for doing "what they are supposed to do." Some equate reward with bribery and claim that students will be working only for the points/recognition/reward,...
Author: Kimberly A. Henkle, Benjamin N. Witts
Number of views (18109)/Comments (5)/
Topics: Teaching
Tags: Student Motivation
Letting Students Succeed at Their Own Speed

Letting Students Succeed at Their Own Speed

A self-paced unit helped students take control of their learning.

"Challenge every student." That was my goal for the quarter. As I peruse the results of students' latest math assessments, my goal again crosses my mind. The test scores are fine, but upon closer scrutiny, I can see...
Author: Diane Krueger
Number of views (31704)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Differentiated InstructionTeaching
Tags: Student EngagementStudent Motivation
New Perspectives on Student Engagement

New Perspectives on Student Engagement

Do you remember Judith Viorst's story about Alexander, who had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day? For some middle school students, each day of the school year is an Alexander kind of day as defeat after...
Author: James Hall
Number of views (21270)/Comments (0)/
Topics: TeachingYoung Adolescent Development
Tags: Student EngagementStudent Motivation
Keeping Our Feedback "On Par"

Keeping Our Feedback "On Par"

A little bit of golf can help teachers improve instruction.

I love to play golf even though I am not very good. I know I am not very good because someone a very long time ago created a scoring system that reminds me that my scores are well above average, and in golf being...
Author: David M. Schmittou
Number of views (13430)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Teaching
Tags: Student Motivation
Minds-On, Hands-Off Learning

Minds-On, Hands-Off Learning

Allowing students freedom within boundaries promotes dynamic learning.

Middle school students are growing and developing into actively thinking young adults. To become critical thinkers who take ownership of their work, they need guided autonomy embedded in rich learning experiences....
Author: Alicia A. Cole
Number of views (24385)/Comments (1)/
Topics: Classroom ManagementTeaching
Tags: Student EngagementStudent Motivation

Motivation: Understanding and Responding to Individual Differences

Research Summary

A basic educational principle is that no matter how well teachers design their instruction, students who refuse to engage can ensure the teachers' instruction will come to naught. This simple truth leads teachers on a...
Author: Bruce Henderson, David Strahan
Number of views (53680)/Comments (0)/
Topics: ResearchTeaching
Tags: Student EngagementStudent MotivationResearch Summary
Portrait of a Teacher Hero

Portrait of a Teacher Hero

What kind of teacher can compel 60 middle school students to read an entire book about salt?

On a snowy Saturday at around 9:00 a.m., a stream of young adolescents straggles into a Barnes & Noble book store. At this early hour, they are the only customers. Some walk in with their parents; others are...
Author: Joanne Kelleher
Number of views (17316)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Teaching
Tags: Student EngagementStudent Motivation

Building Empathy

We all know that late-in-the-day feeling—we’ve taught the same lesson in each of four class periods, and there’s still one more to go. In this 5th period, we’re on automatic pilot, relying on...
Author: Rick Wormeli
Number of views (20081)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Teaching
Tags: Student MotivationRick Wormeli
Welcome to the Genius Hour

Welcome to the Genius Hour

Dedicated time and passion bring out the best in students.

As I drove home one evening after hosting a showcase of student work, attended by the community, all I could think about was how a new project called Genius Hour had transformed my seventh graders over the course of...
Author: Cryslynn Billingsley
Number of views (54765)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Teaching
Tags: Student EngagementStudent MotivationInquiry-based Learning
The Day a Seventh Grader Gave Me the Bird

The Day a Seventh Grader Gave Me the Bird

I'll never forget the time a seventh grader gave me the bird. When I caught him and the gesture, it changed me as a middle school teacher. And somehow it reminded me of the middle school characteristic that states,...
Author: Dru Tomlin
Number of views (27314)/Comments (0)/
Topics: Inspiration
Tags: Student Motivation
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