How to motivate low level students

[brianp0803]

Suggestions?

With the all students pass policy or the common practice of fail and retest then pass it is difficult to motivate lazy students.

Other teachers experiences?

English or subject teacher?

I teach high school math.

As a minimum I require then to turn in all class notes and homework (I know its copied but takes them time)

More suggestions?

[MikeDK]

Its always good to open up with an Einstein quote, so here goes: "Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to aquire it."

The problem is that some students do not care about wisdom, learning, or even about grades - they only care about passing, which simply means showing up for X amount of lessons and then doing an unfailable re-test at the end of the term.

Other students simply do the work because it is the "right" thing to do - teacher say, student do.

Yet another group of students actually wants to learn. They are intrinsically motivated by their interests, goals and ambitions to understand what you teach because they realise that they may need that knowledge in the future.

The question is whether you want to invest time and energy in attempting to "motivate" a group that has no intentions of learning anything, or whether you want to cater to those who pay attention and do work. At a high school level, I dont believe it is the teachers job to motivate the students. If you can make the lessons fun and engaging then that is a big plus, but the actual motivation should come from the students themselves and their desire to participate. In other countries, students are extrinsically motivated by grades and the possibility of failure. As these are non-factors in Thailand, the "only-aim-to-pass"-students have zero reasons to listen to anything you are saying - and they know it.

Some might say that it should be possible to make lessons fun and entertaining for everyone. While I agree with that, I will still refer to the Einstein quote; no learning comes for free, and those with zero ambitions will do zero work because they know they dont have to. The way to deal with it? Waste zero time or effort on them.

In the end, I think that spending too much time trying to wake up or "motivate" the lazies is wasted time. Not only your wasted time, but the rest of the groups time - other students could be making progress while you try to move a mountain with a stick.

Summarizing: Even the most interesting and engaging lesson will be slept through by someone who only desires to pass. Make your lessons interesting and engaging for those who pay attention and leave the sleepers with their heads on their desks.

I realise my perspective may seem cynical, but yeah.. TIT.

Edited October 24, 2014 by MikeDK

[brianp0803]

I gave 3 grade 12 students a grade 0.

They told me at the beginning of the term their math grade wasn't important - only the entrance exam.

They refused to do any work and scored 10% on exams.

They did not come for the "re - learning" and "re-test"

They came to me today and said

"teacher I got grade 0".

I replied "I know. Did you deserve better? "

"But teacher I need to apply to university"

My school does not require the automatic pass on retest.

But more work for the teacher to fail a student and give them additional work.

I hope the message spreads I will fail students in math.

[culicine]

Officially, the MoE policy is that students are to be retaught and retested....and retested on 'something' until they pass.

The way I see it, if they only want a 50%, then they are going to earn it. make them resubmit all work that was not completed, and resit all quizzes until they can do something. I'm talking about high school here. I've never thought it was fair if a student works their butt off for a 50, and the bozo next to him does nothing they whole year for the same grade. If they are in grade 10-12 and still not motivated to study, then that's their problem. A lot of the issues stem from primary school, with kids being pushed (while failing each year) through the system until high school. Learning issues / motivation need to be addressed at a young age.

[brianp0803]

Yes MoE policy is students that are lazy and do nothing the entire semester and fail ever test when given another chance for learning will will study hard and learn enough to pass all exams.

Believable?

I agree that the process starts in primary school. By high school many are so far behind nothing can be done.

But, some are still capable of passing if motivated.

Those are my target to motivate.

Teenagers are influenced by peer pressure. Some bright students become lazy.

[Suradit69]

How to motivate low level students

Stop thinking of them as "low level students."

Ref: Robert K Merton:

Teachers And Students

Teachers have a profound role in guiding their students into success or failure, and this is partly affected by their own mindset about the student. When the teacher sees a student as an achiever, the teacher might use more complimentary language, offer after-school help, call on him or her more often, or even smile more. All this positive feedback is bound to help the student flourish. If, however, the teacher does not believe this student will be a success, the teacher might discipline the student more frequently, tell him or her she can't attempt a task, or approach the student with suspicion after an absence. These negative responses can easily promote underachievement.

There are any number of behaviors - direct and indirect - that can come from a particular mindset about a student and affect their success. In 1968, psychologist Robert Rosenthal and elementary school principal Lenore Jacobson examined the topic of self-fulfilling prophecy between teachers and students in The Oak School Experiment. Here, they gave the students an IQ test and told the teacher that a specific group of students (20% of the class chosen at random) were 'special' or 'gifted'. At the end of an eight-month period, they tested the students again and saw that the group they had coined as 'special' had a significant increase in IQ over those that were not labeled so, due to the mindset and actions of the teacher toward them.

[brianp0803]

I think there are also theories stating every child should be given individual homework and exams to match their ability and learning style.

Practical?

I thought that was called the pygmalleon effect.

I do believe in it, but difficult to always follow.

I have several students I firmly believe are underachieving and constantly praising and encouraging them. Maybe they are getting grade 2 or 2.5 but with small effort could be at the top of the class.

Often they accept my comment about being very smart but are happy to only pass.

I had a kid that was very smart and maybe got 70% but could easily get 95%. I told the parent her son was very smart but capable of more.

She corrected me - No, I am not good at math and my son is not good at math.

The parent expected average grades and the son met her expectations but he could have very have easily exceeded her expectations.

[stubuzz]

Try making your lessons relevant and interesting to the students.

[BudRight]

How to motivate low level students

Stop thinking of them as "low level students."

Ref: Robert K Merton:

Teachers And Students

Teachers have a profound role in guiding their students into success or failure, and this is partly affected by their own mindset about the student. When the teacher sees a student as an achiever, the teacher might use more complimentary language, offer after-school help, call on him or her more often, or even smile more. All this positive feedback is bound to help the student flourish. If, however, the teacher does not believe this student will be a success, the teacher might discipline the student more frequently, tell him or her she can't attempt a task, or approach the student with suspicion after an absence. These negative responses can easily promote underachievement.

There are any number of behaviors - direct and indirect - that can come from a particular mindset about a student and affect their success. In 1968, psychologist Robert Rosenthal and elementary school principal Lenore Jacobson examined the topic of self-fulfilling prophecy between teachers and students in The Oak School Experiment. Here, they gave the students an IQ test and told the teacher that a specific group of students (20% of the class chosen at random) were 'special' or 'gifted'. At the end of an eight-month period, they tested the students again and saw that the group they had coined as 'special' had a significant increase in IQ over those that were not labeled so, due to the mindset and actions of the teacher toward them.

My mom says everyone is special.

[brianp0803]

Try making your lessons relevant and interesting to the students.

What techniques do you personally use to motivate and make interesting for every single person in your class.

I teach high school math. I have found when reviewing topic they should have learned in 6th or 7th grade then easier to keep the whole class engaged. Teaching to the lowest level student.

If the lesson is trivial and simple the students can laugh and enjoy (although not learn a lot)

I have watched teachers that talk about keeping the class engaged. I enjoyed watching their class. It was funny and enjoyable. I enjoy good comedians but I don't learn a lot from them.

I watched someone recommended as a good teacher teach about water conservation The 50 minute class was asking every individual students how often and how long they took a shower and joking about wasting water or smelling. The class laughed a lot. He was going to continue the next hour about wasting water brushing teeth.

Funny, engaging but very little content taught.

Is this a good model to follow?

[wvavin]

brianp0803, we know you have put in effort and suffered disappointment by your students attitude. There is nothing we could do, which is an absolutely sad situation knowing we could do something to help their future. However, what you are facing is the centuries of Thai mentality, which in my opinion is beyond our capacity. You have done your job therefore wish them good luck for this is the best you could do within your means.

[swbcare]

Yes all are special and have their own needs. Sadly I have only 80 minutes a week to learn 30+ studends a subject a week. I have no time to play nurse, mother, granny, policeman and more of this. So if 90% is not interested in the subject, play with their phones or just sleeps ....I let them and concentrate me on thr 10% who really wants to learn.

[IAMHERE]

Discover what they ENVY, then ask them how they can achieve that which they envy.

[thhMan]

As long as their parents are Thai, its an uphill battle....

[brianp0803]

brianp0803, we know you have put in effort and suffered disappointment by your students attitude. There is nothing we could do, which is an absolutely sad situation knowing we could do something to help their future. However, what you are facing is the centuries of Thai mentality, which in my opinion is beyond our capacity. You have done your job therefore wish them good luck for this is the best you could do within your means.

Thank you.

I try to do my best and always trying to improve.

But I understand about Thai culture (maybe other countries) allow everyone to pass.

I think I heard the Thai government said to not give a lot of homework because causes stress for students.

People with lower abilities I give alternate assignments. Math is difficult

The lazy smart students are my challenge.

When I was young smart people had smart friends and low performance students stayed together.

In Thailand the smartest and failing students are good friends.

The is no shame in failing.

The is no shame in copying homework or copying on tests.

It is viewed as helping my friends

[brianp0803]

Discover what they ENVY, then ask them how they can achieve that which they envy.

I had one student fail every test but I gave him kenken.com math puzzles and he completed all very quickly. Probably faster than i could havre done.

Kenken is like sudoko but using basic math.

[kurnell]

I had a learning disability and left school in year 8 but look at how well I turned out

[umbanda]

Watch the movie "Stand and Deliver"

[iamariva1957]

Its always good to open up with an Einstein quote, so here goes: "Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to aquire it."

The problem is that some students do not care about wisdom, learning, or even about grades - they only care about passing, which simply means showing up for X amount of lessons and then doing an unfailable re-test at the end of the term.

Other students simply do the work because it is the "right" thing to do - teacher say, student do.

Yet another group of students actually wants to learn. They are intrinsically motivated by their interests, goals and ambitions to understand what you teach because they realise that they may need that knowledge in the future.

The question is whether you want to invest time and energy in attempting to "motivate" a group that has no intentions of learning anything, or whether you want to cater to those who pay attention and do work. At a high school level, I dont believe it is the teachers job to motivate the students. If you can make the lessons fun and engaging then that is a big plus, but the actual motivation should come from the students themselves and their desire to participate. In other countries, students are extrinsically motivated by grades and the possibility of failure. As these are non-factors in Thailand, the "only-aim-to-pass"-students have zero reasons to listen to anything you are saying - and they know it.

Some might say that it should be possible to make lessons fun and entertaining for everyone. While I agree with that, I will still refer to the Einstein quote; no learning comes for free, and those with zero ambitions will do zero work because they know they dont have to. The way to deal with it? Waste zero time or effort on them.

In the end, I think that spending too much time trying to wake up or "motivate" the lazies is wasted time. Not only your wasted time, but the rest of the groups time - other students could be making progress while you try to move a mountain with a stick.

Summarizing: Even the most interesting and engaging lesson will be slept through by someone who only desires to pass. Make your lessons interesting and engaging for those who pay attention and leave the sleepers with their heads on their desks.

I realise my perspective may seem cynical, but yeah.. TIT.

One can only hope that you are not a teacher... but it can be inferred, by what you have written, that you are. To that all I can say is, "Wow!"

I am a teacher and have been for years and have worked here for the past 3. I have taught all ages and grades and never once have I met any student that would fit into the descriptions you have posted and I work in government schools. Furthermore, your pessimism with regards to the students themselves and their seemingly uncaring attitude towards exams, class work, etc is amazing. For it seems that the students that do not wish to be there for whatever reason, you are willing to loose even before you have tried. It also appears to me that you have come to the realization that it would be a "waste of your time" to even attempt to reach out to those students and actually do your job as a teacher. To say that "at high school level I (you) dont (spelled: don't) believe it is the teachers (spelled: teacher's) job to motivate the students" is unbelievably arrogant, myopic, and beyond anything that any teacher who stands in front of a class would or should ever come into that room believing!

Of course you have to "motivate" your students! Unless, that is unless, you have given up on yourself and your own capabilities as a teacher.... which I have a sneaky feeling is the case here. So maybe it is time for you to take that sabbatical and allow someone else who still has some faith in being a teacher to take over.

For teaching does require a certain amount of faith. Oh, not the religious kind but rather with regards to one's students and their abilities and in their 'educational good health'. For it is partly in your hands that they have the tools that they will need to succeed in life. Hiding behind a quote from Einstein is just a nice pile of sand in which to stick your head into. But to use your narrative, you should also remember that he said, "I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn". So even he would not say that it was a "waste of time" or effort on the part of the teacher. For as William A Ward stated, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires".

But we as teachers all know that there will be the student/s that will slip by us somehow and that no matter how wonderful we are, how much time we put in, or even how inspiring we try to be that there will be a instance of us not getting through to a student or two. But does that mean that we stop trying to get through to them? Is it really a "waste of time" for not only us but also for the entire class as you seem to believe? No it is not! For as the saying goes, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste". Now maybe that last saying is a bit old fashioned. But nevertheless it still holds true!

So educate your students, motivate them, show them the way, tell them how, explain it to them, have fun with the material, allow them to ask, allow them to even explain; just be their teacher. For it is not about you, it is about your students. Only their minds, their needs, are or should be important to you. So give of yourself and if you do not believe that there is a smidgen of a romantic notion here about teaching... then you would be wrong again. For again with teaching as in any relationship there has to be a devotion to the task at hand and a give and take. Remember also that you are a performer, the classroom is your stage, and the students are your audience. For it is through you that they will find it in themselves to take part and to take away more than they came in with!

To end, I have to say that I would not have used the word,"cynical", nor would I have used the flippant statement of, "yeah". I would have taken the higher road and said that I needed a break from it all to get my own head in order. That would have been a mark of a real teacher who has their student's needs ahead of their own and would have shown acknowledgement for their own 'loss of focus'.

[iamariva1957]

brianp0803, we know you have put in effort and suffered disappointment by your students attitude. There is nothing we could do, which is an absolutely sad situation knowing we could do something to help their future. However, what you are facing is the centuries of Thai mentality, which in my opinion is beyond our capacity. You have done your job therefore wish them good luck for this is the best you could do within your means.

Nonsense! If you wish to blame the "Thai mentality" is suggesting that Thais cannot be as intelligent than a student from the West and that this inability is somehow based in history. If it is beyond our "capacity", please explain how the Thais are able to raise to an occasion that would bring Westerners to their knees? They think nothing of doing jobs that anyone from the west with an education would think as being beneath them. They have a firm grasp on family importance and do not deviate from it, something that we in the West have a less than tenuous grasp upon. No, they might not have the motivation to exceed their positions in life or that of their family or put their own needs ahead of those of their family, but that is a cultural element and not one of "mentality".

Yet, Thailand and its people are as vibrant as any other country in the West. Yes, the educational system is flawed (to say the least), but can one simply blame the system, the students themselves, or is that we should be blaming the teachers? Frankly I blame the former and the latter and do blame the ones in the middle; the students. For as teachers we are responsible to our students. For it is their education that we are here to help along and lead if needed. Even if that means we have to 'hold their hands' through the process. As for the system, no matter where you are teaching (In the West, East, North or South) the system will be an obstacle. For between the government agency, the School Board, the individual Principle, or one's own Department Head, hurdles will be erected and will have to be either followed or overcome. No teacher is unaware of this. But the important thing is to remember that you are there not for the system but rather for your students!

Is this a romantic notion? Sure it is. Is it myopic? Well, not anymore than than those that think that being a teacher you deserve some sort of medal. Our students minds and their education is our reason for being there. Simply saying that "you have done your job" and that it has been "the best you could" is far more myopic in its very construct. We as teachers cannot simply blame the system or the "mentality", the cultural or historical elements. We have to look to ourselves and our abilities and capabilities as if not the root cause, then certainly as a cause in and of themselves.

[brianp0803]

I keep striving to do better but the acceptance of copying being normal is a detriment.

The idea that,

the director of a large private school,

enrolled in a PhD program in an international program at a large university,

would have his foreign teachers doing all his homework is considered expected by the Thai people I know.

They tell me that the school director doesn't need to do any of his own homework because he has a large foreign staff that will do it as part of their job.

I was shocked.

[swbcare]

Discover what they ENVY, then ask them how they can achieve that which they envy.

As long as their parents are Thai, its an uphill battle....

Ask them and you get the standard answer.....alina . They have no will to learn anything. Hang in the toilets, walk around or just hide are the interest they have. Play all day the "nokia zombie".

The parents are only intrested in the scores. And the school give them what they like to see.... half score.

So that make the circle round.

[swbcare]

I keep striving to do better but the acceptance of copying being normal is a detriment.

The idea that,

the director of a large private school,

enrolled in a PhD program in an international program at a large university,

would have his foreign teachers doing all his homework is considered expected by the Thai people I know.

They tell me that the school director doesn't need to do any of his own homework because he has a large foreign staff that will do it as part of their job.

I was shocked.

Not uncommon in Thailand. Some hire just 1 or 2 Filipino to do all the work.

[brianp0803]

It is difficult to tell students to have academic integrity when most of the teachers have done the director's homework.

It was not a big secret.

Different members of his Thai staff alternated giving his assignments to the head of primary or secondary staff.

The department heads then rotated which teacher did the current assignment.

Many people were involved.

I hope the students never learn about the director's lack of academic integrity.

But my understanding is this is common and accepted by Thai people.

[MikeDK]

Its always good to open up with an Einstein quote, so here goes: "Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to aquire it."

The problem is that some students do not care about wisdom, learning, or even about grades - they only care about passing, which simply means showing up for X amount of lessons and then doing an unfailable re-test at the end of the term.

Other students simply do the work because it is the "right" thing to do - teacher say, student do.

Yet another group of students actually wants to learn. They are intrinsically motivated by their interests, goals and ambitions to understand what you teach because they realise that they may need that knowledge in the future.

The question is whether you want to invest time and energy in attempting to "motivate" a group that has no intentions of learning anything, or whether you want to cater to those who pay attention and do work. At a high school level, I dont believe it is the teachers job to motivate the students. If you can make the lessons fun and engaging then that is a big plus, but the actual motivation should come from the students themselves and their desire to participate. In other countries, students are extrinsically motivated by grades and the possibility of failure. As these are non-factors in Thailand, the "only-aim-to-pass"-students have zero reasons to listen to anything you are saying - and they know it.

Some might say that it should be possible to make lessons fun and entertaining for everyone. While I agree with that, I will still refer to the Einstein quote; no learning comes for free, and those with zero ambitions will do zero work because they know they dont have to. The way to deal with it? Waste zero time or effort on them.

In the end, I think that spending too much time trying to wake up or "motivate" the lazies is wasted time. Not only your wasted time, but the rest of the groups time - other students could be making progress while you try to move a mountain with a stick.

Summarizing: Even the most interesting and engaging lesson will be slept through by someone who only desires to pass. Make your lessons interesting and engaging for those who pay attention and leave the sleepers with their heads on their desks.

I realise my perspective may seem cynical, but yeah.. TIT.

One can only hope that you are not a teacher... but it can be inferred, by what you have written, that you are. To that all I can say is, "Wow!"

I am a teacher and have been for years and have worked here for the past 3. I have taught all ages and grades and never once have I met any student that would fit into the descriptions you have posted and I work in government schools. Furthermore, your pessimism with regards to the students themselves and their seemingly uncaring attitude towards exams, class work, etc is amazing. For it seems that the students that do not wish to be there for whatever reason, you are willing to loose even before you have tried. It also appears to me that you have come to the realization that it would be a "waste of your time" to even attempt to reach out to those students and actually do your job as a teacher. To say that "at high school level I (you) dont (spelled: don't) believe it is the teachers (spelled: teacher's) job to motivate the students" is unbelievably arrogant, myopic, and beyond anything that any teacher who stands in front of a class would or should ever come into that room believing!

Of course you have to "motivate" your students! Unless, that is unless, you have given up on yourself and your own capabilities as a teacher.... which I have a sneaky feeling is the case here. So maybe it is time for you to take that sabbatical and allow someone else who still has some faith in being a teacher to take over.

For teaching does require a certain amount of faith. Oh, not the religious kind but rather with regards to one's students and their abilities and in their 'educational good health'. For it is partly in your hands that they have the tools that they will need to succeed in life. Hiding behind a quote from Einstein is just a nice pile of sand in which to stick your head into. But to use your narrative, you should also remember that he said, "I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn". So even he would not say that it was a "waste of time" or effort on the part of the teacher. For as William A Ward stated, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires".

But we as teachers all know that there will be the student/s that will slip by us somehow and that no matter how wonderful we are, how much time we put in, or even how inspiring we try to be that there will be a instance of us not getting through to a student or two. But does that mean that we stop trying to get through to them? Is it really a "waste of time" for not only us but also for the entire class as you seem to believe? No it is not! For as the saying goes, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste". Now maybe that last saying is a bit old fashioned. But nevertheless it still holds true!

So educate your students, motivate them, show them the way, tell them how, explain it to them, have fun with the material, allow them to ask, allow them to even explain; just be their teacher. For it is not about you, it is about your students. Only their minds, their needs, are or should be important to you. So give of yourself and if you do not believe that there is a smidgen of a romantic notion here about teaching... then you would be wrong again. For again with teaching as in any relationship there has to be a devotion to the task at hand and a give and take. Remember also that you are a performer, the classroom is your stage, and the students are your audience. For it is through you that they will find it in themselves to take part and to take away more than they came in with!

To end, I have to say that I would not have used the word,"cynical", nor would I have used the flippant statement of, "yeah". I would have taken the higher road and said that I needed a break from it all to get my own head in order. That would have been a mark of a real teacher who has their student's needs ahead of their own and would have shown acknowledgement for their own 'loss of focus'.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, even if your lengthy contribution contained zero tangible advice on how to actually motivate. As for the apostrophes, im using a US keyboard layout with foreign language software settings, which means that I must get by without certain characters. I assumed that readers on this board would be familiar enough with English to understand my meaning without those characters.

Anyhow - I want to start by clearing up a few misunderstandings:

"it seems that the students that do not wish to be there for whatever reason, you are willing to loose even before you have tried."

I dont understand where you get this idea from. Its not that I dont want to try, its that I dont want to spend a significant part of my lesson trying to get students to put their phones away, stop gossiping with their friends or stop sleeping on their desks. If the same student has engaged in this kind of behavior for several lessons and I have spent a significant amount of time on this singular individual - that is when I am "willing to loose" (sic.) them. Some students may have an offday occasionally, and that is perfectly fine - I am talking about repeated, negative behavior. As such, please note that my decision to not spend time on them has nothing to do with me being pessimistic - its about making the best of the time that I have got for the majority of the class. When I have 30 other students willing to participate and work, should they really receive less teaching time because I have to "reach out" and bond with kids that obviously have no interest in learning? Should I have to tell them to put their phones away? Four times each lesson? Every lesson?

Which brings me to the point about motivation: Any student who goes beyond compulsory education should initially be self-motivated - if you do not want to learn, why sign up for a school to begin with?

Naturally, lessons should be made as interesting as possible, and their motivation should as far as possible be strengthened in the classroom through fun, interesting, engaging and relevant activities. But that initial step - deciding to participate - is not mine to take. That step should be taken the minute you sign up for classes. If it is not, signing up seems pointless in the first place.

As for the Einstein quote, I am not sure if we interpret it the same way:

"I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn".

Best to start with the last sentence - providing conditions under which students can learn. Note the use of the word "can" - a student may or may not learn. In other words, the student has to actively investigate and use the circumstances provided in order for learning to happen. Contrast this with the first sentence: Here, teach as a transitive verb takes pupil as an object - which makes the pupil the passive participant in learning. I think Einsteins point is that the educators job is to facilitate circumstances where learning may happen, while the students job is to take advantage of those circumstances.

Therefore, when you say that Einstein would agree that time is not wasted, I am not sure that you are correct - I think he would say that whether time is wasted or not depends on whether the student fully utilizes the conditions which the educator has provided, in order to learn as much as possible. I am certain, however, that if the circumstances are present and the pupil decided to sleep on the desk - that Mr. E would not be satisfied.

Finally:

I am a teacher and have been for years and have worked here for the past 3. I have taught all ages and grades and never once have I met any student that would fit into the descriptions you have posted and I work in government schools

At all the schools I have been to in my area, all the foreign teachers I have spoken to agree that some students in that particular school are simply unreachable. And I have been to quite a few schools. Maybe our areas are very different? Or maybe you are just a very lucky man?

Regardless, I find it interesting that despite your admitted lack of experience with this kind of student, you still find it perfectly fine to spend a full page deriding me for giving advice on how to deal with them. And this without giving any constructive advice yourself outside of romantic aphorisms.

And you call my statements flippant?

Edited October 25, 2014 by MikeDK

[SlyAnimal]

I used to teach maths (As well as English), at the high school I was working at, and often had to resign myself to the fact that some students simply weren't interested. Often I do think it was a case of the student being simply so far behind, that it really was impossible to teach them, particularly as they were behind because they weren't interested in the first place, but by being so far behind, they had completely lost interest.

As some students would even have problems with basic addition/subtraction/multiplication/division, and yet we were learning about cube roots, volume and linear equations. For these students, there really wasn't much I could do, and it really was simply better to focus on the better students.

The students who weren't as far behind though, they had a chance, and by stimulating their interest in the subject, many of them were able to improve their grades (They still weren't at the level I expected, but I think maybe I do set the bar quite high, since I often think about my maths level at the same age, but I was always very good at maths, so it's an unfair comparison). One of the things I found worked reasonably well, was to use word questions which involved the students within the question, which was usually also related to their interests.

For example, the best male student in the class (Beam) loved Burriram United, and all of the other boys in the class really looked up to him. Beam also constantly needed attention and praise, as that's what motivated him (He was competitive, and wanted to be the best, and to be acknowledged for that). So I would often include Beam in my examples, along with some of his mates, usually with a practical example involving football (Sometimes praising Beam, but often making fun of him too, he had a good sense of humour, and I didn't want to boost his ego too much). Beam would then of course sink his teeth into the problem, as would his friends, particularly the ones who were also mentioned in the problem.

I'd also sometimes rationalise with the students, and explain that there was a certain amount of work which we needed to cover before the exam, and so if we relaxed now, it'd mean more work later, and vice versa, thus the best way was to put in a good effort at the start of the term, and then at the end we might have some time to relax a little. Or I'd tell them that if they behaved well in class, I wouldn't give them much homework (This is of course because if they worked in class, then they'd finish all/most of their homework in class).

Not all of these methods worked all the time, and not with all classes. As each class is a bit different, and has it's own characters, the thing I felt was most important though, was to simply try to understand what motivated each student. I was lucky as I was at the same school for 3 years, so had more time than usual to observe the bilingual students, and learn more about what motivates them.

[mikecat]

I dont think its only so called low level students who need to be motivated all students need to be motivated in some way at some time. I can empathise with the students who mostly think why am I learning this I'm never going to use it. Empathy is a good start, students will appreciate it.

Make lessons fun and interesting and involve everyone.

Plenty of encouragement for everyone.

Be liberal with your marking and explain your corrections

Get to know your students, show an interest in them and let them see the real you.

A smile goes a long way

Dont talk to much, get your students to do the work. Thias in general cant seem to listen for more than five minutes before their minds wonder, the mobile phone appears or they start talking. ( This is not just students).

Set tasks every lesson, test or check, mark and comment. If the general return is poor it is probably your teaching or method of teaching. Analyise your lesson and do again in a different way.

I rarely give homework unless I feel there is a real need.

I firstly discourage copying and by half term completely ban it. Prove to students that they can do it on their own. Most students respond remarkably well to this approach when they see that they can indeed do it on their own. its like some form of empowerment.

Once in a while give free time.

Offer struggling students help after school. I was surprised that students do actually take you up on this offer.

[herb59]

they may hope for next life.

[NativeSon360]

Its always good to open up with an Einstein quote, so here goes: "Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to aquire it."

The problem is that some students do not care about wisdom, learning, or even about grades - they only care about passing, which simply means showing up for X amount of lessons and then doing an unfailable re-test at the end of the term.

Other students simply do the work because it is the "right" thing to do - teacher say, student do.

Yet another group of students actually wants to learn. They are intrinsically motivated by their interests, goals and ambitions to understand what you teach because they realise that they may need that knowledge in the future.

The question is whether you want to invest time and energy in attempting to "motivate" a group that has no intentions of learning anything, or whether you want to cater to those who pay attention and do work. At a high school level, I dont believe it is the teachers job to motivate the students. If you can make the lessons fun and engaging then that is a big plus, but the actual motivation should come from the students themselves and their desire to participate. In other countries, students are extrinsically motivated by grades and the possibility of failure. As these are non-factors in Thailand, the "only-aim-to-pass"-students have zero reasons to listen to anything you are saying - and they know it.

Some might say that it should be possible to make lessons fun and entertaining for everyone. While I agree with that, I will still refer to the Einstein quote; no learning comes for free, and those with zero ambitions will do zero work because they know they dont have to. The way to deal with it? Waste zero time or effort on them.

In the end, I think that spending too much time trying to wake up or "motivate" the lazies is wasted time. Not only your wasted time, but the rest of the groups time - other students could be making progress while you try to move a mountain with a stick.

Summarizing: Even the most interesting and engaging lesson will be slept through by someone who only desires to pass. Make your lessons interesting and engaging for those who pay attention and leave the sleepers with their heads on their desks.

I realise my perspective may seem cynical, but yeah.. TIT.

[brianp0803]

I think one difference between teaching university vs teaching primary and high school is teaching younger students a large part of our job is motivation.

University teachers are more to impart knowledge and the students takes a larger responsibility for their learning.

But difficult to motive a grade 11 girl that takes 3 attempts to answer 15 - 18 =. Simple fractions bring terror to her face.

How can she pay attention to learn trigonometry?

Some students are at least 4 years below grade level compared with other students in their class.

Impossible for them to learn the current topic.

I am now giving simpler worksheets to them.

They can't learn the current topic but I want their math and logic level increased from when they entered my class.

For most students, they will not use most of the math they are taught in school.

But I believe they are also learning how to analyze problems and taking steps to solve problems. Trigonometry may be the method used to teach this life skill.