Content+Knowledge

Content Knowledge
Day 2 - Motivation (Sep 1st)

Must know the five strands of math as appliled to the curriculm:

e.g. Number Sense, Measurement, Geometry, Algebra & Probability, Data Management .............................................................................

Explain the importance of order of operations by having students solve a problem (ie, 4 x 6 + 3 + 2 X 5), when several answers are presented; discuss the importance of having rules so everyone knows the process.

I would discuss all the 'online contests' with a skill testing question ... how is a correct answer decided?

Integers canbe described by money - $$, discuss allowance and how a debit is a negative integer, revenue a positive integer

If I ‘knew in my heart’ my math concept I was teaching was not relevant or important to my students ... I would not try and fake it, I would try and take the angle of a humorous point, there are some things in life that must be done – taxes, family reunions, ... and this concept is one of those moments in life ...

-

**// 10 ways to motivate students... //** (1) Develop a tiered program of instruction that enables students to study the same content at different levels of challenge – will allow all to be successful. //(‘When Students’ reading article).// (2) Allow students to have a choice – when they select their level and/or content, they feel part of the process and thus have been part of their success. //(‘When Students’ reading article).// (3) Praise students for effort, not for intelligence – this puts them in a ‘growth mind-set’, that they can perform instead of just worrying about final results. Praising students for the process they do to compete work keeps them focused, and that they can improve //(‘The Perils’ reading article)// (4) Track attendance of students starting as early as grade 6 – attendance has been shown to be a factor in drop-out rates. Respond to student absences with individual attention, reward students for positive attendance. Attendance in school can lead to success //(‘An Early Warning System’ reading article)// (5) Provide various avenues for struggling and/or disengaged students, they must have opportunities to achieve short term success, this activity should be linked to effort and attendance. Students cannot be consistently failing they need some small success for motivation //(‘An Early Warning System’ reading article)// (6) Extrinsic motivation - have to provide interest in the benefit or competition. Intrinsic is internal motivation – for you. Intrinsic is the most effective, may have to use extrinsic in the beginning to hook students, and then shift back to intrinsic. (Quarter in the cup game) (7) Spark the students curiosity – make it relevant to the students, have them find why it is important to them; give them a bizarre fact that ‘hooks them’. (Website – ‘Lepper & Hoddell 1989) (8) Challenge the students – spark their competitive spirit, remove the boredom so they are able to focus, become engaged. (Website – ‘Lepper & Hoddell 1989)) (9) Sense of control – students need some type of control to be motivated. If they feel they have no options and just being dictated to they will lose interest.  (Website – ‘Lepper & Hoddell 1989)  (10) Fantasy – let students use their imagination, create, explore. Their buy-in will provide intrinsic motivation  (Website – ‘Lepper & Hoddell 1989)

** Minds ON **
A good document with links to several Minds on activitoies