Finding the Spark: Strategies for Working With the Unmotivated Learner Jim Wright www.interventioncentral.org

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Finding the SparkStrategies for Working With
the Unmotivated LearnerJim Wrightwww.intervent
ioncentral.org
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Download PowerPoints and Handouts from this
workshop athttp//www.interventioncentral.org/
mspa08.php
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Workshop Agenda
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Essential Elements of RTI (Fairbanks, Sugai,
Guardino, Lathrop, 2007)

1. A continuum of evidence-based services available
   to all students" that range from universal to
   highly individualized intensive
2. Decision points to determine if students are
   performing significantly below the level of their
   peers in academic and social behavior domains"
3. Ongoing monitoring of student progress"
4. Employment of more intensive or different
   interventions when students do not improve in
   response" to lesser interventions
5. Evaluation for special education services if
   students do not respond to intervention
   instruction"

Source Fairbanks, S., Sugai, G., Guardino, S.,
Lathrop, M. (2007). Response to intervention
Examining classroom behavior support in second
grade. Exceptional Children, 73, p. 289.
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How can a school restructure to support RTI?

• The school can organize its intervention efforts
  into 3 levels, or Tiers, that represent a
  continuum of increasing intensity of support.
  (Kovaleski, 2003 Vaughn, 2003). Tier I is the
  lowest level of intervention and Tier III is the
  most intensive intervention level.

Universal intervention Available to all
students Example Additional classroom literacy
instruction
Tier I
Individualized Intervention Students who need
additional support than peers are given
individual intervention plans. Example
Supplemental peer tutoring in reading to increase
reading fluency
Tier II
Intensive Intervention Students whose
intervention needs are greater than general
education can meet may be referred for more
intensive services. Example Special Education
Tier III
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How a Classroom Lacking Tier I Strategies is Like
a Pinball Machine
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The Myth of the Lazy Student Student
Motivation Levels Are Strongly Influenced by the
Instructional Setting (Lentz Shapiro, 1986)

• Students with learning or motivation problems do
  not exist in isolation. Rather, their
  instructional environment plays an enormously
  important role in these students degree of
  academic engagement.

Source Lentz, F. E. Shapiro, E. S. (1986).
Functional assessment of the academic
environment. School Psychology Review, 15, 346-57.
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Big Ideas Academic Delays Can Be a Potent Cause
of Behavior Problems (Witt, Daly, Noell, 2000)

• Student academic problems cause many school
  behavior problems.
• Whether a students problem is a behavior
  problem or an academic one, we recommend starting
  with a functional academic assessment, since
  often behavior problems occur when students
  cannot or will not do required academic work.

Source Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., Noell, G.
(2000). Functional assessments A step-by-step
guide to solving academic and behavior problems.
Longmont, CO Sopris West, p. 13
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Big Ideas Similar Behaviors May Stem from Very
Different Root Causes (Kratochwill, Elliott,
Carrington Rotto, 1990)

• Behavior is not random but follows purposeful
  patterns.Students who present with the same
  apparent surface behaviors may have very
  different drivers (underlying reasons) that
  explain why those behaviors occur.A students
  problem behaviors must be carefully identified
  and analyzed to determine the drivers that
  support them.

Source Kratochwill, T. R., Elliott, S. N.,
Carrington Rotto, P. (1990). Best practices in
behavioral consultation. In A. Thomas and J.
Grimes (Eds.). Best practices in school
psychology-II (pp. 147169). Silver Spring, MD
National Association of School Psychologists..
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Common Root Causes or Drivers for Behaviors
Include

• Power/Control
• Protection/Escape/Avoidance
• Attention
• Acceptance/Affiliation
• Expression of Self
• Gratification
• Justice/Revenge

Source Witt, J. C., Daly, E. M., Noell, G.
(2000). Functional assessments A step-by-step
guide to solving academic and behavior problems.
Longmont, CO Sopris West..pp. 3-4.
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Big Ideas Behavior is a Continuous Stream
(Schoenfeld Farmer, 1970)

• Individuals are always performing SOME type of
  behavior watching the instructor, sleeping,
  talking to a neighbor, completing a worksheet
  (behavior stream).
• When students are fully engaged in academic
  behaviors, they are less likely to get off-task
  and display problem behaviors.
• Academic tasks that are clearly understood,
  elicit student interest, provide a high rate of
  student success, and include teacher
  encouragement and feedback are most likely to
  effectively capture the students behavior
  stream.

Source Schoenfeld, W. N., Farmer, J. (1970).
Reinforcement schedules and the behavior
stream. In W. N. Schoenfeld (Ed.), The theory
of reinforcement schedules (pp. 215245). New
York Appleton-Century-Crofts.
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A Profile of the Difficult-to-Teach Student

• Struggling learners may
• Have significant deficits in basic academic
  skills
• Lack higher-level problem-solving strategies and
  concepts
• Present with issues of school motivation
• Show social/emotional concerns that interfere
  with academics
• Have difficulty with attendance
• Lack the organizational skills and confidence to
  become self-managing learners

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Defining Motivation
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Definitions of Motivation

• motivation refers to the initiation,
  direction, intensity and persistence of behavior.

Source Motivation. (2007). Wikipedia. Retrieved
March 13, 2007, from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Motivation
Motivation is an internal state that activates,
guides and sustains behavior.
Source Educational psychology. (2007).
Wikipedia. Retrieved March 13, 2007, from
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_psycholog
yMotivation
Motivation is typically defined as the forces
that account for the arousal, selection,
direction, and continuation of behavior.
Source Excerpted from Chapter 11 of
Biehler/Snowman, PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED TO TEACHING,
8/e, Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
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Motivation in Action Flow
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Definition of the Flow State

• Being completely involved in an activity for
  its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies.
  Every action, movement, and thought follows
  inevitably from the previous one, like playing
  jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're
  using your skills to the utmost.
• --Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Source Geirland, J. (Septermber, 1996). Go with
the flow. Wired Magazine. Retrieved March 19,
2007, from http//www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.09
/czik_pr.html
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Qualities of Activities that May Elicit a Flow
State

• The activity is challenging and requires skill to
  complete
• Goals are clear
• Feedback is immediate
• There is a merging of action and awareness.
  All the attention is concentrated on the
  relevant stimuli so that individuals are no
  longer aware of themselves as separate from the
  actions they are performing
• The sense of times passing is altered Time may
  seem slowed or pass very quickly
• Flow is not static. As one acquires mastery
  over an activity, he or she must move to more
  challenging experiences to continue to achieve
  flow

Source Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow The
psychology of optimal experience. New York
Harper Row
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Flow Channel
Challenges
Skills
Source Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow The
psychology of optimal experience. New York
Harper Row
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Motivation in the Classroom
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Unmotivated Students What Works
Motivation can be thought of as having two
dimensions

1. the students expectation of success on the task

Multiplied by

1. the value that the student places on achieving
   success on that learning task

• The relationship between the two factors is
  multiplicative. If EITHER of these factors (the
  students expectation of success on the task OR
  the students valuing of that success) is zero,
  then the motivation product will also be zero.

Source Sprick, R. S., Borgmeier, C., Nolet, V.
(2002). Prevention and management of behavior
problems in secondary schools. In M. A. Shinn, H.
M. Walker G. Stoner (Eds.), Interventions for
academic and behavior problems II Preventive and
remedial approaches (pp.373-401). Bethesda, MD
National Association of School Psychologists.
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Our Working Definition of Academic Motivation
For This Workshop

• The student puts reasonable effort into
  completing academic work in a timely manner.

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Elbow Group Activity What Are Your Schools
Top Motivation Concerns?

• In your group
• Discuss specific concerns that your school or
  district has about student motivation.
• Note any common themes of motivation concerns
  shared by your group and be prepared to share
  them.