Editor’s note: The post shown here was originally published on my blog, TeachEffectively.com. It’s one of many posts that I’m republishing from TE. I provide additional background at the foot of this post. This post was originally published under the title Motivating them is insufficient.
In an article on about.com under the heading “special education,” Sue Watson recommends what she considers important steps to help students with reading problems. The list reveals a common misperception about disabilities.
According to Watson, “The first step in helping struggling readers is to ensure that they experience some form of success – to boost confidence levels.” On subsequent pages she follows this recommendation with others: Make reading enjoyable and use a variety of approaches.
If the target is improving students’ reading outcomes, these recommendations fall short of the mark. The recommendations may be the result of a heartfelt desire to ease children into reading, the hope that a student who is favorably disposed toward reading will be easier to teach. But, as far as I know, those good intentions have no scientific documentation that they help children learn better. Instead, we have copious documentation that systematic, explicit instruction in the building blocks of reading helps children succeed (see the National Reading Panel report). In addition, there are good reasons to believe that success is a powerful motivator.
Sadly, recommendations such as those offered by Ms. Watson are common, not just on the Internet with it’s wide-open publishing standards, but in education itself. They appear to be founded more on theory and personal opinion than evidence. It is up to those of us who know better to counter these sorts of recommendations and demand that educational practices be based on evidence. What methods, techniques, practices, and procedures produce documented benefits? Let’s use those rather than falling back on unfounded intuition.
Furthermore, let’s be wary of misrepresentations of the nature of disabilities. Arguments about the primacy of motivating students with reading problems perpetuate the myth that these problems are a result of the student not trying hard enough. Indolence isn’t the cause of learning problems. These kids are not just lazy. They need effective instruction. “LD” doesn’t stand for “lazy and dumb.” (Try Googling learning disability “lazy and “dumb.”)
To be sure, encouraging effort and helping students understand that their successes are related to their effort are important aspects of teaching. But let’s not confuse motivating students with teaching them.
I keep thinking about the topic of this post; the thoughts occur at least weekly, if not daily. Over emphasis on motivation bugs me.
SET readers have likely seen misapplications of motivation:
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“Try harder”
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“You can go outside with the other kids as soon as you finish the math problems”
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“She’s hanging out with a bunch of kids who don’t give a damn, and it’s rubbing off on her. She doesn’t care.”
And then there are the posters decorating so many classroom walls. Gag me! I don’t even need a spoon!
Inspire those little learners. That’s what they need! Spur them on!—Oh, sorry…my doubts must be showing.
Editor’s note: Please refer back to this entry of SET to learn more about the Archive of Teach Effectively.—JohnL
#Olds #Motivating #insufficient
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