Monday, April 9, 2012
Motivation
I have been working with a little kiddo all year on working efficiently and staying focused. I have tried to use different techniques to keep him on task to get his work done. I have become very frustrated! It gets to the point that if I don't sit right next to him and "hold" his hands he will not get the work done. I am trying to back away at the this point in the year, to get him ready for next year. There are several times that I have given him the time to finish and extra time also I have told him the time that he needs to be finished and then if he is not done then he will get a grade done or not. This may or may not be the right thing to do, but I have gotten to the point many days that I have to let him fail. I do worry that in third grade he will have a very hard time and will not make it. Does anyone have suggestions on how to help get these types of kids for the rest of this year and to help get ready for next year?
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I have one student that is very similar to this. He knew that he struggled with tasks more than the rest of the class, and often got very down on himself. Because of this, he would sit and do absolutely nothing during challenging activities. I had a conversation about what it looked like to be trying his best--that his work might not look the same as everyone else's but that he would still know he had worked hard. Then, he was on a chart for each subject area where we decided together if he had done his best. If he did his best all day, he got to choose a job to do: clean up the kitchen center, turn off the lights, tidy the library,etc. He earned it because he showed responsibility.
ReplyDeleteFor this particular student, it worked great. He is much more prone to work hard on his own, though he occasionally needs to be asked what it looks like to do his best.
I think some sort of sticker chart/reward system might also be a good idea.
ReplyDeleteI know that it can be more work if you have a student stay in from recess, but most kids enjoy that time as a social piece. Maybe reminding that student that he will have to stay in from recess if things aren't completed might work? I know it is difficult because you're sacrificing some of your own time, but it might cause that student to think twice about doing nothing. Maybe you could talk to some mature students about helping to motivate this student as well. If they sit in groups or pods in your room, maybe pull a student aside and ask that student to be extra encouraging towards this student.
Just ideas, let me know how things go.
For many of my students with "off-task" needs, I have implemented a self-monitoring system (more for the younger grades) or point sheet system. Outlining specific "on-task" behaviors during a designated work time (i.e., stayed in seat, made progress on work [wrote something down], and kept body quiet). These behaviors go on a small check-list on their desk (usually lay one on the desk with whatever assignment they are working on). Every 5-minutes of work time, staff will check-in with the student and put a tally in a column for behavior if they met the criteria for the 5 minutes. When all behaviors expectations are met during the work time, they earn a special activity/reward in the classsroom.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty much what Erin suggested :), it is very effective as a visual/explicit reminder for the student to stay on task, increase positive attention from you, and motivation. This has worked for many of my students.