Rose Ferrero School
Week Of: February 7-18, 2022
QUOTES OF THE WEEK THAT WE SHARED WITH OUR STUDENTS
NATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELOR WEEK
NOTE: In recognition of National School Counselor’s Week (February 7 – 11), we are going to feature a piece on our Rose Ferrero Counselor, Mrs. Malena Schoch. The following comes from an interview conducted with Mrs. Schoch earlier in the week.
The Basics: Malena Schoch has worked in the Soledad Unified School District since August of 1998, and she has served as Rose Ferrero’s School Counselor since 2012.
Childhood: Malena was born in Morelia, Michoacan Mexico. Her father was a Bracero and immigrated his family to the USA in 1968. She grew up in a farm working family that worked the fields of the Southern Salinas Valley. Malena attended elementary school in Greenfield and went on to graduate from King City High School in 1985.
Education: Malena received her AA degree from Hartnell College, then transferred to U.C. Santa Cruz where she received a B.A. in Psychology in 1998; On Dec. 2002, Malena earned her Pupil Personnel Services Credential; and on December of 2002, she received her M.A. in Education (Counseling & Student Personnel).
What Inspired Her to be a School Counselor: When asked, Malena will tell you that during her early college years, she worked as a tutor for California Mini-Corps. In this statewide program, she was trained to provide instructional services for migrant students. As she worked closely with students and teachers, Malena says that she was able to see how much of a difference a caring person could make. Therefore, she was inspired to want to advocate and help those who need just “a little more”.
Now as a School Counselor, Malena provides counseling services to all students - from teaching students to develop resiliency skills, to being able to provide a safe place when they need it. Finally, Malena has been Rose Ferrero’s School Counselor during the seven years I have been here at Rose Ferrero, and it would be an absolute understatement to simply say that I have “learned a lot” from her. Malena is, and has been, much more than our school counselor … what she does/the service she provides for everyone on our site – students, teachers, and her administrator – is much more than priceless … she is our go-to for everything SEL and so much more. I often say, at the end of such recognition pieces, how we could not do what we do here at Rose Ferrero without you. Never have I meant that statement as much as I do now as I refer to you. Thank you so much for being you and doing everything you do.
LCAP GOAL 5: TEACHER SUPPORT – Intrinsic Motivators to Get and Keep Students Engaged
In Alfie Kohn’s book Punished by Rewards, he discusses how manipulating people with incentives seems to work in the short run, but it is a strategy that ultimately fails and even does lasting harm. So, when you think of something you love to do that also requires some effort and commitment, what motivates you to do it? As you think about what keeps you motivated to play the guitar, playing pick-up basketball, or going on long hikes, the chances are it may simply be that you enjoy the challenge of it, or you love the camaraderie of the group. Well, the students in your classroom are no different. I mean, we are all driven by the same intrinsic motivators—psychological needs that keep us energized and engaged with pursuits: autonomy, belonging, competence, purpose, fun, and curiosity.
The need for self-direction is vitally important if we want students to be self-motivated. Learners are more likely to be fired up and excited about their work when they have some power and control over what or how they're learning. In fact, according to Richard Ryan and Edward Deci, the cocreators of self-determination theory, autonomy is perhaps the most essential of intrinsic motivators. There are many ways to increase students' sense of autonomy in the classroom, but perhaps the most obvious is to offer them choices about their learning. Let students choose how they demonstrate their understanding of science or social studies content. Give students the choice of where to work or which materials to use as they learn. Even simple choices can help meet students' need for self-direction.
2. Belonging
Although Deci and Ryan argue that autonomy is the most important of the intrinsic motivators, the theory of human motivation makes the case that people's needs for connection and affiliation are practically as important as our most basic needs for food, water, shelter, and safety. We know that students crave a sense of belonging and connection with others, so let's make sure to meet that need through their academic work. Of course, collaborative learning structures are efficient ways to foster a sense of belonging between students. Group projects, lab partners, book clubs, Socratic Seminars, and even simple think-pair-shares are all ways to connect students through daily academic work. It is important to recognize, however, that we have to do more than put kids in groups and tell them to cooperate. Students need direct instruction and guided practice to build social skills, just as they do academic skills. Let's offer students the skill-building and support they need so group work can be a positive and productive experience. We need to make sure that classroom communities are safe and inclusive spaces where all students feel like they belong. Let's not count on icebreakers and get-to-know-each-other activities in the first weeks of school to build group cohesion. This is an ongoing and year-long endeavor that we can support through effective collaborative learning.
In Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, John Hattie and Gregory Yates make the point that we are all “motivated by knowledge gaps but demotivated by knowledge chasms.” This speaks to the importance of students having a sense of competence. When challenges are within reach, and when students see themselves growing and getting better at something, they are more motivated. This, of course, is why differentiation is so important—not just because the just-right challenge level allows for incredible cognitive growth, but because it creates learning experiences that are pleasurable. When learning is too hard, it's frustrating. When it's too easy, it's boring. It's the just-right sweet spot where learning can be fun. Too often, however, we make differentiation harder than it needs to be. Although sometimes it might be important to differentiate the instruction, usually we can create differentiated learning options for the whole class and help students learn how to choose their just-right fit. These options might include assignments, demonstrations of learning, or tasks to complete.
4. Purpose
Students should never have to ask, “Why do we have to do this?” A question like that would mean they're searching for purpose. Students need to know the why as well as the what and the how. As educators we must be careful not to emphasize grown-up reasons that make sense to us but may not resonate with our students. We must be able to offer them purpose that matters to them in the moment. Some schoolwork, like project-based and service learning, is already loaded with purpose. Then there are times when you might need to manufacture some purpose. One way to do this is by having students create a real product (such as a book or movie) and/or share their learning with a meaningful audience.
Should all schoolwork be fun? Of course not. But if we can make our lessons more fun, why wouldn't we? A little play can go a long way. There are tons of benefits (in addition to self-motivation) of play. It can help build skills of confidence and social competence while also supporting language development, literacy skills, and self-regulation. Perhaps there are some games you can weave into instruction. There's Kahoot! but there are plenty of other options to explore as well. You might want to invite students to create their own games that are aligned to the content. Even finding simple ways of adding dice, dominos, spinners, and cards into an activity can boost students' engagement.
6. Curiosity
Your students bring a plethora of interests into your classroom. They are skateboarders, social justice advocates, chess and soccer players, pianists, and gamers. When we find ways of connecting learning goals to students' interests—the things they're naturally curious about—they will be more invested.
Centering Your Teaching Around Intrinsic Motivation
Do you want to energize student learning with intrinsic motivators but aren't sure where to start? These ideas (in addition to the ones shared above) can help.
Look for high-impact practices: Not all students are motivated in the same ways. Some might value purpose more than curiosity, while others might crave competence over fun. Therefore, look for classroom practices that hit multiple motivators at the same time. For example, independent research projects allow students to choose (autonomy) to learn more about something they're interested in (curiosity), create projects (fun) to share with others (purpose and belonging), all while mastering new content (competence). Project-based learning, reading and writing workshops, whole-class projects, and simulations are just a few others to consider.
Stop incentivizing learning: If you want students to be motivated from within, you need to stop trying to motivate them from without. Decades of research have shown that incentive systems undermine intrinsic motivation. This is one of the reasons it's so hard to have students who are truly self-motivated about learning in the presence of traditional grading systems. The more students focus on incentives (stickers, grades, pizza parties, etc.), the less they focus on learning.
Increase student choice: Choice is one of the most effective ways to tap into many intrinsic motivators. Find small ways of boosting student choice—and make sure to help students learn how to choose well!
Emphasize student ownership as you talk about learning: Even if there are tons of intrinsic motivators cooked into a learning experience, if you still talk about learning as if you own the work (“Here are three things you're going to do for me in this next activity”), students might feel stuck in a mindset of compliance. Make sure to talk about the work through their eyes, not yours (“Here are three things you get to do in this next activity").
Start small: Take a look at an upcoming lesson or unit through the lens of the six intrinsic motivators. There are surely several present already. Which ones are especially strong? Are there any that could be strengthened? Find one or two small ways of tapping into these motivators.
Still stumped? Ask your students! Sometimes, when struggling to find ways of connecting with intrinsic motivators, ask your students for help. You never know what they might come up with; it could be the best project you do all year.
THREE REMINDERS:
1). Teachers: Please make sure all students are wearing a mask while indoors anywhere on campus and remind your students to use hand-sanitizer and/or wash their hands thoroughly many times throughout the day.
2). Teachers: Please remember to, personally, check your mailboxes periodically – at least once before lunch. And on that note, check your email from time to time as well. Thanks.
3). Teachers: Please keep in mind that assessment capable learning means that students can assess their own learning – they are aware of their current level of understanding in a learning area, they understand their learning path and are confident enough to take on the challenge. In order for students to understand how to do this, they need to have clear learning intentions and success criteria.
ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY WEEKEND!
