Middle School Report – May 15, 2015

Boys, Motivation and Success

Successful learners are motivated to learn. They want to meet the challenge of a new task, master it, increase their knowledge, understanding and competence, and satisfy their interest and curiosity. Such students tend to seek more challenging tasks, make greater effort, show greater persistence in the face of difficulty, use more effective learning strategies and show higher achievement levels.

Student motivation, research suggests, is closely linked to the belief that success in school is possible for them.

However, motivation alone does not ensure successful educational outcomes for boys.

Rather, motivating boys is only one of a number of complex factors that create educational success for boys.

Boys’ expectations of success are high when:

-¢ They have a strong belief in their capacity to do what is necessary to succeed with school work

-¢ They believe that success is contingent on their own behaviour rather than being attributable to some external influence over which they have no control

-¢ They have a firm sense of self-worth and do not feel the need to engage in counter-productive, self-protective and failure-avoiding behaviours

-¢ Their level of achievement anxiety is not so high that it has a damaging effect on learning and performance.

What’s your learning style?

Over the course of the year the boys will spend time exploring their learning styles. Listed are some ideas to support differing styles.

Visual learners make up about 35% of the population. If you are a visual learner, you will remember things best when you’ve seen them.

Write things down to help you learn them:

ï‚· Draw pictures, charts and maps to help you understand things.

ï‚· Use mind-mapping

ï‚· Use planners, organisers or goal-setting charts.

ï‚· Highlight important points with colour.

ï‚· Try visualising ideas and facts in your mind.

ï‚· Try changing places in the room while you’re studying, to get a different perspective.

ï‚· Use models if they’re available.

ï‚· When you need to revise, read over and recopy your notes.

Auditory learners make up about 25% of the population. If you are an auditory learner, you will learn best when you are listening.

The key thing is to make use of sound:

ï‚· Talk things through as you learn them, with a friend or group of friends.

ï‚· Get a friend to read aloud to you.

ï‚· When you have to learn facts, try reciting them to yourself, or even singing them aloud.

ï‚· Find out if you study best in silence, or with music playing in the background.

Kinaesthetic learners make up about 40% of the population.

If you are what’s called a Kinaesthetic learner, you will learn best when you’re moving around:

ï‚· Move around as you learn and revise.

ï‚· Work through problems physically.

ï‚· Mentally review what you’ve been studying while you’re swimming or jogging.

ï‚· Use models or machines when you can.