How can I motivate low-achieving students?

Unfortunately, in today's schools often students are passed into higher classes when they haven't yet mastered the skills in the lower classes. Teachers who seem to be less interested than you simply pass the students into the next class, saying, "He'll be fine." Some of these students experience this for years. It's not uncommon for a student to be lacking skills that he/she should have learned in third grade, but it's not discovered until he/she enters high school because well-meaning or disinterested teachers just keep passing them along. Some of your low-achieving Algebra I students may not be doing well in algebra because they don't know pre-algebra, geometry, or even possibly basic arithmetic. Since being able to do math is cumulative (you can't do long division without knowing how to multiply, for example), having missed something in the past can really affect them into the future. You can't do much for these students except encourage them to study on their own, or (if you are allowed) encourage them to get a tutor. (Be careful with this one: in the state where I live, if a teacher recommends a particular tutor, the school district is responsible to pay for it, which doesn't make the school district happy!)

If you feel that the kids are prepared for the material and yet are zoning out in class, it might be the result of a neurochemical problem, like Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Not all people with ADHD are "hyperactive", but all of them basically have problems with concentrating on schoolwork, keeping track of assignments, and so forth. When you're working one-on-one with these students you might be able to keep their attention focused for long enough that they have a chance of capturing the material before their minds move on to something else, but when they're in class they have nothing to keep their minds from wandering. If you suspect psychological difficulties of this type, you might want to refer the students to a school counselor and/or discuss it with the parents. Another possibility is that the students are doing drugs, which can cause students to manifest some of the same psychological symptoms.

Also, society teaches students, girls in particular, that math is hard and they just can't get it. When you're encouraging them to continue working on a hard problem, you're working against all of that societal pre-programming. That's hard, but a few experiences with success could help students who have that problem.

Seriously, though, I suspect that the great majority of the students you're describing are giving up because the material is just too far beyond their level of skills, or because psychological problems are getting in the way of their learning.

Absolutely DO NOT make anything a competition with "math phobic" or low achieving students unless you really want them to tune out or become behavior problems. You are on the right path with offering one on one help, although I understand you don't have time to this everyday. If possible, could you create a group that works at a slower pace or has fewer questions? Most texts and curriculum now come with "Alternative" worksheets and guidelines for working with underachieving students. Also these students usually respond to hands on and manipulatives...(It's EVEN availiable in Algebra and Geometry) If despite your 'best practice' efforts, the students are still not performing I would consider contacting your Learning Disability expert or teacher in your building. Even if your students don't qualify, she or he will definately be able to give you some resourses for working with difficult kids.

Classroom teaching, existing tutoring, and mentoring programs are only effective if a student wants to take advantage of them. An alarming number of unmotivated elementary and middle school children do not. On Giants' Shoulders solely addresses motivation. Unless motivated, students are unlikely to embrace the learning process or participate in tutoring, homework help or other types of mentoring programs.

Imagine yourself as a pupil in a subject you could not properly understand. What would it feel like to be given tasks you could not cope with? What would encourage you?

Have you tried practical activities that directly involve pupils and which are achievable at various levels of complexity? Could you make the activities investigative? Are your pupils allowed to work as small teams (2 or 3) to solve problems/find solutions?

Would you give up when faced with something beyond your conceptual level?

i think of that this is an exceedingly stable question, and that i'm hoping that many human beings will examine this, using fact I hear plenty 'adverse motivation' leveled in direction of infants fantastically in game. I continually proceed to inspire my youngsters whilst they do properly, using fact they're going to have mess ups in existence, and that i'm no longer continually going to be around. i think that they ought to continually shop up wish...that no longer something is over until eventually this is over, and not something may well be performed by potential of being adverse. finally, i'm hoping they're getting to grasp to maintain issues in attitude. existence is plenty bigger than a soccer recreation or a math grade.

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seriously you got to offer something to them u shouldnt but being 17 i just cut that stage a couple years ago i had straight d's! just make it fun interesting and tell them if they dont bring up grades theyll be in the same grade next year and parents will get a letter in the mail about progress that always scared me!

Just try to make it fun and competitive,try making up some kind of game & give extra credit points.Competition can get the juices going.

I dont have the answer..but its nice to see a teacher that cares :-)

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