Tuesday 9 May 2017

Phase 2 of the project: The research part :How to motivate our students

Instead of statistical presentations like the ones presented in Lithuania (and in Spain), students will present something simpler and instantly usable for dissemination.
They will produce lists of
(a) the 10 most commonly used teaching strategies & behaviours
(b) the 10 most common responses to the open question (final question on the questionnaires) and interviews (combined)
(c) the 5 most demotivating strategies & behaviours (data from the interviews).
They will then compare and contrast (and present as a summary in any way they like) the teachers’ perceived use of strategies & behaviours with student beliefs about which strategies & behaviours motivate them. Eg: The results may show that teachers never / rarely use humour as a strategy / behaviour in their lessons … but students feel this motivates them. OR Experiments are commonly conducted and these motivate. Based on, of course, YOUR population’s results.
The above mentioned summary can be used to make suggestions to teachers in our schools.
Below are a few practical notes which may help our students to understand better where to find the information they need for these tasks.
1) The questionnaire data for Science and EFL will be used to make the lists of:
  • The ten most commonly used strategies / behaviours by teachers (according to student perceptions) in Science / Mathematics lessons
  • The ten most commonly used strategies / behaviours by teachers (according to student perceptions) in EFL lessons.
1st = most used… 10th = 10th most used. *see example below
2) The open questions (Q. 24 in the EFL and Q. 21 in the Science questionnaires) will allow us to make a list of strategies and behaviours students find motivational.
3) We all already have the interview comments on motivation for both the Science and EFL settings. The students will be able to combine the interview comments with the students’ responses from the final question on the questionnaires to create one list for Science and one for EFL.
4) We already have the interview comments on Demotivation in the Science and EFL classrooms so nothing needs doing here.

VOLUNTARY EXTRA PART
I am only mentioning this because we have decided to do this at Lykeio Polemidion. No one else needs to do it if they do not want to. It was not a part of our project proposal. IF any of you DO want to do it, it might be interesting to compare our centralised school system with a more autonomous school system.
The students will conduct short interviews with volunteer teachers. The list of strategies which students find motivational will be shown to these teachers (see number 3 above). The aim is to learn from teachers how much the curriculum and syllabus affects their choice of strategies used in lessons. Is there sufficient time available to conscientiously try to include some of the possible strategies? Would the strategies be appropriate? If not, which are not (in general or for a particular age group / group of students).

* EXAMPLE: The rank order of perceived Motivational Strategies and Behaviours use
Show that they respect, accept and care about each of their students
Give clear instructions
Make sure grades reflect not only your achievement but also the effort you put into in the task.
Establish a good relationship with the students
Create a supportive and pleasant classroom climate where students are free from embarrassment and ridicule
Notice students’ contributions and progress, and provide them with positive feedback
Motivate you by increasing the amount of English they use in class.
Show their enthusiasm for teaching English by being committed.
Familiarize the learners with the cultural background of the English language
Try to be themselves in front of the class without putting on an artificial ‘mask’, and sharing with you their hobbies, likes and dislikes

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