Three strategies to boost students' academic motivation
Joy Mbakwe, Head of English at Lilian Baylis Technology School, explores the impact of lockdown on learners and three strategies to boost students' academic motivation.
Lockdown for our learners
The pupils I serve did not spend the lockdown baking banana bread, going for long walks, and learning new hobbies. Many of my students live in incredibly challenging contexts and school presents itself as a haven – a haven that became inaccessible to them unexpectedly. Unable to connect with the world physically, all of my students sought safety and solace in their mobile phones, reporting screen time use of up to 18 hours a day. Their mobiles became everything; alarms to ensure they logged onto the online classroom, a source of community as they scrolled through TikTok, and a place where they could uphold emblems of normality by keeping their ‘streaks’ going over on Snapchat – because even though there is pandemic, one must never lose a streak.
How would their varying experiences of lockdown manifest in the classroom? As teachers, we were both unsure and fearful. Would they arrive unrecognisable to us all? Our CPD sessions were not spent agonising over how to extract the best GCSE results from them, but rather on how we might better account for, and then negate, the negative impacts of isolation.
When students returned...
When our students finally did return in March 2021, I initially thought that they were largely similar to the students who had left four months prior. However, upon teaching my first lesson with my Year 11 class, I realised quickly that things had changed. When I asked my first open question, instead of the arms flying up enthusiastically, I was met with 28 pairs of eyes: some nervous, some fearful and others completely cold. Nobody said a word. The silence was palpable. This chilling moment set the tone for the rest of the academic year.
During their time away, my students had become disengaged with the academic experience. School had become a negotiable routine, one that they had existed without for long enough to question its necessity.
"As teachers, we had prepared ourselves for many outcomes, but not for disillusionment, indifference and an overwhelming sense of defeatism."
As teachers, we had prepared ourselves for many outcomes, but not for disillusionment, indifference and an overwhelming sense of defeatism. According to the students, the government had scrapped exams so why were they still in school? Upon learning that a semblance of exams would go ahead, they were unable to reverse the effects of lockdown and join us in our fight towards the finish line. The false starts of the year had caused them to exchange their running shoes for slippers.
Seven months on...
It is now seven months on, and I am met with a different phenomenon. My students want to do well in their upcoming GCSEs but there is a cloud hanging over them, the uncertainty of tomorrow.
"What if there is another lockdown, Miss?"
"Will our exams really go ahead?"
In Pearson’s autumn insight insight survey, teachers were asked to consider how their cohorts are usually doing at this point in the year, and identify areas in which their current pupils are either further ahead, or not as far ahead, as a result of the pandemic. Reduced academic motivation was reported by 34% of primary school teachers and 45% of secondary school teachers.
Boosting academic motivation
This is an incredibly challenging time for teachers; an indelible air of uncertainty hovers over our classrooms. There is a sense that we cannot truly move forward. But we must. Lockdown has impacted our learners, but we must strive to boost their academic motivation:
Strategy 1: Connecting to the world outside
Each lesson is formed around a ‘line of enquiry, a big picture question that reinforces the relevance of the subject. If students can clearly see a subject's relevance, this can positively impact engagement with them and ensure they become motivated to stay on the learning journey. In my English class for example, when studying Romeo and Juliet, a learning objective exploring Tybalt’s character might be: To understand Tybalt’s aggressive nature. An enquiry question, however, would be:
How does toxic masculinity shape interactions between men?
Such a question allows the class to engage in critical discussions about the text itself and the outside world.
Strategy 2: Positive expectations
It is vital that our classrooms are informed by positive expectations:
What does excellent learning look like?
What do you desire from each student in the room at any given moment?
Have a clear picture of what this looks like, express it to your students and reinstate these expectations at the start of every lesson.
It’s not a secret that goal setting leads to increased motivation in a school environment, so bring this into your classes daily and create a learning environment when students are constantly achieving and therefore motivating them to achieve further.
Strategy 3: Powerful praise
As practitioners, we can often overlook the power of praise. Spend that time making the phone call home when your student works hard.
Email stakeholders – heads of year, form tutors – when a student who historically does not engage decides to do so.
Showcase a student’s great piece of work to the classroom. Praise students publicly, and often, and they will become motivated to work hard.
And finally… What you believe matters
‘Anyone can learn anything. Anyone can become anything.’ Our expectations of our students have the capacity to transform their educational experience. What is your belief about what your students can achieve? Let’s begin there.
Joy Mbakwe is Head of English at Lilian Baylis Technology School. You can follow her on twitter and Instagram @msjoymbakwe.