1. Motivation Batteries Not Included: Based on Rick Lavoie’s book
The Motivation Breakthrough
6 Secrets to Turning On the Tuned-Out Child
Karen Irmer
Stephanie Leccese
Andie Merkowitz

2. Batteries Not Included
Is it a teacher’s job to communicate information, facts, and concepts? Should students be equipped with motivation before arriving in the classroom? Or is it the teacher’s job to help excite and motivate their students?
Motivation – teachers who motivate do not necessarily make learning fun, but they make it attainable and purposeful.

3. Motivation Myth #1 “…NOTHING motivates that kid.”
All human behavior is motivated.
A student with their head on the desk, refusing to participate. Is this student unmotivated?
Difference between lack of motivation and misdirected motivation.
Examples Rick Lavoie gave – if someone stops listening to this lecture, they were motivated to stop listening. A friend may be motivated to end a relationship. He may not be motivated to learn math – instead he may be motivated to avoid failure, prevent frustration, or angering the teacher.
Bathroom beatings – student who broke his glasses the first Thursday of each month because the teacher had the poor readers come to the front of the room on the first Thursday to read to the rest of the class.

4. Motivation Myth #2 “one day he’s motivated, the next day he’s not”
Psychology recognizes motivation as a relative constant.
Performance, productivity, and progress may vary from day
Poor school performance and productivity are temporary; motivation is permanent.
Relative constant – if a child is motivated to do something (learn math), he is motivated to learn math all the time. If not motivated to learn math, he’s not motivated all of the time.
Substitute love for motivation – example of a marriage, when love is a constant, but temporary feelings may change day to day. May be annoyed in the morning, but if you heard your partner was suddenly ill or hurt, you would remember that love.

5. Motivation Myth #3 “Give him something; that will motivate him”
Rewards as incentives – they may influence behavior, but not motivation
Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivators (sticker charts) - lead to students surrendering self-assessment
Students need to feel personal satisfaction for a job well done
If a father promises a child $5 for every A, or Grandma says to get dessert you must eat your vegetables – the child may work hard to get A’s, or eat their vegetables, but the goal isn’t really to do well, it’s to get the money. And the child isn’t eating to satisfy hunger, the goal is to get dessert. The goal should be to progress in school and learn new skills – not earn money.
Our goal with children is to foster lasting motivation that is inspired by their desire to learn and grow.
Sticker charts can be beneficial to help students learn and remember house/school rules. However, when used as an attempt to motivate students, they often become unable to monitor their own daily progress and make statements such as, “I must have been good today, I got two stickers.” or “I guess I was bad – no stickers today.” The students are unaware of which behaviors have earned which stickers, and are surrendering the entire self-assessment process to the teacher with the stickers. Too many students think, and say, to teachers, “What will I get if I get this right?”
Extrinsic motivator for us – salaries. But we work daily for our desire to serve our students and for the satisfaction we get from our job. We may not work without the intrinsic motivator, but our service to the students is what truly fosters our day-to-day motivation. Finding the spark that drives students, and having them realize their full potential is the student’s motivators. Learning becomes it’s own reward, and students stop relying on approval from adults.

6. How to Foster Intrinsic Motivation
Encourage students to set and establish individual goals for themselves
Students goals must be attainable and appropriate
Setting goals that each student can reach is the first step in fostering intrinsic motivation. Student begin to meet their goals, and begin to work for the sense of achievement. All students may have trouble setting reasonable goals, it is the teacher’s job to help make sure goals are attainable. Students with learning disorders often have great difficult establishing the performance goals and often aim too high (I want to be captain of the soccer team and score three goals per game) or too low (I know that I’ll never get to play, everyone else is better than me). An attainable goal would be to attend particpate in all practices, and score an assist at some time during the first four games.

7. Motivation Myth #4 Competition: The Great Motivator
The only person motivated by competition is the person who believes that he has a chance of winning.
We do our best work when we compete against ourselves – not against others
As adults, we compete when we choose to compete
Cooperative vs. Competitive
Schools are moving towards inclusion models, but special ed. students are often the casualties of competition driven classrooms. Studies from UMass indicate that competitive classroom activities (games, quizzes, bees) occupy nearly 80 percent on on-task time in elementary school.
In a spelling bee – the good spellers are motivated, they believe they can win. The struggling spellers are terrified.
Boston Marathon – 20,000 people show up, there are only two prizes. Only 20 or 30 elite runners think they have a chance. The other 19,970 people are there to compete against themselves.
People say competition prepares kids for the big, tough world out there. But adults can choose to compete in golf tournaments, apply for a new job, join a tennis ladder, etc. Similarly, adults compete with peers of similar background, training, experience, etc.
When students work cooperatively, their success depends on the success of everyone in the group. Competitive activities ensure that one student’s success depends on the failure of another student. Rick Lavoie’s book goes into depth about the importance of interdependence, accountability, and classroom strategies to help foster inclusion classroom models.

8. Motivation Myth #5 Punishment is an effective motivator
Punishment (as a motivator) is ineffective and short-term
Punishment is effective only as long as the threat of punishment exists – it doesn’t increase motivation.
Children tend to associate punishment with the punisher, not the offending behavior.
Many students, particularly those who have a history of academic difficulty, have been punished enough. They have lost recesses, had priveleges revoked, and written his transgressions 10 thousand times, and been sent to the office a countless number of times.
When speeding, you slow down if you see a cruiser. Not because you are suddenly motivated to do the right thing, but to avoid punishment. When the cruiser isn’t behind you anymore, you increase your speed again.

9. Performance Inconsistency
Most students with learning disabilities will have performance inconsistency
Internal clock theory
Good-day folders
Studies have show that for many students with learning disabilities, they have good days and bad days. A student told Rick Lavoie that he has come to realize that on his bad days, it doesn’t matter how much he’s studied, he won’t do well. And on a good day, he doesn’t even have to study, but can still ace a test.
Rick has a theory that many LD students have more than one internal clock running, and occasionally all of those clocks are in sync. Those are the good days. The other day the students are having internal battles with their clocks, and is confused and out of sync with their environment. Some teachers see these good days as ‘proof’ that students are lazy the other days.
Rick Lavoie explained to one of his classes that everyone was going to have days that were harder than others, and days that went well. He created hot pink folders for each student, and in each folder was some work that was particularly challenging for that student. When either Rick or student felt the student was having a good day, they would work on their ‘Good Day folders’ and soon students were asking for them when they felt ready. This demonstrates that students can understand and compensate for an aspect of their learning style.

10. Learned Helplessness
Students with similar symptoms may not have the same learning disability
Learned helplessness – when a student feels that they are helpless, they stop trying completely.
Students often have automatic negative thoughts.
Two patients can present with excruciating headaches – one may have a cerebral tumor and the other has season allergies. The treatments are vastly different, but symptoms were identical. Learning disabilities can be similar. Several students may have their heads on their desks and not be working, and all three may be called lazy, but one may be exhibiting signs of learned helplessness.
Studies done with dogs and escaping shock – they are taught to move into a separate chamber to avoid shock. When put in a cage where they can’t avoid shock, and then returned to the chambered cage, they don’t move into the safe chamber.
Example – If your car doesn’t work, you call the mechanic. Because you ask for help without trying to solve the problem, you’re not lazy, you have learned helplessness. If an auto mechanic does the same thing, that’s lazy. Same behavior, different diagnosis.
Rick’s example of a student with learned helplessness was when he announced in a math class, “We’re going to learn something new today!” and a student instantly raised his hand and said, “I don’t know how to do that!”

11. Three Steps to Combat Learned Helplessness
1. Understand and embrace the nature of learned helplessness
2. Change the student’s thought process and adjust his belief that fear is inevitable.
3. Contradictory evidence
Elephant who doesn’t pull off the skinny chain that held them when they were babies, but wouldn’t hold them as adults, but they don’t even try.
The degree that students are optimistic or pessimistic about their academic abilities is determined by his belief that he has control over his skills. A student who knows he has control understands he failed a test because he didn’t study hard enough, or got an A because he did his homework every night. A student who doesn’t believe has control believes he fails simply because he’s dumb, or that the teacher doesn’t like him.
Ask a student what they would do if they were accused of stealing something – and they will come up with the idea of finding evidence that contradicts the accusation. Then they must be taught that their negative thought patterns are accusing him falsely, and he needs contradictory evidence to prove the thoughts wrong.

12. Primary Needs Hunger Thirst Air/Rest Elimination of Waste
Escape from Pain…
…..Embarrassment
Rick Lavoie firmly believes that all students should have access to food and water if they are hungry and/or thirsty. Many medications make students thirsty and/or hungry, and it’s not always within their control. He believes that if students have access to water and crackers in a classroom, few students will take advantage of snacking to escape work, and the majority of students will have increased performance because of it.
For air/rest, some students need to be able to move around the classroom, take a quick walk, or have recess. Example- Beth, who desperately needed recess after two hours of school but would anticipate recess so much that she’d be anxious and often misbehave, and then have recess taken away. Rick actually added into her IEP that Beth should never be removed from recess unless there was a medical issue, because it affected her performance so greatly.

13. Definition of Adolescence
“The 24 hour a day, 7 day a week, 365 day battle to not be embarrassed”
Any kid would rather be viewed as bad than dumb

14. Secondary Needs The Eight Forces of Motivation
Gregariousness
Autonomy
Status
Inquisitiveness
Aggression
Power
Recognition
Affiliation
Each person has a unique set of motivators that inspire and lead them to action. Everyone’s pattern is different, and every child in a classroom has a unique set of factors that motivate. Interestingly, motivation is one of the few psychological aspects that remain consistent throughout a person’s life span.
Gregariousness - the need to belong. The gregarious person is happy in a crowd, many friends and close relationships. Relishes committee work, does not enjoy solitary or independent projects.
Autonomy – the need for independence. This person relishes the opportunity to work independently, and dislikes committee work. They are inspired by solitary projects that are totally dependent upon their own performance.
Status – the need to be important. This person’s self-esteem is intricately tied to the opinion of others. The person motivated by status is greatly concerned with the viewpoints of others, regarding their own performance and progress.
Inquisitiveness – the need to know. This person is extremely curious and hungry for new information. This inquisitiveness is usually not limited to an area of expertise, instead this person enjoys learning about nearly any topic. An inquisitive person wants and values information and feels uncomfortable if she believes that information is being kept from her.
Aggression - the need to assert. A person’s need for aggression is not necessarily negative, aggression can be channeled into positive activities such as leadership and being assertive. Aggressive people are willing, even eager, to confront perceived injustice or unfairness, are interested in expanding their sphere or influence and want their feelings and opinions to be recognized and responded to.
Power – the need for control. A person with strong power needs is greatly concerned with control and influence. Power driven people relish responsibility and authority. Interestingly, people who strive for power may have strong, or very weak, self-esteem. The need for power may have its origin in feelings of confidence and superiority, or it may come from a feeling of helplessness and inferiority.
Recognition – the need for acknowledgement. These people are driven by a need to be recognized and acknowledged for their accomplishments and efforts.
Affiliation – the need to associate and belong. The affiliation person has a strong need to be connected with others and with organizations, movements and institutions. These people gather great strength from the affiliations and they garner a great sense of belonging and identity from these relationships.

15. 6 Ways to Motivate Not every child is motivated by the same thing
Praise
Prizes
Prestige
Projects
People
Power
Praise – motivates the status-driven or recognition driven or affiliation-driven child. Praise motivates some students more than others, but all students benefit from the correct kind of praise. Praise should target the effort, not the intelligence of the student. Over-praising can lead to less motivation, as students can begin to only perform tasks that will garner praise. Instead of just praising students, teachers can use encouragement, interest, and enthusiasm.
Prizes – motivate the status-driven or recognition-driven or affiliation-driven or power-driven child. Using prizes, checklists, and reward systems is the most commonly used motivational approach in America’s schools. The problem with this system is the assumption that the students are able to perform the behaviors that will earn stickers but choose not to. For students with neurological based learning disorders or attentional problems, this may not be true. Sometimes, no matter how great the motivator, the student isn’t able to peform the task. To use rewards, teachers should use intermittent, unpublished rewards. Have a classroom reward just because the class is doing a good job. Reward students by providing them with an audience for their work. Divide large projects into several distinct steps and recognize, reward, and reinforce progress on each smaller step, instead of waiting to praise the finished project.
Prestige – motivates the autonomous or status-driven or aggressive or power-driven child. Some students who are prestige-driven have such a deep need to receive recognition, they are reluctant to take chances. Teachers can help these students stretch out of their comfort zone. These students are motivated by anything that can be magnetized to the families refrigerator: awards, certificates, etc.
Projects – motivate the autonomous or inquisitive child. Assigning projects increase a child’s focus on task, highlight each child’s strengths, foster memorization.
People – motivate the gregarious or affiliation driven child. Some students have the need to be connected to their teacher, and this often results in the exact opposite emotional reaction. Teachers should make eye contact, and attempt to connect with their students. Especially when a student is hostile or disinterested – these students usually have put up a wall for a reason, but actually need to connect. “The pain that a troubled child causes is never greater than the pain that he feels.” Listen closely, use the child’s name, avoid sarcasm, don’t carry grudges.
Power – motivates the power-driven or autonomous or aggressive child. These students are often the most misunderstood and feared children in our classrooms. Teachers are afraid these students want our power, when in reality they just want some power of their own. To diffuse the power struggle: offer minor choices, give responsibility, allow yourself to lose, and be direct with commands and statements.

16. “If he would only try harder….
Success
“If he would only try harder….
he would do better”
“If he only did better…..
he would try harder”