Empowering the Un-Motivated

Undoubtedly, every year teachers have their handful of students that seem less interested in their class and more interested in the opposite sex, the next big game, or when they get to home and chat. While most of these students have the skills necessary to be successful, they are highly unmotivated and struggle when pushed. As teachers, there is a delicate balance needed between pushing these students and empowering them in their classroom.

Enter the flipped class...my means of reaching the various needs of ALL our students. You see, the flip class puts less emphasis on the video lesson and more emphasis on the learning opportunities created within your classroom. Simply put, I value the time I have with students too much to lecture to them for 30 minutes. I want the time I have with them to be more productive and meaningful.

How do I empower the unmotivated you might wonder? It's a rather simple approach. First and foremost, I get to know them as an individual. I need to build trust and respect with them so they understand my intentions are genuine. I seek out their interest and hobbies, the methods they feel work best for their learning, and their struggles within my class and school.  This picture that they paint for me provides valuable information moving forward.

After I have build this trust, I am able to begin pushing them slowly to show me what they know and have learned.  In the flipped class, students are all at different places of learning.  Some are experts, while others are only beginners. My ability to differentiate between these students is critical to empowering them to push themselves.  Frequently, I offer enrichment activities to students that have shown they have mastered a skill.

Many of these enrichment activities take a skill learned and dig a little deeper.  Group work is often involved and students like to see how a topic might be related to something in 'real-life'. I am also able to tailor some of these enrichment activities to student interest - hence I can reach the unmotivated rather easily.  Students enjoy their FLEX time in my class and the ability to work on something that interests them and they enjoy.

Meanwhile, I am able to meet with those struggling learners and provide them a bit more attention to help them overcome an obstacle they have encountered.  If an unmotivated learners fails into this category, I can again fall back on the relationship I have built with them to help them see where they can go. These small-group, guided instruction opportunities have proved very valuable to many unmotivated learners and they begin to realize they are capable of far more than they give themselves credit for.

I cannot speak for every teacher, but I can speak for myself.  I know I got into teaching to make a difference in the lives of as many students as possible. My flipped class experience has truly helped me maximize the students I can reach and enable ALL students the opportunity to learn and grow in math as they are ready.  Creating more face-to-face time with students has been critical in empowering all students to want to become better at math!

"If you aren't making mistakes....then you aren't trying!"