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Why and How...

Why do so many students lose the enthusiasm and desire to learn once they reach middle school?
How can we, as teachers, ensure that the intrinsic motivation continues?

This project was based on the frustration that has built up over my teaching career regarding the lack of true engagement of my middle school science students. Science is rich with relevant skills and concepts that my students have difficulty translating into something they will need in life. How can we better engage and motivate our students?

My Journey...

I have had some success through the years with engagement through hands on activities and especially the use of technology such as multi-media presentations of science projects, but the engagement seems superficial and temporary. Students typically enjoy my class and learn plenty of science but as soon as they walk out the classroom door, the interest disappears. Where is the persistence in asking more questions? Where is the desire to follow through and solve problems? Will they be prepared for the future if they don’t learn to see beyond the moment? Is this just biologically mandatory adolescent behavior that will eventually mature to meet my expectations? Or can my students be lured away from contemporary social distractions and learn to persevere?

After researching the brain and learning and about the unique perspective of digital native students, I decided to begin my journey with the use of more technology in the classroom. Access to computers at my school was very limited so I decided to conduct an action research project on the use of personal response systems - better known as clickers - in my classroom. Engagement improved but was limited and once again, superficial. This wasn't enough for me.

I experienced a job change and found myself in a school with more technological resources so I took advantage of this and developed lessons using video screen casts, document sharing and various interactive websites. Informal evaluation of these were all resounding successes.

Not all schools have access to the technology mine does and I wanted my project to be applicable to teachers of less privileged populations so I also developed lessons that incorporated inquiry and real world problem solving that did not rely on technology. My informal assessment of these methods also proved successful in motivating and engaging my students.

This is a work in progress and I am continually seeking new tools and methods to better engage my students and welcome ideas and suggestions from the education community.
Microscopes and clickers are engaging but is this just because they are fun to use, or do students understand the significance of them as tools for learning?