This series of posts looks at five ways to get students learning. Each has pros and cons; each is likely to be part of a teacher’s repertoire. We start where I started as a teacher…

I began my attempts to get every student learning by trying to convince them that learning mattered.

I told: I spent hours explaining the value of studying history, of specific topics, of working hard. I tried to show: I adapted the curriculum around students’ interests and experiences. I experimented: with posters encouraging learning, with displaying the names of student ‘role models of the week,’ with letting students discover the answers for themselves.

Some things worked: students appreciated being named ‘role model of the week,’ for example. Some were less effective: Year 8 managed one brilliant self-directed lesson, but never repeated this success.

I exhausted myself. Perhaps I changed the opinions of a few students.

I don’t regret my attempts: I still believe we should show students why learning is worthwhile.

But my experiments and attempts at persuasion did not create an orderly classroom, let alone inspire every student.

Reasoning may convince some students. But it’s not enough to get every student learning...

  • To what extent do you try to convince students learning matters?
  • When (for whom) does this work?
  • When (for whom) does this not work?
  • When you can’t convince students learning matters, what happens?

This is an expanded excerpt from Habits of success: getting every student learning.

Next up, rewards and sanctions.