As Wlodkowski & Ginsberg talk about in their article, their are four motivational pieces. As teachers we need to establish inclusion, develop attitude, enhance meaning, and engender competence (1995). If these conditions are put in place in an online learning community, students will become intrinsically motivated. “Rather than trying to know what to do to students, we must work with students to interpret and deepen their existing knowledge and enthusiasm for learning. From this viewpoint, motivationally effective teaching is culturally responsive teaching” (Wlodkowski & Ginsberg, 1995). This should be the end goal for all teachers to teach and cultivate an intrinsic motivation.
Following the 7 CRT characteristics in an online classroom will be imperative. In an online setting, I will make sure to research the backgrounds of students families before they start in my classroom (if I have the information) or within the first few weeks). In order to know students backgrounds, a teacher could do an “all about me” Zoom session and have students listen to their peers Zooms. In order to communicate high expectations, it is important to tell students exactly what they need to know and how they will show that they know. In an online setting, this can be addressed first thing in the class before starting the lesson. It can then be reviewed after the lesson. In an asynchronous lesson, students could type a quick response about the objective and how they might want to show mastery. Many objectives and lessons require follow up work that is independent. It is important to ensure that follow-up work is assigned after students have shown mastery of a lesson. In an online class, students could self-assess throughout the lesson based on the objective.
With teaching elementary school, it will be important for students to have the opportunity to choose their own reading materials. This builds students intrinsic motivation and creates a level of engagement because that is a topic that the student wants to be reading. This could be done online during weekly book club meetings. With allowing students to choose their own books, it is also important to ask students their learning style preference. This should be done within the first few weeks of school. Students could also go over this during their first Zoom where they introduce themselves. Another way to intrinsically motivate students is by allowing students choice to work independently or in groups. Many students prefer to work independently and many students who are still working towards mastery like to work with others. Lastly, I would have students research their culture, a specific aspect and it could align with the reading or social studies standards. Students could have a choice in how they would want to present the information and then other students could listen to one another.
References:
Brown University. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.brown.edu/academics/education-alliance/teaching-diverse-learners/strategies-0/culturally-responsive-teaching-0.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishing Co.
Wlodkowski , R., & Ginsberg, M. (1995). A Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept95/vol53/num01/A-Framework-for-Culturally-Responsive-Teaching.aspx.
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