Despite the fact that Dr. Goldacre doesn’t believe in the amazing health benefits and antioxidant powers of chocolate, I think that his conclusions are sound, especially those about the mind’s incredible response to belief.

The post is called “Superstition,” and is about the results of a German study of good luck. Even if you’re a skeptic, you might want to look at this like Pascal’s Wager and keep a lucky penny in your pocket. Of all the things that might not raise test scores, this one is pretty harmless and has some science behind it, too. Here’s what the researchers found and how we can apply it in the classroom.

Experiment One

The researchers took 28 test subjects to a putting green. The researchers gave the subjects a golf ball and 10 chances to putt. For half of the subjects, the experimenter told them, “Here is your ball. So far it has turned out to be a lucky ball.” For the other half, the experimenter said, “This is the ball everyone has used so far.”

Test subjects who had the “lucky ball” did better than those who had the plain ol’ golf ball, and not just a little bit. Lucky ball average: 6.42, plain ol’ golf ball: 4.75.

What does this mean in the classroom? Well, with this knowledge, every pen I loaned out would be a lucky pen. Any test sheet would be a lucky test sheet. Sure, it can be overdone, but that’s part of the appeal for me. Best of all, insisting that this quiz is a lucky quiz because other classes did well on it is free. And, it just might improve scores.

Experiment Two

The researchers asked a group of 51 test subjects to do one of those tilt board games where a player tilts a maze to roll balls into holes. Test subjects were in three different groups. Before a subject in the first group began the task, the researcher said, “I press the thumbs for you,” which is a German saying that means, “I’m keeping my fingers crossed.” The second group heard, “I press the watch for you,” which is a German expression that offers encouragement. The final group heard, “On you go.”

The test subjects who heard the fingers crossed suggestion finished the game faster than the other two groups.

What does this mean in the classroom? Before a test or a quiz, just say that you’re crossing your fingers for your students. It doesn’t cost anything to say it and your students might complete the task faster than you’d expected.

Experiment Three

The experimenters rounded up 41 test subjects who had a lucky charm and they asked the subject to bring the lucky object with them to the lab. Half of the subjects were allowed to keep their lucky charm with them in the testing room. The other lucky charms were taken away “to be photographed.” Researchers gave the test subjects a memory game and a post-game questionnaire about how confident they felt about their performance on the memory game.

Not only did the test subjects who had their good luck charm with them do better on the memory task, but also they reported higher levels of “self-efficacy,” which means they felt more confident about their work.

What does this mean for the classroom? It means that I’m going to talk about lucky charms from day one. I’m going to bring in a necklace or four-leaf clover and ask my students to do the same. I’m going to encourage them to bring their lucky charms (within reason) to class every day and refer to them often. “Does everyone have a lucky pencil?” If a little piece of luck makes my students perform better and feel more confident, I’ll start growing four-leaf clovers myself.

Experiment Four

The luck researchers invited 31 test subjects to bring their lucky charms to the lab. Again, only half of the subjects were able to take their good luck objects with them into the testing room. This time, the subjects had an anagram to play with: how many words can you create out of a certain word? Before the test, though, the researchers asked the test subjects to set a goal: what percentage of the words did the participant think she could find?

As you might expect now, the test subjects who were able to keep their lucky objects with them did better than their luck-deprived counterparts and they reported more “self-efficacy” or confidence. Even better, those with their good luck charms set higher goals and stuck with the task longer than the unlucky subjects.

What does this mean for the classroom? Again, I’m going to encourage good luck charms, but I’m also going to ask students to write a goal score in the bottom corner of the test or quiz page. Maybe if they give themselves a target to shoot for, they’ll try to hit it.

Bottom Line

Do I believe in luck? Well, I believe in the power of belief. I think that often what someone believes about herself becomes true. If she believes she’s lucky, she will be. If a student believes he’ll be successful, it becomes self-fulfilling. If I, as a teacher, express my belief in my students, that’s a powerful form of belief, too. Call it luck, I don’t care. It’s powerful and I’m going to use it in the name of good teaching and higher test scores.

How about you? Is this luck thing nonsense or will you, like me, exploit it to the point that every sheet of paper sparkles with fairy dust? Have you had experience with the power of luck or belief? Please share in the comments!

But what did you learn? Did you catch that spark? Did you have an ah-ha moment? I’m out of the classroom and able to talk education experts. Here are my ah-ha moments:

1. How to tame out-of-control parent volunteers. I had a parent volunteer who tried to take over the school newspaper I was advising. She was a well intentioned person, but being the wife of an editor didn’t make her an editor. An election made her a school board member, though. You can imagine how difficult it was to manage her.
   Inside the School presenter Suzanne Tingley taught me that it’s best to have an idea of what you’d like the volunteer to do in the classroom and spell it out in writing. Include guidelines about privacy and safety. Ask the volunteer to sign the expectations sheet and commit to showing up at the same time every week. (How Can I Use My Classroom Volunteer Effectively?)
2. Don’t sugar coat bad news. Gavin disrupted class again today, so you held him after class to make a parent phone call. Tingley said in an online seminar that you might think you’re helping parents by sandwiching the bad news about his behavior between two not-so-bad things. You’re not. Mom has answered the phone at work and wants to end the painful phone call as soon as possible. Explain what Gavin did to merit the phone call and keep your words objective. Come to a solution with Mom and tell her how glad you are that the two of you can work together to help Gavin. End the call on a positive note, but also review the actions you’ll both take so both you and Mom are clear about what the problem was and how you’re going to solve it. (How to Give Feedback No One Wants to Hear, Dealing with Difficult Students, 2-part series)
3. Most students have used a cell phone to cheat. About one-in-three kids with a cell phone have used it to cheat, according to a Common Sense Media report. Two-thirds of students say they know other students who have used a cell phone to cheat. Many teens don’t understand that storing class notes on a cell phone and using the notes on a test is cheating. They think texting friends for an answer isn’t a serious offence and 20 percent say that’s not cheating at all. We’re never going to get rid of cell phones, so it’s clear that we need to educate students about cheating and its consequences.
4. Blended learning is coming. What’s blended learning? It’s blending the physical classroom with the virtual classroom. According to Inside the School presenter Curt Bonk, Ph.D., blended classes will have online resources, an online learning space, and an online ideas exchange among students and the teacher. Maybe your school is on the cutting edge of this and you’ve been using Moodle or Blackboard for years. If you haven’t, you will soon. (Prepare for Natural Disasters and Outbreaks with Blended Learning)
5. A little zaniness is O.K. The brain loves novelty; a little bit of zaniness will create a learning hook that your students won’t soon forget, Stanley Pogrow, Ed.D said in an Inside the School online seminar about Outrageous Teaching. As long as the outrageous part of the lesson meets an objective and involves the students in learning, it’s just fine. You don’t need to teach in a zany way every day, but a little bit benefits students. The bonus is that off-task behavior goes way down during an Outrageous Lesson. (Teaching Content Outrageously)
6. Good teaching is universal. Sandra Rief, author of How to Reach and Teach Children with ADD/ADHD, visited our studio last fall to present three online seminars about teaching students with ADHD. Chunking up material, differentiated instruction, and providing opportunities for student interaction aren’t teaching strategies that just work with ADHD students; all students benefit from these strategies. It’s just good teaching. (ADHD and LD Training Series with Sandra Rief)
7. Front load. Prepare as much as you can in advance of everything. Make sure everyone is clear what the expectations are. Presenter Tingley said in her Dealing with Student Discipline online seminar that the best discipline plans are front loaded. The parents, students, teachers, and administration all understand the behavioral expectations up front, so there’s no question about what will happen if a student breaks a school rule. Front loading takes time to do, but saves time in the end. (Dealing with Student Discipline)
8. Teachers are important, too. Nathan Eklund, author of How Was Your Day at School? visited last winter to present online seminars about teacher morale. It’s common to hear teachers say they want to do What’s best for kids. Eklund says that we also need to consider the school as a workplace for teachers. How happy is the faculty? Are they burnt out? Teacher attitudes affect student performance. Ignoring the welfare of half of the learning equation isn’t smart policy. (Ways to Improve Staff Culture to Benefit Teaching and Learning)
9. Recognize accomplishments. In the latest Trends and Tudes newsletter from polling and research company Harris Interactive has information from the latest MetLife Survey of the American Teacher and the Scholastic/Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation study.  What really caught my eye was an essay from a high school intern who had worked on the project. Amanda Welch of Rochester, NY, has noticed that the same 24 students receive academic awards in her school. Other students receive nothing. A student might be hardworking, really improving, or struggling to overcome learning disabilities, but Welch wrote that school doesn’t recognize their achievements.
   “When you try really hard and believe you are doing a good job, it is natural to want to be rewarded or recognized,” she wrote. “If schools begin recognizing underdogs who put forth their best effort, I think that there will be more students excelling because they will feel supported and satisfied. We want to walk across that stage at graduation (or even award ceremonies) with confidence, knowing that the people around us believe in us
10. Connections mean so much. Dr. Ivory Toldson of Howard University presented two online seminars for Inside the School based on his research about helping black males achieve. A recurring theme from his presentations, as well as Eklund’s, was that the personal connection is powerful. One teacher’s belief in a student can give that student belief in himself, Toldson said. Just one personal connection between a student and a teacher can help prevent behavior problems, too. Personal connections among teachers are also important, Eklund said. Those connections among colleagues keep teachers from feeling isolated in the classroom. (Breaking Barriers: Reducing Gang Violence, Improving Security and Creating a Culture of Learning in Schools)

Did you learn any teaching lessons this year? Maybe what you’ve learned is as simple as: keep track of the restroom pass. Whatever bits of wisdom you’ve garnered, share it in the comments!

A Public Agenda Report found that 45 percent of students at four-year universities work 20 hours or more. More than half of the community college students work more than 20 hours a week and more than a quarter work 35 hours or more. Twenty-three percent of all college students have children.

The problem is that students start college, but many of them, just 40 percent, receive their four-year degree in six years’ time. At the community college level, just 20 percent finish a two-year degree in three years.

It’s not hard to see why these kids aren’t finishing college. It’s not that students don’t want to be there, it’s that they can’t afford to be there. When faced with the reality of work-schedule and school-schedule conflicts, many choose work instead.

The researchers for Public Agenda’s report, “With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them,” found four myths and realities about why students don’t finish college. I think that secondary school teachers can address two of them.

Myth No. 3: Most students go through a meticulous process of choosing their college from an array of alternatives.

Reality No. 3: Among students who don’t graduate, the college selection process is far more limited and often seems happenstance and uninformed.

The Public Agenda researchers found that most of the college dropouts never went through a college selection process at all. They just went to the nearest school that offered classes they could attend while working. Over half of the students valued the cost of the tuition above the overall reputation of the school.

Students who drop out of college are less likely to have parents or other family members who attended or graduated from college. These are people who selected their college not for its excellent nursing program or because of its reputation as a good business school, but because it was on the way to work.

As teachers, the question is how can we help our students choose a college where they’ll be successful? The students who don’t finish college don’t have a family structure that will help them select or stay in school. Mentoring students about career choices, traveling to a college fair with students who might be the first in their families to attend college, and hosting a virtual campus tour are ways to introduce students to the college choices available.

Myth No. 4: Students who don’t graduate understand fully the value of a college degree and the consequences and trade-offs of leaving school without one.

Reality No. 4: Students who leave college realize that a diploma is an asset, but they may not fully recognize the impact dropping out of school will have on their future.

In high school, fewer of the college dropouts thought that they’d attend college than the college graduates. Fewer dropouts thought that their teachers believed they’d attend college. They didn’t have their family’s support, either. The dropouts’ families didn’t value a college education as much as those of college graduates.

Our mission as teachers is clear: we need to communicate the importance of higher education. The students who drop out of college don’t have a strong push from their families to finish their education. We need to provide that push while the students are still in secondary school. Just talking about possible careers and the career paths in our disciplines can help students visualize the steps they need to take to find a job in a field they love. The research shows that students who do not graduate from college didn’t have as clear of an idea of what career they were aiming for as those students who did graduate. Teachers can easily supply the information and support students as they develop their career goals.

The study also found that students want to take classes in the evenings and on weekends. They’d like more financial aid for part-time students who are trying to work and go to school. Many students would like access to affordable day care options while they take classes. These are important changes, but not really changes that teachers can make.

However, we can support our students, especially first-generation potential college students. Their families aren’t pushing college and they don’t have the home support to work, go to class, and eat Ramen noodles for four years. It’s a struggle for any kid, but it’s really hard for students who have a hard time picturing themselves in a collegiate cap and gown.

Reference:

“With Their Whole Lives Ahead of Them.” (2009) Public Agenda for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Accessed 12/9/09 http://www.publicagenda.org/files/pdf/theirwholelivesaheadofthem.pdf

For 10 years Raymond Perry, a psychologist at the University of Manitoba, has been studying the relationship between attributes students bring to class and the quality of instruction they receive there. His studies unite two important lines of research, heretofore considered unrelated.

During the time they spend at our institutions, students face a variety of personal and societal pressures. There are also academic pressures, of course: They must write papers, work in groups, make presentations, and take exams. Their ability to meet these challenges successfully depends on certain attributes they bring to class.

Particularly important are their notions of “perceived control” – the extent to which they believe they can predict and influence events in their environment. If students feel a “loss of control” – feel that no matter how much they study, how hard they try, they still won’t succeed – that feeling affects their performance.

Students bring varying levels of perceived control to the classroom, where they experience different degrees of effective instruction. Related research has documented certain aspects of teaching that have been shown to have an impact on student learning, such as teacher expressiveness, for example. Perry (in collaboration with various colleagues across the years) explores how student perceptions of perceived control and instructional effectiveness, in this case defined in terms of instructor expressiveness, relate.

Students most in need benefit least

His work, most of which has occurred in laboratory settings, began by establishing the nature of the relationship. Said simply, this research shows that “students lacking control over academic performance are incapable of benefiting from good instruction.” Perry and Penner point out the irony of this initial finding: “The students who are in most need of effective teaching are least likely to gain from it.” (p. 262)

How Perry documented this conclusion is rather interesting. Students in the study began by taking an aptitude test that temporarily altered their perceptions of control. Students in one group were given “contingent feedback,” which contributed to their feeling of mastery of the situation, while students in a second group got “non-contingent feedback,” which added to feelings of helplessness. After the test, half the students in each feedback group were shown a 25-minute video tape presented by an inexpressive instructor and the other half a tape of the same length by an expressive instructor.

Everyone took an achievement test afterward. Students who received the contingent feedback and listened to the expressive instructor felt more control over that posttest and actually performed better than students in the same group who listened to the inexpressive instructor. On the other hand, students who received the non-contingent feedback experienced a temporary loss of control and did not perform well even with the expressive instructor. These results were replicated in three follow-up studies.

Student feelings of loss of control are to some degree situational. They occur periodically. Unannounced pop quizzes, excessive amounts of material covered too quickly, content not organized coherently – all can make students feel as though their success or failure in a class is to some degree beyond their control. However, other psychological research has documented that perceptions of control are “stable cognitive schemata.” They are relatively enduring.

Internal-locus vs. external-locus

In more recent work, Perry and colleagues have explored the impact of expressive and inexpressive teachers on two groups of students, known in the literature as internal-locus (those believing they have control over events) and external-locus (those believing events beyond them are in control). Their findings were consistent with earlier results. Internal-locus students performed better for the expressive instructor than for the inexpressive one. The conclusion: “Whether loss of control is considered in terms of temporary (state) or enduring (trait) qualities, it consistently impedes the benefits of effective instruction.” (p. 263)

More recently Perry has explored what happens when internal-locus students experience a temporary loss of control. They study hard for an exam, believe they’ve done what they need to do well, but end up with a low score. The results are somewhat surprising. Even when internal-locus students suffer a temporary loss of control, they still benefit from expressive instruction. They seem able to “buffer” themselves against the loss of control. Their psychological makeup somehow empowers them to intensify efforts to regain control, so when they experience effective instruction they’re able to reap the benefits.

This work raises many intriguing questions about the role of instructors in the success of college students. For at-risk students, who are often not very empowered learners, the quality of instruction may not be as significant to their learning as the interactions and experiences they have in their classrooms. Research like this should give us pause as we continue to explore how best to facilitate the learning of all students.

References:
Raymond Perry and Kurt Penner. Enhancing academic achievement in college students through attributional retraining and instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82:2 (1990), 262-271.

Raymond Perry. Perceived control in college students: Implications for instruction in higher education in John C. Smart, ed., Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, vol. 7 (New York: Agathon Press, 1991), 1-56.

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Tingley also has a blog for administrators at Scholastic, Practical Leadership. One of her blog posts, The Compromise, is about the tacit agreement some teachers have with their students. Tingley blogged about educator Theodore Sizer’s book Horace’s Compromise, in which Sizer wrote that some teachers would rather students be quiet than learn.

You know these compromising teachers: it’s Mr. Harris down the hall who’s been on staff for 30 years. He teaches math for 10 or 15 minutes and then gives the class work time while he sits at his desk studying for his real estate exam. Students can count on his class for a study hall.

It’s the health teacher who comes to class late and leaves early because he’s working on his football team’s strategy for the next big game. His seniors don’t tell because they like the quiet social hour.

It’s the new teacher who has never had a student who attended class under court order. The student has an ankle monitor and a history of attacking his teachers. The new teacher teaches the rest of the class Shakespeare and poetry. She allows the other kid to rest his head on his desk the entire time.

Wait. That last teacher was me. Fifteen years ago, Brandon and I had this compromise. I remember being relieved about it. Yeah, I did him no favors. I made Brandon’s life no better. He came away from my class with an F and no education. But I was young, terrified, and I didn’t have the skills or experience to deal with Brandon and his anger.

It’s not a great excuse, I know, but I wonder how many of us are quietly making Sizer’s compromise because we didn’t think we had other options. As I look back, I know what would have helped me to cajole Brandon into learning. Here’s my list:

• More classroom management and discipline strategies in my toolbox
• An administration that recognized that I would need help teaching Brandon and offered me support
• Team meetings where teachers would talk about what’s working for Brandon and what’s not
• A personal connection to Brandon
• Experience and confidence

I left that teaching situation before Brandon’s senior year. It’s my understanding that he didn’t graduate.

What else might have helped Brandon? Let’s make a list in the comments area to help other teachers be strong and not compromise.

Researchers from the advocacy organization Connecticut Voices for Children studied the causes for out-of-school suspensions in Conn. In their report, “Missing out: Suspending Students from Connecticut Schools,” the researchers wrote that the students who are sent home from school are those who need to be in the classroom the most. These are the kids who are struggling in their classes and struggling in their homes.

The researchers found that the students who are suspended spend their out-of-school suspension days unsupervised while Mom and Dad are at work. These kids aren’t cracking books at home; they’re often causing trouble in the neighborhood. They view their suspension not as a punishment, but as a vacation, and their behavior in class is unlikely to improve as a result.

The researchers conclude that out-of-school suspensions don’t encourage positive behavior changes. The best way to improve a student’s behavior is to keep her in school and teach her the skills she needs to be productive both in school and in the community, the study’s authors wrote.

Mendler agrees that educators have to keep these students in class, even if the student is making life in the classroom hard for everyone. “This is really where being a professional educator comes into play. As an educator, or job – our obligation – is to make it difficult for students to throw their education away. I want to make it difficult for them to get themselves kicked out of a class,” he said.

Students need to feel a connection. Teachers should strive to make a connection with students, Mendler said, because belonging is such an important human need. “The kids who feel disconnected usually let themselves be known in a classroom through their attention-seeking behaviors.”

One way to make connections is to welcome the student to class every day. “Make that student feel like they are important, at least to us, which I know is hard to do with difficult students because they’re hard to be around,” Mendler said. “It’s important just to remind ourselves on a regular basis to notice that student and say hello.”

Students need to feel competent. “Some kids act out really as a way to mask their inadequacy; they give up or they act out as a way to mask their belief that they’re just going to be unable to succeed,” Mendler said.

He suggests giving students a homework assignment with options. “Tell kids, ‘If you can get them all done, awesome, but if you can’t get them all done, number three is the one I want from you, because that’s the one I’m going to be asking you to work out on the board tomorrow,’” Mendler said.

Students who ordinarily pass up assignments might actually put in some effort on that one problem. “We can begin to give them a sense that they can be successful in our class,” he said.

Students need to feel in control. When students feel like they have no influence in their world, no autonomy, and no control, they often misbehave or get into power struggles with the teacher, Mendler said. Sometimes they refuse to work or participate as a way of flexing their muscles.

“With these students, it’s really important to ask their opinion, put them in charge at least some of the time,” Mendler said.

Often these students make great mentors for younger students, he said. “I often recommend to schools that are establishing a discipline committee, that they invite at least a couple of students who are discipline problem students to sit on that committee. If you think of it, who better than they to know all about why it is that kids break rules, and giving them a voice in coming up with some ideas that can actually solve problems around the school can a lot of times influence their behavior.”

What the survey found is that students want to succeed and they need teachers and schools to support them in their success. Students often don’t feel that teachers or schools believe in them and their success or give them opportunities for leadership and decision making.

Dr. Russell J. Quaglia, founder of the My Voice survey, said that teachers need to help students set realistic goals and make learning more relevant.

“Most teachers say they entered this field either to make kids’ lives better or to make a difference in the world,” Quaglia said. “We must do both. The end game of this is academic achievement.”

Quaglia’s Institute has identified eight conditions that lead to student success. The last four are printed here, the others can be found at: http://www.insidetheschool.com/survey-says-student-motivation-high-part-one

5. Curiosity & Creativity. This condition is characterized by a thirst for knowledge, but it’s also about students feeling safe in class. If a student is capable of learning, connected to the content, but still doesn’t perform well, that student might not think that it’s O.K. to succeed.

   Over half of the students reported in the My Voice survey that they felt comfortable asking questions in class (66%) and felt encouraged to be creative. Most (75%) enjoy learning new things, but few students found that what they’re learning in class helps them in everyday life (38%).

   Teachers also need to provide students with complex problems to solve. The problems should have multiple solutions so that the students can be more creative and talk about the possibilities. “Create open-ended assignments,” Quaglia said. “Instead of giving formulas, have students develop the formulas.”

6. Spirit of Adventure. According to the My Voice report, this condition is met when students have the ability to take on positive, healthy challenges at school and home, with family and friends. It’s the idea that a student can try something new without the fear of failure or success. Students who have the courage to try new things are more confident and resilient than their peers.

   The My Voice Survey found that, although three-quarters of students (67%)push themselves to do well, 57 percent of our students tell their friends when they earn a good grade. That means that over 40 percent say nothing about their good grades to their peers. Ten percent of students are afraid that their friends won’t like them if they do well in school and just 38 percent of students say that their peers are supportive of one another. One-quarter of the students (24%) won’t even try something if they believe they’ll fail.

   These are powerful deterrents to success, the My Voice authors write, but teachers can support their students in their efforts. Students perceive that 70 percent of their teachers think they can be successful, but just over half of teachers (56%) say that teachers helm student learn from their mistakes.

   Some students don’t have the courage to be successful and are genuinely afraid of success, Quaglia said. We have to make it safe to be successful in schools and have the conversations with students about success so we understand their fears.

   “Let’s say I’m a C student,” he said. “Then someone inspires me and I’m getting As. I’ve left my C group and the A group resents me. We have to make it safe for those kids to be successful.”

   Quaglia draws the same conclusion about teachers. “Want to become unpopular [as a teacher]? Become teacher of the year,” he said.

   Instead of alienating teachers of the year in the staffroom, teachers need to model the success we’d like to see in students. Have your diploma displayed in the classroom, share your accomplishments with staff and students, get out your shell and let kids know that being successful is a good place to be, he said.

   Teachers need to understand students’ fears and why they’re fearful, Quaglia said. “We won’t know the solutions until we have the conversations with students,” he said.

7. Leadership & Responsibility. Under this condition for successful learning, students feel comfortable expressing their opinions and ideas and are willing to accept the consequences for their actions. Schools that practice Leadership & Responsibility well provide students with decision-making opportunities, seek student input, and trust the students to make the right decisions and act responsibly.

   Most students (66%) think about others’ feelings when they make decisions and about two-thirds of students (63%) consider themselves to be good decision makers. Nearly the same number of students (62%) reported that teachers encourage students to make decisions.

   Many kids see themselves as leaders (59%), but only one-third of students (35%) said that other students saw them as leaders. Just 30 percent of students said that student council represents all students as school and just over one-third (37%) knew what goals the school was working on for the year.

   Students don’t’ think teachers trust them to make decisions, Quaglia said. Teachers need to let students make decisions and accept the consequences.

   “Teachers need to believe in the child’s potential,” he said. “Students are not the problem; students are the potential.”

8. Confidence to Take Action. The last condition for school improvement is a culmination of the first seven conditions, says the My Voice Survey report. This condition outlines the extent that students believe in themselves, make goals, and have intrinsic motivation and approval. Students have the confidence to set their own goals, take steps to progress toward the goals, and reach the goals.

   According to the My Voice Survey, 76 percent of students think setting high goals is important and 79 percent work hard to reach their goals. Most students (91%) said that they believe they can be successful, but they reported that just 77 percent of teachers expect them to be successful.

   The majority of students (85%) say that college is important to their future, but just 65 percent of students said that their school is preparing them well for the future. Students are excited about their future (77%) and over half believe that they can make a difference in the world (63%).

   What’s troubling, the report says, is that so few students believe that school is preparing them for the future. Even though many students want to continue their education, they’re not seeing what they’re learning in school at the moment to be relevant to that goal.

   What we need to do is to see the world through different lenses, Quaglia said. “What would my perspective be if I lived in Michigan where they’re shutting down auto companies?”

   Quaglia said teachers need to give students a voice to encourage them to take action. “We won’t know what the issues are until we listen to students,” he said.

   “We need to make sure we ask students who they want to become, not what they want to be,” Quaglia said. “Students should say they want to be honest, have integrity, and believe in themselves. If a person has those qualities, that’s the doctor I want to go to, the plumber I want in my house.”

“What these results illustrate is that while teachers have the potential to inspire students, they are not doing so in ways that students recognize,” said Dr. Russell J. Quaglia, founder of the My Voice survey. “Most troubling is the fact that over half the students in this country don’t think teachers care if they even show up.”

Quaglia said that the student responses about teachers caring about students are pathetically low. “The kids’ perceptions are different from ours,” Quaglia said. “They want teachers to know their name, to eat lunch with them in the cafeteria, and to see them at their games or at practice.”

These problems of student achievement and success can be fixed, insists Quaglia. “There are things teachers can do today to fix things.”

The Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations (www.qisa.org) has identified eight conditions for student success in schools. The eight are: belonging, heroes, a sense of accomplishment, fun and excitement, curiosity and creativity, spirit of adventure, leadership and responsibility, and confidence to take action.

Quaglia insists that these qualities aren’t new and they’re not difficult to implement. “My whole notion is that we can all do these things. These eight conditions are why we became teachers,” he said. “That’s the beauty: we’re not reinventing the wheel, we’re reminding you that there is a wheel.”

The research about the first four of Quaglia’s eight conditions are listed here. The other four will be posted on Wednesday, January 14.

1. Belonging. According to the survey, belonging means that the student feels that she is a part of a community, but is still an individual. Belonging is being a part of the community and having connections with others in the community. It’s a necessary condition for well-being, social engagement, support, and intrinsic motivation.

   The survey showed that 62 percent of students felt that school was a welcoming and friendly place, but 29 percent aren’t comfortable in the cafeteria and one-third of students say that bullying is a problem in their school. Most kids (77%) feel accepted, but only 44% feel that teachers care about their personal problems and feelings.

   It’s the last percentage that should trouble educators, Quaglia said. “Know your students’ names and use them. It’s so simple.”

   Quaglia also said that teachers should go beyond names and know students’ aspirations. “Know the hopes and dreams of your kids,” he said. “This study’s not published yet, but the vast majority of students say that teachers don’t as them about this. That’s a conversation teachers should have. Kids don’t trust someone who takes no interest in them.”

2. Hero. Everyone has the hero quality, according to the survey. Anyone, a parent, a teacher or a student, who inspires someone else in a positive way, who connects with someone, and who listens to and values another person’s ideas is a hero. Educators are heroes by definition, according to the survey’s authors.

   Most students (65%) have a teacher who is a positive role model, but just 39% respect teachers in general. Less than half of students believe teachers care about them as individuals (49%), believe that teachers care if they are absent from school (45%), and believe they can talk to a teacher about a problem (49%). Just over half of students (54%) say that teachers respect students and only one-third of students say students respect one another.

   The survey authors write that these findings show teachers have the ability to inspire, support and encourage students, but teachers aren’t doing it in a way that students recognize. It also shows that the students perceive a severe lack of respect in their schools.

   “We need to act like heroes,” Quaglia said. “[Teachers] don’t have a choice. You’re going to be a hero and you need to choose to be a good one or a bad one.”

   Tell students they’re doing a nice job every day, Quaglia said. Accomplishments and behaviors that teachers take for granted, kids don’t. Those are opportunities for teachers to offer encouragement.

3. A Sense of Accomplishment. Educators who recognize student effort, perseverance, and citizenship, along with academic success give their students a sense of accomplishment. To give students a sense of accomplishment, according to the survey’s authors, is to recognize a student’s success in terms of her personal growth and effort, not just her test scores.

   Most students surveyed (70%) said that teachers recognize students who are kind and helpful, but just over half (57%) say that teachers recognize them when they try their best.

   Quaglia said that teachers need to recognize various forms of kids’ success. “We need to teach kids to set goals with two components: meaningfulness to the child and attainability.”

   It’s a tragedy, he said, when our expectations for our students are lower than their expectations for themselves. “Low expectations are the bane of our existence in education,” Quaglia said. “They’re a self-fulfilling prophecy of going nowhere.”

   We have to connect learning to kids’ passions and interests, he said. That’s when the real learning occurs. Quaglia called himself the King of Common Sense in Education. “Connecting learning to student interests isn’t rocket science; it’s getting back to basics.”

4. Fun & Excitement. Fun and excitement doesn’t necessarily mean carnival rides and balloons. “It’s not about laughing; it’s about losing track of time and space,” Quaglia said.

   According to the My Voice survey, almost half of our students (49%) said that they enjoy being in school and just over half enjoyed their classes (54%). Although 64 percent of students said that learning can be fun, only about one-third of them (31%) said that teachers make it fun. About half of the students (47%) said that school is boring, and over one-third (38%) said they think their teachers don’t seem to think school is any fun, either.

   Teachers need to ask students what they’re interested in and share their own interests with students, Quaglia said.

   Quaglia points out that when students use the Internet they lose track of time and space because they’re having fun. That’s the kind of learning that needs to happen in the classroom, he said.

Sarrah is Pete’s teacher. She teaches in a small, rural Wisconsin high school where many students are like Pete. They don’t plan to go to college and they don’t see the relevance of the curriculum to their plans to go into the workforce, military, or vocational/technical school.

“What I’ve found works is finding non-fiction articles about things like war and other subjects,” Sarrah said. “Then I have to literally read it out loud, or have an audio of fiction books, if we are studying a novel.”

Motivation’s Three Cs

Allen Mendler, Ph.D., is the author of the book Discipline with Dignity. He said that students like Pete are motivated, but not to do what the teacher wants.

“The teacher needs to create a connection between what the kid likes and what she wants him to do,” Mendler said. “Whet his appetite to read and continue reading.”

To whet the student’s appetite, Mendler suggests legitimizing Pete’s current reading. Talk to Pete about the car magazines he enjoys and encourage him to bring them in to show you.

“Engage that kid,” Mendler said. “Match content to some aspect of what he’s interested in and try to make a connection.”

Making that connection is one of Mendler’s Three C’s for motivation. According to Mendler, students need to be connected, competent, and in control.

“No kid is born unmotivated,” Mendler said. “Every toddler is motivated. Just watch one. It’s hard to keep a toddler out of things, keep him away from learning. Learning is intrinsic to people.”

What’s crucial, Mendler said, is when a kid decides not to learn. Mendler insists that you have to ask what is motivating kids to be unmotivated.

Connecting interests with content

Donna, an 8th grade careers teacher in New Mexico, tried making a connection with a student and succeeded.

Kevin was a B and C student until 7th grade, when his grades became Ds and Fs. Kevin really liked dirt bikes, but wasn’t interested in much else. He just didn’t see the point.

Donna connected with Kevin. She affirmed his interest in dirt bikes, but pointed out that he might not make it to the professional circuit. However, writers put together dirt bike magazines. Public relations professionals assist riders’ careers.

Kevin was hooked.

“After he became interested in public relations this year, his grades started to improve,” Donna said. “At the end of the year he had a couple of Bs and the rest were Cs.”

Mendler thinks Donna deserves a pat on the back. “She took an interest of [Kevin’s] and showed him how school content could be of interest, too,” Mendler said. “Kevin saw the relevance and worked to improve.”

Increasing students’ competency

Zach was an 8th grader in Amanda’s South Carolina science classroom. Zach was a nice kid: funny, engaging, pleasant.

Zach was also a sleepy kid. Every science period, Zach would sleep so soundly that nothing would wake him up.

When Zach was awake, he was terrific to have in class. He read below grade level, but he loved to learn and compensated by listening, Amanda said. “He was really into every lesson and really paid attention. He was full of so much knowledge and we had wonderful discussions, but when it came to writing the information down or having to read anything, he was struggling.”

Amanda contacted Zach’s parents, his other teachers, her school administration, and the nurse for help keeping Zach awake.

Finally, she turned to her class. They conducted the Zach experiment and tried all kinds of ways to keep Zach awake in class. Not turning out the lights for PowerPoints worked for a few days; then Zach began to snooze again. Standing up, drinking water, eating a snack all had limited positive effects. Zach continued to sleep.

The only other solution came with the blessing of Zach’s parents: one can of caffeinated Mountain Dew, drunk alongside the teacher during lunch, kept Zach awake.

But it was Amanda’s second strategy that Amanda calls Zach’s defining moment. One day, Amanda pulled Zach aside and asked him to tell her everything he knew about the science topic they were studying. Amanda wrote while he spoke and she filled a page, back and front, with his knowledge.

“This was the defining moment for me and Zach. He could see how smart he really was,” Amanda said. “He studied that one piece of paper and I will never forget the smile on his face at that moment; it was a smile of pride and accomplishment.”

This is where the Three Cs (connection, competence, and control) come into play, Mendler said. “Maybe keeping his head down is a competence thing. [Zach] doesn’t want to look like he doesn’t know the answer. Keeping his head down can be a control issue for some students, too. They know that keeping their heads down can frustrate anyone they want to frustrate.”

Mendler recommends sharing with Zach how his behavior is creating a problem for the teacher. “Pull the student aside and share how the student’s behavior is creating a problem for the teacher,” Mendler said. “Tell the student, ‘You must make an effort to be awake in class. Keeping your head down distracts me, worries me. I’m concerned that you won’t learn any of this. Can you help me fix my problem?’”

Approaching students with the idea that this is a problem for the teacher reduces the student’s defensiveness and increases the likelihood that the student will comply with the teacher’s request, Mendler said.

“Of course, you’ve got to know your students, but humor can work as well,” Mendler said.

Giving the student control

The last story is mine. Diane taught English to at-risk freshman boys. Matt, a student in class, wouldn’t put pen to paper and wouldn’t open a book. Instead, he’d hide in the closet, pull grade-school pranks, and sing at inappropriate times.

Matt’s mother died when he was young and his father was a cross-country truck driver. Matt lived with his grandmother and sometimes his older sister. I felt for him, but I was also frustrated with him.

The only thing that Matt liked was poetry. I had him write reams of it, but he did little else.

“It sounds like this kid is chronically immersed in mal-adapted behavior,” Mendler said. “You have to ask: what’s motivating this kid? It goes back to the three Cs. Students need connection, competence, and control.”

Mendler suggested that Matt’s big problem was probably control. “There’s not a whole lot of stability in Matt’s life,” Mendler said. “Kids sometimes narrow their own choices to feel safe. They stay with the predictable. Poetry gave Matt the opportunity to express himself and he was pretty good at it, so he stuck with it.”

Mendler recommended asking where the places were that Matt could be in control. Get him to be the student helper, ask Matt’s opinion on the direction of a lesson, and give him choices, Mendler said.

“Let Matt feel in charge and build and weave in content from there,” Mendler said. “Frame things in a way so that the kid feels a sense of control.”

Five words to motivate

Mendler recommends the following five words as the keys to student motivation: relationship, relevance, success, involvement, and fun.

According to Mendler, the five words boil down to this: Know your students, know your stuff. Like your students, like your stuff.

“All teachers should know these,” Mendler said. “They’re simple to remember, but hard to do.”