The Rise Model

In wrapping up our section on motivation, I thought I should write one last blog just to beat it into my brain. This week we read about motivating the alienated or at-risk student. The article I found was a model on how to motivate these types of students. This is the RISE model, composed of four main components; relevant subject matter, interesting instruction, satisfied learner, and expectations for success. 

In class we have touched upon root causes and factors that may increase the likelihood that a child may be an “at-risk” student. These factors are also included in this article, what I found shocking was the number of students that are affected by this. “Estimated 25 percent of students in this country drop out before high school graduation, and in some urban areas 30 percent of the students do not complete eighth grade.” As educators we need to see these numbers as a huge red flag, understanding that students are becoming less motivated and more alienated at a younger age. 

Relevant subject matter 

“Some interest, some bond of connection must be found between the subject matter and the learner” (Dewey,33) In order to engage at-risk students we need to make the topic relevant and meaningful, this can be done in several ways. The first is to connect content to students’ interests and experiences. This article uses the example of Romeo and Juliet, in order to connect this story to students she asks the question “has anyone ever dated someone that your parents didn’t like?” Already students can use outside personal experiences to connect with the material. Another way to increase the relevance of the material is to communicate the intended value of the activity. An example of this would be that it is important that you learn math so that you are able to balance a check book when you are older. 

Interesting Instruction 

As a student reaches middle school their curiosity declines, increasing the likelihood that students will come to school already bored and uninterested. This article suggests sparking new curiosity by providing conflictual paradoxical information. Example of this would be” We have learned that mammals bear their young, yet there is a mammal that lays eggs.” A second avenue to increase interesting instruction is by making abstract material more concrete by using metaphors and analogies. 

Satisfies learner 

This section focuses on the teacher more that the student. As educator we need to decipher between our students, understanding that not all rewards are the same for every student. What may be a good thing for one student may completely discourage another. At risk students need to believe that their efforts lead to rewards that they value. The best way to do this is through immediate positive feedback about the students progress. Keep in mind that feedback needs to be specific instead of controlling. Controlling statements such as, You did well enough to earn free time, tell the student that they only need to perform to please the teacher. There is no intrinsic reward to pleasing the teacher and students will begin to lose interest. 

Expectations for success 

Students tend to do better on an assignment when they believe they are responsible for their own success. There are a couple different ways that teachers can increase this awareness. First is by encouraging students to use “self-talk affirmations. The way the author describes this is that students need to first make a statement about their assignment (i need to take my time) followed by a statement about themselves (these problems are fun for me). These affirmation statements will invoke images, feelings, and ultimately actions. A second way educators can increase expectations for success is by emphasizing that working hard will lead to success, this concept is a fairly familiar. However how does this work when a student works hard and still fails? We need to be using this concept even more so when the child fails. This is done by asking the child to evaluate the steps they took to complete the assignment. This way teacher and student can sit down together and talk about a new strategies for the next assignment. Here the author notes that “students will likely expend more effort when they can plan, monitor, and evaluate their own learning.” 

This RISE model is a framework that incorporates knowledge about students’ motivation and ways to include that into their instructions. This model is based on the idea that students needs to know that what they are learning is valuable TO THEM. Teachers need to make learning valuable right now, while avoiding statements like “You will need this as an adult”. I really liked all of the ideas in this article and I plan on using them in the future, because they are valuable to me