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This resource is a case study about the effects of competition in education.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268379568_EFFECTS_OF_COMPETITION_IN_EDUCATION_A_CASE_STUDY_IN_AN_E-LEARNING_ENVIRONMENT

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This is the Teacher Employment Handbook from OISE. In it they discuss how to build a resume as well as many other helpful tips when applying for a job as a teacher

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This OCT website helps you find AQ courses available across many different providers.

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Find an AQ | Ontario College of Teachers

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This resource from Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork explains the benefits having parent-student engagement and how to develop this with homework.
http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/tips/index.htm

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Complying with Accommodations/Modifications for Students - IEP/IPRC Process

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Complying with Accommodations/Modifications for Students - IEP/IPRC Process

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This is The Individual Education Plan Resource Guide ( 2004) published by the Ministry of Education.

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This site is being migrated to Ontario.ca/curriculum, Ontario.ca or the Virtual Learning Environment. For further assistance please contact us.

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These are report card templates divided by grade and term that the Ministry of Education made accessible.

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An OISE grad developed a series of lesson plans based on integrating FNMI and indigenous studies. This resource links those lesson plans as well as other government resources on the same topics.

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Research guides: Infusing Indigenous Perspectives in K-12 Teaching: Lesson Plans

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This guide is designed to help Initial Teacher Education students find materials that centre or focus on First Nations, Métis, and Inuit worldviews, experiences and knowledges for teaching in the K-12 classroom.

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Developing Multicultural, Sensitive and Gender Equitable Classrooms

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Developing Multicultural, Sensitive and Gender Equitable Classrooms

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A checklist for an inclusive classroom, based on A Guide to Effective Literacy Instruction, Grades 4 to 6 (2006)

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The ministry of education put out a document called “Learning For All” which addresses how to address different learners in the classroom and how to differentiate your teaching styles. It discusses topics such instructional approaches, assessments and planning.

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Self-regulation is an important part of child development so it is important we know what it looks like and how to help. This is an article called “Thinking about self-regulation and well-being” from the ministry of education talking about the different domains of self-regulation and how to support the development of self –regulation.

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Description of the frame
This frame encompasses children's learning and development with respect to:

their own thinking and feelings, and their recognition of and respect for differences in the thinking and feelings of others;

regulating their emotions, adapting to distractions, and assessing consequences of actions in a way that enables them to engage in learning;

their physical and mental health and wellness.

In connection with this frame, it is important for educators to consider:

the interrelatedness of children's self-awareness, sense of self, and ability to self-regulate;

the role of the learning environment in helping children to be calm, focused, and alert so they are better able to learn.

What children learn in connection with this frame allows them to focus, to learn, to respect themselves and others, and to promote well-being in themselves and others.

For a wide range of practical examples of how children and educators interact to make thinking and learning about self-regulation and well-being visible, in connection with related overall and specific expectations in the Kindergarten program, see the expectation charts in Chapter 4.4.

Self-regulation: What are we learning from research?

Self-regulation is central to a child's capacity to learn. It is the cornerstone of development and a central building block of early learning (Pascal, 2009a, p. 4). Children's ability to self-regulate - to set limits for themselves and manage their own emotions, attention, and behaviour - allows them to develop the emotional well-being and the habits of mind, such as persistence and curiosity, that are essential for early learning and that set the stage for lifelong learning. Self-regulation involves attention skills, working memory, and cognitive flexibility - qualities that provide the underpinning for essential skills needed throughout life, such as planning and problem-solving skills (Pascal, 2009a, p. 4). Self-regulation skills also allow children to have positive social interactions and help establish constructive patterns of behaviour that will be useful to them throughout their lives (Ponitz et al., 2009).

Research has shown that the ability to self-regulate is essential to the development of learning skills and work habits (Baumeister & Vohs, 2011), which are critically important to student success throughout the grades. The foundations for those skills and habits, identified in Growing Success (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2010, pp. 9-14), are rooted in early childhood and are supported through the Kindergarten program.

Dr. Stuart Shanker (2013b, p. xiii) identifies the following as six critical elements required for optimal self-regulation:

when one is feeling calmly focused and alert, the ability to know that one is calm and alert

when one is stressed, the ability to recognize what is causing that stress

the ability to recognize stressors both within and outside the classroom

the desire to deal with those stressors

the ability to develop strategies for dealing with those stressors

the ability to recover efficiently and effectively from dealing with those stressors

Read: Dr. Stuart Shanker, Calm, Alert and Happy (2013)

View: Video clip - "What strategies and practices are educator teams repeating, rethinking and removing to support children's self-regulation? What does self-regulation look like and sound like?"

Domains of self-regulation

Dr. Shanker discusses the development of self-regulation in five domains: biological, emotional, cognitive, social, and prosocial. Note that the domains of self-regulation listed here are related but not identical to the domains of development discussed later in this chapter and elsewhere in this document.number> The following overview is adapted from Shanker's Calm, Alert and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation (2013b, pp. xii-xvi) and his "The Development of Self-Regulation" (2010).

Biological: Biological (or physiological) self-regulation refers to the ability to manage responses that are governed by the nervous system and affect level of energy or stage of arousal, on a continuum from sleep or drowsiness, through being calmly focused and alert, to being overstimulated or flooded. Self-regulation in this domain can be described as the ability to attain, maintain and change one's level of energy to match the demands of a task or situation (Shanker, 2013b, p. xiii, citing Baumeister & Vohs, 2011). Responses that affect level of energy vary widely from person to person and from situation to situation. For example, some children may be overwhelmed by a level of sensory input, be it auditory, visual, or related to touch or the proximity of others, that would not disturb most other children. Some children may be extremely sensitive to noise ( e.g., buzzers or bells); others may find it difficult to sit for longer than a few minutes. Behaviours such as humming or chewing things, fidgeting ( e.g., tapping, jiggling), or constantly moving may indicate that the child is trying to remain or become calm, alert, and focused - in other words, that the child is attempting to self-regulate.

Emotional: "Emotional self-regulation" refers to the ability to monitor and modify intense emotional responses, feelings, and moods. For example, children self-regulate when they are able to recover from feelings of embarrassment, disappointment, hurt, anger, or frustration and carry on with confidence and a positive disposition.

Cognitive: "Cognitive self-regulation" refers to the ability to monitor and modify behaviour related to mental processes such as memory, attention, the acquisition and retention of information, and problem solving. For example, children self-regulate when they are able to focus, sustain, and then switch their attention; sequence their thoughts; and ignore distractions.

Social: "Social self-regulation" refers to the ability to recognize, understand, assess, and act on social cues - in other words, to engage in and sustain social interactions. For example, children demonstrate social self-regulation when they respond appropriately to cues communicated through facial expression or tone of voice and when they play cooperatively with others.

Prosocial: Prosocial self-regulation refers to the ability to empathize with others and to demonstrate behaviours that lead toward positive social activities (Bronson, 2000, p. 86), including making friends and helping others. Prosocial self-regulation involves an ability to self-regulate in the other four domains. For example, a child who attends to another child who has fallen and hurt himself demonstrates cognitive self-regulation (in recognizing the urgency of, and shifting attention to, an external event); biological and emotional self-regulation (in remaining calm enough to attend to the hurt child); and social self-regulation (in recognizing and understanding that a friend needs help and comfort), in addition to prosocial self-regulation (in acting on feelings of empathy and the desire to help a friend).

Biological, emotional, cognitive, social, and prosocial self-regulation and the ability to communicate with others are foundational to all forms of learning and have been shown to be best developed in play-based environments.

Supporting the development of self-regulation

It has been shown that children's ability to self-regulate is not enhanced by "compliance with external authorities". According to researchers in the field,

It is about establishing one's own internal motivation for adapting to, and understanding, emotional and social demands. In fact, for many children, requiring compliance undermines their own abilities to self-regulate. (Pascal, 2009a, p. 4)

Self-regulation is a deep, internal mechanism that enables children as well as adults to engage in mindful, intentional, and thoughtful behaviours. (Bodrova & Leong, 2008, p. 1)

View: Video clip - "Self-regulation is not about compliance with external authority"

Every child responds to incoming sensory stimulation and various challenges in his or her own way, and learns to manage these responses on an individual timetable. Being attuned to individual differences in children's development of self-regulation - in the way each child manages sensory stimulation and responds to challenges - enables educators to establish the kind of nurturing relationships that strengthen children's capacity for learning (see Chapter 2.1, "Thinking about Belonging and Contributing").

The abilities of children to regulate their own emotions, behaviours, and attention increase over time with maturation, experience, and responsive relationships. Supporting self-regulation is a central focus of early development because self-regulation skills lead to physical, social, emotional, behavioural, and cognitive competence. (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014b, p. 2; emphasis added)

Some children will have begun to develop self-regulation skills before coming to Kindergarten, but many will not. Through their interactions with peers and adults in connection-building relationships in the classroom, however, children will begin - or will continue - to develop self-awareness and a stronger sense of self. As part of this process, they will monitor and adapt their own emotions and behaviour, and become aware of and accommodate the thinking and feelings of others. In order to effectively support the development of self-regulation, it is important for educators to observe each child's development and to encourage and support the child in individualized ways. To do this, educators need to understand what self-regulation looks and sounds like. For example, children may look away in the midst of an interaction, or they may become distracted from what they are doing, but they will often return their attention to the interaction at hand in a short time. Intervening too soon to draw the child back into the moment may interfere with, rather than support, the child's progress towards self-regulation. Educators who understand this are able to give the child a little time.

In an inquiry stance, the educator observes and listens, and supports the child's development by noticing and naming when the child is demonstrating self-regulation - for example, by saying, I noticed that you refocused. How did that help you? Educators report the benefits of waiting before they intervene to help children manage behaviour and emotions - they have seen that stepping back makes room for the gradual emergence and consolidation of children's ability to self-regulate. When educators notice that a child's inability to focus or to manage emotions persists over time, they consult the parents and, where appropriate, the school's special education support team, to determine whether a physical issue, such as an auditory processing problem, may be involved.
Educator team reflections
Previously, we spent much of our day regulating and managing the children's behaviour. We felt that some learning was happening, but it wasn't rich. The children were not revealing their ideas or wonderings. We didn't have a chance to talk with them or get to know what they were thinking. It was a situation where the educator owned the choices and the learning. Now, we provide the children with choice, and they are so much more engaged - we are not managing their behaviours. Choice is so important to their self-regulation, and we can see that their learning is much richer now.

In our classroom today, we hear the children's voices much more than our own. We are using more open-ended activities that spark children's thinking. More of our discussions and questions are led by the children. At first, it is scary to let go and step back. When you do step back, though, you can see how engaged the children are in what they are doing. When you see how much authentic learning is going on, it gives you the confidence to step back more often.

Misconceptions about self-regulation

That children are able to self-regulate when they enter Kindergarten

That children are self-regulating when they are sitting still with their legs crossed

That when children look away, an adult needs to remind them to keep focused

That self-regulation is the same as compliance

That the role of the educator is to manage children's behaviour

The learning environment and self-regulation

A regimented classroom climate, in which all children are required to do the same thing at the same time in the same way, reduces feelings of control and discourages self-regulation. (Bronson, 2000, p. 234)

Providing children with choice in the learning environment is a key to supporting their emerging ability to self-regulate. When children have access to a variety of materials, tools, and spaces in the classroom, they gradually learn to select the ones that provide stimulation or a calming effect, as needed.

In addition, an environment of caring, kindness, and cooperation in the classroom supports the development of social and prosocial self-regulation in children. Initially modelled by the educators, practices such as making time for conversation, checking in with one another, helping out, and solving problems with friends become part of the culture of the classroom and of the accepted behaviour of the children.
Educator team reflection
We noticed that the children were getting to know the classroom and make it theirs. They were choosing what they needed when they needed it! We realized that this was happening regularly when we reviewed our notes over the last month and found these:

Devi was tired so she went to the quiet space to have a nap.

Michael wanted help to focus at circle time so he selected a squishy ball to bring with him.

Zheng felt overwhelmed so she put on noise-cancelling headphones and read a book.

Luca was upset so he got the pinwheel and blew on it until he felt better.

It was circle time, and Ahmed took a few deep breaths to ready himself.

Questions for reflection: How does the learning environment support the development of self-regulation?

In what ways can the learning environment foster the development of self-regulation?

What supporting materials (e.g., exercise balls, exercise mats, squishy balls, pinwheels, noise-cancelling headphones), strategies (e.g., visual schedule, yoga, breathing exercises), and options in terms of the physical environment (e.g., flexible lighting, a calming space or quiet space, a space for movement, a sensory space) are available to help children achieve and maintain a calm, alert, and focused state?

Are the children able to make choices about the materials they use? About the learning areas they will visit? About when they have their snack or whether or not they need to rest or, conversely, to be stimulated?

Is a visual schedule provided in the classroom to allow children to prepare themselves for what comes next in their day?

What do we observe in individual children that helps them stay calm and alert?

How do individual children regain a calm and alert state after experiencing a stressor or having an intense emotional response?

What kinds of experiences in the classroom tend to promote a state of calm, alertness, and focus in a child? What kinds of experiences tend to detract from this state?

How does the learning environment promote the development of empathy?

Well-being: What are we learning from research?

Research suggests that children who experience a greater sense of well-being are more able to learn and assimilate information in effective ways; more likely to engage in healthy and fulfilling social behaviours; more likely to invest in their own and others' well-being and in the sustainability of the planet as they take up their social, professional and leadership roles in adulthood. (Awartani, Whitman, & Gordon, 2008, p. 54)

Well-being addresses the importance of physical and mental health and wellness. It incorporates capacities such as self-care, sense of self, and self-regulation skills. (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014c, p. 7)

Promoting the healthy development of all children, as well as enabling all children to reach their full potential, is a priority for educators across Ontario. Children's health and well-being contribute to their ability to learn, and their learning in turn contributes to their overall well-being.

Educators play an important role in promoting children's well-being by creating, fostering, and sustaining a learning environment that is healthy, caring, safe, inclusive, and accepting. A learning environment of this kind supports not only children's cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development but also their mental health, their resilience, and their overall state of well-being. All this helps children focus on learning and achieve their full potential in school and in life.

Determinants of health
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared in the preamble to its constitution, which came into force in 1948, that health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Today, Health Canada includes the following, among other factors, in its list of determinants of health - that is, factors and conditions that can have a significant influence on a person's health: For detailed current information on determinants of health, see the website of the Public Health Agency of Canada. number>

family income and social status

education and literacy

physical and social environment

culture (customs and traditions) and beliefs

personal (family) health practices and coping skills

availability and quality of health services

gender

Together, such factors affect an individual's overall well-being. They influence not only whether a person stays healthy or becomes ill but also the extent to which the person possesses the physical, social, and personal resources needed to identify and achieve personal aspirations, satisfy needs, and cope with the environment. These factors also have an impact on learning at all ages, and particularly at early stages of development. Although children have little or no control over these factors, it is important to be aware of them as contributing elements in a child's development and ability to learn. It is also important to recognize the value of personal strategies that can be learned and practised, starting early in life, to foster well-being in the face of stressful and challenging life circumstances.

Developmental domains as components of overall well-being

An educator's awareness of and responsiveness to children's cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development is critical to children's overall well-being and ability to learn. A number of research-based frameworks, including those described in Early Learning for Every Child Today: A Framework for Ontario Early Childhood Settings (Best Start Expert Panel on Early Learning, 2007) and Stepping Stones: A Resource on Youth Development (Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services, 2012), identify developmental stages that are common to the majority of children from Kindergarten to Grade 12. At the same time, these frameworks recognize that individual differences, as well as differences in life experiences and exposure to opportunities, can affect development, and that developmental events are not specifically age-dependent.

The framework described in Stepping Stones is based on a model that illustrates the complexity of human development. Its components - the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social domains - are interrelated and interdependent, and all are subject to the influence of a person's environment or context. At the centre is an enduring (yet changing) core - a sense of self, or spirit - that connects the different aspects of development and experience (p. 17).

Source: Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services, 2012, p. 17

Educators who have an awareness of a child's development take each component into account as part of the whole, with an understanding of and focus on the following elements:

cognitive development - brain development, processing and reasoning skills, use of strategies for learning

emotional development - emotional regulation, empathy, motivation

social development - self-development (self-concept, self-efficacy, self-esteem); identity formation (social group identity, gender identity, spiritual identity); relationships (peer, family)

physical development - physical activity, sleep patterns, changes that come with growth, body image, nutritional requirements

Supporting development to enhance overall well-being

Developing child and student well-being means supporting the whole child - not only the child's academic achievement but also his or her cognitive, emotional, social, and physical well-being. (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014a, p. 14)

In the knowledge that developmental domains are interrelated and interdependent and that overall well-being depends on healthy development in each one, educators recognize the importance of holistically supporting children's cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development in a variety of ways.

Cognitive development is enhanced when educators provide opportunities for children to:

co-construct their learning, based on their questions and needs and things that pique their interest;

contribute ideas and identify interests;

experiment to find answers to their questions, try new things, and take risks;

make their thinking and learning visible in a variety of ways.

View: Video clip - "How does listening inform learning and make it visible? How do children co-construct the learning?"

Educators support children's emotional development by providing them with opportunities to:

identify feelings and emotions in themselves and others, explain why they might be feeling that way, and use words to identify the meaning of their own and others' expressive language (e.g., body language, facial expression);

practise kindness towards other people and all living things, show concern for their well-being, act with empathy and sympathy towards them, and practise including others;

use strategies to help them manage strong emotions and regulate the way in which they express those emotions;

develop a positive self-concept and sense of self-esteem;

develop a "growth mindset" about learning (e.g., believe that they can develop their abilities if they work hard and persevere).

Children's social development is supported when school boards, schools, and educators create and sustain a warm and supportive environment in which:

children's thinking and learning are valued;

cooperation with others is modelled and promoted;

open communication is modelled and encouraged;

thoughtful decisions and the use of respectful words are valued;

all children are given equal opportunities;

bullying, harassment, violence, and physical punishment are discouraged, and when instances do occur, they are addressed;

the diverse backgrounds and cultures of the children are respected (e.g., children's first languages are brought into the classroom);

strong and respectful relationships are nurtured and developed;

children have opportunities to collaborate with peers and educators in various ways and in various contexts throughout the day.

Physical development is promoted in children when they:

reap the benefits of healthy schools (i.e., schools that promote healthy choices related to physical activity, healthy eating, learning in the outdoors, and other aspects of everyday living);

are encouraged to take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical well-being (knowing when to eat, rest, and increase or decrease their level of activity);

are given frequent opportunities to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and skills related to healthy eating and safety, and to share their learning about establishing and maintaining safe practices with their peers, family, and community;

are safe from harm in the school and classroom environments, including the school grounds (e.g., when bullying-prevention strategies are in place; when materials and equipment used by children and educators are reliable and safe);

can get to and from school safely (e.g., when the community is engaged in helping to ensure their safety).

Children and students who have strong relationships and a positive sense of self - and who can understand and manage their own health and emotions - are in a better position to reach their full potential in the future. Their sense of well-being supports their learning because it makes them more resilient and better able to overcome challenges. (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014a, p. 14)

What are the signs of well-being and a developing sense of self?

Overall health and well-being and a developing sense of self are evident in children who:

are physically active and feel confident in their growing abilities;

are increasingly aware of and able to make healthy choices to meet their basic needs (e.g., for food, sleep, physical activity, self-care);

experience a sense of competence, autonomy, and agency as they participate, at their own pace, in various experiences and interactions throughout the day;

are increasingly able to identify, monitor, and manage stress levels and engage in strategies for self-regulation (e.g., of emotions, attention, and behaviour);

are increasingly able to take initiative, tackle challenges with enthusiasm and persistence, and cope with and adapt to changes, frustrations, and the unexpected in everyday living;

are developing the ability to value their own unique identity;

are increasingly able to recognize, value, and respect the unique identity and perspectives of others.

(Adapted from Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014c, pp. 32-33)
The role of mental health

Mental health touches all components of development. Mental health is much more than the absence of mental illness. Well-being is influenced not only by the absence of problems and risks but by the presence of factors, at the individual, family, and community level, that contribute to healthy growth and development. Educators help promote positive mental health in the classroom by providing children with opportunities to learn adaptive, management, and coping skills; communication skills; and relationship and social skills - the personal and interpersonal skills they need to develop resilience, a secure identity, and a strong sense of self. In the process, educators may also be able to identify children who need additional support and connect them with the appropriate services.

What happens at school can have a significant influence on a child's well-being. With a broader awareness of mental health, educators can adopt instructional strategies that contribute to a supportive classroom climate for learning, build awareness of mental health, and reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. When educators take children's well-being, including their mental health, into account when considering instructional approaches, they help to ensure a strong foundation for learning. For example, when educators allow children to self-regulate - to cope with stressors, and recover - they are enabling them to develop resilience, a powerful protective factor with respect to positive mental health and emotional well-being.
Educator team reflections
If we focus on living skills and interpersonal skills with the children now, they will have better coping skills later in life ... We want them to be able to feel, and to know themselves. I think that's such a key piece in mental well-being.

Supporting the children as they develop coping skills - co-constructing the skills with them - is really important, because that way, they are using approaches that are authentic to them, that have meaning for them. And then, when they are feeling stressed, they will know what works for them, what they can do to help themselves.

View: Video clip - "Supportive Learning Environment"

Questions for reflection: In what ways do we support children and their families in furthering their own and others' well-being?

What are some of the characteristics and behaviours that indicate resilience in children (e.g., the ability to recover after experiencing difficulty or change)?

In what ways do we accommodate children's unique physical and emotional needs (e.g., the need for additional time and space for physical movement)? Are we providing a range of materials and using a range of strategies to meet children's needs?

Are we able to quickly access additional support within the school to respond to a child who is in need?

Are we drawing on community support, as needed, to ensure children's well-being?

Are we promoting a "growth mindset" in the classroom? In what ways do we communicate to children that they can succeed if they persevere?

In what ways are the children's cultures, languages, and traditions being brought into the classroom?

Are there certain aspects of well-being that call for enhanced attention because they are of particular relevance to the children in our class and/or to the students in the school community?

Are families being consulted about ways of supporting the children's sense of well-being and about ways of promoting their and their families' well-being at home?

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2.2 Thinking about self-regulation and well-being

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Description of the frame This frame encompasses children's learning and development with respect to: their own thinking and feelings, and their recognition of and respect for differences in the thinking and feelings of others; regulating their emotions, adapting to distractions, and assessing consequences of actions in a way that enables them to engage in learning; their physical and mental health and wellness.

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As part of the Capacity Building Series put out by the ministry of education in Ontario, they published a document titled “Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Towards Equity and Inclusivity in Ontario Schools”.

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The Vanderbilt  Center for Teaching put out a document explaining the different types of motivations for students and how to go about using them for different learning styles. This resource is great because it provides models and strategies for motivating students

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Cite this guide: Yarborough, C. B., & Fedesco, H. N. (2020). Motivating students. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [todaysdate] from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu//cft/guides-sub-pages/motivating-students/.

Introduction

Fostering student motivation is a difficult but necessary aspect of teaching that instructors must consider. Many may have led classes where students are engaged, motivated, and excited to learn, but have also led classes where students are distracted, disinterested, and reluctant to engage-and, probably, have led classes that are a mix. What factors influence students' motivation? How can instructors promote students' engagement and motivation to learn? While there are nuances that change from student to student, there are also models of motivation that serve as tools for thinking through and enhancing motivation in our classrooms. This guide will look at three frameworks: the expectancy-value-cost model of motivation, the ARCS model of instructional design, and self-determination theory. These three models highlight some of the major factors that influence student motivation, often drawing from and demonstrating overlap among their frameworks. The aim of this guide is to explore some of the literature on motivation and offer practical solutions for understanding and enhancing student motivation.

Expectancy - Value - Cost Model

The purpose of the original expectancy-value model was to predict students' achievement behaviors within an educational context. The model has since been refined to include cost as one of the three major factors that influence student motivation. Below is a description of the three factors, according to the model, that influence motivation.

Expectancy refers to a student's expectation that they can actually succeed in the assigned task. It energizes students because they feel empowered to meet the learning objectives of the course.

Value involves a student's ability to perceive the importance of engaging in a particular task. This gives meaning to the assignment or activity because students are clear on why the task or behavior is valuable.

Cost points to the barriers that impede a student's ability to be successful on an assignment, activity and/or the course at large. Therefore, students might have success expectancies and perceive high task value, however, they might also be aware of obstacles to their engagement or a potential negative affect resulting in performance of the task, which could decrease their motivation.

Three important questions to consider from the student perspective:
1. Expectancy - Can I do the task?

2. Value - Do I want to do the task?

* Intrinsic or interest value: the inherent enjoyment that an individual experiences from engaging in the task for its own sake.

* Utility value: the usefulness of the task in helping achieve other short term or long-term goals.

* Attainment value: the task affirms a valued aspect of an individual's identity and meets a need that is important to the individual.

3. Cost - Am I free of barriers that prevent me from investing my time, energy, and resources into the activity?

It's important to note that expectancy, value and cost are not shaped only when a student enters your classroom. These have been shaped over time by both individual and contextual factors. Each of your students comes in with an initial response, however there are strategies for encouraging student success, clarifying subject meaning and finding ways to mitigate costs that will increase your students' motivation. Everyone may not end up at the same level of motivation, but if you can increase each student's motivation, it will help the overall atmosphere and productivity of the course that you are teaching.

Strategies to Enhance Expectancy, Value, and Cost

Hulleman et. al (2016) summarize research-based sources that positively impact students' expectancy beliefs, perceptions of task value, and perceptions of cost, which might point to useful strategies that instructors can employ.

Research-based sources of expectancy-related beliefs

Expectancy source

Definition

Research-based sources of value

Research-based sources of cost

Sources:

Barron K. E., & Hulleman, C. S. (2015). Expectancy-value-cost model of motivation. International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8, 503-509.

Hulleman, C. S., Barron, K. E., Kosovich, J. J., & Lazowski, R. A. (2016). Student motivation: Current theories, constructs, and interventions within an expectancy-value framework. In A. A. Lipnevich et al. (Eds.), Psychosocial Skills and School Systems in the 21st Century. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

ARCS Model of Instructional Design

The ARCS model of instructional design was created to improve the motivational appeal of instructional materials. The ARCS model is grounded in an expectancy-value framework, which assumes that people are motivated to engage in an activity if it's perceived to be linked to the satisfaction of personal needs and if there is a positive expectancy for success. The purpose of this model was to fill a gap in the motivation literature by providing a model that could more clearly allow instructors to identify strategies to help improve motivation levels within their students.

ARCS is an acronym that stands for four factors, according to the model, that influence student motivation: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction.

Attention refers to getting and sustaining student attention and directing attention to the appropriate stimuli.

Relevance involves making instruction applicable to present and future career opportunities, showing that learning in it of itself is enjoyable, and/or focusing on process over product by satisfying students' psychological needs (e.g., need for achievement, need for affiliation).

Confidence includes helping students believe that some level of success is possible if effort is exerted.

Satisfaction is attained by helping students feel good about their accomplishments and allowing them to exert some degree of control over the learning experience.

To use the ARCS instructional design model, these steps can be followed:

Define

Classify the problem

Analyze audience motivation

Prepare motivational objectives (i.e., identify which factor in the ARCS model to target based on the defined problem and audience analysis).

Design

Generate potential motivational strategies for each objective

Select strategies that a) don't take up too much instructional time; b) don't detract from instructional objectives; c) fall within time and money constraints; d) are acceptable to the audience; and e) are compatible with the instructor's personal style, preferences, and mode of instruction.

Develop

Prepare motivational elements

Integrate materials with instruction

Evaluate

Conduct a developmental try-out

Assess motivational outcomes

Strategies to Enhance Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction

Keller (1987) provides several suggestions for how instructors can positively impact students' attention, perceived relevance, confidence, and satisfaction.

Attention Strategies
Incongruity, Conflict

Introduce a fact that seems to contradict the learner's past experience.

Present an example that does not seem to exemplify a given concept.

Introduce two equally plausible facts or principles, only one of which can be true.

Play devil's advocate.

Concreteness Variability

In stand up delivery, vary the tone of your voice, and use body movement, pauses, and props.

Vary the format of instruction (information presentation, practice, testing, etc.) according to the attention span of the audience.

Vary the medium of instruction (platform delivery, film, video, print, etc.).

Break up print materials by use of white space, visuals, tables, different typefaces, etc.

Change the style of presentation (humorous-serious, fast-slow, loud-soft, active-passive, etc.).

Shift between student-instructor interaction and student-student interaction.

Humor Inquiry Participation
Use games, role plays, or simulations that require learner participation.

Relevance Strategies
Experience Present Worth
State explicitly the present intrinsic value of learning the content, as distinct from its value as a link to future goals.
Future Usefulness

State explicitly how the instruction relates to future activities of the learner.

Ask learners to relate the instruction to their own future goals (future wheel).

Need Matching Modeling Choice

Provide meaningful alternative methods for accomplishing a goal.

Provide personal choices for organizing one's work.

Confidence Strategies
Learning Requirements Difficulty
Organize materials on an increasing level of difficulty; that is, structure the learning material to provide a "conquerable" challenge.
Expectations Attributions

Attribute student success to effort rather than luck or ease of task when appropriate (i.e., when you know it's true!).

Encourage student efforts to verbalize appropriate attributions for both successes and failures.

Self-Confidence
Satisfaction Strategies
Natural Consequences Unexpected Rewards

Reward intrinsically interesting task performance with unexpected, non-contingent rewards.

Reward boring tasks with extrinsic, anticipated rewards.

Positive Outcomes

Give verbal praise for successful progress or accomplishment.

Give personal attention to students.

Provide informative, helpful feedback when it is immediately useful.

Provide motivating feedback (praise) immediately following task performance.

Negative Influences Scheduling
Source: Keller, J. M. (1987). Development and use of the ARCS model of instructional design. Journal of Instructional Development, 10, 2-10.

Self-Determination Theory

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro-theory of human motivation, emotion, and development that is concerned with the social conditions that facilitate or hinder human flourishing. While applicable to many domains, the theory has been commonly used to understand what moves students to act and persist in educational settings. SDT focuses on the factors that influence intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, which primarily involves the satisfaction of basic psychological needs.

Basic Psychological Needs

SDT posits that human motivation is guided by the need to fulfill basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Autonomy refers to having a choice in one's own individual behaviors and feeling that those behaviors stem from individual volition rather than from external pressure or control. In educational contexts, students feel autonomous when they are given options, within a structure, about how to perform or present their work.

Competence refers to perceiving one's own behaviors or actions as effective and efficient. Students feel competent when they are able to track their progress in developing skills or an understanding of course material. This is often fostered when students receive clear feedback regarding their progression in the class.

Relatedness refers to feeling a sense of belonging, closeness, and support from others. In educational settings, relatedness is fostered when students feel connected, both intellectually and emotionally, to their peers and instructors in the class. This can often be accomplished through interactions that allow members of the class to get to know each other on a deeper, more personal level.

Continuum of Self-Determination

SDT also posits that motivation exists on a continuum. When an environment provides enough support for the satisfaction of the psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness, an individual may experience self-determined forms of motivation: intrinsic motivation, integration, and identification. Self-determined motivation occurs when there is an internal perceived locus of causality (i.e., internal factors are the main driving force for the behavior). Integration and identification are also grouped as autonomous extrinsic motivation as the behavior is driven by internal and volitional choice.

Intrinsic motivation, which is the most self-determined type of motivation, occurs when individuals naturally and spontaneously perform behaviors as a result of genuine interest and enjoyment.

Integrated regulation is when individuals identify the importance of a behavior, integrate this behavior into their self-concept, and pursue activities that align with this self-concept.

Identified regulation is where people identify and recognize the value of a behavior, which then drives their action.

When an environment does not provide enough support for the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, an individual may experience non-self-determined forms of motivation: introjection and external regulation. Introjection and external regulation are grouped as controlled extrinsic motivation because people enact these behaviors due to external or internal pressures.

Introjected regulation occurs when individuals are controlled by internalized consequences administered by the individual themselves, such as pride, shame, or guilt.

External regulation is when people's behaviors are controlled exclusively by external factors, such as rewards or punishments.

Finally, at the bottom of the continuum is amotivation, which is lowest form of motivation.

Amotivation exists when there is a complete lack of intention to behave and there is no sense of achievement or purpose when the behavior is performed.

Below is a figure depicting the continuum of self-determination taken from Lonsdale, Hodge, and Rose (2009).

Although having intrinsically motivated students would be the ultimate goal, it may not be a practical one within educational settings. That's because there are several tasks that are required of students to meet particular learning objectives that may not be inherently interesting or enjoyable. Instead, instructors can employ various strategies to satisfy students' basic psychological needs, which should move their level of motivation along the continuum, and hopefully lead to more self-determined forms of motivation, thus yielding the greatest rewards in terms of student academic outcomes.

Below are suggestions for how instructors can positively impact students' perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Strategies to Enhance Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness

Autonomy Strategies

Have students choose paper topics

Have students choose the medium with which they will present their work

Co-create rubrics with students (e.g., participation rubrics, assignment rubrics)

Have students choose the topics you will cover in a particular unit

Drop the lowest assessment or two (e.g., quizzes, exams, homework)

Have students identify preferred assignment deadlines

Gather mid-semester feedback and make changes based on student suggestions

Provide meaningful rationales for learning activities

Acknowledge students' feelings about the learning process or learning activities throughout the course

Competence Strategies

Set high but achievable learning objectives

Communicate to students that you believe they can meet your high expectations

Communicate clear expectations for each assignment (e.g., use rubrics)

Include multiple low-stakes assessments

Give students practice with feedback before assessments

Provide lots of early feedback to students

Have students provide peer feedback

Scaffold assignments

Praise student effort and hard work

Provide a safe environment for students to fail and then learn from their mistakes

Relatedness Strategies

Share personal anecdotes

Get to know students via small talk before/after class and during breaks

Require students to come to office hours (individually or in small groups)

Have students complete a survey where they share information about themselves

Use students' names (perhaps with the help of name tents)

Have students incorporate personal interests into their assignments

Share a meal with students or bring food to class

Incorporate group activities during class, and allow students to work with a variety of peers

Arrange formal study groups

Convey warmth, caring, and respect to students

Sources:

Lonsdale, C., Hodge, K., & Rose, E. (2009). Athlete burnout in elite sport: A self-determination perspective. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27, 785-795.

Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7, 133-144.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York: Guilford.

Additional Strategies for Motivating Students

Below are some additional research-based strategies for motivating students to learn.

Become a role model for student interest. Deliver your presentations with energy and enthusiasm. As a display of your motivation, your passion motivates your students. Make the course personal, showing why you are interested in the material.

Get to know your students. You will be able to better tailor your instruction to the students' concerns and backgrounds, and your personal interest in them will inspire their personal loyalty to you. Display a strong interest in students' learning and a faith in their abilities.

Use examples freely. Many students want to be shown why a concept or technique is useful before they want to study it further. Inform students about how your course prepares students for future opportunities.

Use a variety of student-active teaching activities. These activities directly engage students in the material and give them opportunities to achieve a level of mastery.

Teach by discovery. Students find it satisfying to reason through a problem and discover the underlying principle on their own.

Cooperative learning activities are particularly effective as they also provide positive social pressure.

Set realistic performance goals and help students achieve them by encouraging them to set their own reasonable goals. Design assignments that are appropriately challenging in view of the experience and aptitude of the class.

Place appropriate emphasis on testing and grading. Tests should be a means of showing what students have mastered, not what they have not. Avoid grading on the curve and give everyone the opportunity to achieve the highest standard and grades.

Be free with praise and constructive in criticism. Negative comments should pertain to particular performances, not the performer. Offer nonjudgmental feedback on students' work, stress opportunities to improve, look for ways to stimulate advancement, and avoid dividing students into sheep and goats.

Give students as much control over their own education as possible. Let students choose paper and project topics that interest them. Assess them in a variety of ways (tests, papers, projects, presentations, etc.) to give students more control over how they show their understanding to you. Give students options for how these assignments are weighted.

Sources:

Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

DeLong, M., & Winter, D. (2002). Learning to teach and teaching to learn mathematics: Resources for professional development. Washington, D.C.: Mathematical Association of America.

Nilson, L. (2016). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass.

This teaching guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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by Chelsea Yarborough and Heather Fedesco Print Version Cite this guide: Yarborough, C. B., & Fedesco, H. N. (2020). Motivating students. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [todaysdate] from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu//cft/guides-sub-pages/motivating-students/. Introduction Expectancy - Value - Cost Model ARCS Model of Instructional Design Self-Determination Theory Additional Strategies for Motivating Students Introduction Fostering student...

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This PDF written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe explains what backwards design is and the process in going about doing it. It is helpful because it shows you step by step how to go about planning a unit using backwards design.

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This is a pdf from the capacity building series put out by the ministry of education of using the environment as the third teacher and how to set up your classroom to reach its maximum learning potential

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Classroom Management and Student Discipline

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Classroom Management and Student Discipline

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The New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) put out a web resource PDF of professional development and training specific to the needs of new teachers. This lists courses new teachers can take to continue their learning and better prepare themselves

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This article from oxford learning talks about what inquiry based learning is, the key elements that make it work and when it should be used

I find pinterest to be a great resource when it comes to finding excellent ideas for inquiry based learning in the classroom. Your search can be as specific as you want but this link shows the general result for “inquiry based learning”

https://www.pinterest.ca/search/pins/?q=inquiry%20based%20learning&rs=typed&term_meta[]=inquiry%7Ctyped&term_meta[]=based%7Ctyped&term_meta[]=learning%7Ctyped

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Every educator has struggled with the challenge of keeping their students engaged and interested in their learning material. One way to overcome this hurdle is to embrace inquiry-based learning - a teaching method that places students' questions, ideas and observations at the centre of the education experience.

At one point or another, every educator has struggled with the challenge of keeping the attention span of a classroom full of students. When students do not find subjects or problems particularly interesting or intellectually stimulating, they often have difficulty staying focused and have issues with retaining important information.

One way to overcome this hurdle - and to foster a greater interest in the material being taught - is to encourage students to become active contributors to their own learning experience through a method of teaching known as inquiry-based learning.

What is inquiry-based learning?

In the Ontario Ministry of Education's report Inquiry-based Learning: On Transforming Wonder into Knowledge, inquiry-based learning is described as a teaching approach that builds on the idea that educators and students both share responsibility for learning.

Instead of an educator telling students everything they need to know, inquiry-based learning places students' questions, ideas and observations at the centre of the learning experience, and requires them to engage in evidence-based reasoning and creative problem solving. The approach emphasizes learning by doing, encouraging students to build their knowledge through experience and exploration.

Inquiry-based learning places students' questions, ideas and observations at the centre of the learning experience [Tweet This]

"The key to [inquiry-based learning] is to teach students how to ask their own questions, and to discern good questions from bad questions," explained Dr. Alan Edmunds, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Western University.

Dr. Edmunds added that the approach is about helping students generate solid, inquisitive and deep questions around a topic.

Inquiry-based learning also combines several approaches to instruction that have been proven to be successful, including small-group and guided learning.

According to Dr. Sharon Friesen, Professor and Vice Dean of the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, inquiry-based learning has been used in the classroom environment at universities since their inception. She explained that this form of teaching has also been used in primary and secondary education for decades.

"K-12 classrooms are set up to support inquiry work. They actually have been for quite some time, as inquiry-based learning first made its way into K-12 classrooms in the late 1920s and early 1930s," Dr. Friesen said.

What components are needed to make inquiry-based learning work?

While inquiry-based learning is a dynamic approach that can be adapted for almost any learning environment, there are several components that need to be put in place in order to make the teaching style successful for everyone involved. A few of these key components are:

A culture of inquiry: According to Inquiry-based Learning: On Transforming Wonder into Knowledge, establishing a culture in which students are encouraged to express their thoughts and challenge one another's ideas is an important first step in the inquiry process. When students feel comfortable and encouraged to share what they are thinking, they are much more likely to contribute to a classroom discussion amongst their peers.

External support (for teachers): Dr. Friesen explained that unless a curriculum has been designed to require deep understanding of a few significant ideas central to the subject disciplines under study, teachers would need to spend a significant amount of time interpreting and reconfiguring the guidelines to make them coherent and applicable to the inquiry-based learning approach.

Educator guidance and support (for students): Even though a large component of inquiry-based learning revolves around students, the success of the approach depends on the guidance provided by teachers. According to the Canadian Education Association's research resource Is Inquiry-Based Learning Effective?, "teachers should guide students to develop a good question for investigation, monitor their inquiry process, and provide guidance when they encounter difficulties." Dr. Edmunds agreed with this, explaining that while students learn great from other students, the teacher needs to guide them so they discover the proper knowledge.

Understanding of the audience: Dr. Edmunds suggested that educators do a small test of their students' understanding by going through the nuts and bolts of the material prior to asking them higher order questions. He explained progressive assessments should be used to ensure that all students have a solid knowledge base before beginning.

Open-mindedness and spontaneity: When planning for a lesson, teachers may feel the need to begin or frame the discussion around one question or a specific set of questions. However, inquiry-based learning is most effective when the leader has an open-minded approach and is willing to build on spontaneous questions that encourage further thought and discussion amongst the class.

Why is inquiry-based learning important?

Inquiry-based learning is a useful method that educators should embrace, as it helps to enhance the learning experience of students. The method gives children the opportunity to take a hands-on approach in their education while obtaining several important skills that can be used at all levels of their learning, and even into their future careers.

"Within discipline-based inquiry learning, students learn how to: gather, critique, analyze and interpret information; create working theories; pose new questions; bring forward evidence; integrate new ideas," Dr. Friesen said.

"Students are taught specific skills and knowledge that are at the heart of the disciplines in a discipline-based inquiry-learning classroom as they are key to them fully advancing within the subjects," She added.

Inquiry-based learning also gives students the opportunity to develop stronger relationships with their classmates, improve their communication skills, and increase the confidence they have in their own ideas and ability to contribute in the classroom.

When Should Inquiry Based Learning Be Used?

While inquiry-based learning is an effective method that can be embraced in a variety of situations, it isn't a method that should be used for everything.

There are multiple learning situations and lessons that would benefit from a more direct approach, such as explaining how to complete a straightforward multiplication or division equation. Asking higher order questions in a situation like this would likely confuse students, especially if they do not already have the proper knowledge base to take part in the discussion.

However, if an opportunity arises to engage students by asking questions and encouraging them to play a bigger role in their knowledge development, embracing inquiry-based learning will help engage young learners and foster excitement in the subjects they are learning about.

Inquiry-based learning will help engage young learners and foster excitement in the subjects they are learning about [Tweet This]

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Engaging Young Learners Through Inquiry-Based Learning - Oxford Learning

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Every educator has struggled with the challenge of keeping their students engaged and interested in their learning material. One way to overcome this hurdle is to embrace inquiry-based learning - a teaching method that places students' questions, ideas and observations at the centre of the education experience.

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Article on Edutopia about finding the balance between teaching and technology. This article also provides many technology tools that are made specifically for the classroom.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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TDSB explanation of what it is and how we go about dealing with it. It provides resources on how to connect with professional support services in the school board

A second resource I found to be helpful is from St. John Ambulance. They have a Mental Health First Aid course that can be organized independently or as a school.

https://www.sjapeel.ca/mhfa

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Toronto District School Board > Elementary School > Supporting You > Mental Health & Well-being

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This document is called Foundations for a Healthy School and is a part of Ontario's Achieving Excellence vision