It is difficult to answer this without exploring why the student shows little interest. Is it because the material is old news to this student? Could it be that the quality of the material is shallow and that the student is not challenged? Does the form of assessment chosen by the teacher allow the student to express a deeper understanding and explore a new perspective on the material? Is it realistic to presume that because a student is gifted that they are also intrigued by all instructional content? Gifted and high performing are not interchangeable terms. High performing students are often motivated by tangible measures of success—grades, class rank, awards and acknowledgement. They may need the acceptance that comes through recognition. Truly gifted students may be indifferent to the values or rewards offered by their teachers because they are driven by their own interest and desire to know more about whatever it is that fascinates them. Their need is more likely to be self-actualization than recognition and acceptance. So what can a teacher do to ignite and direct that self-motivation? Successful teachers of gifted students encourage student learning through problem solving, applications, or research that relates content to the student’s giftedness. They find ways to cut through busy work and they don’t waste the time of these students. By providing access to resources, by removing barriers that constrain and frustrate self-teaching, and by offering a testing ground for new ideas, teachers can encourage these young people to construct on their own learning.
Apart from motivating students, how can teachers motivate themselves?
Most of us come to the profession because learning is so gratifying we want to open that same door of discovery for others. Sometimes teachers either don’t acknowledge their own need to continue to grow intellectually, or they simply lose sight of that need as they get bogged down in routine. Highly accomplished teachers thrive when their own needs for acceptance and self-actualization are met. Unfortunately teachers spend much of their day in isolation from their colleagues or in a very limited community of individuals who teach on their hall or have the same planning or lunch period. But if we are willing to participate, technology is broadening both our world and our experience as educators. For about three years I’ve been part of a virtual professional community at Teachers Leader Network. Discussions there let me look into the practice of teachers in wildly diverse school settings all across the country, and expose me to teaching and learning research and education journalism from a variety of sources. My pedagogy has improved, my perspectives have broadened and my opinions are more informed. When two or three motivated teachers begin to create community within a school they often build this same kind of scaffolding and, as other teachers become more engaged, the motivation begins to ripple through a faculty.
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