ULD Principle 3: Affective networks - Multiple forms of motivation offer options to encourage interest.

How does a ULD classroom feel, sound and look? Part 3 
Applied strategies involving basic principles. 
Principle 3: Affective networks - Multiple forms of motivation offer options to encourage interest.

By Gisela López

"Information that is not attended to, that does not compromise the cognition and emotion of the student, does not exist: it is inaccessible and goes unnoticed without processing, so that, in the future, it will not be remembered." (CEREBRUM 2022)

1. Individual choice and autonomy.

We all like to have opportunities to choose: clothes, food, outings, movies, company, weather, etc. Deciding motivates our brain to start the activity and want to finish it since it gives us the message of participation and some control; that is, we not only obey what they tell us, but we can also participate and establish where to start or what to start to do first.

Children are in training; they need structured parameters and models to copy. However, they also need to have the opportunity to choose. This sustains their motivation, will makes them responsible for their choice and will continue to develop autonomy when looking for solution strategies.

Under this guideline, we must consider the following:

• Give alternatives about the media in which students want to present their findings: written texts, infographics, mind maps, audio, video tutorials, oral presentations, dramatizations, etc.
• Challenge level options: Level up activities & Bonus track tasks
• Use of technology to present conclusions.
• Different ways of investigating: primary and secondary sources, interviews, surveys, videos, articles, etc.
• Allow children to participate in the construction of the task and in the guidelines.
• Letting children come up with short goals and expected achievement levels can help build checklists and rubrics.
• Visual aids have signs in class that encourage reflection and impulse control: Stop and Think.
• Activities to think and show thought, make it visible: Use thought routines that facilitate verbalizing ideas.
• Templates for comprehension and self-correction: Examples of exercises solved correctly and others with minimal mistakes.
• Timer to anticipate and manage anxiety

2. Authentic tasks

• Contextualize tasks with their interests.
• Make them perceive the activities as necessary and valuable.
• Allow them to use their skills in real situations: interviewing a classmate, making an appointment with the principal, participating in a debate with children from other grades, and presenting a campaign to younger children, among others.

3. Stimulating environment

• Signage
• Graphic organizers
• Flowcharts
• Schedules that help them anticipate activities
• Guidelines for transitions
• Calibrate sensory stimulation. Don't overwhelm.

4. Visualize and remember the objectives and goals

• Write a general class objective per week, and motivate them to have a personal goal related to that of the group or with some specification. Write it on a post and have it on their desks.
• Signs and symbols help them to restore the initial objective.
• Guidelines for setting short goals and steps for subdividing goals: Short-term, realistic and challenging, non-crippling, measurable goals; for example, I will do 2 exercises daily. Assigning time and deadlines, for example: If I complete the two exercises every day, by this Friday, I will be able to finish the 10 activities.
• Help them identify a real goal from an unreal one, show three prompts and ask for opinions: What will be a relevant goal for this week?
• Plan the steps that make you reach the goal. List sequences and steps to follow to divide a prolonged activity into mini-tasks.
• Manage a daily or weekly checklist. Go mark what is progressing.

5. Promote collaborative work.

It is in small groups where children with some difficulty feel most comfortable. This lowers their anxiety when exposed to error and strengthens bonds of friendship. On some occasions, we can let the children choose their work teams, and on other events, we can propose the grouping. Let's encourage role play and rotation of responsibilities, and let's remember that we learn more when we explain or teach procedures or solution strategies to others.

6. Feedback: Relevance in time, place and form.

"A critical factor in guiding students toward long-term success and achieving lasting positive cognitive habits is assessment." (CEREBRUM 2022)

• Children must keep track of their progress and use feedback to correct and improve their performance.
• Feedback should focus on the effort rather than the result.
• We must be vigilant and communicate and celebrate any movement or change of status. Move from the starting point to the second step. Examples: 1. You are more confident with two-digit multiplications. 2. Now that I understand your calligraphy even more, let's review the previous pages so you can see what has been happening these weeks.
• We will present the feedback with guided questions for self-observation.
• Carry out constant mini-assessments so we have more inputs to follow up and also get evidence of progress.

Food for thought:

We can use many ideas or options to ensure that every child is on the learning path; many alternatives will occur to us over time and function as scaffolding for each case. But, above all things, in addition to providing meaningful experiences, we must model strategies that lead children to reflect, recognize successes, and appreciate their talents and not just stay focused on their limitations. That will be their constant motivation.

We often fall into the culture of complaining and let ourselves be discouraged by what we don't have, what we lack, or what we still can't get; we compare ourselves and get discouraged. This dynamic is experienced by children every school year when facing new challenges. Let's help them by making ourselves vulnerable to error as parents and teachers.  Let's have a teachable attitude; let's be people who are not afraid to ask for help. Children will imitate that mood.

Good luck; let's move on, one day at a time.