Emily Rosenzweig, assistant professor in the Mary Frances Early College of Education’s educational psychology department, recently spoke with Education Week about building confidence as a way to motivate middle schoolers in STEM.
Sixth through eighth grade marks a shift in what motivates students, creating a challenge for science and math teachers.
“For many [middle school] students, their motivation will decline,” Rosenzweig said.
This can happen for many reasons, but Rosenzweig points out one, in particular.
“A big one is competence perceptions: struggling to help students feel like they can learn in STEM,” she said.
Another misconception is that if a student seems disinterested, then they’re probably not motivated to learn about STEM subjects.
“If a student seems to be not paying attention, seems to be kind of disengaged, it could be because that student doesn’t like the subject and doesn’t want do it,” Rosenzweig said. “But it could also be that the student has a more complex profile. Like, they really think this is important, but they’re struggling with their confidence for it. Or they feel like this is something they can do, but they were up late doing work for a different class.”
Regardless of the reason why a student seems unmotivated, Rosenzweig encourages educators not to give up on them too quickly.
