On Student Motivation

8/10/2019 On Student Motivation

1/4VOICES@ KUMON.COM SUMMER 2013 VOICES

I tem 6 of the Instruction Principles in the IPG,states that maintaining students motivation isessential, as you read in the quotation above.

As an Instructor, you are fully aware of how

important it is to maintain students motivation. In

primary instruction, for example, after a student

previews the days work, you may ask him or her,

What are you going to study today? or How long

will you take to finish todays work? The studentmay respond with high motivation, This learning

focus is new for me, but I will try to finish ten pages

within fifteen minutes. Also, some Instructors

have students write their goal on the first page

of the days worksheets in order to develop their

motivation to study.

In this issue of Voices, I have gathered Toru

Kumons words on motivation from the preface of

Yamabiko. Through his unique expressions, I hope

you reconfirm the importance of maintaining and

further developing students motivation.

DEVELOPING CHILDRENS MOTIVATION

AND CONCENTRATION FIRST

The most important mission of Kumon Instructors

is to know the real potential of individual children

and be able to assign worksheets that are suited

to the ability of each child; in other words, our

principal responsibility is to motivate children.

Item 3 of the Instruction Principles in the

revised IPG (Japanese-only version at this time)

states that we should focus on developing childrens

motivation and concentration first, before trying to

improve their academic abilities. In the book Kumon

Math Centers (written by Toru Kumon in 1980),

it also mentions that by motivating your students

you have achieved 90 percent of the goal; in fact, I

believe it should be over 90 percent.

Five years ago, no matter how much Instructors

tried, there were some students whose abilities

could not be easily improved without parental

support. Since then, Kumon worksheets and

instruction techniques have been repeatedly revised

by incorporating your opinions and suggestions. As

a result, we have improved our instruction skills tosuch a level that we can now considerably improve

childrens abilities without depending so much on

parental assistance. In fact, today, it is no longer

unusual for Kumon students of elementary school

age to be solving equations, as long as we have

successfully motivated them.

With the Kumon Method, if we can enhance

students motivation, their academic abilities will

naturally improve. In the conventional school

setting, however, this is something that seems

difficult to achieve. It is true that there are a fewschoolteachers who are very good at motivating

students. However, with the current school

textbooks and curriculum, it is rather difficult to

channel the childrens motivation into improving

their academic abilities. Since Kumon worksheets

are ideal for improving academic abilities, students

will advance as a matter of course, as long as you

are able to motivate them first.

(Yamabiko, Vol. 63, 1980)

MotivationMasanobu Endo

In order for students to progress smoothly,

it is essential that Instructors motivate them.

Students motivation is influenced by the

Instructors attitude towards them and the way

in which the Instructor communicates with

them. Instructors should always be thinking ofhow to foster the motivation in their students.


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30 VOICES SUMMER 2013

MOTIVATION IS A

HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT FACTOR

Excellent students do not develop just academic

ability, but also become self-motivated and are

able to develop skills quickly in whatever they do.

These children know the joy of taking the initiativeas well as knowing how to improve at something,

so that even when something is new to them, they

are willing to give it a try.

On the other hand, children of lower ability

have few experiences of achieving success on their

own and often tend to become passive quickly.

Therefore, it is difficult for them to develop new

skills when presented with something new because

they have trouble challenging themselves.

Childrens attitudes in dealing with a situation

greatly affect the development of their abilities.

Their levels of motivation and independence

should be regarded as highly significant factors in

their development. Some children grow up being

forced to learn things that they find difficult and

unmanageable and are scolded for not being able

to complete tasks successfully, while other children

grow up being praised for learning on their own

at their just-right level. The difference between

these types of children stems predominantly from

the way in which factors such as independence and

motivation are fostered. This is what determines

the difference between them in terms of academicability.


RISING MOTIVATION AND

DEVELOPING ABILITIES

At Kumon, even children with low academic

ability can discover things they can do if they try.

When they continue to advance, and are praised for

receiving perfect scores, their motivation to study

will rise. Once they try, they will be surprised to findthat they are able to easily solve questions they had

previously thought were difficult. They will become

more efficient and capable of concentrating on

their studies, enabling them to begin to understand

school lessons and gain more confidence.

In this manner, children who have traditionally

disliked studying at school but are now enjoying

studying at Kumon eventually learn to enjoy school

studies as well. These children become noticeably

happier. However, for the sake of their futures,

we must develop their abilities even more, so that

they can acquire true confidence and superior

learning habits.

The parents of a Kumon student said, Our child

still had a long way to go when he was studying one

year ahead of his school grade level. When he wastwo years ahead we began to see some significant

changes, but it was only once he reached three years

ahead of his school level that we considered he was

truly exploring his potential. To enable children to

develop sufficient ability and be free from anxiety

in the future, we should let them advance as much

as possible.

As children advance two, three, or more years

ahead of their school grade level and attain a

substantial amount of academic ability, they

become more thoughtful in areas where they

previously were less attentive, and this naturally

leads them to become kinder and more considerate

to others. Every child intrinsically wants to be kind

and caring; however, children of lesser ability are

often so busy with their studies alone that it is

difficult for them to think of others.

The difference in school grades between students

who are one year beyond grade level and students

who are three years beyond may not be great, but

there is no doubt that the difference in terms of the

level of other abilities is substantial. With students

who excel, it is important to look not only at theiracademic ability but also at other types of abilities.

In assessing advanced students, you should check

not only their progress in the worksheets but also

the range of other abilities in which they have

developed.


Excellent students do notdevelop just academic ability,but also become self-motivated

and are able to develop skills

quickly in whatever they do.


3/4VOICES@ KUMON.COM SUMMER 2013 VOICES

JUSTRIGHT LEVEL FOSTERS

STUDENTS MOTIVATION

Our job is to conduct research to see how

children develop when they are provided with what

is just right in accordance with their motivation

and ability level. Being such an important issue

in education, I feel that other organizations such

as the Ministry of Education should, in fact, be

conducting this type of research as well.

In a Center, the Instructor is not afraid to assign

Level A worksheets, or even lower, to a junior

high school student if she believes it is the just-

right level for that student. Then, as such a studentbecomes more motivated, they improve their work

skills, and therefore advance further and further

through the worksheets. Consequently, while the

student used to score 60 on math tests, he or she is

then able to achieve 90 within one or two months.

In addition, although the student is still learning

at around Level D, they also become capable of

solving geometry at a junior high school level.

This happens because by studying just-

right worksheets, children not only develop

their academic abilities, they also increase theirmotivation to learn, which leads to improved

efficiency. Moreover, they come to understand how

to learn, which in turn boosts enthusiasm. In this

way they rapidly develop various other abilities.

Meanwhile, by concentrating on working on their

own, children become able to comprehend things

by themselves. They somehow gradually begin to

understand things they did not grasp before, or after

trying something new, they discover things they

had not expected to find out. Through repeating

these experiences, children become willing to

advance because they look forward to learning

new and interesting things. Once they acquire such

willingness, children develop the ability to advance

in their studies naturally at an accelerated rate,

without having to be taught.Rather than forcing children to advance based

on your own ideas, you should determine the just-

right level for each child and provide appropriate

worksheets accordingly. Then, children will develop

their abilities on their own and naturally want to

advance in their studies. Through this process, the

just-right level of each child will continue to rise,

and the child will keep advancing to higher and

higher levels. This is the type of instruction the

Kumon Method aims to offer.

It is truly a dreadful thing to determine the level

of childrens potential through the preconceptions

we adults have. Deciding the just-right level for

each child is the most important task of a Kumon

Instructor, but at the same time it is the most

difficult.


RAISING WORK SKILLS

The initial goal of the Kumon Method is to

help children acquire the ability to quickly and

accurately solve a large number of problems thatappear simple and easy. When such training is

thoroughly carried out, children gain the ability to

easily understand what they used to find difficult,

and they become motivated to learn more.

With regard to study at the elementary school

level, children can develop their academic abilities

in no time, as long as they are motivated. Therefore,

in order to have every child learn to enjoy math

and become capable of doing math, simply begin

by assigning a sufficient number of worksheets that

are not difficult for them.On the other hand, people in general seem

to hold the view that children should be given

materials that correspond to a childs school grade.

They think, for example, that if fifth graders do not

study the fifth-grade curriculum, they will not be

able to improve in ability. Such views can prevent

people from seeing just how much children come to

like studying using basic materials that are below

their current school grade level.

The initial goal of theKumon Method is to helpchildren acquire the ability to

quickly and accurately solve a

large number of problems that

appear simple and easy.


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32 VOICES SUMMER 2013

As a motivated child progresses through the

Kumon worksheets, it is not long before they

are able to solve problems that they have not

yet learned at school with only small hints being

provided. In the case of a fifth grader, even if they

start from Level A, in due time they will be able

to catch up to their grade level and eventuallyadvance beyond it.

Nonetheless, it is quite natural and under-

standable that the general public still finds this

hard to believe. However, even the best education

method will not be able to produce its best results

if the people surrounding the children have some

misgivings about it. Therefore, it is crucial that you

always explain the individual study projection to

both students and their parents without fail.


STUDYING WORKSHEETS

Among Instructors, there are some who do not

continue to complete worksheets themselves after

their New Instructor Training. The worksheets are

revised year after year, and you must complete these

revised worksheets yourself. Strong-performing

Centers have sample worksheets solved by the

Instructors on display, which is an effective way

to stimulate students motivation. There are many

things you will learn only after solving certainworksheets on your own. I ask that you set aside

more time to study the worksheets, as this will help

you utilize them more effectively and become more

capable of giving appropriate hints when students

ask questions.

Kumon Instructors must always continue to

complete the worksheets to ensure that they know

them thoroughly because we can only expect

students to be enthusiastic and motivated about

their learning when Instructors assign what they

have earnestly studied themselves.


On Student Motivation

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