Shadowing a student shows how to make learning more relevant

Engaging immigrant students in learning requires ensuring that their lessons at school are relevant to the realities of their lives.

Far too many students become disinvested in school well before high school graduation. That applies to immigrant students with complicated biographies just as it applies to students facing fewer challenges.

When students continuously encounter assignments they find boring or not meaningful, their attention to learning weakens. In typical situations, teachers label students unmotivated and resort to bribes and threats to get them to complete tasks. However, when students approach learning to achieve a goal that isn’t connected with the learning experience — for example, points and pizza for good behavior or after-school detention and bad grades for troublemakers — a predictable by-product is that students will take the most cursory approach to accomplish the goal. A common example is cramming for a test to achieve a good grade and, a day later, forgetting all but the desperation of a grueling late-night experience. If we believe in substantive learning for all students, yet teach in ways that undermine it, we contradict our intentions.

While teaching at the University of Washington-Seattle, I probed these concerns with graduate students, most of whom were aspiring school or district leaders, in a course on motivation and instructional change. I wanted educators in the course to examine the idea that across all cultural groups intrinsic motivation — that by which students learn for the deep satisfaction of learning — is the source, mediator, and outcome of student engagement. I also wanted them to see that all people are motivated, whether or not they are motivated to learn what a teacher expects. Although motivation is vulnerable to distraction, boredom, and difficulty, and sustaining student motivation can seem elusive, I wanted these experienced educators to consider how instructional plans also could be motivational plans.

When students continuously encounter inconsequential activities, their attention to learning weakens.

By motivational plans, I mean designing instruction based on four conditions that are part of a framework for culturally responsive teaching that Raymond Wlodkowski and I developed from interdisciplinary research over 20 years ago. The four conditions with related questions follow:

Establishing inclusion: How can teachers create a learning environment in which all students feel respected by and connected to one another and to the teacher?
Developing a positive attitude: How can teachers create or affirm a favorable disposition toward learning through personal and cultural relevance and student choice?
Enhancing meaning: How can teachers create engaging and challenging learning experiences that include student perspectives and values?
Engendering competence: How can teachers help students understand that they are becoming more effective in ways that have authentic value for their goals and the well-being of the broader community?

To explore these four motivational questions, graduate students developed inquiry projects. Some of the projects included shadowing a student who was a recent immigrant during a school day and visiting the student’s family in their home. Students worked with this overarching question: When and under what conditions is this particular student likely to be motivated and engaged in learning? I hoped students would see how shadowing could become a way to consider what needs to happen for a broad range of students to be motivated and engaged as learners, and how, eventually, the process might help other educators interrupt blame and deficit thinking directed toward students and families. They shaped their investigations so they could share results and structures with teachers in their own contexts.

The scenario that follows shows how one graduate student, whom I will call Ms. Lerner, approached inquiry. Ms. Lerner was curious about a student, whose name I’ve also fictionalized. From her perspective, Ahmed seemed unmotivated to learn in school, yet highly motivated in other contexts. Within the narrative, she explains why and how she shadowed Ahmed throughout a school day and later visited with his family in their home. She also explains some of her insights and concerns based on her overarching question: What contributes to or distracts from Ahmed’s intrinsic motivation to learn?

With permission from other teachers, Ahmed, and Ahmed’s family, she shadowed Ahmed for a day and took copious notes in a two-column spiral notebook. In the left-hand column, she noted observational data that corresponded to the motivational framework for culturally responsive teaching. For example, when she noticed Ahmed interacting with a teacher in ways that revealed a positive relationship, she made a note based on the criteria for establishing inclusion, the first condition of the motivational framework. When she noticed a relevant assignment and flexibility in how to approach it, she made a note based on the motivational condition of establishing a positive attitude. When she noticed challenge and engagement, she made a note based on the condition of enhancing meaning. Any time she noticed that Ahmed had evidence of learning that he valued, she made a note based on the condition of engendering competence.

She also noted what was happening when Ahmed was off task. Due to overlap in the four conditions of the motivational framework and because the motivational conditions are interdependent, at times, she simply described what she saw and connected it to a motivational condition in her later analysis of data. In the right-hand column, she wrote personal thoughts and questions to keep more subjective information separate from more objective observations.

With Ms. Lerner’s permission to reduce and adapt the following scenario for the purposes of this publication, readers can vicariously follow Ms. Lerner and Ahmed through a set of typical high school experiences.

Ahmed at school

Ahmed, a student in Ms. Lerner’s 10th-grade math class, loves soccer. He is rarely without a soccer ball, and he is frequently late to class because he stops by the field behind the school to check out who might be playing. Ahmed is from Mogadishu, Somalia. Now 16 years old, he was born at the start of the war in Somalia and is the second youngest child in a family with five boys and six girls. The early years of Ahmed’s life were chaotic, and he only remembers bits and pieces of his childhood. He dreams of being on the Somali Olympic soccer team.

Ahmed has been enrolled in the same school district since arriving in the U.S. five years ago with his mother, father, and two of his sisters. He has struggled with school since his arrival. Ahmed’s interpersonal communication skills in English are far above the other students in his math class, who primarily are intermediate-level English learners. But Ahmed has a different experience with reading text that requires academic language proficiency and is in a special program to accelerate students who are significantly below grade level in academic reading. Ahmed is also in an advanced language arts class for English learners in which students work primarily on academic writing.

Ahmed does not want to disappoint his parents so he is intentionally positive though vague about his school experiences.

Most of Ahmed’s teachers are frustrated with him, his frequent tardiness, his talent at avoiding work in the classroom, and other behaviors that suggest a lack of effort. Since coming to the U.S., nearly every teacher has recommended him for special education. His parents, however, won’t allow him to be tested because they see this as a weakness, and they want Ahmed to be strong and work hard to achieve success. The school placed Ahmed in Ms. Lerner’s math class for English learners as an alternative to a special education program.

The ELL beginning classes are almost exclusively Latino, and the intermediate and advanced classes are around 60% Latino, the rest being a combination of students from Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. ELL students can stay in the public school system until they are 21 years old, which means that students in ELL classrooms range from age 14 to 20 years old, all with very different education backgrounds in their home countries. Most non-Latino students seem to learn English more quickly because they have fewer people at school who speak their home language. There seems to be a split in many of the classrooms between students who come to school primarily to socialize and to learn some English, and those who are concerned with academics and have dreams of graduating and going to college. Ahmed fits into both categories.

Ms. Lerner wonders if school experiences for students like Ahmed are rich enough educational experiences to fill in the huge gap in their learning. In particular, she wonders when Ahmed is most likely to be motivated to learn. When she asks Ahmed if she can follow him to three morning classes to learn more about his experiences, Ahmed welcomes her interest and readily agrees.

In Ahmed’s first-hour language arts class, his teacher explains that since today is Valentine’s Day, students will read quotations about love, select one, and draw a visual image of what their quote expresses. Ahmed, who was initially happy and vocal, joking with the other boys, turns quiet and stares at his paper. With the teacher’s prodding, he reluctantly begins. However, for the rest of the class period, he seems to struggle over what to draw and how to compensate for his limited drawing skills.

The assignment in Ahmed’s writing class is similar. As soon as he begins to make mistakes, he slides lower in his chair, makes few attempts to draw, crumples up the paper, and asks for a new one. At one point, he asks another student to do the drawing for him until the teacher motions him to do his own work. This continues until the last 10 minutes of class when the teacher stops the activity and has students write their 100 words for the day.

Throughout the morning, Ahmed performs a familiar routine. He questions the teacher about the specifics of the assignment, then questions her about school in general, followed by questions about the teacher. By the end of the third class period, Ahmed has written a total of three words and drawn a heart on a piece of paper. Ms. Lerner is amazed at Ahmed’s ability to stay busy and out of trouble, while so little engaged in learning. During one 15-minute interval, she notes: Ahmed spends several minutes organizing the papers on his desk, asks to go to the bathroom three times, is told no each time, asks a series of questions such as “how many minutes do we have?” “How many words do we need to write?” opens and closes his notebook four times, puts the date on his paper, stares out the window, stares at the clock, speaks Somali with another student, stares at the overhead and copies the quotations, repeats the question, “we have to write 200 words?” flips through his notebook, reads previous entries, puts dates on future papers, looks at his watch, talks to the student next to him, asks more questions, and at the three-minute mark writes a few words proclaiming, “half way is good enough for me!”

As she reviews her notes, Ms. Lerner wonders whether Ahmed was interested in or embarrassed by the writing topics. Was he unable to access the information because of his low reading level? Other than the topic of soccer, what would help Ahmed focus his attention for more than a few minutes? Ms. Lerner tries to think of one single thing that Ahmed has learned or accomplished in his three classes. If this is a typical school day for Ahmed, how does he stay so agreeable while failing to accomplish what other people consistently tell him is important? To learn more about his interests, Ms. Lerner asks Ahmed if she can visit with his family in their home.

Ahmed at home

Ahmed’s family lives in a duplex down the street from the local elementary school that Ahmed’s younger sister attends. Ahmed’s home consists of a living room, a kitchen, two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a basement.

Ahmed’s family is clearly very close. His younger sister sat next to Ms. Learner during the entire conversation, sometimes helping Ahmed translate while Ms. Lerner and his parents speak. Ahmed and his parents emphasize several times during the 45-minute conversation that spending time with family is their highest priority. “If I want to go to the park and shoot hoops, I never go by myself, we all go. My family wouldn’t let me play alone. We do everything together. We play together,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed’s parents do not readily talk about their life before the war began and forced them to leave Somalia. They try to keep painful memories from their children who were too young to remember much of what happened. Ahmed’s father was the first to leave Somalia because of the danger to adult men. Ahmed’s mother later left with Ahmed, another son, and two daughters. Six other children stayed behind. Eventually, they made their way to a refugee camp in Ethiopia.

In Somalia, Ahmed’s parents owned their home, had their own land, and had a store where they sold everything from household goods to food.

Soon after arriving in the U.S., Ahmed’s parents worked several jobs. His father was a referee for local children’s basketball and soccer games, a custodian, and a parking lot attendant. Ahmed’s mother worked packing boxes, helped with children at a local day care, and cleaned homes. But, currently, neither parent has a job. Ahmed’s mother has diabetes, and her health has deteriorated to the point that she can no longer work. Ahmed’s father was working a night job up until he recently hurt his back. He is not able to return to work until it heals.

Both of Ahmed’s parents expressed concerns about their lives in the U.S. Several times Ahmed’s father commented about how “you must have money to do anything in this country. You cannot have a store unless you have the money to buy one and to pay every month. You cannot have electricity or water unless you have money. You cannot just sell things to people to make a living, no one will buy them from you; you must first have money.”

Ahmed’s family said their Muslim faith was their source of strength, that it keeps their family together and helps them avoid alcohol, drugs, and greed — things that can tear people apart.

Ahmed’s education is very important to the family. They hope Ahmed will become a doctor or engineer. They say that Ahmed talks about school often and is excited about his teachers and the things he is learning. They know he has some trouble with reading and writing, but they believe that his high level of math skill can compensate. Ms. Lerner realizes that Ahmed’s parents believe Ahmed’s academic problems have been solved and that he is on track to graduate from high school on time. They believe he just does not try hard enough.

Ms. Lerner realizes that Ahmed understands that he is not performing as well as his parents believe he is. He understands that he is not in mainstream classes. She gets the impression that he does not want to let his parents down and therefore is intentionally positive though vague about his school experiences.

Concerns and insights

The entire process of following Ahmed was enlightening to someone who cares about students, learning, and educational opportunity. The idea that a student, particularly a student who is in classes designed to provide extra help, can learn so little in an entire school day is profoundly troubling. In spite of rich life experiences, the education of immigrant and refugee youth who have not had comparable educational experience in their country of origin is a ticking clock. Once they age out of the school system and are adults, their options for a job that is rewarding and pays a living wage for a family is limited.

From shadowing Ahmed, Ms. Lerner theorizes that he struggles academically because he cannot stay focused. Teachers concur with this observation, referring to him as unmotivated. However, Ms. Lerner now understands that Ahmed is not motivated to learn for a variety of reasons. She found very little opportunity for Ahmed to:

Connect with his teachers (establishing inclusion);
Learn in relevant ways (developing a positive attitude);
Immerse himself in engaging challenges (enhancing meaning); and
Understand the value of what he was learning (engendering competence).

At times, Ahmed tried to comply with the lessons teachers had planned. However, Ahmed was not motivated to learn what his teachers wanted him to learn, perhaps because he did not see the value of what they were teaching. However, his motivation was not inert. In another context, such as the soccer field, his motivation would most likely be visible.

As she scrutinizes her notes for insights and ideas, Ms. Lerner uses colored highlighters to make connections to each of the four questions. For example, under the question about “developing a positive attitude,” she highlights her notes about Ahmed’s family’s store in Mogadishu. She plans to incorporate math skills involved in owning a small business into her math curriculum. Under the question about “enhancing meaning,” she plans to incorporate project-based learning that carefully scaffolds Ahmed’s thinking so that he has a far more detailed understanding of what mathematical reasoning looks like and how to approach this given his particular skill set and goals. She also plans to incorporate self-assessment so that Ahmed can begin to realistically communicate about his development as a student and contributor to other people’s learning, including his family’s.

Collaborating with colleagues

Ms. Lerner also plans to share what she has learned from shadowing Ahmed and visiting his home with the school’s Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) and other interested teachers. If teachers are interested, she will show how she structured her visit with Ahmed’s family with the role of a learner rather than a giver of information. Further, she will share questions that elicited information about Ahmed’s family’s strengths and experiences without being intrusive. In visits with other families, she will use many of the same questions:

What aspects of school has your child enjoyed thus far?
What do you see as your child’s greatest strengths or skills? Can you tell me about a time when you saw your child demonstrating these skills?
What are some of the skills, talents, and interests that your family has developed over time?
At the end of the year, what do you hope your child says about his/her experience in school? What’s the story you hope he/she would tell?
How and when would you like me to be in touch this year? What would you like me to communicate about?
What are some of the things that are different in schools in the U.S. and schools in your home country?
What is something you have learned since coming to the U.S. or moving to the community that you might not have imagined?
Are there members of your family who were not able to come with you when you moved here and to whom you hope your child will remain close?
What gives your family strength?

Ms. Lerner feels that her experience has enhanced her own motivation to make school matter for Ahmed and other students. Though a small sample of students cannot represent the entire diversity within a classroom, she believes even a few visits with students and their families will improve her instruction. More than ever, students need teachers who are stewards of deep and respectful learning and who are hopeful and critically curious learners themselves.

Resources for shadowing students and visiting homes

Baeder, A. (2010). Stepping into students’ worlds. Educational Leadership, 67 (5), 56-60.

Farris, S. (2011, October). In Yasir’s shoes. JSD, 32 (5), 20-23, 37. http://learningforward.org/docs/october-2011/farris325.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Ginsberg, M.B. (2011). Transformative professional learning: A system to enhance teacher and student motivation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Ginsberg, M.B. (2012, February). Stepping into a student’s shoes. Educational Leadership, 69 (5). http://bit.ly/1MlibLD

Ginsberg, M.B. (2015). Excited to learn: Motivation and culturally responsive teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Wlodkowski, R.J. & Ginsberg, M.B. (1995, September). A framework for culturally responsive teaching. Educational Leadership, 53 (1), 17-21. http://bit.ly/1P0qLOw

Zigarelli, J. et al. (2013, December 5). Home visits for relationships, relevance, and results. ASCD Express, 9 (5). www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol9/905-zigarelli.aspx