Thrivapy: Live, Learn, Have Fun

A  goal without taking action is, essentially, a wish, a hope, or a dream. That is why setting goals without taking appropriate action is an exercise in futility. This is one of the pitfalls with helping students set goals. Once set, the process usually stalls because their is an assumption that the student, now that she has a goal, will "go for it" and find a way to achieve it. However, life is full of challenges and reasons to loose sight of your goal. As a result, students tend to be more successful with strategies in place that help them stay resilient in the face of difficulties. I like to think of resilience as stubbornness directed at a worthwhile cause. Here are some ways to support student resilience. Think "Why?" When faced with the temptation to give up, remind yourself of why the goal is important. The result of this reminder will uncover one of two things. Either the goal is still a priority or it has been replaced by a higher priority. If it rem

S uccessful students know plenty, but some of what they know will never appear on a test or exam. While facts and figures are important and have their place in school, every student is not going to know everything. However, if I had to choose a few questions to which every student knew the answer, the list would include the following: 1. What is your purpose as a student? This question speaks to the student's sense of mission. Generally, students can take two approaches to their role. One is the student as a receiver of an education. The second is a student as a producer of educated work. I advise students to reflect upon and move towards the second. 2. If all barriers to success were removed, what does an ideal school experience look like? Another foundations* question, this asks students to craft a vision of success. An important element here is the need for specifics in the description. I have found that greater specificity leads to greater chances of success. 3. (2 par

"C ompletion amnesia" is a term I use to describe a student's insistence on having completed an assignment, but cannot recall any or all of these questions. 1. Where is the assignment? 2. When is the assignment due? 3. Why was the assignment given? Completion amnesia reaches its peak for many students during the middle school years (grades 6-8, ages 11-13). It is often misunderstood and often (mistakenly) assumed to be a symptom of a lack of effort. This leads to frustration and confusion which, in turn, create a less than satisfactory experience for students, parents, and teachers. There are some ways, though, to minimize the effects of "completion amnesia" that anyone tasked with supporting students can use. First, be patient. Adults, for the most part, do not struggle as much with such matters as adolescents do. Solutions that are easy for us to understand and use are not always easy for students. This can lead to a great deal of frustration when wha

R ecently, I chose to make a few changes to my first ebook, Paying Attention . I had the cover freshened up, enrolled the book in KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) Select, and changed the price from $0.99 US to a limited time promotional price of $0 - free. Today, I checked the sales figures and found out that Paying Attention is #1 on the Top 100 free ebooks list for Kindle in the Professional Education Development category. Thank you very much to all the readers and visitors of this site and my new blog, The Thrivapy Blog .

I   learned a long time ago that most people remember the first and last thing they see or hear. That is one reason why it is important to start and finish your school year strong. Even as the school year begins the final phases, you can still develop good habits, realize better results, and go into the summer with positive momentum. This applies to both students and teachers.   Keeping in mind the importance of a strong finish, here are a few tips to help you end the year on a positive note. "Low Hanging Fruit"   One way to finish strong is to take a moment to recognize when opportunities are presented for you to get ahead. These opportunities may include assignments that come easy to you, extra time for help from teachers, or a fee professional development event. I use a similar strategy when doing crossword puzzles. Do the easy ones first, then work on the more challenging items. It is sometimes amazing how an item that was very difficult becomes easier after

T hough your thesaurus (or the one you use online) may not agree, I believe there is a difference between pushing and shoving. This is especially true when supporting students.   When I think about pushing, I imagine an object with potential that needs some assistance to begin moving.  Imagines such as a grocery cart, a rock on a hill, a car that runs out of gas, or a lawnmower come to mind.  Each of these objects have potential energy, but need a push to do their work and move forward.   Shoving, to me, is entirely different.  When I imagine a shove, I think about the inconsiderate person trying to get ahead in line, Black Friday masses attacking the shelves at midnight, or the response of a school yard bully to a new student.   Pushing is cooperation between an object with potential and a force seeking to help that object do its work.   Shoving is selfish.  It is done solely for the benefit of the person shoving.   When you support the potential for students, kee

W hen helping students to take ownership of their work, we often begin to talk about motivation, or more specifically, how to design our work with students in a manner that supports higher levels of motivation. There are two aspects of "motivational design" that can help you. One involves the actual activities you expect students to perform.  The other involves the feedback you provide to students. The Activities The vast majority of activities students perform in class require some sort of focused effort. In addition, many activities demand attention to detail, creativity, collaboration, and the expense of some cognitive energy.  When designing activities that support greater ownership and internal motivation, keep in mind the risks of rewards . This is not to say that positive feedback is not important (more on that later), but if your plan to encourage ownership and motivation is based on rewards, you will likely fall short and potentially set your students back f

The following post was originally published by me on my new blog, The Trivapy Blog .   W hen we talk about vision in connection to success, we often hear about it in terms of organizational vision or a leader's vision. Seldom, if ever, are students engaged in conversation about their vision for success.  That is unfortunate. Many students hold a short term, "get me through this week" view of their school work, but just as having a clear vision of success is a vital component to organizational or leadership success, a clear vision of success in school is an important element to student achievement. So, if helping students create and articulate a vision of success is important, why do parents and teachers seldom engage in that conversation or exercise with their students? There are probably many answers to that question, but the two that I think are probably the most common are: Limited time Lack the tools to engage effectively in that conversation Limited ti