Many high school teachers encounter unmotivated students. Unfortunately, this can lead to classroom management issues ranging from sleeping in class to more overt disruptions. Since not every student is intrinsically motivated teachers are challenged to find ways to motivate each student. Understanding how teens learn can provide insights as to how to help students learn and minimize classroom management problems.
Students Need their Comfort Zone
A comfort zone is a set of boundaries where an individual feels safe. This zone is different for each student and can be affected by a variety of conditions. For example, school’s environment or culture can make some students feel threatened. Other students may be uncomfortable due to past negative experiences with a particular subject and fear taking that class.
In order to engage, teens need to know they are not threatened. For some students this can be achieved by greeting them by name or identifying that calling on them directly might cause them to panic. Others might need reminders to come by after school for extra help. Since each student is different, it can be challenging to identify the basic boundaries that will allow them to be in their respective comfort zones for some part of class.
Being able to provide teens with some time in their comfort zone during class can make classroom management easier. When students do not feel threatened, they are less likely to act inappropriately when challenged and more likely to be interested in the class.
Risk is Where Learning Happens
Students need to take risks in order to learn, but they are less likely to take these risks when they are threatened. Diana Watson, from the Center for School Success, explained in a teacher's workshop held in January of 2009 that new learning releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter that provides the body with a feeling of happiness and pleasure. This cannot occur, however, if the student is stressed because stress releases adrenaline and cortisol, neurotransmitters that override the happy feelings from dopamine and puts the body into a “fight or flight” reaction.
When the classroom is an inviting place where teens know they can sometimes access their comfort zone, they are more likely to take the risks needed to learn or try something new. The stress reactions begin to minimize as they experience their comfort zone in the classroom, allowing them to feel the pleasure released by dopamine as they learn something new. This encourages students to become more interested in learning and engaged in the lessons, thus reducing classroom disruptions.
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