"MOTIVATION" by Bill Dorsey

When given the opportunity to brainstorm about student motivation, I had to ask what motivation meant to me and what I envision for my classes. I decided to take a step back from being the teacher and to take a simpler, yet creative approach that we use in education. I wrote an acrostic poem. This let me use the letters of the word "motivation" to inspire thoughts that would help create and encourage a drive in my students to succeed in their class and in their game design approach.

So look out literary world, here it comes...

Make sure to meet both the students' and the class's needs.
Ownership of the projects, rubrics, and expectations belongs to the students.
Take time to provide honest and constructive feedback to students.
Illustrate what can be done through modeling Globaloria as a teacher.
Voice - encourage each student to develop a digital point of view.
Allow students' creativity to guide their work.
Try new things as often as you can, the students will follow suit.
Individually address each student, their successes, strengths, and goals.
Own your struggles and successes, it will help the kids accept their own.
Notice even the student's smallest successes, the big ones will follow.

After I wrote the poem, I realized that all I had to do was think about what people have done to motivate me. I'm no different than any of my students when it comes to basic human needs. All I have to do is do for them what the great people in my past have done for me. If I can manage that, then who knows, my students just might inspire and motivate me to bigger and greater things.