Excellence in Education: Motivational Interviewing, part 2
Last week I wrote about a simplified version of Motivational Interviewing and I used it several times with students with moderate success. This week, I'm going to dive deeper into motivational interviewing.
Again, the purpose of motivational interviewing is to help students take ownership for their progress, help prepare them for potential obstacles, and ultimately experience growth and success. I see myself using Motivational Interviewing with students who are not experiencing academic success, those who receive minor referrals, and for students who need help with executive functioning skills and are frequently "lost." I also believe it is an important technique to use with students who are not like me and/or culturally different.
At the basis of motivational interviewing is the acronym OARS (open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summary statements).
Open-ended questions are those that cannot be answered in a word or two and get students to tell their stories, enabling you to learn about the student and the issue. Example stems include: Tell me more about...How...What....What have you tried...As you can see these keep the communication flowing forward.
Affirmations, when delivered with sincerity and non-judgmental, boost student confidence and empowerment while also encouraging desired behaviors. Examples include I appreciate how...You did a really good job...That's something we can work on together...These affirmations are intended to validate the student and acknowledge his/her experiences.
Reflective Listening mirror what the student is saying and show collaboration and equity.* Stems include It sounds like...You're saying....You're feeling...Please tell me more. You may want to try to avoid Do you mean and What I hear as they may appear to be patronizing. Reflective listening must be purposeful; aim for two reflections for every question you ask.
Summaries let the student know that you are listening and understanding. It's a chance to wrap things up and allow the student to hear their own motivations and also hear contradictions and short-comings. Summary statements might sound like So, let me make sure I got this...Here's what I've heard...Please tell me what I'm missing....What we discussed...These statements enable the student to hear their plan and to make any modifications and corrections.
I encourage you to try motivational interviewing with me. I know that I need to work on these skills and I know that often I will face a certain amount of resistance from many students. However, I know that the work that we do is important and we need to confront these challenges with zealousness. I look forward to using motivational interviewing to increase and improve communications with students and providing them with a helpful, focused and purposeful approach. I'm eager to get to know our students better through understanding what challenges and frustrations they are experiencing and I hope together we can turn these feelings of despair to ones with purpose and hope. Our kids deserve it.
*As a young teacher, I often felt I was better than my students. I now realize that such thinking is and we cannot teach if we think we're better than our students. We have so much to learn from them and vice-versa.
Additional resources
A two-page handout
A very detailed clinical approach
Last week I wrote about a simplified version of Motivational Interviewing and I used it several times with students with moderate success. This week, I'm going to dive deeper into motivational interviewing.
Again, the purpose of motivational interviewing is to help students take ownership for their progress, help prepare them for potential obstacles, and ultimately experience growth and success. I see myself using Motivational Interviewing with students who are not experiencing academic success, those who receive minor referrals, and for students who need help with executive functioning skills and are frequently "lost." I also believe it is an important technique to use with students who are not like me and/or culturally different.
At the basis of motivational interviewing is the acronym OARS (open-ended questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summary statements).
Open-ended questions are those that cannot be answered in a word or two and get students to tell their stories, enabling you to learn about the student and the issue. Example stems include: Tell me more about...How...What....What have you tried...As you can see these keep the communication flowing forward.
Affirmations, when delivered with sincerity and non-judgmental, boost student confidence and empowerment while also encouraging desired behaviors. Examples include I appreciate how...You did a really good job...That's something we can work on together...These affirmations are intended to validate the student and acknowledge his/her experiences.
Reflective Listening mirror what the student is saying and show collaboration and equity.* Stems include It sounds like...You're saying....You're feeling...Please tell me more. You may want to try to avoid Do you mean and What I hear as they may appear to be patronizing. Reflective listening must be purposeful; aim for two reflections for every question you ask.
Summaries let the student know that you are listening and understanding. It's a chance to wrap things up and allow the student to hear their own motivations and also hear contradictions and short-comings. Summary statements might sound like So, let me make sure I got this...Here's what I've heard...Please tell me what I'm missing....What we discussed...These statements enable the student to hear their plan and to make any modifications and corrections.
I encourage you to try motivational interviewing with me. I know that I need to work on these skills and I know that often I will face a certain amount of resistance from many students. However, I know that the work that we do is important and we need to confront these challenges with zealousness. I look forward to using motivational interviewing to increase and improve communications with students and providing them with a helpful, focused and purposeful approach. I'm eager to get to know our students better through understanding what challenges and frustrations they are experiencing and I hope together we can turn these feelings of despair to ones with purpose and hope. Our kids deserve it.
*As a young teacher, I often felt I was better than my students. I now realize that such thinking is and we cannot teach if we think we're better than our students. We have so much to learn from them and vice-versa.
Additional resources
A two-page handout
A very detailed clinical approach
Vaccination Clinics: February 4, 11-1 at COB, February 7, 11-1 at COB
February 6: PLC Activators/Leadership Team Mid-Year Data Meeting
February 7: extended 1st block for ACPS Climate Survey
February 14: B day, Lovefest, Speak Up Survey to be completed
Intent to return. Intent 2020. Please complete by 2/21/20.
Field Trips
February 4: Leadership/Winterfest with our feeder elementary schools
February 6: Champions League Basketball Game during MM
February 6: Champions League Basketball Game during MM
Birthdays
February 10: Hannah Huntington
Useful Information
Bell Schedules http://bit.ly/MustangBells
- This includes links to the Friday calendars and the year-end calendar
Seeking volunteers? ACPS is attempting to expand volunteer outreach and help teachers find volunteers. Here’s a form that takes a minute to complete.
Morning Announcement Stream: http://streaming.k12albemarle.org/ACPS/links.htm
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