Student motivation

It may be the weather, or the impending thaw, but whatever it is, this time of year is a tough one when it comes to student motivation.  Student motivation is waning, and the theorists abound with possible reasons and solutions, some easier suggested than implemented.
At the right, I have gathered a few links to interesting theories and suggestions to improve student motivation.  The commonalities I found amongst these theories was that they all indicated it was a problem largely rooted in the student, yet the solutions given are things that a teacher can do to address the problem.  While I think there is certainly room for debate here, the bottom line is that we, as educators, can really only control ourselves and the learning environment we provide in the confines of our classroom.  There are multiple other factors for every student in the motivation category. 
But, the suggestions given for teachers are worth reading and considering.  Even if they do not change every student, it may make you feel better about the vibe of positive energy you are putting out there, and could make a difference for some students who respond largely to the environment they are in at the time.
Please look to the right for some of these links.

Dweck's Theory essentially argues that students qualify themselves into two types:

Fixed IQ theorists:  those who believe that their learning potential is fixed (since birth) and nothing can be done to change it.  These are the kids who say "I'm not good at grammar," and, therefore, do not try to learn it whenever it is presented.  Eventually, it becomes somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy: they believe they do not have the potential for success, so they are not able to succeed.

Untapped potential theorists:  those who believe that their intelligence is due to learning directly, and are, therefore, invested in continued learning to further their knowledge base.  These students are willing to continue to try new avenues of learning, even if they have failed, because they recognize the potential to learn is always in existence, just sometimes harder to reach.

And, there are also students who qualify themselves somewhere in the middle, especially depending on the learning subject or task at hand.