ABSTRACT
All teachers encounter poorly motivated pupils and most will have experienced the frustration of having their best efforts to support and encourage ignored or seemingly rejected. For many of these pupils, the way in which they have come to construe classroom activities is often confused, stemming from an inadequate ability to understand and plan their work and to act on teacher feedback and guidance. This poor task-related thinking and performance is not necessarily associated with a lack of ability but is often more a function of poor habits of mind. This chapter introduces methods teachers can use to explore pupils’ thinking about tasks and as a consequence reveal reasons for poor motivation. It also describes ways in which pupils can learn effective ‘learning how to learn’ strategies.
