Using the 9-Step Motivation Model
by Tisha Rinker
Top Online School Reviews from Parents
byConnections Academy
6 min to read
Parents are giving an A+ across the board in their Connections Academy® reviews, praising the student-focused, tuition-free online public school for improving their kids’ grades, sparking a passion for lifelong learning, and motivating them to achieve their academic, social, and personal growth goals.
And while the parents gave enthusiastic credit to their students’ online teachers, their role as Learning Coaches was pivotal in guiding their kids to achieve their full learning and growth potential.
“In the beginning [kindergarten], I had to help her daily as her Learning Coach. Every year, she would take a little more responsibility and initiative to complete her lessons. By the time she was starting high school, she was completely independent,” Shelly Pettis wrote in her online K–12 school review regarding her daughter’s educational journey as a Connections Academy student.
Moreover, Pettis said her daughter “has built amazing relationships with her teachers over the years” and “made many friends at school, getting to know classmates through live lessons and field trips, and also friends in other states through Connections Academy clubs.”
Online Schooling Connects Learning Coaches, Students, and Educators
Learning Coaches, Connections Academy educators and professional staff, as well as the commitment of the students, are the engine that supports academic achievement, refines social skills, and enriches emotional well-being, according to our online school reviews.
And communication brings it all together.
Strong relationships are the foundation of online learning success. It enables collaboration among students, their Learning Coaches, and Connections Academy at any stage of the educational journey, from enrollment and technical support to academic and counseling experience.
Erin McCoy’s son had a special-needs Individualized Education Plan (IEP) at the public school he attended before transferring to Florida Connections Academy. She said of her family’s experience that “the educators, therapists, and contractors at Florida Connections Academy (FCA) have been exceptional. Our prior school included us in IEP meetings and sent home progress reports, but FCA has truly made me feel like part of the team. … they have listened to my questions/concerns and acted on them, [and] he has made so much progress this year it’s remarkable.”
Parents’ Class Testimonials Cite Flexible Scheduling for Enriching All Learning Styles
“Some kids work better in the morning and others after they relax a little. Some might even be night owls,” Learning Coach Tracy J. wrote in her online course testimonial. “It’s OK to let them work at their best time!”
While the curriculum is rigorous, structured, and accredited by the U.S. Department of Education, Learning Coaches credit Connection Academy’s daily scheduling flexibility as a top reason they chose this particular tuition-free online public school over the traditional in-classroom institutions.
Moreover, Connection Academy’s dynamic, online curriculum lets students speed up the pace for lessons they understand easily and take more time to understand topics that require more study to master.
Accelerating Gifted Students’ Progress
Given the flexibility to study at their own pace, highly motivated and academically driven students can accelerate their educational progress with excellent results.
In one parent’s Connections Academy review, Amoe Charbonneau said the curriculum offers advanced classes that allow students to fast-track the educational experience for gifted students.
“He [a Connections Academy student] also likes the idea of dual enrollment once he reaches the high school level so that he can be working on his associate’s degree while still in high school,”
Charbonneau wrote. Connections Academy teachers and professional staff also work closely with gifted and talented students to stoke their enthusiasm and determination to achieve, help them set goals, and assist with college prep and applications.
Achieving Special Needs Students’ Potential
Online education’s flexibility also enables parents of special needs students to customize a virtual school environment and manage their socialization to align with their interests, values, and challenges.
Learning in an at-home setting is free of distractions that can interfere with students’ concentration, and online Learning Coaches have the flexibility to plan, supervise, and limit time spent with other students. That is particularly important for kids who need extra support due to social, emotional, or developmental issues.
Megan Yohe’s son, for instance, has autism, which made it difficult for him to participate in classroom academics and social activities. Before enrolling in Connections Academy, his teachers started sending all his schoolwork home with him with directions to return it the next day, causing him only to be in the classroom for a few hours a day. The teachers also wanted to medicate his emotional issues; Ms. Yohe refused to do so.
Since starting Connections Academy, she wrote in her online school review, “my son has no anxiety, has not missed a single day. He has flourished and is doing things he never would have [done] in public school.”
Tending to Social and Personal Growth
Despite persistent claims that online education isolates students, online learners at Connections Academy experience the chance to develop a sense of independence that instead enriches their social skills. Kids today are digital natives and capable of developing friends, interacting with teachers—especially when asking for help—and going from virtual to in-person interactions seamlessly.
“One thing that surprised me about online school was how much fun it can be. You actually get to go on field trips and meet other students just like you,” Heather H. noted in her review of Connections Academy online schooling.
Connections Academy also offers an online resource library with authoritative insights and strategies for building self-esteem, encouraging volunteerism, managing stress, participating in online clubs and extracurricular activities, and more.
"Even with an online school schedule, it left a lot of time for hobbies, extra classes like dance and yoga, [and] after-school activities. Online schooling is so much less stressful,” Connections Academy parent Susan W. wrote in her review.
Is It Time to Write Your Own Connections Academy Review?
Parents of more than 100,000 K–12 students in 31 states trust Connections Academy to expand the ways their children learn, ignite their passions, and help them gain the life skills they need to thrive in the modern world.
- 96% of parents said they were highly satisfied with the Connections Academy educators’ commitment to excellence
- 94% agree that their students’ curricula were of the highest quality
- 93% expressed overall satisfaction with the program
Moving a child from a classroom to online schooling might seem daunting, but Teresa I. advises, “Don’t stress! You and your child are both learning something new. Instead of telling them what to do and how to do it, look over what needs to be done with your child and make a plan together on how to get there.”
Learn how Connections Academy’s 20 years of experience in online education can help improve your student’s academic performance, social development, and personal growth.
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9 Steps to Inspire Student Motivation
by Tisha Rinker
Whether your child is a perfectionist or a struggling procrastinator, it’s natural for him or her to lose motivation during school. As a parent or Learning Coach, you may find yourself intervening by saying things like this:
- “Tell me what the problem is and I’ll help you figure it out.”
- “I know you can do this!”
- “You’ll feel better once you get something done.”
But sometimes that little pep talk just doesn’t seem to work. What do you do then?
The trouble with offering solutions and advice is that it doesn’t leave enough room for your student to figure it out for him- or herself. The solution is to balance the student’s own problem-solving abilities with your guidance, and you can do exactly that with the 9 Steps to Inspire Student Motivation.
The 9 Steps to Inspire Student Motivation is a research-based approach adapted from a motivational concept model developed by Paul Barnes, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of Nebraska. The model is a solution-focused cycle of steps that can be repeated, meaning that this approach is an ongoing process you can use daily to help your student get on the track to success.
The surprising thing about the 9 Steps is that they don’t involve offering advice, giving instructions, or persuading the child to feel differently. In fact, the model warns parents to avoid these tactics. That’s because the model is designed to encourage students to identify, analyze, diagnose, and solve their own issues with your guidance and encouragement.
Here is a brief overview of the 9 Steps, highlighting both the child’s role and the parent’s role at each stage.
1. Breaking Ground
Child: Openly voice your concerns, speaking freely.
Parent: Listen without interrupting. Listen as closely and carefully as you can. Set no time limit on this step, and wait until the child is finished describing his or her specific concerns.2. Narrow the Focus
Child: Choose one issue to focus on.
Parent: Restate what the child has said to make sure your understanding is clear. Do not add your own thoughts or ideas.3. Envisioning the End
Child: Form a positive statement that summarizes the end goal: “I want …”
Parent: Help the child form the statement, and also offer positive encouragement.4. Scaling the Issue
Child: Use a scale of 1 to 10 to determine how much the issue affects motivation. The “1” stands for something that halts all motivation, while the “10” is something that has no negative effect on motivation.
Parent: Assist the student in defining the scale, if need be. State what the number chosen by the student means so as to ensure that you both have a clear understanding.5. Scaffolding
Child: Brainstorm as many ideas and solutions as possible to achieve the goal.
Parent: Say this to the child: “Imagine your situation after achieving your goal. What are some of the ways you could have gotten there?” Write down all of his or her ideas, but don’t suggest ways to improve them. Leaving room for the child to fail and try again is important to the learning process.6. Cheerleading
Child: Clarify any ideas on the list, if need be.
Parent: Read back the list of solutions and offer encouragement to show your support and enthusiasm.7. Plan of Action
Child: Choose the steps to take to achieve each solution: “I will…”
Parent: Help the child establish concrete actions for each solution, and list them in steps.8. Visualize
Child: Picture your success.
Parent: Instill confidence in the child, celebrating the work he or she has done to get to this point. Set a specific date for when you will return to the 9-step cycle to review the child’s progress.9. Seeds of Success
After using the previous steps to work on the issue for a set period of time, it’s time to move on to the stage of evaluation.
Child: Explain what you did that worked.
Parent: Take a look at the scale from “Scaling the Issue” and praise your student for any positive improvement. Point out that his or her idea worked. Determine whether the child followed all of the steps and achieved the goal. Return to the list of solutions and continue the cycle if the child wants to improve more, or start all over to address a new issue.Improving Intrinsic Student Motivation
The reason why this model is successful is that it focuses on building intrinsic motivation in your child. Intrinsic motivation occurs when your child enjoys a task and wants to succeed for the sake of doing well. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is any external incentive such as praise, treats, or other rewards that motivate the student to do well.
Developing intrinsic student motivation is important for the long term because it teaches students to be self-motivated, independent learners. If children rely on extrinsic motivation too much or for too long, they become dependent on rewards and never learn the value of doing their best.
Keep an eye out for our next post about the student motivation model for a more detailed discussion of the 9 Steps.
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