The Need for Motivation

I remember when I was in high school.  I was a curious little snot who was drawn strongly to some subjects and not drawn at all to others.  One of the subjects I was not drawn to was math.  I never really saw the point.  Outside of learning the multiplication table in forth/fifth grade and proofs in tenth grade, math was never really that challenging, but it also didn't do anything for me.  I was never excited in a high school math class.

By eleventh grade, I was fed up.  By this point, I had found a true avenue of interest in the sciences and literature, so much so that I was reading a personal book (outside of the assigned course reading) during math class.  After being shaken out of the world contained in my book by the math teacher, I finished the problems, quick as can be, and then went on with my book.  Of course, the teacher called on me and I reported the correct answer.  Surprised, she hesitated.  It was at this point I asked her two of the most important questions a student can ask him/herself or his/her teacher, "why is this important?" and "when will I use this in the real world?"  I recall the room getting a bit quiet and the teacher, super uncomfortable by this point, trying to refocus the class and move on.  Her lack of a question was the biggest blow to that or any other subject I didn't see the point of; if I didn't see the point, the teachers didn't have a point in teaching the material or there wasn't one, didn't really matter which.

This represents some fundamental aspect of teaching: the why.  There was no motivation or direction to learning math.  Even more importantly, I didn't see why it was important for me  to learn math.  Now I see why I was taught math and its uses.  I can see glimmers of the beauty of the cold logic and predictability of it.  In some ways, math is perfect.  But I didn't see that in high school.

My teacher did not give me enough motivation to learn.  There was no "hook" to draw me towards her lesson.  The "Hook," according to Lemov, is "a short introductory moment that captures what's interesting and engaging about the material and puts it out front."  This can be done by telling a story, using an analogy, using a prop, using media, describing the status of the content, and challenging students.  A good hook should be "short, yield returns, and be energetic and optimistic."  There was no hook in that class, and I sorely needed one.  Even if the teacher had used Lemov's technique of "looking forward," which has the teacher giving a glimpse of content or skills they will have by the end of the class/week/unit/semester/class, the class would have been much more engaging.

Are there any other methods you use to hook students' attention?  Please describe them below.  Thanks!