This ASCD Study Guide is designed to enhance your understanding and application of the information contained in Activating the Desire to Learn, an ASCD book written by Bob Sullo and published in January 2007. You can use the study guide before or after you have read the book, or as you finish each chapter. The study questions provided are not meant to cover all aspects of the book, but, rather, to address specific ideas that might warrant further reflection.

Most of the questions contained in this study guide are ones you can think about on your own, but you might consider pairing with a colleague or forming a study group with others who have read (or are reading) Activating the Desire to Learn.

Chapter 1: Understanding Internal Motivation

1. The author states on p. 5, “Ironically, our system of rewarding students for academic achievement devalues the very thing we say we want: learning.” Do you agree? How is the traditional system of rewarding students for academic achievement counterproductive if our goal is to inspire a love of learning?
2. Discuss how a belief in external control psychology is at odds with the notion of personal responsibility/accountability?
3. Identify some people, activities, and things that are important to you. What need or needs identified in choice theory do they help you satisfy?
4. What happens when you change any one component of “total behavior”? What components are the easiest to change voluntarily? What implication does this have for you in the classroom?

Chapter 2: Where's the Evidence?

1. Choose three studies cited in this chapter and explain why the findings are important. Based on the information you have gained, how will you help more students succeed academically and behave more responsibly?
2. What does the research suggest about the importance of ongoing staff development? How can you use this information to offer effective staff development in your school/district?

Chapter 3: Competition Is as Important as Cooperation

1. . Identify the cooperative and competitive needs and discuss why they are “complementary.”
2. Discuss an alternative to “redirecting” when students engage in disruptive behavior. What can you do to help students satisfy their needs responsibly within the classroom?
3. Think of a lesson you plan to teach soon. If your students behave as directed, will they meet their needs to connect, be competent, make choices, and enjoy themselves in a safe environment? Discuss how you can ensure that your lessons are need-satisfying for your students.
4. Are your students more driven by cooperation or competition? How can you use the concept of cooperative needs and competitive needs to enhance your instruction?

Chapter 4: Helping Students Value Learning

1. Identify one of your students who does not seem to value learning as much as you would like. What you can do to help this student develop a picture of himself/herself as a hardworking, competent learner?
2. Think about instances when you unintentionally demean learning by offering your students “free time” for “working hard.” How can you provide students with some down-time without devaluing learning and working hard?
3. Notice the words you use with students and parents that suggest learning is a “burden to be endured” rather than something inherently valuable. Brainstorm ways to phrase things to cast learning and working hard in a positive light.
4. Why does the author suggest that you ask students to self-evaluate before affirming their success?

Chapter 5: From Bossing to Leading

1. Regardless of your role in the school, discuss ways to increase your collaborative skills so you achieve power by helping others succeed.
2. Discuss how a “power over” orientation is at odds with the drive to be autonomous. Why is a “power over” approach counterproductive for anyone in a supervisory capacity?
3. Think about those you manage. What can you do to inspire them to become engaged contributors to the school, making it easier for you to “lead” rather than “boss”?
4. Those who don't clearly articulate what they want from others often micromanage to make sure things are “done right.” How can you be clear about your expectations with those you manage? How will this help you move from “bossing” toward engagement and collaboration?

Chapter 6: “Consequence” Is Not a Four-Letter Word

1. Have you suggested to students that “consequences” are negative? Discuss with your colleagues how you can help students see that consequences can be positive as well as negative.
2. Make arrangements with a trusted colleague to observe each other's classes several times. Discuss if the students perceive your classroom as “fun.” (Remember that a “fun” classroom is one committed to academic excellence. You don't need to compromise achievement to have fun.)
3. How do you impress upon your students the importance of developing a work ethic? Discuss how you can help your students perceive that their “job” in school is to work hard and learn as much as possible?
4. Discuss ways to get formal feedback from your students concerning what they like about your class and what helps them learn most effectively. (This is a great way to help students feel important. The information you gather can help you structure a classroom that is both enjoyable and academically productive.)

Chapter 7: Positive Relationships Support Competence and High Standards

1. Discuss how you grade students. Do your grades accurately reflect what students have learned or are there so many factors involved that your grades communicate very little to your students, their parents, and the next teacher?
2. How can you use the concepts of Standards Based Education to ensure that every student learns what is “essential to know”?
3. Discuss the characteristics of a Competence Based Classroom. How can you successfully implement this process in your class?
4. What can you do to maintain or enhance the relationships in your classroom to support academic achievement? Discuss specific ways you build positive relationships with your students.

Chapter 8: Self-Evaluation Leads to Lasting Change

1. Ben discovered that his impact was short-lived when he relied on the “carrot and stick” approach. Do your students internalize what you teach them or are you effective only in the short run? How you can help students internalize what you want them to learn?
2. Discuss areas where you take ownership over things out of your control (i.e. home factors). How can you effectively draw the lines of responsibility for yourself?
3. Identify your professional role and goal. Will remembering these concepts help you remain effective? How can you make sure to always have your role and goal in mind?
4. How can you evaluate your performance without using external factors as an “excuse”? (For example, you can't control how supportive the parents are in your community. If they don't sufficiently value learning, your students may do poorly on state tests. How can you take responsibility for your part and not simply blame parents when students do poorly?)

Chapter 9: Inspiring Through Collaboration

1. What did Ron do at his first staff meeting that set him apart from traditional new principals? How did he create a relationship with his staff so they would perceive him as an ally?
2. Discuss the qualities and characteristics that Ron embodies that you would like to see in your building principal.
3. What makes Ron an effective leader? How can these qualities be cultivated?
4. Discuss why you would like working “with” a principal like Ron. What type of principal would inspire you to become the best teacher you can be?

Chapter 10: Being What We Choose

1. Discuss ways to infuse power and freedom into your classroom so students meet these needs by doing what you ask them to do. Identify specific things you can do to increase the amount of responsible power and freedom available to students in your class.
2. Students need structure as well as freedom. What parameters must you establish to maintain an academically productive environment? Discuss how “minimally necessary” structure supports high academic standards while simultaneously providing adequate freedom.
3. Discuss how focusing on “being” can be more helpful to adolescents than focusing on “doing.” Do you think this is true at other stages of development or is it specific to adolescence?
4. Brainstorm ways to help students develop an identity as hard-working and successful. How can you lead students to see that being academically productive and socially responsible reflect who they want to “be”?

Chapter 11: Creating a Need-Satisfying Environment

1. Dave taught his students about internal control psychology as part of his English class. How can you seamlessly weave internal control psychology into your existing curriculum?
2. Think about students who you currently teach who may be struggling academically or behaviorally. Discuss the strength of their needs with one of your colleagues and brainstorm what you can do that will help them meet their needs more responsibly in your class.
3. Get together with several colleagues who teach the same grade or subject. Choose a topic you all teach. Each of you will create a lesson that highlights one need area more than the others. For example, one of you will create a lesson that will appeal to a class with a strong need for connecting. Another teacher will develop the “same” lesson but gear it toward a class with a strong need for freedom. Others will do the same for power and fun. Share plans and you'll have a way to successfully engage your students regardless of the “personality” of the class.
4. Identify the different kinds of class meetings. Discuss why class meetings are more effective if you use various kinds instead of just “problem-solving” meetings.

Chapter 12: From Telling to Asking

1. Why does the author suggest that we give students as little advice as possible even when it's “good advice”? Do you agree? Identify ways to help students grow into good, responsible decision-makers.
2. Think of times when you tell students what they “should” do. How can you encourage them to self-evaluate instead? Discuss why self-evaluation is preferable to “analysis and prescription.”
3. Ann highlights the importance of a positive relationship, saying, “Without that connection, you're sunk. With it, you can move mountains.” Do you agree or disagree? What can you do to enhance your relationship with students, keeping in mind your fundamental educational responsibility?
4. How do you assess the level of student motivation? Brainstorm other things you can do to inspire greater effort and achievement.

Chapter 13: From Enforcing to Teaching Responsibility and Fostering Positive Relationships

1. It is easier to foster positive relationships in smaller schools. Identify and discuss ways to “shrink” your school and create the positive connections that correlate with high academic achievement.
2. How can you create connections across disciplines to make learning more “real-life” and relevant for your students? Identify a colleague who you can work with to offer interdisciplinary experiences for your students.
3. When behavioral infractions occur, punishment alone is not effective. Discuss ways to make the teaching of appropriate behavior the central component of the intervention process. How can you help disruptive students “learn a better way”?
4. Prevention is always more effective than intervention. How can you organize your school so students are more likely to meet their needs by behaving appropriately rather than engaging in unwanted, disruptive behavior?

Chapter 14: Reflections of a High School Senior

1. Matt believes the Competence Based Classroom should be mandatory for freshmen and sophomores. Do you agree or disagree? Why? What are some advantages of the Competence Based Classroom, especially for underclassmen in high school?
2. Matt says that the poster that read, “Respect isn't a gift. You have to earn it” was “the most ridiculous poster I'd ever seen.” Do you think students should be treated with respect regardless of their behavior or is respect something that needs to be earned? Discuss your thoughts with a colleague.
3. High school students appreciate knowing why they should put effort into what they are being asked to learn. No matter what grade you teach, discuss what you do to help your students appreciate the usefulness and relevance of what you ask them to learn. What can you do to improve your performance in this area?
4. It is easy for high school students to be “invisible.” What can you do to help every student feel a sense of connection and belonging in your school? Do you think it's important for students to feel connected to their school? Do you believe this impacts their academic and social behavior?

Activating the Desire to Learn was written by Bob Sullo. This 164-page, 6" x 9" book (Stock #107009; ISBN-13: 978-1-4166-0423-5) is available from ASCD for $18.95 (ASCD member) or $23.95 (nonmember). Copyright © 2007 by ASCD. To order a copy, call ASCD at 1-800-933-2723 (in Virginia 1-703-578-9600) and press 2 for the Service Center. Or buy the book from ASCD's Online Store.