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Anna Bentyn
Andrzej Janiak
How to understand and
motivate a truant
a workshop for teachers of students who play truant
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I.
PREFACE
General information about the workshop

The workshop is addressed to teachers who work with truants. It is based on the
questionnaire filled in by a student. The questionnaire consists of a series of unfinished
statements. After the questionnaire is filled by the student, the teachers further refine and
work on the plan of actions meant only for this particular student.

The duration of the workshop is 10 lessons, each lasting 45 minutes. Due to some
constraints when organizing the workshop it is important that it should be held on one day.
Target group:

the group should number from 16 to 24 form teachers.

The type of school in which the workshop participants work is of no importance. It is
important, however, that they should work on questionnaires filled in by students who learn
in the type of school in which the teachers work (but not necessarily on questionnaires filled
in by students from their own school as they could project their opinions about a particular
child onto their work during the workshop).
Implementers:

This project should be implemented by people who have the skills in conducting educational
workshops and who have the knowledge in motivating. The workshop can be conducted by
two implementers, but it is not a necessary condition.
Key information:

The motivation issues raised during this workshop are of exemplary character. They can be
supplemented with other problems if implementers consider them worth discussing with a
particular group of teachers.
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II. WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
Aims: when taking part in the workshop the participants will:

learn a new tool and practice using it when dealing with a truant

learn an empathic attitude to a child and his/her problems

broaden and get right their knowledge of motivation issues
Final product/ outcome:

the participants will produce action plans meant for 4 (or 5) students who play truant

the participants will come up with Elements that are essential to create a good atmosphere
in class

By filling in the questionnaire Relations between a teacher and a student, the participants
will have the chance to reflect on the quality of their own work

The participants will produce two descriptions of an exemplary student and two descriptions
of a poor student
Implementation methods
In the workshop the implementers use different teaching methods, but the fundamental method is
working in groups. Attention! When doing exercise 2 the groups should be created with special care
as the next exercises end up by returning to the same group and performing further activities in this
group.
Materials:
20 sheets of paper
marker pens
small pieces of paper
30 pieces of paper (A4 format)
adhesive tape (used for hanging posters on the wall)
“A description of a truant” – instructions for exercise 1 – 1 instruction for 2 participants
“An action plan to help a truant” - instructions for exercise 2 – 1 instruction for a group
“A questionnaire for a truant” - 1 for each participant
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A list of words/phrases to complete unfinished statements in the questionnaire – 1 for each
participant
Questionnaires filled in by truants – 3-4 cases for a group
A questionnaire “Relations between a teacher and a student”
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WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
Equipment:
2 charts
marker pens
1. Introductory meeting

Introduce yourself (the other the implementer) and organizers of the workshop

Ask the teachers to introduce themselves, tell everybody where they come from and what they
expect from this workshop. Write the title participants’ expectations on the chart and write
down the expectations mentioned by the teachers. After this activity inform them about the
structure of the workshop and relate it to the participants’ expectations indicating which
expectations will be met and which won’t.

Write down the rules of working in a group so as to create the feeling of safety and confidence
among the participants of the workshop.
duration – 30 minutes
Equipment:
Questionnaires filled in by truants – 4/5 examples for a group
“A description of a truant” - instructions
A list of words/phrases to complete unfinished statements in the
A sheet of paper (A4 format) for each participant
2. Exercise 1: „A description of a truant”
Ask the teachers to work in pairs. Do not let the participants who know each other very well work
in the same team. Give the participants charts and all the materials and make sure that the teams that
sit close to each other are not working on the same case (same questionnaire). Inform the
participants that they have 20 minutes to analyze the questionnaire according to the instructions and
to write down their remarks and comments on the charts. The results should be presented by
analyzing one case at a time (the team who works on one case presents all the comments and
observations and other teams who worked on the same case add their own comments). Discuss with
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the participants the results and check whether the results are similar or different in the teams. If
there are differences discuss the reasons for those differences.
duration – 60 minutes
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WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
Equipment
Questionnaires filled in by truants
“An action plan to help a truant” – instructions
4 charts
marker pens
3. Exercise 2: “An action plan to help a truant”
Ask the participants to work in teams. Make sure that the participants who are in one team worked
on the same case in Exercise 1. Ask the teams to come up with a CONCRETE action plan that
would help the student stop playing truant and that may encourage him to attend classes. These
actions should be related to spheres of life defined in the previous exercise (school, peers, family,
MYSELF). Hand in the instructions for working in groups, charts and marker pens so that they
could write down their conclusions. Devote 30 minutes for this activity. You can give the
participants more time if need be.
When the teams present their conclusions and action plans ask for concrete information/actions if a
team’s suggestions are too general.
duration – 60 minutes
4. Motivating a truant
Below is a series of exercises the aim of which is to provide the participants with the knowledge of
motivating, based on what they already know and the techniques they already use (they presented
them when doing exercises 1 and 2). It is recommended that the implementers use the participants’
suggestions written down on the charts and then elaborate on them and add new ones. All issues
concerning the problem of motivating truants are explained and are provided with suggestions how
they can be presented to the workshop participants.
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WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
Equipment
Charts with suggestions provided by teachers when doing exercise 2
marker pens
4a. Internal and external motivation
Explain briefly the above classification and ask teachers to find their own actions presented
earlier on the charts that can be related to both types of motivation (if they cannot find them,
they should write them now). Emphasize that actions taken by the teacher are effective only
when they can activate students’ internal motivation.
duration – 30 minutes
Key terms:
External motivation stands for aims, values and other people’s interests and their influence on a
student. If we agree that adults (teachers) know better what a child (a student) needs, then it means
that she/she learns how to avoid punishment or how to get a reward (or to please an adult).
Internal motivation is understood as all the factors that cause a child to be willing to learn,
resulting from his/her needs, interests and talents. If we agree that a child is able to take control of
the process of gaining knowledge, then it means that teachers’ actions should boil down to
encouraging a child to learn.
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WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
Equipment
Charts prepared when doing exercise 2
Small pieces of paper for each participant
Pieces of paper (A5 format) for each pair
Sheets of paper (A2 format) - 1 for 4 participants
A large chart
marker pens
4b. A good atmosphere in a class
Distribute small pieces of paper among the participants. Ask them to write down the elements
that are essential to create a good atmosphere in a class. Underscore that they should be specific
and that they should not generalize. Devote 2-3 minutes for this activity. Then ask them to work
in pairs and to come up with one list of the factors than can be conducive to a good atmosphere.
Give the participants pieces of paper (A5 format) and devote from 5 to 7 minutes for this
activity. After that ask the teachers to work in groups of four and assign them the same task
(give them sheets of paper – A2 format and 10-15 minutes to complete the task). Ask the groups
to put their sheets on the wall and read out their suggestions. Finally, put a large chart on the
wall and give it a title Elements that are essential to create a good atmosphere in a class. Come
up with one list of those elements. First write down those elements that were suggested by all
groups. Then you should discuss the rest of the ideas. The chart should contain the elements that
all participants agreed on.
Ask the participants to return to the groups in which they worked on exercise 2 and check which
elements of a good atmosphere they already pointed out and which they could still add to the list
and include in the action plan. Give 15-20 minutes to complete this task.
duration – 90 minutes
suggested answers:
every student can ask another student to do something for him/her
conflicts within a class are immediately solved
students decorate their classroom without any coercion
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students voluntarily report their problems to the teacher
students initiate different actions and activities for the benefit of the class
students help each other, e.g. by lending each other writing implements
students spend time together after classes
students treat teach other with respect irrespectively of the grades they earn
students are happy for their colleagues when they get a good grade
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WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
Equipment:
A questionnaire: Relations between a teacher and a student
Charts produced when doing exercise 2
Marker pens
4c. Relations with a teacher
Tell the participants that irrespectively of a student’s age, an adult will always be a very
important for him/her. Especially when an adult affects the student’s emotions. Even a young
person who is rebelling against the society actually believes that adults are right (he /she might
rebel against it but he/she has believed in it since childhood so when the youth revolt is over, the
child will adopt adults’ way of thinking)
Give the participants a questionnaire Relations between a teacher and a student and ask them to
fill it in. Emphasize that you are looking for concrete examples. Give the participants 10
minutes to complete the task. Then sit in a circle and ask the teachers to read their examples. If
they are vague, ask additional questions.
Ask the teachers to return to the groups in which they worked on exercise 2 and tell them to
think whether/how they can improve the relations between students and teachers from the
examples discussed earlier (let them think about the nature of the relation and think how it can
be changed). Allow 15 minutes for this activity. Ask each group to come up with a short
comment on this issue.
duration – 90 minutes
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WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
Equipment
The charts produced when doing exercise 2
4 big charts
marker pens
4d. A student’s attitude towards himself/herself
Ask the participants to work in four groups. Give them charts and ask them to produce a description
of a student. Two groups prepare a description of an exemplary student, the other two produce the
description of a poor student. These “portraits” are to show the way a student perceives
himself/herself, the world and his/her abilities to function in this world. The descriptions should
include the following elements (ask the teachers to put them on the poster): talents, skills,
motivation, physical appearance, friends, parents, school, a new task, a well-known task, truancy,
foreign languages, duties, escape.
Ask the participants to first discuss the description of a poor student, then the description of an
exemplary student. When summing up tell them to think whether the action plan they prepared will
enable a poor student to change into an exemplary student. Ask them how many elements of the
description of an exemplary student have to be changed to observe a transition from a good student
to a poor student.
duration – 30 minutes
Key terms
A student’s attitude to himself/herself – stands for the way of perceiving oneself which might
lead to consequences observed in different spheres of life. In other words, a child seems to be
“programmed” by what he/she thinks about his/her abilities, skills or comparing himself/herself
with peers (who do I identify with, who do I avoid?)
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WORKSHOP STRUCTURE
Equipment
Charts produced when working on exercise 2
marker pens
5. Exercise 3: The first conversation with a student
Ask the participants to work in the same groups that they worked in when doing exercise 2. Ask
the participants to choose one person from a group to act out a short scene. These volunteers
will play a student who filled in a questionnaire for a truant. Make sure that the volunteers do
not act out the scene in their own groups. Ask them to go to another room and prepare
themselves by analyzing the student’s questionnaire. While the volunteers are getting prepared
the rest of the participants should prepare themselves for the first conversation with the student
(allowed time: 10 minutes). Remind the groups that they know a lot about the student, that they
have action plans ready. Ask them to decide on:
Who will talk to the child?
Where will the conversation take place, in what conditions?
What will the conversation be about?
What do you plan to achieve by talking to the student?
Each group act out the scene which shows the conversation with the student. The implementers
should make sure that the groups get the feedback from the “student” and from other people
taking part in the workshop
duration – 40 minutes
Equipment
The chart the participants’ expectations
6. The end of the workshop

Evaluation of the workshop. The participants decide whether the workshop met their
expectations (specified at the beginning of the workshop)

The implementers say good bye to the teachers. The participants thank the implementers for
the workshop.
duration – 20 minutes
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A DESCRIPTION OF A TRUANT
INSTRUCTIONS FOR WORKING IN PAIRS (EXERCISE 1)
On the basis of the questionnaire for a truant produce a description of a student by answering the
following questions:
1. What is the student’s attitude towards his/her school? What does he/she think about
teachers?
2. How does the student see his/her capabilities/skills?
3. According to him/her, what are the good and bad things about playing truant? What is the
character of his/her playing truant?
4. What is the student’s attitude towards his/her peers? What is their role in the student’s life?
5. What is the student’s role in the family? Who does he/she can count on at home?
6. What does the student think about his/her abilities and about the possibilities to change
his/her future?
7. Do you draw any other conclusions from the questionnaire?
A list of words/phrases to complete unfinished statements in the questionnaire functions as a
“guide” when analyzing the questionnaire. If you put this list on a questionnaire you will be able
to identify much faster which spheres of life the student’s answers refer to.
AN ACTION PLAN TO HELP A TRUANT
Instructions for a group – exercise 2
Try to come up with ideas how you can help the student whose questionnaire you have just read.
Write down your ideas on a chart. Try to answer the following questions:
A. How can you influence the way the student perceives himself/herself and his/her
capabilities?
B. What does the student need to feel good at school? How can you help him/her feel
this way?
C. What/who is important for the student? How can we influence it?
D. What would you do to make the student involved in the school life?
E. How can you influence and change the situation in the student’s family?
F. Other possible actions
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QUESTIONNAIRE FOR A TRUANT
a teaching aid for the implementer
1. What I like most at school is…
24. I don’t like when at school…
12. I like teachers who…
3. I don’t like teachers who…
5. If I have problems at school they are usually caused by…
15. I don’t feel comfortable during classes when…
9. During classes I feel ok. when…
17. Instead of going to school I’d rather go to…
2. I play truant because…
13. When playing truant I like doing…
8. Sometimes I regret that I played truant because…
18. Because of playing truant I lost…
11. Owing to playing truant I gained…
4. My friends think I am ...
14. The students who are not my friends think I am…
20. I wish my peers…
19. The person who cares about me most is…
6. My parents think I am…
10. My parents don’t understand that…
21. The person who devotes most time for me is…
23. When parents find out that I played truant they…
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7. I am happy when somebody…
16. I do care about…
27. I get upset when somebody…
26. When I think about the future I would like to…
22. If I could change something I would…
25. I wish other people...
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QUESTIONNAIRE FOR A TRUANT
Below you will find some unfinished sentences concerning you, your education, family, and your
friends. Please complete the following statements:
1. What I like most at school is…mathematics
2. I play truant because…my colleagues harass me
3. I don’t like teachers who… they are too demanding
4. My friends think I am ... a swot
5. If I have problems at school they are usually caused by…I skip many classes
6. My parents think I am… a wierdo
7. I am happy when somebody…helps me and protects me from my enemies
8. Sometimes I regret that I played truant because…I skip many classes and I ruin my reputation
9. During classes I feel ok. when…a teacher gives easy assignments
10. My parents don’t understand that… I like joking and that I am a bit nervous
11. Owing to playing truant I gained…that colleagues do not harass me any more
12. I like teachers who…are lenient, do not shout at me and help me with performing the tasks
13. When playing truant I like… going to an internet cafe
14. The students who are not my friends think I am…weak and cannot defend myself
15. I don’t feel comfortable during classes when…one of my colleagues is harassing me
16. I do care about…good marks, good colleagues and good reputation
17. Instead of going to school I’d rather go to…a internet café or a friend
18. Because of playing truant I lost…the trust of the teachers
19. The person who cares about me most is… my friend from the 1st form in the primary school
20. I wish my peers…were a bit more intelligent
21. The person who devotes most time for me is…a (female) friend from my neighborhood
22. If I could change something I would…be less nervous
23. When parents find out that I played truant they…are very upset
24. I don’t like when at school…people harass me
25. I wish other people...were my friends and supported me
26. When I think about the future I would like to…become a policeman, a fire fighter or a lawyer
27. I get upset when somebody…is scolding me or is laughing at me
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A list of words/phrases to
complete unfinished
statements in the
questionnaire
1. school
2. playing truant
3. school
4. peers
5. learning
6. family
7. myself
8. playing truant
9. learning
10. family
11. playing truant
12. school
13. playing truant
14. peers
15. learning
16. myself
17. playing truant
18. playing truant
19. family
20. peers
21. family
22. myself
23. family
24. school
25. myself
26. myself
27. myself
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A questionnaire for a truant – example 1
A student aged 15. She was absent from 129 lessons. She spent that time at home but her parents,
even though they knew about the fact their daughter skipped classes, did not excuse her absences.
1. What I like most at school are… important lessons
2. I play truant because…I didn’t play truant because of problems at home
3. I don’t like teachers who…yell at students all the time
4. My friends think I am ...friendly, helpful
5. If I have problems at school they are usually caused by…the fact that I do not learn
6. My parents think I am…a good person who has difficulties in learning
7. I am happy when somebody…is happy
8. Sometimes I regret that I played truant because…I didn’t play truant
9. During classes I feel ok. when…the atmosphere is friendly
10. My parents don’t understand that… I am poor at learning
11. Owing to playing truant I gained…I didn’t play truant
12. I like teachers who…are friendly and help students
13. When playing truant I like doing…I don’t play truant
14. The students who are not my friends think I am…I don’t know
15. I don’t feel comfortable during classes when…the atmosphere is tense
16. I do care about…graduating from school
17. Instead of going to school I’d rather go… home
18. Because of playing truant I lost…I didn’t play truant
19. The person who cares about me most is…family
20. I wish my peers…were well educated
21. The person who devotes most time for me is… my mom and my sister
22. If I could change something I would…change my grades
23. When parents find out that I played truant they…I didn’t play truant
24. I don’t like when at school…I have to write quizzes
25. I wish other people...didn’t play truant
26. When I think about the future I would like to…be well educated
27. I get upset when somebody…is trying to make me believe I did something
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A questionnaire for a truant – example 2
A student aged 16. He was absent from 124 lessons. All absences are unexcused. Parents did not
contact the school.
1. What I like most at school are… I do not know what
2. I play truant because…sometimes I get upset, sometimes I don’t feel like going to school
3. I don’t like teachers who…make me upset
4. My friends think I am ...I don’t know what they think
5. If I have problems at school they are usually caused by…the fact that I do not understand the
subject
6. My parents think I am… I don’t know what they think
7. I am happy when somebody…appreciates me
8. Sometimes I regret that I played truant because…I can stay another year in the same year
9. During classes I feel ok. when… I don’t know when I feel ok
10. My parents don’t understand that… some subjects are a problem for me
11. Owing to playing truant I gained…I gained nothing
12. I like teachers who…are nice and understand my problems
13. When playing truant I like doing… I don’t know what (anything)
14. The students who are not my friends think I am… I don’t know what they think
15. I don’t feel comfortable during classes when… I don’t know when
16. I do care about…be able to communicate with a teacher
17. Instead of going to school I’d rather go… I don’t know where
18. Because of playing truant I lost…the whole school year
19. The person who cares about me most are … my parents
20. I wish my peers…understood me
21. The person who devotes most time for me is… my parents
22. If I could change something I would…I would not change anything
23. When parents find out that I played truant they…are very upset
24. I don’t like when at school…it is not nice
25. I wish other people...knew I do my best
26. When I think about the future I would like to…graduate form this school and find a job
27. I get upset when somebody…is making me upset
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Materials for session 4c.
RELATIONS BETWEEN A TEACHER AND A STUDENT
By filling in the following questionnaire you can check whether your relations with students are actually
conducive to motivating students to learn.
1. Do you have a positive attitude to your students and to your work? Give a concrete example.
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Are your conditions that you create during classes conducive to students’ achieving success? Give a
concrete example._____________________________________________________________________
3. How do you inspire students and how do you make them feel interested in the lessons. Give a concrete
example._____________________________________________________________________________
4. Do you know abilities and interests of your students and do you take advantage of them during classes?
Give a concrete example.
____________________________________________________________________________________
5. How do you show your appreciation of students’ efforts? Give a concrete example.
____________________________________________________________________________________
6. How do you reward students for their cooperation? Give a concrete
example.____________________________________________________________________________
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Martin V. Covington, Karen Manheim Teel Motywacja do nauki (Overcoming Student
Failure Changing Motives and Incentives for Learning, 1994 by APA, USA) Gdańskie
Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne, Gdańsk 2004
2. Jere Brophy Motywowanie uczniów do nauki (Motivating Students to Learn) Wydawnictwo
Naukowe PWN Warszawa, 2004 r.
3. HARMIN Harmin Merrill, Duch klasy. Jak motywować uczniów do nauki? Wydawnictwo
Centrum Edukacji Obywatelskiej, Warszawa 2004
4. Barbara L. McCombs, James E. Pope, Uczeń trudny: jak skłonić go do nauki?
Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne, Warszawa 1997.
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