I am having a great deal of trouble getting my regular algebra 2 classes to buyin to the concept. It is a daily battle. They do not care about more/less homework and many just refuse to participate. What can I do to help motiviate them? My honors classes LOVE it! It is just my weak classes.

Help.....

I don't know if I have any magic solution. In my Algebra 2 classes I have decided to switch from class/teacher points to team points. This isn't the WBT idea, but it works for me. At the end of the week, the winning team gets a sticker that they can stick on any question on their Friday test/quiz and that allows them to automatically get the question right. It is a good incentive for them and free for me! Sometimes instead of a sticker, they get a stamp on their test/quiz which raises their overall test score by 1 or 2 percent. It might also be worth taking some more time to explain WHY you want them to do gestures and etc. I'm attaching a poster that I made of a quote from Benjamin Franklin. I used it to explain why it is important that I INVOLVE them in the lesson. I hope it helps a bit. All you can do is try your best, be enthusiastic when you teach, and hopefully they will slowly catch on. I wish you the best. Please let me know if you have any other thoughts/questions.
Sincerely,
Kristin DeWit
FACEingMATH.com

Our plan for the most difficult to engage students is described in "Industrial Strength Whole Brain Teaching" ... a free download ... let us know how it works!

I like your ideas as my Pre-Calculus classes are not buying in and think it is childish. How do you decide which team wins? Same "deciding" rules as Teacher/Student Scoreboard? Can multiple teams win per week? Also, your attachment to not attach properly, but I think that I already have the quote. A larger poster--size would be great!!
I do have my students in goups. I am thinking that daily I would pass out a special card to those groups who participated, stayed on task, etc. The "organizer" in each group will be responsible for holding onto the cards. At the end of the week they will turn in cards for extra credit points or free problem on exam/quiz. Thank you for the ideas!!!!

I found involving older students that weren't super-motivated to be extremely hard, as well. The ideas in "Industrial Strength WBT" saved me from a mental breakdown, I think...
Keep in mind, more / less homework will not motivate kids who don't plan on doing their homework in the first place. In fact, extra / dextra credit won't motivate kids who don't care much about their grades, either.
On the other hand...there are things that motivate them. You just have to find them. Game-time, even high schoolers will go for it because it means a few minutes less time doing 'class stuff'... talk-time (if your admin is ok with it) it only ends up being 2-3 minutes anyway...
BYO Snack reward...if they win, they are allowed to bring and eat a snack in class the next day (IF, of course, they stick to the agreement of keeping the class clean. If they break it, they lose it.)
Music time, or 'Boombox!" (see the 'Teaching Challenging Students' manual on page 107)
At any rate, observe YOUR students...and see what can motivate them! Every group has something they will work for.

The biggest difference, out of every strategy that I used, was from Leadership Training. Read about it in Chapter 23 of the manual...it was the thing I seriously doubted would work...and the thing that ended up working WONDERS. My most difficult kids turned out to be my best leaders. I was dumbfounded, but thrilled. It was nice to be glad when they walked through my door, rather than wanting to crawl in a hole...

Remember, when you try something, try it with fidelity--always give it at least a month, more for more complex things like leadership training... you will see big changes.

Such great advice from all! I have made some changes in my rewards and it seemed to help some. Overall my students are wonderful, however, they feel this method is too childish. I am working hard to change that perception and improve participation. My pre-calculus class is the most difficult to convince to participate.

My honors Algebra 2 love it! Just have to work harder on the other classes! Thanks so much!!

Chris I'm using wbt in high school and was just wondering what are some rewards for the score board for High School kids? And how can I adapt the crazy professor for these kids who are "too cool" to really go along? Oh and while I'm here, I am really interested in using the Bull's Eye Game with some of my more challenging students, but stickers aren't really gonna cut it with my students as a prize, any thoughts?
Cheers,
Russ