The Strategy: J-Factor
The J-Factor consists of the concept that more work is done when students are enjoying the work or having fun. The energy, humor, and fun exhibited by the teacher will be reflected in the students and strengthen the classroom culture. J-Factor can be added to the classroom in a variety of ways and is not in every moment but regularly throughout the day. Lemov details five categories of J-Factor activities including fun and games, us and them, drama/song /dance, humor, and suspense/surprise. Fun and games often involve competition including competing against the teacher. “Us” and “them” refers to the classroom community and creating an in-group of the classroom where they have an “us” identity, or a collective identity, and an out-group of the rest of the school. This should not be isolating from the school but community building within the classroom. Music and movement are part of the J-factor through drama, song, and dance. These expressive methods to remember material also add the opportunity to include a variety of cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Humor is a powerful tool that aids in students’ memory and overall mood. The sense of surprise is important as novelty drives efficiency and is a form of intermittent reinforcement.
Research Support:
Belonging is an aspect of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. According to the hierarchy, students are less motivated or are not able to complete higher order tasks until their more basic needs have been met. Students will be more motivated to find friends than to learn if they don’t feel as though they belong. Creating a classroom identity of belongingness results in students’ ability to move up the order of needs to creativity and meaningfulness. Additionally, intermittently reinforcing students with surprises is a good motivation technique. Research has shown that intermittent reinforcement is more likely to produce long-lasting results due to the student’s continual hope for reinforcement. Students are also creating personal connections to the material when J-Factor is being used and personal connections strengthen student’s memory of the material. Elaborating on concepts with humor or a song is another evidence-based practice that aids memory. This strategy is also using students’ intrinsic (internal) motivation to have fun, play, and laugh which is much more motivating than extrinsic (external) motivation like stickers or buttons.
In the classroom:
Teachers could employ one of the strategies of J-Factor that Lemov suggests by giving their students nicknames as they feel personalized and cared about. Nicknames make students feel like they belong to the in-group in the classroom. Each student would have their own nickname such as “Bubbles” or “Captain” and then the teacher would have a name for the class as a whole. Students should come up with the name they wanted to have for the class. When the teacher wanted to refer to or pose a question the class as a whole, the teacher could use that class nickname. I would also start each day with a dance like the cha-cha slide where everyone could hear it and know the dance steps. Doing this collectively every morning would start the day off of with the feeling that the students are a community and adds in a little extra J-Factor. The link to an awesome YouTube video with visual cues for the cha-cha slide is below if you would like to use it in your own classroom at the beginning of the day:
Source: Flametictac's Channel
Music: "Cha Cha Slide" by Mr. C