"Motivate Students To Take Charge of Learning!!!"

Student motivation naturally has to do with students' desire to participate in the learning process. ... An EXTRINSICALLY motivated student performs "IN ORDER TO obtain some reward or avoid some punishment external to the activity itself," such as grades, stickers, or teacher approval (Lepper).

Why is it important to motivate students?

Motivation has several effects on students' learning and behavior. First, motivation directs behavior toward particular goals. ... Motivation will increase students' time on task and is also an important factor affecting their learning and achievement. Motivation enhances cognitive processing.

Infants and young children appear to be propelled by curiosity, driven by an intense need to explore, interact with, and make sense of their environment. As one author puts it, "Rarely does one hear parents complain that their pre-schooler is 'unmotivated' " (James Raffini 1993).

Unfortunately, as children grow, their passion for learning frequently seems to shrink. Learning often becomes associated with drudgery instead of delight. A large number of students--more than one in four--leave school before graduating. Many more are physically present in the classroom but largely mentally absent; they fail to invest themselves fully in the experience of learning.

Awareness of how students' attitudes and beliefs about learning develop and what facilitates learning for its own sake can assist educators in reducing student apathy.

WHAT IS STUDENT MOTIVATION?

Student motivation naturally has to do with students' desire to participate in the learning process. But it also concerns the reasons or goals that underlie their involvement or noninvolvement in academic activities. Although students may be equally motivated to perform a task, the sources of their motivation may differ.

A student who is INTRINSICALLY motivated undertakes an activity "for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provides, the learning it permits, or the feelings of accomplishment it evokes" (Mark Lepper 1988). An EXTRINSICALLY motivated student performs "IN ORDER TO obtain some reward or avoid some punishment external to the activity itself," such as grades, stickers, or teacher approval (Lepper).

The term MOTIVATION TO LEARN has a slightly different meaning. It is defined by one author as "the meaningfulness, value, and benefits of academic tasks to the learner--regardless of whether or not they are intrinsically interesting" (Hermine Marshall 1987). Another notes that motivation to learn is characterized by long-term, quality involvement in learning and commitment to the process of learning (Carole Ames 1990).

WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS' MOTIVATION?

According to Jere Brophy (1987), motivation to learn is a competence acquired "through general experience but stimulated most directly through modeling, communication of expectations, and direct instruction or socialization by significant others (especially parents and teachers)."

Children's home environment shapes the initial constellation of attitudes they develop toward learning. When parents nurture their children's natural curiosity about the world by welcoming their questions, encouraging exploration, and familiarizing them with resources that can enlarge their world, they are giving their children the message that learning is worthwhile and frequently fun and satisfying.

When children are raised in a home that nurtures a sense of self-worth, competence, autonomy, and self-efficacy, they will be more apt to accept the risks inherent in learning. Conversely, when children do not view themselves as basically competent and able, their freedom to engage in academically challenging pursuits and capacity to tolerate and cope with failure are greatly diminished.

Once children start school, they begin forming beliefs about their school-related successes and failures. The sources to which children attribute their successes (commonly effort, ability, luck, or level of task difficulty) and failures (often lack of ability or lack of effort) have important implications for how they approach and cope with learning situations.

The beliefs teachers themselves have about teaching and learning and the nature of the expectations they hold for students also exert a powerful influence (Raffini). As Deborah Stipek (1988) notes, "To a very large degree, students expect to learn if their teachers expect them to learn."

Schoolwide goals, policies, and procedures also interact with classroom climate and practices to affirm or alter students' increasingly complex learning-related attitudes and beliefs.

And developmental changes comprise one more strand of the motivational web. For example, although young children tend to maintain high expectations for success even in the face of repeated failure, older students do not. And although younger children tend to see effort as uniformly positive, older children view it as a "double-edged sword" (Ames). To them, failure following high effort appears to carry more negative implications--especially for their self-concept of ability--than failure that results from minimal or no effort.

ARE THERE ADVANTAGES TO INTRINSIC MOTIVATION?

Does it really matter whether students are primarily intrinsically or extrinsically oriented toward learning? A growing body of evidence suggests that it does.

When intrinsically motivated, students tend to employ strategies that demand more effort and that enable them to process information more deeply (Lepper).

J. Condry and J. Chambers (1978) found that when students were confronted with complex intellectual tasks, those with an intrinsic orientation used more logical information-gathering and decision-making strategies than did students who were extrinsically oriented.

Students with an intrinsic orientation also tend to prefer tasks that are moderately challenging, whereas extrinsically oriented students gravitate toward tasks that are low in degree of difficulty. Extrinsically oriented students are inclined to put forth the minimal amount of effort necessary to get the maximal reward (Lepper).

Although every educational activity cannot, and perhaps should not, be intrinsically motivating, these findings suggest that when teachers can capitalize on existing intrinsic motivation, there are several potential benefits.

HOW CAN MOTIVATION TO LEARN BE FOSTERED IN THE SCHOOL SETTING?

Although students' motivational histories accompany them into each new classroom setting, it is essential for teachers to view themselves as "ACTIVE SOCIALIZATION AGENTS capable of stimulating...student motivation to learn" (Brophy 1987).

Classroom climate is important. If students experience the classroom as a caring, supportive place where there is a sense of belonging and everyone is valued and respected, they will tend to participate more fully in the process of learning.

Various task dimensions can also foster motivation to learn. Ideally, tasks should be challenging but achievable. Relevance also promotes motivation, as does "contextualizing" learning, that is, helping students to see how skills can be applied in the real world (Lepper). Tasks that involve "a moderate amount of discrepancy or incongruity" are beneficial because they stimulate students' curiosity, an intrinsic motivator (Lepper).

In addition, defining tasks in terms of specific, short-term goals can assist students to associate effort with success (Stipek). Verbally noting the purposes of specific tasks when introducing them to students is also beneficial (Brophy 1986).

Extrinsic rewards, on the other hand, should be used with caution, for they have the potential for decreasing existing intrinsic motivation.

What takes place in the classroom is critical, but "the classroom is not an island" (Martin Maehr and Carol Midgley 1991). Depending on their degree of congruence with classroom goals and practices, schoolwide goals either dilute or enhance classroom efforts. To support motivation to learn, school-level policies and practices should stress "learning, task mastery, and effort" (Maehr and Midgley) rather than relative performance and competition.

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO HELP UNMOTIVATED STUDENTS?

A first step is for educators to recognize that even when students use strategies that are ultimately self-defeating (such as withholding effort, cheating, procrastination, and so forth), their goal is actually to protect their sense of self-worth (Raffini).

A process called ATTRIBUTION RETRAINING, which involves modeling, socialization, and practice exercises, is sometimes used with discouraged students. The goals of attribution retraining are to help students to (1) concentrate on the tasks rather than becoming distracted by fear of failure; (2) respond to frustration by retracing their steps to find mistakes or figuring out alternative ways of approaching a problem instead of giving up; and (3) attribute their failures to insufficient effort, lack of information, or reliance on ineffective strategies rather than to lack of ability (Brophy 1986).

Other potentially useful strategies include the following: portray effort as investment rather than risk, portray skill development as incremental and domain-specific, focus on mastery (Brophy 1986).

Because the potential payoff--having students who value learning for its own sake--is priceless, it is crucial for parents, teachers, and school leaders to devote themselves fully to engendering, maintaining, and rekindling students' motivation to learn.

Motivation

Erik and Andrew are in the same first grade class. Erik loves any activity that involves coloring, drawing or illustrating. He spends all of his free time engaged in these sorts of activities, sometimes oblivious to other things going on in the classroom. Andrew, on the other hand, dislikes drawing and art and will avoid it at all costs. Both students are high achievers and good listeners, but they are motivated by completely different interests and activities. In the classroom, motivation drives many behaviors and it is important to understand the importance of motivation in an educational environment.

Motivation is described as a state that energizes, directs and sustains behavior. Motivation involves goals and requires activity. Goals provide the impetus for and the direction of action, while action entails effort: persistence in order to sustain an activity for a long period of time.

There are recognized indices of motivation that are important to be aware of. Indices typically place a value or quantity on an idea; in this case, we can understand the value or quantity of motivation for an individual by these four indices.

The selection of a task under free-choice conditions indicates motivation to perform the task. In our earlier example, Erik chose to engage in art activities during his free time. This is indicative of being motivated by art and art-type activities.

High effort levels, especially when working on different tasks and assignments, are also indicative of motivation. For example, if a student diligently works on a difficult algebra problem again and again, this would indicate a higher level of motivation towards math activities.

Working for a longer period of time, especially after encountering numerous obstacles, is also associated with higher motivation. For example, John, a student in PE class, was unable to master jumping rope, but he chose to continue trying to jump rope during recess; this time on task indicates a high level of motivation towards mastering the activity of jumping rope.

The indices of motivation

Finally, level of achievement is affected by choice, effort and persistence. The higher these indices, the higher the motivation and the more likely task achievement will occur.

In the classroom, educators should be aware of these indices in an effort to reinforce activities and interests that students already show an existing partiality for. There is an actual term for this - it's called situational motivation.

Situational motivation is a phenomenon in which aspects of the immediate environment enhance motivation to learn particular things or behave in particular ways. Educators can do many things to create a classroom environment that motivates students to learn and behave in ways that promote their long-term success.

How Motivation Affects Learning & Behavior

Motivation has several effects on students' learning and behavior.

First, motivation directs behavior toward particular goals. Motivation determines the specific goals toward which people strive; thus, it affects the choices students make. For example, whether to enroll in an art class or physics, whether to attend a school basketball game during the week or complete an assignment that's due the next day.

Motivation also leads to increased effort and energy. Motivation determines whether a student will pursue a task (even a difficult one) with enthusiasm or a lackluster attitude.

Motivation increases the initiation and persistence of activities. In our first example, Erik continued with art-type activities in his free time and he also tried to perform these types of activities in relation to his other assignments. Motivation will increase students' time on task and is also an important factor affecting their learning and achievement.

Motivation enhances cognitive processing. Motivation actually affects what and how information is processed because motivated students are more likely to pay attention and try to understand the material instead of simply going through the motions of learning in a superficial manner.

Motivation determines what consequences are reinforcing and punishing. For example, students with a high level of motivation for classroom achievement and high GPAs are reinforced by receiving a grade of 'A' and they'll feel punished if they receive a grade of 'F.'

Motivating Students

• Motivation Theory
• There are three general indices of motivation: choice, effort, and persistence. Recognize students' needs for self-determination and autonomy, and provide opportunities for choice and control. Understand that students may be intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to learn. While it may be ideal to have a room full of intrinsically motivated students, it is understandable that students are also driven by the desire for grades, approval and other rewards. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation exist not a single continuum, but on two separate ones, and students may often have multiple goals for the same course. Students usually direct their behavior toward activities that they value and in which they have some expectancy of success.
• Capitalize on students' existing needs
• Use student's interest and natural curiosity appeal aid in motivation. Students will be motivated to learn when the course is structured in a way that students learn best when incentives for learning in a classroom satisfy their own motives for enrolling in the course. Some of the needs your students may bring to the classroom are the need to learn something in order to complete a particular task or activity, the need to seek new experiences, the need to perfect skills, the need to overcome challenges, the need to become competent, the need to succeed and do well, the need to feel involved and to interact with other people. Satisfying such needs is rewarding in itself, and such rewards sustain learning more effectively than do grades. Design assignments, in-class activities, and discussion questions to address these kinds of needs.
• Make students active participants in learning
• Students learn by doing, making, writing, designing, creating, and solving. Passivity dampens students' motivation and curiosity. Pose questions. Encourage students to suggest approaches to a problem or to guess the results of an experiment. As Confucius said, "Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; but directly involve me, and I'll make it my own" (quoted in Kegan & Lahey, 2000, p. 10).
• Ask students to analyze what makes their classes more or less "motivating."
• One way to measure what motivates students is to ask them. Survey what type of lecture has been the most motivating and what type of class has been the least. Appeal to students' interests and curiosity. To build intrinsic motivation, we must build a climate of understanding and trust.

Incorporating Instructional Behaviors that Motivate Students

• Hold high but realistic expectations for your students.*
• Program students for success. While exams and assignments should still be challenging, they should also offer students a reasonable chance for success. When instructors expect the best work from their students, research has shown that students generally rise to the task.
• Help students set achievable goals for themselves.
• Failure to attain unrealistic goals can disappoint and frustrate students. Encourage students to focus on their continued improvement, not just on their grade on any one test or assignment. Help students evaluate their progress by encouraging them to critique their own work, analyze their strengths, and work on their weaknesses. For example, consider asking students to submit self-evaluation forms with one or two assignments.
• Tell students what they need to do to succeed in your course.
• Don't let your students struggle to figure out what is expected of them. Reassure students that they can do well in your course, and tell them exactly what thy must do to succeed. Say something to the effect that "If you can handle the examples on these problem sheets, you can pass the exam. People who have trouble with these examples can ask me for extra help." Or instead of saying "You're way behind," tell the student, "Here is one way you could go about learning the material. How can I help you?"
• Strengthen students' self-motivation.
• Avoid messages that reinforce your power as an instructor or that emphasize extrinsic rewards. Instead of saying "I require," "you must," or "you should," stress "I think you will find…," or "I will be interested in your reaction."
• Avoid creating intense competition among students.
• Bligh (1971) reports that students are more attentive, display better comprehension, produce more work, and are more favorable to the teaching method when they work cooperatively in groups rather than compete as individuals. Refrain from public criticisms of students' performance and from comments or activities that pit students against one another.
• Be enthusiastic about your subject.
• An instructor's enthusiasm is a crucial factor in student motivation. If you become bored or apathetic, students will too. Typically, an instructor's enthusiasm comes from confidence, excitement about the content, and genuine pleasure in teaching. If you find yourself uninterested in the material, think back to what attracted you to the field and bring those aspects of the subject matter to life for your students. Or challenge yourself to devise the most exciting way to present the material, however dull the material itself may seem to you.

Structuring the Course to Motivate Students

• Work from students' interests.*
• An instructor should be sure not the focus on what they want to teach or on what they are required to teach, but concentrate more on teaching what the students might find interesting. What do the students find intrinsically motivating? What are their wants or needs? By avoiding work in which students will be criticized or punished, the students' intrinsic motivation will be ignited.
• When possible, let students have some say in choosing what will be studied.
• Give students options on term papers or other assignments (but not on tests). Let students decide between two locations for the field trip, or have them select which topics to explore in greater depth. If possible, include optional or alternative units in the course.
• Get to know your students.
• Whenever possible, share something about yourself with your students. Look for opportunities to let them know who you are and what you stand for.
• Vary your teaching methods.*
• Instructors who teach in a variety of ways are able to meet the diverse learning of all of their students. Variety reawakens students' involvement in the course and their motivation. Break the routine by incorporating a variety of teaching activities and methods in your course: role playing, debates, brainstorming, discussion, demonstrations, case studies, audiovisual presentations, guest speakers, or small group work.

De-emphasizing Grades

• Emphasize mastery and learning rather than grades
• Ames and Ames (1990) report on two secondary school math teachers. One teacher graded every homework assignment and counted homework as 30 percent of a student's final grade. The second teacher told students to spend a fixed amount of time on their homework (thirty minutes a night) and to bring questions to class about problems they could not complete. This teacher graded homework as satisfactory or unsatisfactory, gave students the opportunity to redo their assignments, and counted homework as 10 percent of their final grade. Although homework was a smaller part of the course grade, this second teacher was more successful in motivating students to turn in their homework. In the first class, some students gave up rather than risk low evaluations of their abilities. In the second class, students were not risking their self-worth each time they did their homework but rather were attempting to learn. Mistakes were viewed as acceptable and something to learn from.
• Researchers recommend de-emphasizing grading by eliminating systems of credit points; they also advise against trying to use grades to control nonacademic behavior (for example, lowering grades for missed classes). Instead, assign ungraded written work, stress the personal satisfaction of doing assignments, and help students measure their progress.
• Design tests that encourage the kind of learning you want students to achieve.
• Many students will learn whatever is necessary to get the grades they desire. If you base your tests on memorizing details, students will focus on memorizing facts. If your tests stress the synthesis and evaluation of information, students will be motivated to practice those skills when they study.
• Avoid using grades as threats.
• As McKeachie (1986) points out, the threat of low grades may prompt some students to work hard, but other students resort to academic dishonesty, excuses for late work, and other counterproductive behavior.

Motivating Students by Responding to Their Work

• Give students feedback as quickly as possible.
• Return tests and papers promptly, and reward success publicly and immediately. Give students some indication of how well they have done and how to improve. Rewards can be as simple as saying a student's response was good, with an indication of why it was good, or mention the names of contributors.
• Reward success.
• Both positive and negative comments influence motivation, but research consistently indicates that students are more affected by positive feedback and success. Praise builds students' self-confidence, competence, and self-esteem. Recognize sincere efforts even if the product is less than stellar. If a student's performance is weak, let the student know that you believe he or she can improve and succeed over time.
• Give students specific information about how their work will be graded. *
• Give rubrics with specific information about how their work will be graded. Let them know what should be included in work of the highest quality. If possible, give examples on the good work of other students from past years. If students know what is expected of their work and have in mind what high quality work looks like, they will be more motivated to try their best.
• Be specific when giving negative feedback.
• Negative feedback is very powerful and can lead to a negative class atmosphere. Whenever you identify a student's weakness, make it clear that your comments relate to a particular task or performance, not to the student as a person. Don't make negative comments nebulous. Try to cushion negative comments with a compliment about the aspects of the task in which the student succeeded.
• Avoid demeaning comments.
• Many students in your class may be anxious about their performance and abilities. Be sensitive to how you phrase your comments and avoid offhand remarks that might prick their feelings of inadequacy.
• Avoid giving in to students' pleas for "the answer" to homework problems.
• When you simply give struggling students the solution, you rob them of the chance to think for themselves. Use a more productive approach (adapted from Fiore, 1985).
• Ask the students for one possible approach to the problem.
• Gently brush aside students' anxiety about not getting the answer by refocusing their attention on the problem at hand.
• Ask the students to build on what they do know about the problem.
• Resist answering the question "Is this right?" Suggest to the students a way to check the answer for themselves.
• Praise the students for small, independent steps.
• If you follow these steps, your students will learn that it is all right not to have an instant answer. They will also learn to develop greater patience and to work at their own pace. And by working through the problem, students will experience a sense of achievement and confidence that will increase their motivation to learn.

Motivating Students to Do the Reading

• Assign the reading at least two sessions before it will be discussed.
• Give students ample time to prepare and try to pique their curiosity about the reading: "This article is one of my favorites, and I'll be interested to see what you think about it."
• Assign study questions.
• Hand out study questions that alert students to the key points of the reading assignment. To provide extra incentive for students, tell them you will base exam questions on the study questions.
• Ask nonthreatening questions about reading.
• Initially pose general questions that do not create tension or feelings of resistance: "Can you give me one or two items from the chapter that seem important?" "What section of the reading do you think we should review?" "What item in the reading surprised you?" "What topics in the chapter can you apply to your own experience?"
• Prepare an exam question on undiscussed readings.
• If students have not done the reading, tell them that there will be at least one question taken directly from what they were to have read. The next time the reading is discussed, remind about what happened last time and that if they come to class prepared, there won't be any surprises on the exam.