Chapter 10: Motivation in Learning and Teaching

What is Motivation?

MotivationUsually defined as an internal state that arouses, directs, and maintains behavior.

After studying this chapter, you should be able to answer these questions.What are the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and motivation to learn?How is motivation conceptualized in the behavioral, cognitive, humanistic and sociocultural perspectives?What are the roles of goals, interests emotions and beliefs about self in motivation?

What external factors can teachers influence that will encourage students motivation to learn?What is your strategy for teaching your subject to an uninterested student?

Meeting Some Students

Hopeless HenryWont even start the assignment as usual. He just keeps saying, I dont understand, or This is too hard. During activity he feels defeated and hopeless.

Safe SarahChecks with you about every step she wants to be perfect. But she is not really engaged and takes little pleasure in the work.

Satisfied SamInterested in this project. In fact, he knows more than you do about it. Sam is prompt in getting started, engaged, persistent and enjoys the task.

Defensive DianaPretends to be working, but spends most of her time making fun of the assignment or trying to get answers from other students when your back is turned. She is afraid to try because if she makes an effort and fails, she fears that everyone will know she is dumb. She gives up easily because she is so concerned about how others will judge her.

Anxious AmyA good student in most subjects, but she freezes on tests and forgets everything she knows when she has to answer questions on class.Her worry and anxiety may lead her to make poor choices and procrastinate, which only makes her more anxious at test time.

Intrinsic MotivationThe natural tendency to seek out and conquer challenges as we pursue personal interests and exercise capabilities.When we are intrinsically motivated, we do not need incentives or punishments, because the activity itself is rewarding.Self-determinedExtrinsic MotivationWhen we do something in order to earn a reward, avoid punishment, please the teacher, or for some other reason that has a very little to do with it itself, we experience extrinsic motivation.Determined by others

Locus of Causality location of the cause (internal or external)Internal locus of causality/Intrinsic motivationThey freely chose the activity based on personal interests.External locus of causality/Extrinsic motivationThey chose the activity because or something else outside is influencing them.

FOUR GENERAL APPROACHES TO MOTIVATION

Four Views of Motivation

BehavioralHumanisticCognitiveSocioculturalSource of MotivationExtrinsicIntrinsicIntrinsicIntrinsicImportant InfluencesReinforcers, rewards, incentives, and punishers Need for self-esteem, self-fulfillment, and self-determinationBeliefs, attributions for success and failure, expectationsEngaged participation in learning communities; maintaining identity through participation in activities of groupKey TheoriesSkinnerMaslowDeciWeinerGrahamLaveWenger

Behavioral Approaches to MotivationAccording to the behavioral view, an understanding of student motivation begins with a careful analysis of the incentives and rewards present in the classroom.

Reward An attractive object or event supplied as a consequence of a particular behavior.

Example:Safe Sarah was rewarded with bonus points whenshe drew an excellent diagram.

IncentiveAn object or event that encourages or discourages behavior.Example;The promise of an A+ was an incentive to Sarah.Receiving the grade was a reward.

Humanistic Approaches to MotivationHumanistic interpretations of motivation emphasize such intrinsic sources of motivation as a persons needs for self-actualization (Maslow, 1970, 1968) the inborn actualizing tendency (Rogers & Freiberg, 1994), or the need for self-determination (Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier, & Ryan, 1991).So from humanistic perspective, to motivate means to encourage peoples inner resources-their sense of competence, self-esteem, autonomy, and self-actualization.Maslows theory is a very influential humanistic explanation of motivation.

Maslows HierarchyAbraham Maslow suggested that human have a hierarchy needs ranging from lower-level needs for survival and safety to higher needs for intellectual achievement and finally self-actualization

Self actualization is the Maslows term for fulfillment, the realization of personal potential. Each of the lower needs must be met before the next higher can be addressed.

Deficiency NeedsThe four lower-level needs for survival, then safety, followed by belonging, and then self-esteem.

These being needs can never be completely filled.Being NeedsThe three higher needs intellectual achievement, then aesthetic appreciation, and finally self-actualization.When they are met, a persons motivation does not cease; instead, it increased to seek further fulfillment.For example, the more you are in your efforts to develop as a teacher, the harder you are likely to strive for even greater improvement.

Maslows theory does give us a way of looking at the whole student, whose physical, emotional, and intellectual needs are all interrelated.

Cognitive Approaches to MotivationCognitive theorists believe that behavior is determined by our thinking, not simply by whether we have been rewarded or punished for the behavior in the past (Stipek).

Behavior is initiated and regulated by plans (Miller, Galanter & Pribram), goals (Locke & Latham), schemas (Ortony, Clore, & Collins), expectations (Vroom), and attributions (Weiner).

Attribution TheoryThis cognitive explanation of motivation begins with assumption that we try to make sense of our own behavior and the behavior of other by searching for explanations and causes.

Attribution theories of motivation describe how the individuals explanations, justifications, and excuses about self or others influence motivation.

According to Weiner, most of the attributed causes for success and failures can be characterized in three dimensions:

Locus location of the cause internal or external to the person.Stability whether the cause stays the same or can change.Controllability whether the person can control the cause.

Weiners Theory of Casual AttributionBelow are eight reasons representing the eight combinations of locus, stability, and responsibility in Weiners model of attributions.

Dimension ClassificationReason for FailureInternal-stable-uncontrollableLow aptitudeInternal-stable-controllableNever studiesInternal-unstable-uncontrollableSick the day of the examInternal-unstable-controllableDid not study for this particular testExternal-stable-uncontrollableSchool has hard requirementsExternal-stable-controllableInstructor is biasedExternal-unstable-uncontrollableBad luckExternal-unstable-controllableFriends failed to help

Weiner believes that these three dimensions have important implications for motivation because they affect expectancy and value.

Stability dimension, for example, seems to be closely related to expectations about the future.Internal/External locus, seems to be closely related to feelings of self-esteem.Controllability dimension is related to emotions such as anger, pity, gratitude, or shame.Uncontrollable attributed to lack of ability.

When failure is attributed to lack of ability, and ability is considered uncontrollable, the sequence of motivation is:

When failure is attributed to lack of effort (a controllable cause), the sequence is:

Expectancy x Value TheoriesTheories that take into account both the behaviorists concern with the effect or outcomes of behavior and the cognitivists interest in the impact of individual thinking.

Sociocultural Conceptions of MotivationSociocultural views of motivation emphasize participation in communities of practice.

Thus, students are motivated to learn if they are members of a classroom or school community that values learning.

The concept of identity is central in sociocultural views of motivation. When we see ourselves as soccer players, or sculptors, or engineers, or teachers, or psychologists, we have an identity within a group.

Legitimate peripheral motivation means that beginners are genuinely involved in the work of the group, even if their abilities are underdeveloped and their contributions are small.

Goal Orientation and Motivation

A goal is an outcome or attainment an individual is striving to accomplish.

In pursuing goals, students are generally aware of some current condition, some ideal condition, and discrepancy between the current and ideal situations.

Goals motivate people to act in order to reduce the discrepancy between where they are and where they want to be.

According to Locke and Latham, there are four main reasons why goal setting improves performances

Goals:Direct our attentionMobilize effortIncrease persistencePromote the development of new strategies

Types of Goals and Goal OrientationFour Goal Orientations in School. Goals are specific targets. Goal orientations are patterns of beliefs about goals related to achievement in school. Goals orientations include the reasons we pursue the goals and the standards we use to evaluate progress toward those goals.

There are four main goals orientations: mastery (learning), performance (looking good), work-avoidance, social.

The point of a mastery goal is to improve, to learn, no matter how awkward you appear.

Student who set mastery goals tend to seek challenges and persist when they encounter difficulties. Because they focus on the task at hand and are not worried about how their performance measures up compared to others in class, these students have called task-involved learners.

The second kind of goal is performance goal.

Students with performance goal care about demonstrating their ability to others.

They may focused on getting good test scores and grades, or they may be concerned with winning and beating other students.

Students whose goal is outperforming others may do things to look smart, such as reading books in order to read the most books. The evaluation of their performance by others, not what they learn, is what matters.

Nicholls and Miller call these students ego involved learners, because they are preoccupied with themselves.

Deborah Stipek list the following behaviors as indicative of a student who has performance goal orientation:

Cheats/copies from classmates papers of uses shortcuts to get finished.Seeks attention for good performance.Only work hard on graded assignments.Compares grades with classmates.Chooses takes that are most likely to result in positive evaluations.

Is uncomfortable with assignments hat have unclear evaluation criteria and repeatedly checks with the teacher.

Goal OrientationApproach FocusAvoidance FocusMasteryFocus: Mastery the task, learning, understanding

Standards Used: Self improvement, progress, deep understanding (task-involved)Focus: Avoiding understanding or not mastering the task

Standards Used: Just dont be wrong, dont do it incorrectlyPerformanceFocus: Being superior, winning, being the best

Standards Used: Normative---getting the highest grade, winning the competitionFocus: Avoiding looking stupid, avoid losing

Standards Used: Normative---dont be the worst, get the lowest grade, or be slowest (ego-involved goal)

INTEREST AND EMOTIONS

There are two kind of interest---personal and situational---the trait and state distinction again.

Personal interests are more enduring aspects of the person, such an interest in sports, music, or ancient history.

Situational interest are more short-lived aspects of the activity, text, or material that catch and keep students attention.

AROUSAL: EXCITEMENT AND ANXIETY IN LEARNING

Arousal involves both psychological and physical reactions-----changes in brain waves patterns, blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate.

Psychologists have known for years that there is an optimum level of arousal for most activities.

Curiosity: Novelty and ComplexityAlmost 40 years ago, psychologists suggested that individuals are naturally motivated to seek novelty, surprise, and complexity.

George Lowenstein suggests that curiosity arises when attention in focused on a gap in knowledge.

Such information gaps produce the feeling of deprivation labeled curiosity. The curious person is motivated to obtain the missing information to reduce or eliminate the feeling of deprivation.

Anxiety in the ClassroomAt one time or another, everyone has experienced anxiety, or a general uneasiness, a feeling of self-doubt, and sense of tension.

Anxiety can be both a cause and effect of school failure-------students do poorly because they are anxious, and their poor performance increases their anxiety.

Anxiety seems to have both cognitive and affective components.

The cognitive side includes worry and negative thoughts-----thinking about how bad it would be to fail and worrying that you will, for example.

The affective side involves physiological and emotions reactions such as sweaty palms, upset stomach, racing heartbeat, or fear.

How does anxiety interfere with achievement?Anxiety can be the cause or cause the result of poor performance; it can interfere with attention to, learning of, and retrieval of information. Many anxious students need help in developing effective test-taking and study skills.

Coping with AnxietyWhen students face stressful situations such as tests, they can use three kinds of coping strategies: problem solving, emotional management, and avoidance.

Problem-focused strategies might including a planning a study schedule, borrowing good notes, finding a protected place to study.

Emotional-focused strategies are attempts to reduce the anxious feelings, by using relaxation exercises or describing the feelings to a friend.

SELF-SCHEMAS

Adult use two basic concepts of ability.

An entity view of ability assumes that ability is a stable, uncontrollable trait----a characteristic of the individual that cannot be changed.

An incremental view of ability, suggests that ability is unstable and controllable----an ever-expanding repertoire of skills and knowledge.

Beliefs bout Self-EfficacyAlbert Bandura suggests that predictions about possible outcomes of behavior are critical sources of motivation.

Bandura defines self-efficacy as beliefs in ones capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainment.

Self-Efficacy, Self-Concept and Self-EsteemSelf-efficacy is future-oriented, a context-specific assessment of competence to perform a specific task. Self-efficacy focuses on your ability to successfully accomplish a particular task with no need for comparison.

Self-concept is a more global construct that contains many perceptions about the self, including self-efficacy. It is developed as a result of external and internal comparisons, using other people or other aspects of the self as frames of reference.

Compared to self-esteem, self-efficacy is concerned with judgments of personal capabilities; self-esteem is concerned with judgments of self-worth. There is no direct relationship between self-esteem and self-efficacy.

Sources of Self-EfficacyBandura identified four sources of self-efficacy expectations: mastery experiences, physiological and emotional arouses, vicarious experiences, and social persuasion.

Mastery experiences are own direct experiences----the most powerful source of efficacy information. Successes raise efficacy beliefs, while failures lower efficacy. Level of arousal affects self-efficacy, depending on how the arousal in interpreted.

In vicarious experiences, someone else accomplishments. The more closely the student identifies with the model , the greater the impact on self-efficacy.

Social persuasion may be a pep talk or specific performance feedback. Social persuasion alone cant create enduring increases in self-efficacy, but a persuasive boost in self-efficacy can lead to make an effort, attempt new strategies, or try hard enough to succeed.

Efficacy and MotivationSelf-efficacy and attributions affect each other. If success is attributed to internal or controllable causes such as ability or effort, then self-efficacy is enhanced.

Teaching EfficacyTeaching efficacy, a teachers belief that he can or she can reach even difficult students to help them learn, appears to be one of the few personal characteristics of teachers that is correlated with student achievement.

Self-DeterminationSelf-determination is the need to experience choice and control in what we do and how we do it.

It is the desire to have our own wishes, rather than external rewards or pressures, determine our actions.

Self-determination in the ClassroomClassroom environments that support student self-determination and autonomy are associated with greater student interest, sense of competence, creativity, conceptual learning, and preference for challenge.

Information and ControlMany things happen to students throughout the school day. They are praised or criticized, reminded of deadlines, assigned grades, given choices, lectured about rules, and on and on.

Cognitive evaluation theory explains how these events can influence the students intrinsic motivation by affecting their sense of self-determination and competence. According to this theory, all events have two aspects, controlling and informational.

Learned HelplessnessWhen people come to believe that the events and outcomes in their lives are mostly uncontrollable, they have developed learned helplessness.

Self-WorthCovington and his colleagues suggest that these factors come together in three kinds of motivational sets: mastery-oriented, failure-avoiding, and failure-accepting.

Mastery-oriented students tend o values achievement and see ability as improvable, so they focused on mastery goals in order to increase their skills and abilities. They are not fearful of failure, because failing does not threaten their sense of competence and self-worth.

Attitude toward failureGoals SetAttributionsView of AbilityStrategiesMastery-OrientedLow of fear of failureLearning goals: moderately difficult and challengingEffort, use of right strategy, sufficient knowledge is cause of successIncremental; improvableAdaptive strategies; e.g., try another way, seek help, practice/study moreFailure-AvoidingHigh fear of failurePerformance goals; very hard or very easyLack of ability is cause of failureEntity; setSelf-defeating strategies; e.g., make a feeble effort, pretend not to careFailure-AcceptingExpectation of failure; depressionPerformance goals or no goalsLack of ability is cause of failureEntity; setLearned helplessness; likely to give up

Mastery oriented students, students who focus on learning goals because they value achievement and see ability as improvable.

Failure-avoiding students, students who avoid failure by sticking to what they know, by not taking risks, or by claiming not to care about they performance.

Failure-accepting students, students who believe their failures are due to low ability and there is little they can do about it.

MOTIVATION TO LEARN IN SCHOOL

Jere Brophy describes student motivation to learn as a student tendency to find academic activities meaningful and worthwhile and to try to derive the intended academic benefits from them. Motivation to learn can be construed as both a general trait and a situation-specific state.

As teachers, we have three major goals:

To get students productively involved with the work of the class; in other words, to create a state of motivation to learn.To develop in our students the trait of being motivated to learn so they will be able to educate themselves throughout their lifetime.To be cognitively engaged----to think deeply about what they study.

Carol Ames has identified six areas where teachers make decision that can influence student motivation to learn: the nature of the task that students are asked to do, the autonomy students are allowed in working, how students are recognized for their accomplishments, grouping practices, evaluation procedures, and the scheduling the time in the classroom.

TARGET AreaFocusObjectivesExamples of Possible StrategiesTaskHow learning tasks are structured---what the student is asked to doEnhance intrinsic attractiveness of learning tasks

Make learning meaningfulEncourage instruction that relates to students backgrounds and experienceAvoid payment for attendance, grades, of achievementFoster goal setting ad self-regulationAutonomy/ResponsibilityStudent participation in learning/school decisionsProvide optimal freedom for students to make a choices and take responsibilityGive alternatives in making assignmentsAsk for student comments on school life----and take them seriouslyEncourage students to take initiatives and evaluate their own learningEstablish leadership opportunities for all students

RecognitionThe nature and use of recognition and reward in the school decisionsProvide opportunities for all students to be recognized for learningRecognize progress in goalRecognize challenge seeking and innovationFoster personal best awardsReduce emphasis on honor rollsRecognize and publicize a wide range of school-related activities of studentsGroupingThe organization of school learning and experiencesBuild an environment of acceptance and appreciation of all studentsBroaden the range of social interaction, particularly of at-risk studentsEnhance social skills developmentProvide opportunities for cooperative learning, problem solving, and decision makingEncourage multiple group membership to increase range of peer interactionElimination ability-grouped classes

EvaluationThe nature and use or learning and experiencesGrading and reporting processesPractices associated with the use of standardized testsDefinition of goals and standardsReduce of emphasis on social comparisons of achievementGive students opportunities to improve their performanceEstablish grading/reporting practices that portray students in learningEncourage student participation in the evaluation processTimeThe scheduling of the school dayProvide opportunities and significant student involvement in learning tasksAllow the learning tasks and student needs to dictate schedulingAllow students to progress at their own rate whenever possibleEncourage flexibility in the scheduling of learning experiencesGive teachers greater control over time usage through, for example, block scheduling

Task for LearningAcademic tasks, the work the student must accomplish, including the content covered and the mental operations required.

Attainment value, the importance of doing well on a task; how success on the task meets personal needs.Intrinsic or Interest Value, the enjoyment a person gets from a task.Utility Value, the contribution of a task to meeting ones goals.

Authentic task, tasks that have some connection real-life problems the students will face outside the classroom.

Problem-based learning, is one example of the use of authentic tasks in teaching, methods that provide students with realistic problems that dont necessarily have right answers.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER: STRATEGIES TO ENCOURAGE MOTIVATION AND THOUGHTFUL LEARNING

Until four basic conditions are met, no motivational strategies will succeed.

First, the classroom must be relatively organized and free from constant interruptions and disruptions.Second, the teacher must be a patient, supportive person who never embarrasses students for mistakes. Everyone in the class should see mistakes as opportunities for learning.

Third, the work must be challenging but reasonable. If work is too easy or too difficult, students will have little motivation to learn. They will focus on finishing, not on learning.Finally, the learning tasks must be authentic.

Seeing the Value of LearningTeachers can use intrinsic and extrinsic motivations strategies to help students see the value of the learning task.

Attainment and Intrinsic Value, to establish attainment value, we must connect the learning task with the needs of the students. First, it must be possible for students to meet their needs for safety, belonging, and achievement in our classes. Second, we must be sure that sexual or ethnic stereotypes do not interfere with motivations.

There are many strategies for encouraging intrinsic (interest) motivation. Several of the following are taken from Brophy.

Tie class activities to student interest in sports, music, current events, pets, common problems or conflicts with family and friends, fads, television and cinema personalities, of other significant features of their lives.Arouse curiosity. Point out puzzling discrepancies between students beliefs and the facts.

Make the learning task fun. Many lessons can be taught through simulations or games, as you saw in the Point/Counterpoint on making learning fun.Make the use of novelty and familiarity. Dont overuse a few teaching approaches or motivational strategies.

Instrumental value, sometimes it is difficult to encourage intrinsic motivation, and so teachers must rely on the utility or instrumental value of tasks.

When these connections are not obvious, you should explain the connections to your students.In some situations, teachers can provide incentives and rewards for learning.Use ill-structured problems and authentic tasks in learning.

Staying Focused on the TaskIf the focus shifts to worries about performance, fear of failure, or concern with looking smart, then motivation to learn it lost. Here are some ideas for keeping focus on learning.

Give students frequent opportunities to respond through questions and answers, short assignments, or demonstrations of skills.When possible, have students create a finished product. They will be more persistent and focused on the task when end is in sight.

Avoid heavy emphasis on grades and competition. Anxious students are especially hard hit by highly competitive evaluation.Reduce task risk without oversimplifying the task. For difficult, complex, or ambiguous tasks, provide students with plenty of time, support and resources, help and the chance to revise or improve work.Model motivation to learn for your students. Talk about your interest in the subject and how to deal with difficult learning problems.

Teach the particular learning tactics that students will need to master the material being studied. Show student how to learn and remember so they wont be forced to fall back on self-defeating strategies or rote memory.