Motivating Students
(to learn)
Dr Kate Exley
Queen’s University Belfast
What is Motivation?
“I can
motivate
anyone who
wants to be
motivated”
“Motivation is a
means to achieve
a goal, not an end
in its own right”
“Nothing is more
motivating than
success”
Outline Programme
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The Teaching and Learning Context
What is learning and how do students do it?
What Motivates learners to learn?
Encouraging greater Independent learning
Case studies
The impact of assessment
The Context
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Increase in student numbers
Research demands
Greater variation in student background
Greater emphasis on development of ‘life skills’
Clarification of professional and academic skills
?
?
(What other factors are having an impact?)
What do your students
understand by ‘Learning’?
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A quantitative increase in knowledge
Storing information that can be reproduced
Acquiring facts, skills and methods for use
Making sense or abstracting meaning relating things to each other and the real world
Interpreting and understanding reality in different ways
(comprehending & re-interpreting knowledge)
Useful Models about Learning
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Deep and Surface
Hierarchy of cognition
Learning cycles and experiential learning
Learning Styles and Approaches
Constructivism
Approach to learning
Marton and Saljo (1976)
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Deep
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Surface
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Strategic
Approach to learning
Marton and Saljo (1976)
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Deep
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Motivated by the challenge of mastering a
complex and difficult subject.
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Surface
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Strategic
Approach to learning
Marton and Saljo (1976)
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Deep
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Surface
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Motivated by the challenge of mastering a
complex and difficult subject.
Motivated by the fear of failure
Strategic
Approach to learning
Marton and Saljo (1976)
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Deep
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Surface
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Motivated by the challenge of mastering a
complex and difficult subject.
Motivated by the fear of failure
Strategic
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Motivated by rewards and recognition
The Process of Learning
Kolb’s learning cycle
Do
Plan
Review
In
Context
Preferences in Learning
e.g. Honey and Mumford
Activist
Reflector
Pragmatist
Theorist
Internal mechanisms of learning
Constructivism, Dewey (1933 - 1998)
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Learner must actively build
their own knowledge and
understanding.
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The learner’s processing of
stimuli and the resulting
cognitive structures
produces learning
Two branches
Cognitive Constructivists
….the learner selects and
transforms information - builds
cognitive structures”
e.g
Bruner (1990)
Piaget (1972)
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Social Constructivists
….Social interaction plays a
fundamental role in learning”
e.g. Vygotsky (1978)
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What do you think
motivates learning?
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Please think about
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Yourself as a learner
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Your friends and colleagues
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Your students
Research tells us –
(McCombs,B. 1991)
To achieve optimal motivation learners must –
See
education as relevant to their interests & goals.
Believe they have the competencies to achieve goals.
Take responsibility to define and accomplish own goals.
Understand the higher level thinking and self-regulation
skills that lead to goal attainment.
Develop processes to encode, process, & recall info.
Control emotions that affect learning and motivation.
Achieve outcomes that signal success.
What motivates students on your
course?
‘Real life’
 Links to future goals / careers
 Assessment (sticks and carrots)
 Presenting work to others (sticks and carrots)
 Being able to see progress
 Ability to choose
 ?
 ?
(Please add two more motivators)
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Motivation
Where is it coming from?
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Extrinsic
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‘Have to’
Intrinsic
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‘Want to’
Relationships between Extrinsic
and Intrinsic Motivation ?
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Edward Deci had two groups of students play with a
puzzle called Soma. One group were paid for each
puzzle they solved; the other wasn’t.
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The paid group stopped solving puzzles as soon as
the experiment—and the payment—ended.
The unpaid group kept solving the puzzles even after
the experiment was over. They found the puzzles
intrinsically interesting.
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Source: Ken Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do, Harvard
University Press, 2004, pages 32-33
Don’t forget you are a‘role-model’
- Enthusiasm is infectious!
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Display your enthusiasm and motivation
Share your passion for the subject
Make reference to your own research
Make the course personal – why are you
interested?
Show how you overcome hurdles and solve
problems
Share examples from your own experience
Motivating interest in your
subject
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Novelty “I haven’t seen anything quite like this.”
Utility “This is something you will use all the time.”
Applicability “We will be applying this in the lab. later”
Anticipation “So what is the next step.”
Surprise “I bet this isn’t what you were expecting”
Challenge “This is quite difficult but worth the effort.”
Feedback “Try this, you’ll find out if you really get it.”
DeLong & Winter, 2002 Learning to Teaching and Teaching to Learn Maths.
Task
How might you foster motivation in …
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A large group, lecture styled, teaching session?
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A small group, seminar styled, teaching session?
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In the supervision of your project student?
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An on-line learning forum?
Summary of useful strategies
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Define course goals and support learners to
identify their own personal goals
Use students’ background knowledge and interests
Show how topics and materials are relevant
Provide opportunities for active engagment
Give frequent and constructive feedback
Support independent learning ….
Towards independence in
learning
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Building skills
Building confidence
Building peer support
How are these ‘built’ through a Programme?
Two case studies
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Tutor-less Tutorials
Law undergraduates,
University of Southampton
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Course Assignment Triads
Education Masters students
University of Bristol
Case study 1.
Tutorless Tutorials
Tutorial
Week 1.
Tutorless
Tutorial
Tutorial
Week 2.
Case study 2.
Course Assignment support
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For each written assignment on the MEd (TEFL) course the
work in a group of three.
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They meet three times during the development of an
assignment :
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Preliminary dialogue – working with the title;
Dialogue 2 – After writing 1st draft (2 weeks later);
Dialogue 3 – After receiving marks from the tutor.
The 3 triad meetings - 1.
Role
Presenter
Enabler
Observer
Talk about
plans for the
assignment
Help the
presenter to
think clearly
and focus
Observe the
dialogue &
feedback on the
process
Preliminary 1.
“Working with
the title”
The 3 triad meetings - 2.
Role
Presenter
Enabler
Observer
Dialogue 2.
“After the
Talk about
Help the
Observe the
first draft has
what you
presenter to
dialogue & note to
been
wanted to
think about how
what extent the
produced” achieve & any far they have
presenter has
problems you achieved what
focussed on
had.
they set out to resolving issues and
do.
completing tasks.
The 3 triad meetings - 3.
Role
Presenter
Enabler
Observer
Dialogue 3.
“After receiving Talk about Listen and try to
Record the
marks from the what you have
get the
presenter’s
tutor”
learnt from the presenter to
feeling about
assignment & consider what the work & what
its
they might to in
they have
assessment
future
learnt.
assignments
Considering Assessment
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What impact does assessment have on
motivation?
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Please consider,
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The timing of assessment
The assessment methods used
The value and credit rating of assessment
The feedback given from assessment
Further sources
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Student Motivations and Attitudes, NAGT
A website that provides rich links to a number of
research papers that support general guidance
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/motiv
ation.html
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Motivation to Learn : An Overview
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Huitt, W. (2011). Motivation to learn: An overview.
Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA:
Valdosta State
University.http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/moti
vation/motivate.html
Further resources
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17 Tips To Motivate Adult Learners
http://elearningindustry.com/17-tips-to-motivateadult-learners
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Motivating Students, Center for Teaching,
Vanderbilt University
http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-subpages/motivating-students/