Research & Analysis
Chapter 5
Motivation
Basic Motivational Concepts
**Review classroom vignettes--pg. 145
TERM
DEFINITION
EXAMPLES
Motive
Hypothetical
constructs
explaining why
people do what they
do
Hunger
Goal
The immediate
objectives of a
behavior
Get food
Strategies
The methods used
to achieve goals and
satisfy motives
Go to a
restaurant
Expectancy X Value Theory
(A) Degree to which people expect successful task
performance
X
(B) Degree to which they value the rewards of such task
performance
______________________________________
Effort Investment = A x B
(motivation)
**Implications for teaching? Teachers need to both help
their students appreciate the value of school activities
and make sure they can achieve success in these
activities with reasonable effort.
Essential Preconditions for Successful Use of
Motivational Strategies

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
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
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Supportive Environment--Steady encouragement
Well-organized and managed classroom
Relaxed, patient atmosphere; encourages risks
Focus on learning goals- Achievement goal theory----mastery
learning rather than just performance goals
Caring community of learners
Appropriate Level of Difficulty--Content not too familiar or easy
Content not too hard or unfamiliar
Success achieved with persistence
Essential Preconditions for Successful Use of
Motivational Strategies (cont’d)

Meaningful Learning Objectives—


Important knowledge or skills (worth learning)
Apply learning to students’ current frame of reference
Practice with application activities
Practice with problem-solving activities

Moderation and Variation in Strategy Use


Strategies are used according to context
(situational)
 Even best strategies may become routine

Motivating by Maintaining Success
Expectations
 Sense
of Efficacy/Competence— confidence
that one has ability (including specific strategies
needed) to succeed on a task if one chooses to
invest the necessary effort
 Attribution
to Internal, Controllable Causes-
tendency to credit successes to sufficient ability and
reasonable effort, and attribute failures to
insufficient effort, or use of inappropriate strategies
 Incremental
Concept of Ability– perception of
academic ability as potential developed rather than
a fixed capacity
Helping Students Recognize EffortOutcome Linkages

Teacher Modeling

Talk about your learning, demonstrate persistence
Think out loud for your students
Show confidence in students’ ability to persist and search
for better strategies



Socialization/Feedback

Explain effort-outcome linkages
Reassure students that persistence coupled with effort
eventually pay off
Recognize accomplishments and the effort they represent


Helping Students Recognize EffortOutcome Linkages (cont’d)

Portray Effort as Investment, Not Risk

Communicate that learning takes time
Communicate that persistence and careful work will
yield knowledge and skills mastery


Portray Skill Building as Incremental and
Domain-Specific

Help pupils see abilities are open to improvement
Help students know they possess a great many abilities
Help students realize domain-specific skills will help
them learn other skills


Strategies for Supplying Extrinsic
Motivation
Provide rewards as incentives
 Material rewards
 Activity/privilege rewards
 Grades, awards, recognition
 Praise and social rewards
 Teacher rewards
Call attention to the instrumental value of
academic activities
 Apply to students’ current lives
 Show how life skills/social advancements result &
relate personal experiences or anecdotes
 Note specific applications
Strategies for Supplying Extrinsic
Motivation
(cont’d)
Structure appropriate competition




Individual competition
Group competition
Emphasize content over winning
Organize so everyone has a chance of winning
Portray Skill building as Incremental and Domain-Specific



Help pupils see abilities are open to improvement
Help students know they possess many abilities
Help students realize domain-specific skills will help them learn
other skills
Focus on Mastery



Stress quality of task engagement
Stress continual progress of individuals
Treat errors as learning opportunities w/ additional practice
Strategies for Capitalizing on Students
Intrinsic Motivation

Self-determination theory-
3)
autonomy (self-determination)
Competence (skills for controlling the
environment)
Relatedness (affiliation with others)

Interest theory-
1)
2)
1)
2)
3)
Focused attention because value or enjoy content
Individual interest- disposed to particular content
Situational interest- triggers interest to explore
Strategies for Capitalizing on Students
Intrinsic Motivation
(cont’d)
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Opportunities for active response
Inclusion of higher level objectives and
divergent questions
Feedback features
Incorporation of gamelike features
Opportunities to create finished products
Inclusion of fantasy or simulation elements
Opportunities for students to interact with
teacher and peers.
Strategies for Stimulating Student
Motivation to Learn

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Model your own motivation to learn
Communicate desirable expectations and
attributions
Minimize performance anxiety
Project intensity (communicating the
importance)
Project enthusiasm & appreciation for the
task
Induce curiosity or suspense
Make abstract content more personal,
concrete or familiar
Strategies for Stimulating Student
Motivation to Learn
(cont’d)
Induce dissonance or cognitive conflict
 Induce students to generate their own motivation to
learn
 State learning goals/objectives OR provide advance
organizers
MODEL TASK-RELATED THINKING & PROBLEM SOLVING
 Model patience, confidence & persistence in seeking solutions
 Induce metacognitive awareness of learning strategies
 Actively preparing to learn
 Committing material to memory—rehearsal/repeating,
copying, underlining key words, making notes, using imagery
 Encoding or elaborating on the information presented
 Organizing and structuring content
 Monitoring comprehension and desirable affect (relaxed, not
anxious)

Question to summarize
motivation……
What causes students be alienated
to the point of persistent
inattention to lessons and failure
to complete assignments?