Motivation in class
How do we motivate students in the classroom?
I think most teachers would agree that motivation plays a huge part in education, and that students who aren't motivated in a particular class are not going to learn very much. I wonder if this is more of an issue in Mathematics, English and Spanish as they are compulsory, especially in the older years?
For me there are several trains of thought as to what will induce motivation of our students:
Grades
Applicability to their life
Comments on the Daily Log
Engaging activities
A "fun" teacher
Variety
Consistency
Praise
Self-Efficacy
Success in the classroom
Extrinsic vs Intrinsic motivation
Broadly speaking these can be split into two types of motivation: intrinsic motivation is the internal want to learn; extrinsic motivation is caused directly by an external force.
The research is fairly clear that intrinsic motivation is preferential, and I think this is something all teachers can agree is our main goal: to get students wanting to learn, rather than feeling forced to learn.
However, it goes further than this, some elements of extrinsic motivation can actually be damaging to developing intrinsic motivation, and so should be avoided where possible (Deci, Koestner and Ryan, 2001).
1. Grades
Being motivated to achieve a certain grade can be an intrinsic motivation in that it comes from inside the student, but this is only important to them if grades are seen as important. From my experience, although this can have an effect, the effect is not usually seen in class, and does not create motivation to learn, but rather to perform well in the assessed work. This usually leads to cramming for exams, and little actual interest in the subject.
2. Applicability to their daily life
This is one I have heard many times. Use "real world examples" or current trends to "win over" the students. This might be very different in other subjects, but in maths, the "real world" is usually a contrived example with some tenuous link to reality. I think these sometimes are less applicable than problems without context, or problems set in a purely mathematical context, as students can easily see through the illusion, and feel it is a cheap trick.
Although linking topics to current affairs (World Cup, elections, etc) can help to hook students in to the learning, there is a danger that students remember the hook more than the content of the lesson. Again, unless this is done exceptionally well, it can often feel forced.
3. Comments on the Daily Log
This is definitely an extrinsic form of motivation, whether the comments are negative or positive. The Daily Log is a useful way to easily keep parents updated, but use of it to promote motivation to learn is probably doomed to fail, since students will see this as an effort to control their behaviour (Willingham, 2005). This is usually a way to motivate good behaviour and compliance, rather than a love of learning itself.
4. Engaging Activities
Engaging activities can be a way to get students motivated, but again, since this is extrinsic, their motivation is probably not towards learning, but rather the "fun" activities, which often give them a chance to talk to their friends, or avoid doing as much hard work.
That is not to say we shouldn’t try to incorporate "engaging" activities into our lessons. If we just do the same thing every time, then students will get bored (which is another way to reduce motivation), but the activity itself is not going to motivate a student to want to learn.
5. A "cool" teacher
This can reveal itself in many ways, and every teacher has their own way of dealing with and communicating with students. Relationships are a key part of the working dynamic in a classroom. Students will often claim to learn more from teachers they "like", but I can certainly remember some of my teachers who I did not like, but learnt a lot from.
I think that the relationship you have with the students does have a huge impact on motivation, but that can be for different reasons. Fear is obviously an extrinsic force, and again I would argue that although it might lead to good performances, it might not lead to a love of learning. Being friendly can lead to students wanting to perform well to "do you proud". But I think it is most important to be respected. Show students you care about their learning, and you want them to do well and learn the most they can, but that you have high expectations of what they can achieve.
6. Variety
Using different types of resources and activities, and every class being different can be a motivating experience for students as every lesson there will be surprises and new is often interesting (if not always enjoyable). This, however, is rather unmanageable for the teacher to achieve, so it is more likely that we use a selection of ideas that we rotate through, still giving variety to our classes. As the saying goes "variety is the spice of life".
7. Consistency
In contrast to point 6, however, I am starting to think that students actually need some elements of consistency to their classes. With consistency comes a knowledge of what is expected and how to meet those criteria. This is both in terms of managing behaviour and the delivery of lessons. For example, with both S3 and 5B this year I have started every lesson with a 5 minute task, the same every day (S3 have a starter booklet, for 5B I use a short exam question) and they know what they are expected to do when they enter the room. And they do it. With both classes this is sometimes the only part of the lesson where ALL students are actively motivated to do the task.
8. Praise
A lot of people go on about how important praise is for students to be motivated. However, there is a body of research that suggests that praise can also be a hindrance to motivation, if used in the wrong way. Willingham (2005) discusses this in depth, and boils it down to three essential aspects of any praise: "Praise should be sincere, meaning that the child has done something praiseworthy. The content of the praise should express congratulations (rather than express a wish of something else the child should do). The target of the praise should not be an attribute of the child, but rather an attribute of the child's behaviour".
9. Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy is the belief that you will be able to complete a particular assignment. It is more specific than self-concept, which is how you see yourself generally. You can have high self-concept in English, but low self-efficacy for analysing a Shakespeare sonnet. Zimmerman (2000) discusses the importance of self-efficacy on motivation to learn a subject, and gives the specific example of "self-efficacy was more predictive of problem solving than was math self-concept or, for that matter, perceived usefulness of mathematics, prior experience with mathematics, or gender". This leads on to my last factor nicely.
10. Success in the classroom
In recent months I have become convinced that the biggest motivator in class is success. When students are successful, they want to do more of that subject. When they do more of the subject they become more interested to learn more about it. Success obviously boosts a student's self-efficacy (and probably also their self-concept) and should also lead to sincere praise. I think that success is most easily achieved in an environment which is consistent, and all students know exactly what is expected of them at all times. To link back to my S3 class, the starter booklets are designed to be fairly easy, giving them immediate success in each and every lesson (particularly important for a class with a generally low self-concept in maths).
The use of success develops an intrinsic motivation within the students. I used to think that interest led to motivation which led to success, but my view on this has dramatically changed in the last few months. I now believe in more of a cycle of motivation which starts with success, which leads to motivation and interest, which in itself breeds new successes!
What other elements breed motivation in class? Do you agree/disagree with any of these? Is it different in different subjects? Comment below!
References
Deci, E, Koestner, R and Ryan, R 2001, "Extrinsic Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation in Education: Reconsidered Once Again", Review of Education Research, vol 71 No 1, pp 1 - 27
Willingham, D 2005, "How Praise Can Motivate - or Stifle", American Educator, Winter 2005-2006, Ask the Cognitive Scientist
Zimmerman,B 2000, "Self-Efficacy: An Essential Motive to Learn", Contemporary Educational Psychology, vol 25, p82 - 91