I’m wrapping up my first semester of online graduate work. After three semesters + one semester of student teaching, I will be certified to teach English in secondary schools. An additional two semesters will earn a master’s degree, but I’ve been told to hold off on that until I have a teaching job as starting a teacher off in the lower pay bracket appeals to schools more. My posting for this site has fallen behind because every week I’ve had to write two posts on Blackboard and then write five responses to classmates’ posts. I’m in the process of writing something for this site about my decision to teach, so expect that fairly soon. Until then, here is a post on motivation for my last Module in my Psychology of Teaching course.
Motivation is the driving force behind learning. Without motivated students, our efforts as teachers are essentially fruitless. So before we can create a constructivist class or establish expected behaviors among our students, it’s important that we understand motivation and how to encourage it in our classrooms. Various factors influence motivation. Learners’ curiosity, goals and self-efficacy as well as their expectancies and attributions play a role in how much (or how little) motivation they bring to class. As we strive to activate prior knowledge in our teaching, we must be aware that past learning experiences affect how students decide to engage in learning. “What happens as a result of past learning determines to a large degree whether students will engage in new learning at some time in the future” (Driscoll, p. 323).
Some of the studies on motivation revealed findings that I believe to be common sense or methods many of us planned to employ in a desire to achieve a constructivist setting. For example, “To keep learners alert, instructors can employ such strategies as varying their tone of voice, using relevant humor occasionally, and interspersing demonstrations and group activities with lecture” (Driscoll, p. 313). No one really wants to sit and listen to Ben Stein (especially now that he’s the face of Comcast), and—for me, at least—humor is a go-to coping mechanism for any and all uncomfortable situations. What’s more, breaking up lecture with demonstrations and group activities provides us with the social learning experiences we strive to attain. Descriptions of inquiry arousal that involves “pos[ing] very complex and realistic problems for students to solve” reminded me of problem-based learning, a constructivist ideal (Driscoll, p. 314).
Driscoll states that “When individuals set goals, they determine an external standard to which they will internally evaluate their present level of performance” (p. 314). I always believed goal-setting to be important, but I never really thought about goals beyond the perspectives of “realistic” and “unrealistic.” As it turns out, there are several factors that can determine whether a goal is a help or a hindrance for the learner. Setting goals that are specific, challenging enough to encourage persistence and proximal can encourage learners to keep focused on the task at hand (Driscoll, pp. 314-315). Proximal goals refer to goals that are achievable within a shorter range of time, whereas distal goals look more to the future. Setting and achieving proximal goals essentially fills a motivational bank. I have been doing this toward the end of the semester by creating a weekly to-do list. Each time I cross off a task (in Sharpie), I feel satisfaction and believe that I can finish all of the work that is due at the end of the semester before I leave for the beach on May 4. Students can benefit from a distal goal for a class or for high school, but should set multiple proximal goals throughout the course so that they can gain a sense of achievement.
Furthermore, the orientation of the goal is also important when considering how the goal will affect the student’s learning. “Performance goals foster the implicit belief that intelligence is fixed…learning goals are associated with a belief that intelligence is malleable and can be developed” (Driscoll, p. 315). Thus, if a student wishes to achieve an “A” grade and does not meet this goal, there is more room for discouragement because failure would mean a lack of intelligence. However, if a student sets a goal to discover and understand how foreshadowing is used in Romeo and Juliet, the goal is met through the student’s own time and effort and measured by whether the student attains that knowledge.
While setting goals can provide students with task-based motivation and increased self-efficacy, it is not the only way to encourage motivation in the classroom. The ARCS model refers to Keller’s “four conditions for motivation that must be met to have a motivated learner” and stands for attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction (Driscoll, p. 333). ARCS should be viewed as a sequential process. Possibly the most difficult aspects are gaining (and sustaining) the attention of learners and establishing relevance. Again, piquing curiosity is a recommendation for gaining attention, but after that, how does one maintain it? Instances of problem-based learning stimulate an “attitude of inquiry” and variation within instruction to break up any monotony help to sustain attention (Driscoll, pp. 334-335).
Relevance is also a key to supporting the attention of students. One thing I’ve seen while substituting is that students love to ask, “What’s the point of [insert subject here]?” or “Where am I going to use this in real life?” In addition to making learning relevant to achieving goals, teachers can structure activities that work with needs for achievement and affiliation. Examples listed in Driscoll for ways teachers can motivate by employing learners’ existing motives and values include “providing leadership opportunities, occasions for self-study or working in cooperative groups, or allowing friendly competition on individual or group projects” (p. 336). If students are involved in the learning, it becomes relevant to them. Even in instances of work that is viewed as boring, like vocabulary packets, a friendly game of definition jeopardy encourages students to know their words so their team can win the game. Furthermore, “providing concrete examples and analogies” that relate to students’ lives will also assist in creating a sense of relevance for learning (Driscoll, p. 336). While subbing a class that was in the midst of preparing for the lovely PSSA writing test, I tried to explain that being able to effectively write a persuasive piece would help them in making valid arguments in other areas of life. As I was passing out example essays and sample rubrics, I cited the example of wanting to go to a concert. If they just told their parents they wanted to go to see a band, their parents would probably say no; however, if they presented a valid argument and cited several reasons they should be allowed to attend the concert, their parents might hear them out. While it’s difficult to make high-stakes testing practice relevant, at least I tried.
The remaining components of ARCS, confidence and satisfaction, tie back to the ideas of goal-setting and self-efficacy. Through increased belief in abilities (something built upon by the completion of tasks or accomplishment of goals), students become more confident in learning and more likely to engage. Learning satisfaction, according to John M. Keller, comes from three sources. Natural consequences can be illustrated by a chance to utilize newly attained skills. Positive consequences, which “can be especially useful…when learning tasks are inherently boring or their relevance is not perceived by the learner” can create satisfaction when there is little chance of creating a relevant link between the student and learning (Driscoll, pp. 325, 336). Finally, the idea of equity involves maintaining consistent standards and expectations, which should be established before the learning task. One way to create these standards is through that initial idea of setting attainable goals that are challenging and proximal. Overall, natural consequences will likely provide the greatest satisfaction for students and follow the constructivist mindset that many of us have embraced.
Different classes might require a teacher to look at motivation in different ways. Some students might come to class with high self-efficacy and easily understand the relevance of the material being covered. Other classes may need more reassurance and greater assistance in setting proximal learning goals. When we consider our students, we should keep the ARCS model in mind. How will we gain their attention, produce relevance, promote confidence and create satisfaction? In what ways did their prior learning experiences shape self-efficacy and their ability to self-regulate? While it seems like a bit of extra work to motivate students, we must realize that without the motivation to learn, our teaching efforts will fall on a few sets of deaf ears. If we are truly passionate about our content—and what our content area has given us—it will be no problem to engage our students and show them the relevance, help them create goals and provide a satisfying learning experience.