The Inclusive Classroom: Strategies for Effective Differentiated Instruction, 4th Edition © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Enhancing Motivation and Affect Chapter 9

The Inclusive Classroom, 4 th Edition Mastropieri/Scruggs © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2 Motivation and Affect Defined Motivation—the degree to which students desire to succeed in school Affect—the student’s emotional mood and personal feelings Intrinsic motivation—participation in an activity purely out of a desire to succeed or desire to contribute Extrinsic motivation—participation in an activity in anticipation of an external reward

The Inclusive Classroom, 4 th Edition Mastropieri/Scruggs © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3 Motivation and Affect Motivation and affect overlap to some extent High levels of motivation and positive affect provide students opportunities to master the learning tasks set before them Students, particularly those with disabilities and other special needs Can lack motivation and positive affect Are more likely to fail at academic tasks and to attribute this failure to personal inadequacies rather than to lack of effort May be more at risk for affective problems such depression and low self-esteem

The Inclusive Classroom, 4 th Edition Mastropieri/Scruggs © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4 Preconditions for Positive Motivation and Affect A supportive, organized classroom environment Instructional materials that are at an appropriate difficulty level Meaningful and relevant instructional tasks  Teachers can make an enormous difference in attitude and achievement. What will you do to have a positive influence?

The Inclusive Classroom, 4 th Edition Mastropieri/Scruggs © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5 Strategies for Improving Motivation and Affect Raise self-esteem Students with disabilities are vulnerable to beliefs that they do not compare favorably to peers Increase self-efficacy (confidence in one’s own abilities) Use ongoing assessment strategies Point out appropriate social models Provide positive support Avoid counterproductive statements

The Inclusive Classroom, 4 th Edition Mastropieri/Scruggs © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6 Raising Students’ Self-Esteem A general term for the regard in which individuals hold themselves Generally, students who feel good about who they are and what they can do are more successful than students who do not feel good about themselves Promote students’ sense of self worth and efficacy Provide students with tasks at which they can succeed Provide positive feedback and rewards for their success Be sure that students with special needs know that they have an important role to play in the classroom Provide roles in which they can assume responsibility and ownership

The Inclusive Classroom, 4 th Edition Mastropieri/Scruggs © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7 Teach Students to Set Goals Establish goals and monitor progress Make sure goals are realistic Promote effort with contracts Encourage parent or family involvement  What type of goals would you have students set? How would you help them monitor progress?

The Inclusive Classroom, 4 th Edition Mastropieri/Scruggs © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8 Train Students to Use Positive Attributions Attribution training – a strategy teachers can use to increase motivation and positive affect, and raise self-esteem Students are taught to attribute success to their own efforts Locus of control Internal locus of control – feeling personally in control of your own successes and failures External locus of control – suggests external forces are responsible

The Inclusive Classroom, 4 th Edition Mastropieri/Scruggs © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9 Make Learning More Fun and Enjoyable Make tasks more interesting Prepare more concrete, meaningful lessons Create cognitive conflict Use novel ways to engage students Develop competitive and game like activities Make use of cooperative learning Don’t overdo motivational attempts Be enthusiastic!  What strategies will you use to do this?

The Inclusive Classroom, 4 th Edition Mastropieri/Scruggs © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10 Praise and Reward Student Effort Use rewards to reinforce student success Avoid the over justification effect Notion that students are less satisfied with their performance and less likely to undertake the same activity when rewards are too freely given Distinguish between rewards and “bribes” Rewards are a potent tool when used under the right conditions Bribes are used to get someone to do something illegal, illicit, or immoral