Emotion and Motivation

GENERAL PRINCIPLES: Affect and Its Effects Affect and motivation are interrelated. Affect is closely tied to learning and cognition. Positive affect can trigger effective learning strategies. Affect can also trigger certain behaviors. Some anxiety is helpful, but too much may be a hindrance. Different cultures nurture different emotional responses

How do you feel about Learning? Take a moment and reflect. Word Associations Excited? Bored? Curious? Fearful?

Learning is not just Cold Cognition More and more we are finding that learning is more than just reasoning and problem solving. Learning and information processing are heavily influenced by EMOTION!

HOT COGNITION! Plays a large role in learning Learning or cognitive processes that are emotionally charged. A REASON for learning Can drive intrinsic motivation.

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE PIAGET – called this Disequilibrium It’s that feeling of mental discomfort caused by new information that conflicts with current knowledge or beliefs. HOW CAN WE USE THIS INFORMATION TO SUPPORT LEARNING?

– second most numerous response. RESEARCH …. Vispoel and Austin (1995) surveyed hundreds of middle school students about school failure. What was the response most given? LACK OF INTEREST!!!! LACK OF EFFORT – second most numerous response.

INTEREST TWO KINDS: Personal Situational More enduring aspects of a person such as interest in sports, music, science, or history. Situational More short-lived aspects of the activity, text, or materials that catch and keep the learner’s attention. Both are related to learning – the more interest, the more deep processing and remembering of the material.

Here’s the interesting thing… Interest level increases when students feel competent So, even if students are not initially interested in a subject or activity, they may develop interests as they experience success. What is one source of interest that hardly ever fails?????

FANTASY!!! Kids love to have their imagination tickled. Interesting study about math facts (Cordova & Lepper, 1996). Students learned more math facts during a computer exercise when they were challenged, as captains of star ships, to navigate through space by solving math problems. Students got to name their ships, stock the imaginary galley with favorite foods, and name all the crew members after their friends.

HOW DOES IT FEEL WHEN YOU ARE MOTIVATED? You experience AROUSAL – A physical and psychological reaction that causes you to be alert, attentive, and wide awake. There is an optimum level of arousal for most activities (We’ve known this for more than 100 years!) Generally speaking, higher level is helpful for mundane tasks – sorting laundry Lower level better for complex tasks, like taking the GRE or ACT.

How can we INCREASE arousal? One of the best ways is by AROUSING CURIOSITY! Individuals seem to be naturally motivated to seek novelty, surprise, and complexity. Curiosity arises when attention is focused on a gap in knowledge – It’s a mental state Awareness of a kind of deprivation We label that feeling “Curiosity”

When arousal is low Variety in teaching and learning approaches can support learning We can stimulate curiosity by pointing out gaps in knowledge We can introduce a novel idea We can introduce by piquing curiosity

When arousal is too high We have anxiety Severe anxiety is an example of arousal that is too high for optimal learning. Anxiety can become a factor in classroom motivation Can interfere with attention Can interfere with learning of and retrieval of information Can cause poor performance.

WHAT is your HOOK???? How will you engage your learners in what you are teaching? How can you introduce novelty? How can you create curiosity? This is a deliberate process…. What’s your HOOK?

Wrapping in up… Six TARGET Principles of Motivation Classroom TASKS Affect motivation Present new topics through tasks that students find interesting and engaging. Encourage meaningful rather than rote learning Relate activities to students’ lives and goals Provide sufficient support that students can be successful.

The amount of AUTONOMY Students have affects motivation, especially intrinsic motivation Give students some choice about what and how they learn Teach self-regulation strategies Solicit students’ opinions about classroom practices and policies Have students take leadership roles in some activities

The amount and nature of RECOGNITION students receive affects motivation. Acknowledge not only academic successes but also personal and social successes. Commend students for improvement as well as for mastery Provide concrete reinforcers for achievement only when students are not intrinsically motivated to learn. Show students how their own efforts and strategies are directly responsible for their successes.

The GROUPING procedures in the classroom affect motivation Provide frequent opportunities for students to interact, e.g. cooperative learning activities, peer tutoring. Plan activities to which all students can make valuable contributions. Teach the social skills that students need to interact effectively with peers. Create an atmosphere of mutual caring, respect, and support.

The forms of EVALUATION in the classroom affects motivation Make evaluation criteria clear; specify them in advance Minimize or eliminate competition for grades ( e.g. do not grade on a curve) Give SPECIFIC feedback about what students are doing well. Give concrete suggestions for how students can improve.

How teachers schedule TIME affects motivation. Give students enough time to gain mastery of important topics and skills. Let students interests dictate some activities Include variety in the school day (e.g. intersperse high-energy activities among the more sedentary ones.

TARGET Principles TASKS AUTONOMY RECOGNITION GROUPING EVALUATION TIME