Week 7 Motivation Slides courtesy of Prof. Karen Wisdom

Motivation The basic assumptions of motivation are as follows: ▫Motivation develops from a complex interaction of factors in the environment and the person ▫Self assessment and interpretation of information are involved in achievement-related motivation ▫Motives, needs, and goals are explicit knowledge

Three Models Expectancy-value ▫Socio-psychological ▫Expectations/value of success Goal orientation ▫Reasons for engaging in a task Attribution Theory ▫Individual thoughts, emotions, and expectations

Hmmm… You’ll notice that many of the assumptions and explanations of these models overlap. ▫Expectancies, values, and beliefs ▫Prior experiences You’ll also notice that the chapter focuses primarily on the motivation of children. The question to ask yourself as you read is “what effect does motivation have on learning?”

Expectancy-Value Model Five achievement-related behaviors:  Choice  Persistence  Extent of effort  Cognitive engagement  Actual performance Task-value  Attainment Value  Intrinsic Value  Utility value  Cost

Goal Orientation Model Learning Related Goals ▫Mastering tasks ▫Progress learning new skills ▫More involvement in tasks Performance Goals ▫Focus on demonstrating superior performance ▫Work Avoidance  Absence of an achievement goal  Bare minimum effort ▫Failure Avoidance  Wanting to not look ‘stupid’ or show lack of competency

Attribution Theory Thoughts, emotions, and expectancies following an achievement-related outcome. Assumptions: ▫Understanding is primary motivation ▫Attributions are complex sources of information ▫Future behavior is determined by perceived causes of prior outcomes.

Learned Helplessness vs. Mastery Orientation Learned helplessness ▫Actions that contribute to lack of mastery or success are external and not within the control of the learner ▫Failure = lack of ability Mastery-orientation ▫Do not see errors as failures - optimism ▫Failure = unstable factors (luck, effort, etc.)

In the classroom Facilitating motivation is tricky business ▫Classroom environment ▫Student self-esteem ▫Competitive vs. cooperative Some feel that motivation is largely due to the learning environment (teacher); others feel that it is the combination of environment and the individual What do you attribute motivation?

Schools While we are seeing a shift in classroom practices to facilitate motivation, there are still many vestiges of ‘old school’ approaches:  Standardized testing  External motivators - grades  Assumptions that students lack ability or failed to put forth effort  Negative feedback for poor performance  Lack of understanding of the value of this or that discipline  Lack of autonomy and decision-making in the classroom and learning goals Are adult learners affected by the above?

Adult learners As mentioned, this chapter is largely devoted to children, but how does motivation affect adult learners? More importantly, can instructors ‘motivate’ learners who have already established their own beliefs and values about learning (positive or negative)? ▫Self Esteem shifts ▫Classroom environment