Jamie Humlicek-EA773-Portfolio Entry for Student Motivation

Do you believe motivation is a necessary component for student learning? Is it our job as teachers to motivate students to want to learn?

What is motivation? “An internal state that arouses, directs, and maintains behavior.” Influenced by students uniqueness (personality, abilities, interests, etc.), the task at hand, the setting, and the teacher. Gets you going. Keeps you going. Determines where you’re going. Intrinsic Motivation- motivation that stems from factors such as interest or curiosity Extrinsic Motivation- behavior that is driven by external rewards (money, fame, praise, etc.)

Five General Approaches to Motivation Behavioral Approaches to Motivation Humanistic Approaches to Motivation Cognitive Approaches to Motivation Social Cognitive Approaches to Motivation Sociocultural Approaches to Motivation

Views of Motivation BehavioralHumanisticCognitiveSocial CognitiveSociocultural Source of Motivation ExtrinsicIntrinsic Intrinsic & Extrinsic Intrinsic Important Influences Reinforcers, rewards, incentives, & punishments Need for self- esteem, self- fulfillment, & self- determination Beliefs, attributions for success and failure, expectations Goals, expectations, intentions, self- efficacy Engaged participation in learning communities: maintaining identity through participation in activities of group Key Theorists Skinner Maslow Deci Weiner Graham Locke & Latham Bandura Lave Wenger Retrieved from: Instructional Leadership-A Research-Based Guide to Learning in Schools (Hoy, Hoy, pg 146)

Behavioral Approaches to Motivation Advantages Observable-makes it easier to practice. Easier to manage. Can be helpful with all students, including those with behavioral disorders. Disadvantages Behavior can easily be changed, so the same rewards/incentives may not work forever. Students may expect rewards for everything. Student may not change behavior if they do not view the incentive/reward as valuable enough.

Humanistic Approaches to Motivation Advantages Students have choice, so they become excited about learning. Focuses on each individual student. Teachers gain a closer relationship to students. Disadvantages Extroverted students tend to dominate participation. Teachers must have experience to work as a facilitator. Can be unorganized.

Cognitive Approaches to Motivation Advantages Commonly accepted for explaining the decision making process. Gives students more control. Current research supports the decision making concepts. Disadvantages The students’ emotional state is not considered. Can be difficult to implement to a group. Teachers must guess the value of the reward for the student.

Social Cognitive Approaches to Motivation Advantages Leads to greater effort and persistence. Students will be more mentally/physically healthy. Students tend to attribute failure to lack of effort. Disadvantages Students may underestimate abilities—give weak effort and give up easily. Overestimating abilities may lead to students not correcting misunderstandings.

Sociocultural Approaches to Motivation Advantages As students become more competent, they become more involved with the class. Helps in facilitating relationships and trust. Disadvantages May need refinement to be sure all students are getting the most out of the situation. All members must feel the information is relevant or they may not participate.

Which approach should we use?  Any and/or all of them! Do what is most valuable for YOUR students!

Strategies to ENCOURAGE Motivation Encourage creativity!

Questions to ask yourself…. How do I encourage students to be active and interested? How do I get my students to prepare for class? How can I recognize different learning abilities and work with them individually? How do I inspire students who are only taking my course because they “have to”? How do I empower students in the classroom?

Resources Hoy, Anita Woolfolk, and Wayne K. Hoy. "Motivation." Instructional Leadership: A Research-based Guide to Learning in Schools. Boston: Pearson, Print. "Humanism/Motivation Theory." Prezi.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June "Expectancy Theory of Motivation - Victor Vroom." Leadership-Central.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June "SELF-EFFICACY." SELF-EFFICACY. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June "Organizational Learning and Communities of Practice." Communities of Practice. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June "Introduction to Communities of Practice." WengerTrayner. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June "Student Motivation." Student Motivation. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2015.