1. MOTIVATION &
ENGAGEMENT
SORLA 2012
Jennifer McCarty Plucker, Ed. D.

2. Learning Targets
 I can examine the importance of increasing student
engagement in text.
 I can dialogue about strengths and areas of need in
my current practices in relation to engagement.
 I can reflect on the principles of engagement and
apply them to my instructional practices.

3. Guiding Principles
1. Meaning is Motivating
2. Learning is Social
3. Self-Efficacy
4. Interest/Relevance
5. Control and Choice
Adapted from J.T. Guthrie (2008)

5. Opening Anticipation Guide
 On your notes page 1, complete the
anticipation guide by deciding whether
you agree or disagree with each
statement.

6. Professional Book Talks
Daniels, H. & Harvey, S. Comprehension &
Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action (2009)
Dweck, C. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
(2006)
Guthrie, J. Engaging Adolescents in Reading (2008)
Layne, S. Igniting a Passion for Reading (2009)
Pink, D. Drive: The Surprising Truth About
What Motivates Us (2009)

7. Our dilemma as educators
 Majority of students do not read for pleasure
 Students are unmotivated, apathetic, resistant to
reading school content
 69% did not read for enjoyment (a signal for
intrinsic motivation)
 2000 international survey-U.S. ranked 20th out of
28 developed countries in reading engagement

8. Importance of reading engagement
 Engagement & motivation contribute to achievement in
reading
 Interest in reading correlates to reading comprehension
 Reading engagement connects more strongly to
achievement than home environment
 “Today, more than ever, valuable classroom time
presents the best opportunity-often the only
opportunity-to turn kids on to reading” (Gallagher,
2009).

9. Reading engagement correlates to
reading achievement
highly higher
engaged achievement
low
engagement

10. Principle #1: Meaning is Motivating
 Have you ever offered incentives in class to
produce a desired outcome?
 Candyfor quiet reading time
 Games on Friday
 What incentivized programs have you
experienced?
 Health club discounts

11. Principle #1: Meaning is Motivating
7 Reasons Carrots and Sticks (often) Don’t Work (Pink, 2009)
Less of what we WANT:
Intrinsic Motivation
High Performance
Creativity
Good Behavior
More of what we DON’T want:
Unethical Behavior
Addiction
Short Term Thinking

12. Principle #1: Meaning is Motivating
Special circumstances where “carrots” won’t hurt, and might help.
If assignment doesn’t inspire deep passion or require
deep thinking, rewards can help. BUT:
 Offer a rationale as to why the task is necessary.
 Acknowledge that the task is boring.
 Allow students to complete the task their own way.

13. Principle #1: Meaning is Motivating
Essential Requirement for Extrinsic Rewards
“Any extrinsic reward should be unexpected and
offered only after the task is complete. In
other words, where ‘if-then’ rewards are a
mistake, shift to ‘now that’ rewards.”
(Pink, 2009, p. 66)

14. Principle #1: Meaning is Motivating
What is motivating our students?
Performance Goals Mastery Goals
 Show good behavior  Understanding is most
 Complete an assignment important
 Extrinsic rewards  Argue, analyze, debate,
 get a good grade explain, organize, connect,
defend, conclude…
 Outperform others
 Not isolated, connected to
 Look smarter
“big picture”
 Understanding text—not  Short or long-term
important

15. Principle #1: Meaning is Motivating
7 Practices of Mastery Motivation
1. Provide mastery goals
2. Make tasks relevant
 Relevance vs. Entertainment
3. Use hands-on activities
4. Transform text to meaning
5. Scaffold mastery motivation
6. Provide re-teach opportunities
7. Reward effort over performance

16. Turn and Talk
 Share with a neighbor your reflections on what
you’ve just heard or ideas about how to apply
Principle #1: Meaning is Motivating.

17. Principle #2: Learning is Social
1. Open discussions
 Reduce teacher talk time
2. Student-led discussion groups
3. Collaborative reasoning
 C.R.E.W. time
4. Arranging partnerships
5. Socially constructing the management
6. Scaffolding social motivations over time
 Student input increases throughout year (i.e. classroom
library selections)

18. Principle #2: Learning is Social
Collaboration around text
 “Buzz about books”
 Book pass
 Book chats
 Trailers
 Confessionals
Animoto.com
Glogster.com
Xtranormal.com

19. Pair/Share
 With a partner, share one activity you will try with
your students next year that relates to Principle
#2: Learning is Social.

20. Principle #3: Self-Efficacy
 Recognize the gap
 Match the text to the reading levels of students
 Shoe Size
 Establish initial confidence
 Set realistic goals; individual students
 Conference to discuss, reflect, & revise
 “We grade the learning, not the knowing” (Harvey &
Daniels, 2009)
 “I can because I think I can” Vacca (2006).
 Student value-added assessments

21. Mindset Principle #3: Self-Efficacy
“After seven experiments with hundreds of children, we had some of the clearest findings I’ve ever seen: Praising
children’s intelligence harms their motivation and it harms their performance.” by Carol Dweck

22. Principle #3: Self-Efficacy
Self-Reflection
 DIY report cards
 Goal setting & reflection prior to teacher feedback
 Use of learning targets
 Reflect on peer models and self

23. Principle #4: Interest/Relevance
t Making real-world connections
d Personalizing with questioning
t Extending intrinsic interests
s Self-expressing
s Puzzling (working through inconsistencies in text)
What is not here…?
… “Packaged” or “one size fits all” ways to respond
to text

24. Principle #4: Interest/Relevance
Ignite a Passion
 Target Alliterate Readers
 Know Your Players—Four Most Important
Words
 “I thought of you…”
 Start a modeling career
 Throw a Party!
Layne, 2009

25. Reflect
 Share with someone near you your reflections on
what you’ve just heard or ideas about how to apply
Principle #3: Self-Efficacy and Principle #4:
Interest/Relevance.

26. Principle #5 Control and Choice
Seek to balance teacher vs. student centeredness
Practices that cultivate motivation:
 Ownership of text
 Options for how to learn
 Autonomy with Accountability
 Input into curriculum
 Self-selection of knowledge displays
 Fed Ex Day
 Voice in standards for evaluation
 Inquiry projects

27. Principle #5 Control and Choice
Who is in Control?
 “Excessive teacher-centeredness is more
disengaging than we imagine. At the same
time, excessive student-centeredness may be
unproductive. Our goal is to move from
teacher overcontrol to student empowerment.”
Engaging Adolescents in Reading, p. 35

28. Reflect
 On your notes sheet, write your reflections on what
you’ve just heard or ideas about how to apply
Principle #5: Control and Choice.

29. Closing Remarks
 Professional Book Studies
 We are motivated by the same 5 principles!
 “We may have taught them the skills, but without
the desire to use those skills, where is the benefit? In
many cases it will be what happens or doesn’t
happen in school that is going to make the
difference” (Layne, 2009).

30. “I may not reach everybody, but every time I reach
somebody, I’m doing more than I would be doing if I
were doing nothing. It’s one more thing to try, and it
surely can’t do any harm” (Layne, 2009)