2. Five areas of motivation
Choices Persistence
Getting started Feelings
Intensity of
involvement
How do these five areas relate to your motivation to learn Educational Psychology?
3. Intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation
Intrinsic motivation: motivation associated with activities that are their own reward.
Extrinsic motivation: motivation created by external factors, such as rewards and
punishments.
Intrinsic: I want to learn. Extrinsic: You must learn.
Mnemonic: Intrinsic—comes from the
inside of me, “internal.” Extrinsic comes
from the outside, like “external.”
5. Locus of causality
That teacher I should have
made the test too studied harder. I
hard. My made a bad choice
roommate going to that party
wouldn’t let me last night.
study.
Which one has an internal locus of causality? Which one is external?
6. Other views of locus of causality
I practice
I practice because it’s I practice
because I fun and it’ll because my
love to help me get mom makes
play. a college me.
scholarship.
Locus of causality is a continuum.
Internal External
7. Locus of causality is NOT a
continuum
To understand this argument, you need to
understand approach/avoidance. We tend
to have two reactions to something—we
tend to approach it or we tend to avoid it.
Actually, we may have a combination of
approach and avoidance feelings, as the
following diagram will show.
8. Locus of causality is NOT a
continuum
Approach
High
Success-oriented
students: people who
Overstrivers: people
are trying for success
who are trying for
and not worried about
success but also trying Avoidance
failure.
Avoidance to avoid failure. Low
High
Failure avoiders: Failure accepters: people who
people whose main have given up on anything to do
motivation is to avoid with success and are not even
failure—they aren’t trying to avoid failure.
seeking success
primarily.
Approach Covington and Mueller (2001). Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic
Motivation: an Approach/Avoidance Reformulation.
Low Educational Psychology Review, v. 13, n. 2, 158-176.
9. Approach/avoidance
This is a more complex formulation of
motivation. It has profound implications
for the classroom—if you have failure
accepters among your students, you will
need to work with them differently from,
say, the overstrivers.
10. Approaches to motivation
Behavioral
Humanistic
Maslow
Cognitive and Social Cognitive
Expectancy x value
Sociocultural conceptions
11. Behavioral
Reward: an attractive object or event
supplied as a consequence of a behavior.
Incentive: an object or event that
encourages or discourages behavior.
12. Behaviorism
Advantages Disadvantages
Rewards increase If the reward is not
good behaviors rewarding, the
behavior will not
increase.
Rewards encourage
extrinsic motivation.
Therefore: use only for things that students don’t like. Be sure to include quality of
work, not just participation. Use rewards to let students know they are getting better
at something.
13. Humanistic Views of Motivation
Humanistic interpretation: approach to
motivation that emphasizes personal freedom,
choice, self-determination, and striving for
personal growth.
Humanistic psychology—views motivation as
people’s attempts to fulfill their total potential as
human beings. This psychology deals with the
whole person. If you want to motivate someone
in this way, encourage inner resources—self-
esteem, competence, etc.
Chief theorists: Rogers, Maslow
14. Carl Rogers
Unconditional Creating an emotionally safe
positive regard: climate in the classroom:
believing in the •Treat students as people first
inherent worth of a and students second
person—every person •Provide students with
has something of value unconditional positive regard by
inside just because he separating behavior from
or she is a human intrinsic worth.
being. •Create safe and orderly
classrooms where students
believe they can learn and
Can you think of examples of teachers in your where they are expected to do
experience who have done these things? How so
about teachers who haven’t? How did those •Consider classroom
classrooms feel? experiences from the students’
point of view.
15. Self-actualization: fulfilling one’s potential
Humanistic views of motivation
Hierarchy of needs:
Maslow’s model of 7 levels
of human needs, from
basic physiological
requirements to the need
for self-actualization.
Deficiency needs:
Maslow’s 4 lower-level
needs, which must be
satisfied first.
Being needs:
Maslow’s 3 higher-
level needs,
sometimes called
growth needs.
Bottom line: hungry kids cannot learn very well. Feed them.
Also, kids need achievement, beauty, and the chance to learn to
be themselves, not just an endless drill for the Proficiency test.
16. Cognitive Theories of Motivation
Based on Piaget’s theory (equilibrium,
adaptation, accommodation).
We all have a need to understand our world.
When something occurs that we don’t
understand, we are motivated to try to figure it
out.
This is why people work at puzzles, video
games, etc.
Five cognitive theories: expectancy x value
theory, self-efficacy theory, goal theory,
attribution theory, self-determination theory
17. Expectancy x value theory
How you expect to do at the The value of that success to you
task: success or failure
“Passing the Praxis II will make me feel
“I expect to be able to pass the proud and will help me to take the next
Praxis II” step in my professional career.”
Therefore, I am motivated to study the material for that test.
If either term is zero, then motivation is zero because anything times zero is zero.
18. Expectancy for success
Self-schema #1: Self-schema #2:
•I don’t know how to do this. •This looks hard, but I have done hard
•Last year I failed this subject. things before.
•I hate trying to do something •I have done well in this subject before.
that will take a long time. •If I do a little at a time, I know I can do
•I’m not a very good learner. this.
•No one is going to help me with •I do pretty well in school. I like
this. learning.
•There are more important things •If I have trouble, I know my parents will
than school. explain this to me.
•School is important to me and my
family.
Which schema will lead to a student being motivated to try a new task?
What are your schemas about yourself as a learner?
Expectancy for success: depends on how difficult the task
seems and your schemas about yourself as a learner.
20. Intrinsic interest
This topic relates to
things I care about. I
can’t wait to learn
more about it.
21. Importance It’s important for
me to stay in
It’s important for
shape so I can
me to stay in
compete
shape so I can be
effectively in my
healthy for a long
sport.
time.
People can have
different reasons
for something to be
important.
22. Utility value
I can see that this
class is going to
help me achieve
my goal of being a
doctor.
23. Cost I’m not sure I
have the time to
This class is put into studying
going to take a for this class.
lot of time, but I Besides, I hate
think I can do it. making speeches.
I’ve never made I think I’ll drop
a speech before, this class. It’s too
but I guess I can hard.
learn.
Perceived
negative aspects
of engaging in a
task.
24. Cost: an example
Very often as teachers we set up barriers to learning that increase cost. I
learned about removing barriers at vacation Bible school this summer.
25. Cost, an example
Each night there was a Bible verse to learn
and there was a central Bible verse that
was connected to the whole theme.
For each Bible verse memorized, a child
would receive a small prize. If the child
memorized all six verses, he/she would
get a large prize.
26. Cost, an example
This year, the vast majority of children chose to
memorize verses. What contributed to that?
I spent part of my music teaching time teaching
the verses. We chanted them over and over
again and we broke them down, learning them
phrase by phrase.
As soon as a child had a verse memorized, I
sent him/her to the VBS director to recite the
verse and receive the prize.
27. Cost, an example
What worked? Why did the kids get so enthusiastic
about this?
First, students were given time within the classes to
learn their verses. It wasn’t homework and yet many of
the children then opted to practice at home on top of
what we did in the class.
Secondly, I modeled over and over again how to break
down the verse and learn it a little at a time. As the fast
learners got the verse, they left the room to go recite.
That gave me a chance to work even more with the
students who needed extra help.
There was immediate reinforcement—students could go
at any time to recite and get their prizes.
28. Cost, an example
Almost all students succeeded, across grades
1-7. The fast learners got what they needed.
The slow learners got what they needed. The
success spawned a desire for more success.
I learned that it is really worth using class time
on the things you want students to learn and do.
I learned that when I remove barriers
(homework, an overwhelming task), even
students who clearly have a history of learning
struggles are able to succeed.
29. Cost
I love to dance.
I remember
how good it felt
the first time I
tried it.
Affective memory: past
emotional experiences
related to a topic or
activity. Affective
memory contributes to
cost: bad memories
increase cost and good
memories decrease
cost.
How can we as teachers help students to have good memories of their
learning with us?
30. Sociocultural conceptions of
motivation
Perspectives that emphasize participation,
identities, and interpersonal relations
within communities of practice.
Legitimate peripheral participation:
genuine involvement in the work of the
group, even if your abilities are
undeveloped and contributions are small.
31. An example
This is me, in 1974, a ninth grader at Lexington Junior High School. I wore this
sweatshirt on this day because I knew this picture would be taken. The sweatshirt was
for the Central Kentucky Youth Symphony Orchestra. I had just become a member (as
last chair second violin I was definitely in the camp of “legitimate peripheral
participation”—you couldn’t get more peripheral than that). I was so proud to be a
member of the Youth Symphony Orchestra—that identity was very important to me.
I have no
idea if any
the rest of
these
students
became
teachers
or not…
32. Classrooms as communities
You can use sociocultural forms of
motivation by creating classroom
communities. Students in these classes
identify with their classmates—being part
of the class is part of who they are.
Students work together to learn—to
develop and test hypotheses, etc.
33. Needs: competence, autonomy,
relatedness
Self-determination—we need to feel
competent and capable.
Need for autonomy: the desire to have
our own wishes, rather than external
reward or pressures, determine our
actions.
In other words, we need to be in charge
of our own lives.
34. Self-determination in the classroom
When classrooms are organized around
the idea of self-determination, students
tend to be more interested and to do
better.
Ironically, students tend to prefer more
controlling teachers, even though they
learn more from teachers who support
student autonomy.
35. Self-determination Theory
The process of deciding how to act on
one’s environment.
Includes competence, control (autonomy),
and relatedness.
36. Competence I know how to
read, how to
I can swim, get learn, and
my own food, and how to behave
keep away from in school.
preditors.
The ability to function effectively in an environment.
37. Helping students to feel competent
Attributional If you try, You did a good job
statements are you will be naming the parts. Accurate
comments by teachers able to do You need to work feedback
about causes of this on understanding (praise and
students’ performances. problem. the life cycle. criticism) helps
They help students to students to know
know that they can where they have
influence the outcomes succeeded and
of their work. what to work on.
Wow! Look If you need help,
what you have just let me know.
done! That’s Otherwise, I’ll
really neat. assume you are
okay.
Emotional displays of the
teacher give students
important messages about Offering unsolicited help can give a
their competence. The negative message, that the teacher feels
teacher’s frustration can lead the student is incompetent.
students to feel incompetent.
38. Information and control
Cognitive evaluation theory: suggests that
events affect motivation through the
individual’s perception of the events as
controlling behavior or providing
information.
39. Information and control
Events tend to be informational (providing the student with information) or
controlling (telling the student what to do).
Informational Controlling
Increases intrinsic motivation Decreases intrinsic motivation
Examples: Examples:
You did well on that test because you You did well on that test because
worked hard. you followed directions.
We are going to present our projects The project is due next week so
next week, so you may want to think get to work!
about what you need to get done on it.
40. I can choose
what I practice
and how much Control
effort I put
into it. I can choose
where I do
my
homework
and which
subject I
work on first.
Control (autonomy) is the ability to alter the environment when necessary.
41. Helping students to have a sense of
What rules do you
control I see you using the
learning strategies
think we need in this we have been
class? working on..
How are you From your work I
doing on the can tell that you
goals you set? have learned a lot
about this topic.
It’s great to see
everyone so
involved in this
project.
42. The need for relatedness
Students need to feel that others
(especially the teacher, but also other
students) care about them and are
responsive to their needs.
43. Relatedness
This is related to some ideas on
The feeling of connectedness to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
others in one’s social environment
resulting in feelings of worthiness of
love and respect.
44. Needs: lessons for teachers
Students need to feel competent and
connected.
45. Goal orientations and motivation
Goal: what an individual strives to
accomplish.
Goal orientation: patterns of beliefs about
goals related to achievement in school.
46. Goals and Goal-orientation
This subject is I’d like to do
so interesting as little as I
—I’d like to can in order
learn more to get a
about this. decent
grade.
Both of these students have goals. Can you see how their goals will influence how
they learn?
47. Types of Goals
Mastery goal—focuses on mastering information, increasing
understanding (not concerned with performance)
Performance goal—a personal intention to seem competent or
perform well in the eyes of others.
Approach goals are goals focused on achievement (learning-
approach is a goal to increase achievement, performance-approach
is a goal to increase performance).
Avoidance goals are goals focused on avoiding something.
Performance-avoidance is a focus on performing in order to avoid
looking dumb.
Task-involved learners: students who focus on mastering the task
or solving the problem.
Ego-involved learners: students who focus on how well they are
performing and how they are judged by others.
The type of goal a student has determines a lot about how that student learns.
48. An example
I had a violin student whose goal was to get a 93
in his academic classes. According to him, a 93 is
the “perfect A” because it is an A with the least
amount of work. His goal was basically
performance-avoidance: he was avoiding any
grade his parents could give him trouble over (such
as a B). As you might imagine, his performance in
class was lackluster because he didn’t get excited
about learning anything. School was a game to
play and he knew how to win in such a way that
most authorities would leave him alone.
A couple of years later, he appeared to have
abandoned this particular goal—he was involved in
college-level classes and enjoying them.
49. Work-avoidant learners: students who don’t want to learn or to look smart, but just
want to avoid work.
Work-avoidance goals
This is SO boring.
I’m going to get
through this reading
as fast as I can so I
can watch Survivor
on TV.
What do you think she will remember
about the text she is reading? If she
were your student, what could you
do to help her?
50. Social goals: a wide variety of needs and motives to be connected to others or part of a
group.
Social goals
Ryan said he signed up
for Algebra II. He’s so
cute. I guess I’ll sign up
so I can be with him in
class.
How do you think she will do in
algebra II? How can you, as a
teacher, harness the social goals
your students have?
51. Feedback and goal acceptance
Students need accurate, positively-stated
(e.g., you have achieved 75% of your goal
rather than you have fallen short by 25%)
feedback to help them with their goals.
Students need to accept and commit goals
if they are going to work on them.
Commitment matters.
52. Effective goal setting: Specific
My goal is to
My goal is to spend
do better in
one hour every
school.
evening studying.
Why are specific goals better than general goals? Which student will be able to
monitor his progress better on his goal?
53. Effective Goal Setting: Immediate
I want to My goal is to
graduate with make dean’s list
honors four years this semester.
from now.
Why might immediate goals work better than goals that are far away?
54. Effective Goal Setting: Challenging
I want to graduate in I think I can
four years with a maintain a high B
perfect 4.0 average. average for the
next four years.
What
happens
when
I don’t care what students set
my grades are in goals that are
four years—I just too
want to get out of challenging?
here. What
happens
when the
goals are not
challenging
enough?
55. Goal monitoring
I studied for an hour
yesterday and today. Two
days in a row! That’s pretty
good. It’s helpful to do it
right after supper and to get
into a habit.
Why do you think monitoring
goals would be important?
56. Strategy Use
Why is it important to be
Even though I studied an
strategic in the process of
hour a day, I still didn’t
achieving goals?
do very well on the test.
My teacher says I need to
do more than just read
the text. I think I’ll make
a goal of working on 5
problems per day.
57. Metacognition
The t.v. is too distracting. I
had better study here in my
room where it is quieter.
Can you see how
metacognitive strategies are
critical for effective goal
setting and achievement?
How can you help students
to develop metacognitive
strategies?
58. Interests and emotions
When students are not interested in a
topic, they will not learn.
Personal interests: enduring interests that
a person has.
Situational interest: more temporary
interest—something that catches the eye
of the student.
59. Capturing student interest
Find out about their interests—if a group
of them have a personal interest in
something, perhaps you can use that
topic.
Work with situational interest—find
interesting ways to approach curricular
topics (e.g., using a computer program,
using a puzzle, using an unexpected
event).
60. Capturing student interest
This is critical, particularly for students
who are at risk for failure. Students from
strongly academic backgrounds have a
degree of tolerance for boredom, but
students who don’t have a strong
academic background do not have this
tolerance.
61. Capturing student interest
This takes some creativity—but it is one of
the most fun aspects of teaching.
Further, when you teach something that is
interesting, you will really enjoy the
teaching process and watching the
students get into the activity.
62. For example
For several years I have been part of an
Appalachian project that involves an urban
school and my students in Education 214,
Integrating the arts in the elementary classroom.
In this project, we build dulcimers, sing
Appalachian songs, dance to a live band,
perform a Jack tale, decorate quilt squares and
sew a quilt, and learn about the culture in
general. We meet a lot of social studies
benchmarks in this project.
64. The Appalachian Project
Our volunteer banjo player came every week and was
generous about sharing with the students (that’s a $2000
banjo a child is holding).
67. You can do this, too
Not every day has to be filled with something
this special—but this sort of thing needs to
happen periodically.
We began with an interest I had. Because of my
personal interest in Appalachian music, I had
resources—I had books about it, I knew the
music, and I knew people who could help us to
pull this project off.
Most of the students did not have an initial
interest in this subject, but because of the
nature of the activities (building a working
musical instrument) they became interested.
68. Arousal: excitement and anxiety in
learning
Arousal: physical and psychological
reactions causing a person to be alert,
attentive, wide awake.
69. Arousal
Curiosity: this is related to interest.
People have studied curiosity and found
that it often happens when we don’t fully
understand something—there is a gap in
our knowledge.
Anxiety: general uneasiness, a feeling of
tension.
70. Anxiety
Can get in the way of learning and
showing what one has learned.
Anxiety gets in the way of our ability to
pay attention. It’s a negative cycle—we
feel anxious, struggle to pay attention,
then become more anxious as we realize
we are not comprehending the material.
71. Arousal and anxiety
I’m so nervous I
don’t know what to When people get nervous,
do. All I can think they lose some of their
of is how nervous I ability to think logically. In
am. anticipation of a nervous
situation, they may use
poorer strategies to
prepare.
Anxiety: a general uneasiness and
feeling of tension. Anxiety can affect
motivation both positively and
negatively. A little anxiety can be
good motivation. Too much anxiety
can get in the way of effective
learning.
72. Managing anxiety
Problem-solving—trying to address the
learning problems in an intelligent and do-
able way. It is important for teachers to
help students with problem solving.
Emotional management—trying to reduce
feelings of anxiety.
Avoidance—avoiding situations that cause
anxiety (not a good strategy to use in
school).
73. Beliefs and self-schemas
Beliefs about ability
Beliefs about causes and control
Beliefs about self-efficacy and learned
helplessness
Beliefs about self-worth
74. Intelligence
Is intelligence a set characteristic like your
height as an adult or the color of your
eyes? Or can intelligence be influenced by
what you do? How you answer these
questions may influence how motivated
you are as a learner.
75. Entity view of intelligence
Since I can’t do
anything about how
smart I am, I will focus
my efforts on how I
This means that approach tasks.
intelligence is an
unchanging
characteristic.
Performance goal
This attitude “works” for learners
who feel that they are pretty smart.
Learners who feel non-intelligent
are likely to give up because they
feel hopeless.
76. Incremental view of intelligence
If I work at
learning this, I can
get a lot smarter.
Learning goal
This view gives students a sense of
control over their own destiny. If
they work, they will be rewarded
with increasing ability.
77. Does it work? Is it fair to get kids’
hopes up?
There are limits. Most piano students aren’t
going to become Vladimir Horowitz, no
matter how hard they work. Most student
athletes are not going to break world
records at the Olympics. But the belief in
learning and work increasing ability does go
a long way, even in sports and music. Hard
work can make up for a smaller amount of
talent and no amount of talent can make up
for the lack of practice.
78. Attribution Theory
Locus
Stability
Control
Attribution theory involves how we explain our successes and failures. Do we
attribute them to ourselves or to factors outside ourselves? Do we attribute them
to things that change or things that don’t change? How much control do we have
over these factors?
Attribution theory: descriptions of how individuals’ explanations,
justifications, and excuses influence their motivation and behavior.
79. Locus
It’s not my fault. The
teacher made the
test too hard. If I had studied
more, I would
have done better
on the test.
Locus means
“location.” It can be
internal or external.
For which student is
the cause of not doing
well external? For
which is it internal?
What are the
implications when a
student attributes her
performance to an
external cause? How
about to an internal
cause?
80. Stability I don’t think I’m very
I didn’t do so well good at this subject.
this time, but It’s awfully hard for me
maybe my luck to understand.
will change. I’m
bringing my
rabbit’s foot the
next time we have
a test.
Luck can change (with The point of
or without the rabbit’s stability is how
foot). Ability doesn’t changeable is the
change (although cause of the
effort can change and situation.
it can make up for
ability to a certain
extent).
81. Control
I can Yeah, but you
control how can’t control how
much I hard the teacher
study for makes the test.
the test.
Some things are
controllable by the
person and others are
not. What implications
does this have for your
students? What
implications does it have
for the strategies you
suggest?
82. Attribution Theory: Application
Where does the student
consider the locus of the
problem to be? How
stable is the cause? What
kind of control does the
student have?
The answers to these questions
influence how you respond to the
student. For example, if the student is
externalizing, you might guide him to
think about his own contribution to the
problem. Whatever the cause, you
might want to help the student to focus
on his effort. You need to be aware of
what the student can control and what
is beyond the student’s control.
83. Impact of Attributions on Learners
I’ll never be I’m not going to
able to do bother studying
this for the next one
Expectations for Future effort
future success
I feel bad
It’s not
because I got
surprising, then,
a C-
that I keep
doing badly.
Emotional Achievement
Fortunately, you can help students change this kind of attitude…
84. This is a review of a concept you had in the last chapter.
Self Efficacy
Your beliefs about your abilities.
Four factors influence them:
Past performance
Observing others
Verbal persuasion (a teacher tells you you
can do it)
Physiological and psychological factors
(hunger, being upset, etc.)
Guess what: students who are high in self-efficacy do better in
school. What can we do as teachers to help students develop self-
efficacy?
85. The
Learned Helplessness
expectation,
based on I can’t succeed,
previous so I might as well
experiences not even try.
with a lack of
control, that
all one’s
efforts will
lead to
Learned helplessness is
failure.
associated with low self-
esteem, depression, and
refusal to try.
86. Learned helplessness
Learned helplessness is a psychological condition in which a
human or animal has learned to believe that it is helpless. It thinks
that it has no control over its situation and that whatever it does is
futile. As a result it will stay passive when the situation is unpleasant
or harmful and damaging.
It is a well-established principle in psychology, a description of the
effect of inescapable punishment (such as electrical shock) on animal
(and by extension, human) behaviour. Learned helplessness may also
occur in everyday situations where environments in which people
experience events in which they feel or actually have no control over
what happens to them, such as repeated failure, prison, war,
disability, famine and drought may tend to foster learned
helplessness. An example involves concentration camp prisoners
during the Holocaust, when some prisoners, called Mussulmen,
refused to care or fend for themselves. Present-day examples can be
found in mental institutions, orphanages, or long-term care facilities
where the patients have failed or been stripped of agency for long
enough to cause their feelings of inadequacy to persist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness
87. Learned helplessness
Not all people become depressed as a result of being in
a situation where they appear not to have control; in
what Seligman called "explanatory style," people in a
state of learned helplessness view problems as personal,
pervasive, or permanent. That is,
Personal - They may see themselves as the problem;
that is, they have internalized the problem.
Pervasive - They may see the problem affecting all
aspects of life.
Permanent - They may see the problem as
unchangeable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness
88. Learned helplessness
Martin Seligman's foundational experiments and theory
of learned helplessness began at the
University of Pennsylvania in 1965, as an extension of
his interest in depression, when, at first quite by
accident, Seligman and colleagues discovered a result of
conditioning of dogs that was opposite to what B.F.
Skinner's behaviorism would have predicted. A dog that
had earlier been repeatedly conditioned to associate a
sound with electric shocks did not try (later in another
setting) to escape the electric shocks after that sound
and a flash of light was presented, even though all the
dog would have had to do is jump over a low divider
within ten seconds, more than enough time to respond.
The dog didn't even try to avoid the "aversive stimulus";
the dog had previously "learned" that nothing it did
mattered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness
89. Dealing with learned helplessness
Seligman eventually taught the dogs how
to escape—but they had to be dragged
over the barrier to learn.
Students who have experienced a lot of
failure and who are in learned
helplessness need to have lots of success
in order to get out. They need immediate
small successes and then to build up to
longer term and larger successes.
90. An emotional reaction to or evaluation of the self (also known as self-esteem).
Self-worth Theory What he says:
What he says: I couldn’t work on
the project ‘til the
That project was too last minute. If I
hard. It’s not fair to had had more time,
be assigned such a it would have been
difficult task. better.
What he means: What he means:
If I can blame someone else, If I really put in time on
then I don’t have to look at the project, it might not
my own contribution to the have been very good. So I
failure of the project. This is didn’t put in the time so I
how I maintain a sense that I have an excuse I can live
am competent in the face of with for it not being good.
possible evidence otherwise.
How the maintenance of self-worth gets in the way of achievement.
What can you do as a teacher to help a student like this?
91. Self-worth
Master-oriented students: students who focus
on learning goals because they value
achievement and see ability as improvable.
Failure-avoiding students: students who avoid
failure by sticking to what they know, by not
taking risks, or by claiming not to care about
their performance.
Failure-accepting students: students who
believe their failures are due to low ability and
there is little they can do about it.
92. Motivation to Learn in School
The tendency to find academic activities
meaningful and worthwhile and to try to
benefit from them.
93. How motivated are you?
In what classes or subjects do you find
learning to be interesting?
What has contributed to your motivation
to learn in those classes or subjects?
Is there anything you can learn from those
situations that might help you to feel more
motivated about other subjects or topics?
94. Learning from bad teaching
Probably all of us have stories of “teachers from hell.”
This is unfortunate, but remains true.
When you find yourself in a bad situation, now that you
are studying educational psychology, think to yourself:
“what can I learn here about what NOT to do with other
people—students, colleagues, etc.?”
Remember that you can be motivated about a topic but
not about a class, especially if a teacher has done a poor
job. I loved French before and after high school but had
a very bad teacher in high school. Even as many
problems as this teacher had, she never stamped out my
love of French.
95. Barriers to motivation
Curriculum determined by state, not students
School attendance is mandatory, not a choice
Too many students in classes
Classrooms are a social setting where failure
becomes public
Grades
“Daily grind”—routines that lead to boredom.
What can you do as a teacher to get rid of the barriers?
96. TARGET
Task
Autonomy
Recognition
Grouping practices
Evaluation
Time
97. Task
Academic task: the work the student must
accomplish, including the content covered and
the mental operations required.
Importance/attainment value: the importance of
doing well on a task; how success on the task
meets personal needs.
Intrinsic or interest value: the enjoyment a
person gets from a task.
Utility value: the contribution of a task to
meeting one’s goals.
99. Task value and Educational
Psychology Importance:
Interest:
Being able to understand
If you like people-
why people do what they
watching, you’ll
do is critical information.
probably like
It helps you to respond in
Educational
a more constructive way.
Psychology. It Interest Importance
explains WHY you
see what you are
seeing.
Utility Cost
Utility: Cost:
If you are working with people in any Here’s the rub. It’s not
sort of job, you will find Educational always easy to understand
Psychology useful because it tells you all these theories and
how to teach and motivate people. ideas. It takes work to
This means you potentially can get absorb these ideas in a
your ideas accepted over someone way that makes them really
who does not have the same people useful.
skills, regardless of level of authority.
100. What does it mean to you to do
well in this class?
Perhaps it means that you are smart?
Perhaps it means that the instructor likes you?
Perhaps it means that you have achieved a goal
you set for yourself?
Perhaps it means that you have learned
something interesting and useful?
Perhaps it means that you will be able to
maintain your high GPA?
Perhaps it allows you to avoid the anger of your
advisor or your parents?
Doing well has different meaning for different people. This is the importance or
attainment value.
101. Authentic tasks
Tasks that have some connection to real-
life problems the students will face outside
the classroom.
Problem-based learning: methods that
provide students with realistic problems
that don’t necessarily have right answers.
102. Authentic tasks are motivating…
…because students can see the
connection between what they are doing
in the classroom and what they will be
doing out in the “real world.”
You will probably find your field placement classes to be really fun and
interesting because in those you will be doing what you plan to do as a
professional. The further you move in your degree program, the more
authentic the tasks of learning are likely to be.
103. Problem-based learning
One way to create authenticity is to use
problem-based learning, using real
problems either within the community or
problems students are likely to face (e.g.,
how to deal with the proficiency test).
Students can research the problem and
explore solutions. With community
problems, students can express their
opinions in local forums such as the letters
to the editor of the local newspaper.
104. Supporting autonomy and
recognizing accomplishment
Students need a balance between structure and choice.
“Bounded choice”—giving the students a range of options but not total freedom.
105. Choices
For younger students, the choices need to
be simpler: between fewer options. The
same is true for students who have not
had many choices in the past
Older students can handle more choices.
106. Choices
When students are resisting something,
give them a choice about HOW they do it.
They can work on their math facts at their
desk or lying on the floor (if this is not a
frequent option, it will make doing the
math facts more fun). They can do their
sustained silent reading in a chair or on
the floor. Even high schools students like
the opportunity to move around.
107. Portfolios and choices
Portfolio assessment (which you will learn about in a later chapter) allows
you to offer many choices to students, including what gets assessed (not
every student work goes into a portfolio) and even how it gets assessed
(e.g., choosing which work is to be assessed for which characteristic).
Portfolios can be used in almost any subject area.
108. Recognizing accomplishments
Students need feedback on their work.
We need to recognize what is right along with
helping students to work on problems.
Instead of praise (“good job”) it is more
effective to point out how a student might feel
about the accomplishment (“Look what you did.
You worked hard. I bet you feel proud of that.”)
This encourages students to own the
accomplishment and to attribute the
accomplishment to their own efforts.
109. Grouping
Goal structure: the way students relate to
others who are also working toward a
particular goal. Can be cooperative,
competitive, or individualistic.
Cooperation leads to higher achievement
than competition.
110. Competition
Competition is a zero-sum game: when
someone wins, other(s) lose. This doesn’t work
in a classroom where there is a commitment to
teach everyone.
Competition might be motivating for the people
who are near the top but it is enormously
demotivating for the people at the bottom.
Their thinking tends to be: “I’ll never win, so
why should I try?”
Competition doesn’t work in the workplace. The
best companies encourage employees to work
cooperatively.
111. Evaluation
There is a difference between evaluation
and grading.
Grades are simply one form of evaluation.
A more valuable form of evaluation is
constructive, detailed feedback given in a
caring manner. This can be done in
person or in writing if the student is able
to read.
112. Evaluation
Don’t make a test the reason students need to
learn something.
Think of the utility of what they are learning and
use that as a primary reason.
If at all possible, use authentic tasks as part of
the learning process.
Be prepared to re-think what you are asking
students to do. Is it part of the curriculum or is
it something you just always do? If it is part of
the curriculum, in what other way can you teach
it?
113. Time
How do you feel when you are doing
something engaging and have to stop to
do something else?
Students will be frustrated if they have to
stop all the time. See what you can do to
schedule relatively large blocks of time for
students to work on important and
interesting projects.
114. Time
Another challenge with time is that some
students move through work quickly and
others desperately need more time.
You need to plan learning activities for
those who move through their work
quickly. You need to plan how students
might have more time on a topic when
they need it.
115. Time
Technology can help. Students who work
quickly in an area might read a text that goes
quickly over the material they need to learn.
Students who need to consider things at a
slower pace might benefit from a power point
that covers the same material but with greater
explanation. In other words, take the text,
break it into smaller parts, and add explanations
and examples.
116. Motivation and demotivation
Motivation is based on an inner feeling.
We cannot control other people’s feelings.
SO it is hard to make someone feel
motivated about something (although we
can encourage it).
On the other hand, it is EXTREMELY easy
to DEMOTIVATE someone. Just give them
a bad or unpleasant experience in some
way.
117. Motivators
Messages of accountability and high expectations
Teacher communicates importance of work
Clear goals/directions
Connections across the curriculum
Opportunities to learn about and practice dramatic arts
Attributions to effort
Encouraging risk-taking
Uses games and play to reinforce concept
Home-school connections
Multiple representations of a task
Positive classroom management, praise, private reprimands
Stimulating creative thought
Opportunities for choice
Teacher communicates to students that they can handle challenging
tasks
Value students—communicate caring
118. Demotivators
Attributions to intellect rather than effort
Teacher emphasizes competition rather than cooperation
Few displays of student work
No scaffolding for learning a new skill
Ineffective/negative feedback
Lack of connections
Easy tasks
Negative class atmosphere
Punitive classroom management
Work that is much too difficult
Slow pacing
Emphasis on finishing, not learning
Sparse, unattractive classroom
Poor planning
Public punishment
119. Motivation and culture
Culture influences motivation. You need
to be aware of this and the possibilities for
the nature of the possible influence.
120. Encouraging Motivation
Build confidence and positive expectations
Help students to see the value in learning
Help students stay focused.
122. Emphasize goals, strategies, and
metacognition
This piece is a real
challenge. But if you
work on it thoughtfully
and every day, I know
you’ll be able to do it.
123. Promote student interest
I’m so glad you are ready
to play the Paganini. It’s
one of my very favorite
pieces. Did you know
that Paganini was so
much better than anyone
else at his time, he had to
write his own music?
Nothing that had been
written then was hard
enough for him.
124. Emphasize the utility value of
increased skills
Because you have
worked on this skill,
it’s going to make the
next unit SO much
easier for you.
125. Give students the opportunity to
practice
Here are some
problems that are like
the ones on the test.
Let’s see what you can
do with these.
127. Model effort attributions
The last time we had a
test, all of you worked
hard and did really well.
I’m sure you can do this
again.
128. Assess frequently
Now tomorrow we are
going to have a practice
quiz to get you ready for
Friday’s test.
129. Model efficacy
It wasn’t easy for me to
learn to play, but I
practiced and I began to
use the techniques my
teacher taught me.
Pretty soon, I could see
progress.
130. Provide Evidence of
Accomplishment
Look at what you have done!!
Last week you couldn’t do this
kind of problem and this
week, you can!
131. Encourage internal attributions for
successes and controllable
attributions for failures
You did this part of the test
really well because you
practiced these problems.
I think you’ll do better on
the other part after some
more practice.
132. Vocabulary
Failure-
Humanistic Learned Performance
Academic tasks Competence accepting Self-worth
psychology helplessness goal
students
Failure-
Affective Learning Problem-based
Control avoiding Importance Social goals
memories goal learning
students
Importance/ Legitimate Sociocultural
Anxiety Cost Goal Attainment peripheral Relatedness views of
value participation motivation
Attribution Deficiency Goal Locus of Task-involved
Incentive Reward
theory needs orientation causality learners
Attributional Ego-involved Incremental Self- Unconditional
Goal structure Mastery goal
statements learners view of ability actualization positive regard
Mastery-
Entity view of Growth Intrinsic Self-
Authentic task oriented Utility value
ability needs interest determination
students
Expectancy x Hierarchy of Intrinsic Work-avoidant
Being needs Motivation Self-efficacy
value theory needs motivation learners
Cognitive
Extrinsic Humanistic Intrinsic or Motivation to
theories of Self-schemas
motivation interpretation interest value learn
motivation
