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Motivation Running Head: MOTIVATION Motivation in the Classroom Alice K. Gates East Texas Baptist University 1 Motivation Running Head: MOTIVATION Motivation is the force behind behavior and provides an explanation for why people do things. Motivation influences what people do – meaning their choice of actions, as well as how they act; the intensity, persistence, and quality of their actions. An individual’s motivation can vary depending on a number of factors including personal characteristic- age, ability, experience, values and beliefs- and contextual characteristics- subject matter(gym versus math), task difficulty, task features, task structures, teacher expectations, and the quality of student-teacher relationship(Oka,2005). Motivation for learning is not a unitary characteristic of which people have more or less of. Motivation for learning is evidenced by academic goals that students set, the quality of their engagement in tasks, their choices in courses, their persistence in the face of failure or challenges, their performance on learning activities, and the pride with which they experience their accomplishments. Some explanations of motivation rely on internal, personal factors such as needs, interests, and curiosity along with external, environmental factors (Woolfolk, 2010). One distinction within motivation is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In the present paper the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in a classroom setting will be investigated. Intrinsic motivation involves doing an activity without the necessity of external prompts or rewards because it is interesting and satisfies the basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Deci, 2004). In the book, Educational Psychology by Woolfolk, intrinsic motivation is described as the natural human tendency to seek out and conquer. Intrinsic motivation requires no external compensation. An example of intrinsic motivation in a school setting is an athlete who plays basketball because he or she finds it interesting and satisfying to learn new moves with the ball (Deci, 2004). Some manifestations of intrinsic motivation are when people are eager to take on challenges partial to novelty, engaged with interesting tasks or stimuli and ready to learn; these manifestations are critical for optimal development across the life span (Deci, 2004). 2 Motivation Running Head: MOTIVATION When extrinsically motivated, individuals do not engage in the activity out of pleasure but rather do so to derive some kind of rewards that are external to the activity itself (Vallerand, 2004). Avoiding punishment also pertains to extrinsic motivation. An example in the classroom would be a student completing their homework so they don’t receive a bad note home to their parents. When students are not really interested in the activity for its own sake; but interested in what it will gain them is another example (Woolfolk, 2010). The concept of extrinsic motivators is linked to behaviorist theories that were prominent in the 1940 and 1950’s. Behavior modifications, for example, were based solely on extrinsic motivators- do a desired behavior and get a reward (Deci, 2004). The essential difference between the two types of motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) is the student’s reason for acting. This “locus of causality”, or the internal or external cause of the behavior, directly influences whether the motivation is extrinsic (external locus of causality) or intrinsic (internal locus of causality) (Woolfolk, 2010). Motivation is especially prized in learning situations, whether the instruction takes place in a fourth grade classroom or on a soccer field. Without putting forth effort and actively engaging in the activity, even the most capable of individuals will not benefit from the opportunity to learn (Oka, 2005). When students are motivated to learn they put forth effort, are engaged, show greater persistence in the face of failure, and take risks. References Deci, E. L. (2004). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination. Encycolpedia of Applied Psychology, .Retrieved from 3 Motivation Running Head: MOTIVATION http://www.credoreference.com/entry/estappliedpsyc/intrinsic_motivation_and_self_determin ation Oka, E. (2005). Motivation. Encycolpedia of School Psychology.Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/sageschoolp/motivation Vallerand, R. (2004). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/estapplied/intrinsic_and _extrinsic_motivation Woolfolk,A.(2010).Educational Psychology.(11ed.,pp.375-390).Saddle River,New Jersey:Merrill. Application to Classroom Improvement As we learned from the excerpts of, “The Developing Mind”, children’s brains are made to couple with adult brains through emotional communication. This concept is called, “Mind Sight”. As a teacher I feel it is part of my profession to motivate students through my emotions by being positive, optimistic, and full of energy. By having encouraging emotions in the classroom and through internal and external stimuli, students will attune themselves to my emotional communication and begin to feel motivated. I feel motivation is contagious. If teachers were motivated and enthusiastic about teaching and student learning, students would “catch” the motivation. 4 Motivation Running Head: MOTIVATION Another means of improving and generating motivation would be to make learning meaningful. In the article, “Enhancing Interest and Performance With a Utility Value Intervention”, we read about “helping students find value and meaning in their school”. For example, when teaching geometric shapes a teacher may relate the shapes to street signs and driving; student motivation will increase because the skill becomes a “necessary tool”. Another quote from this article I feel relates directly to motivation is as follows, “ The development of self-efficacy beliefs is also hypothesized to interact reciprocally with interest, with interesting activities leading to the development of competence beliefs and competence leading children to explore and develop interest in activities”. By providing activities that peak interests will promote student motivation. I feel in a classroom book work and copying notes should not take up the majority of the day. By providing activities that require students to have hands on experiences, work in groups and pairs, and use manipulatives will make the activities more engaging and students will feel more motivated to complete them. There are strategies called, “Kagan Strategies”, that require students to perform numerous activities while actively engaged and learning. My favorite of these strategies is what is called, “Think,Pair,Share”. This specific activity requires students to create an answer, (when the music starts) partner with other students around the room, (when the music stops) share what they have learned or created, and continue again when the music begins. When we read in our text of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory we read of the importance of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). I feel by implementing the use of the ZPD in the classroom will improve classroom motivation. Teaching in this “magic middle” what can be understood, with guidance and scaffolding, will create excitement and challenges for the students. Motivated by challenge, many students will strive to succeed. Another application that I will use to improve my second grade classroom motivation, for those students who are extrinsically motivated, is by keeping posters out on display that keep track of progress with 5 Motivation Running Head: MOTIVATION stickers or tallies marks. It’s silly to think a sticker, worth noting at all to adults, is all it takes to motivate younger students. But in teaching the motto is, “whatever works”. Rewarding students has always proven to motivate extrinsic learners. When discussing classical conditioning in class we discussed reinforcement as a motivator. For second graders the most common reinforcer I can think of is candy. (It does not have to be candy, anything that sparks motivation). I feel by using classical conditioning with candy as a reward, initially, will promote motivation. Over time the candy can be taken away and students will still feel motivated to complete assignments, do homework, etc. In conclusion, motivation is what drives behavior and influences students to succeed in the classroom. By focusing on motivation and providing multiple opportunities for it to be implemented will improve students’ performance and determination in the classroom to succeed. 6 Motivation Running Head: MOTIVATION 7