...Motivation in learning and teaching Introduction Teachers play the first and foremost role in undermining or enhancing the motivation of students. They can facilitate self determination and essential motivation to students if the teachers are in practice of autonomy supporting style. Such a motivation is also likely to create positive consequences among students. The students of such a teacher will be less distracted in their classes and will be anxious to what is being taught. He will be associated with more positive emotions and his learning will be comprehension centered and will be ready to put more effort in his studies. He will gain better grades in class and there is only very less chance for a drop out. Only those teachers who are motivated will be able to motivate their students. Within disciplines of psychology motivation is an important aspect in both teaching as well as in learning. Hence motivation is to be considered from the perspective of both teacher and student. Definition The word motivation comes from a Latin word meaning movement (Steers, Mowday and Shapiro 2004, 379 as cited in degree essays, 2011). Motivation can be defined as the state or internal condition that directs the behavior of a person. It is the process determining the action of a person or the fact on the basis of which a person chooses to act and not to act in another way. According to (Pintrich and Schunk. 1996 ) motivation is directly related to achievement made by a person. An...
Words: 715 - Pages: 3
...Mary Mason May 5, 2013 Course: EDU 313 Professor Rick Holbeck | Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent | Outstanding | Crust | The crust is still in dough form. The crust still taste like uncooked flour. | The crust is thin and doesn’t have any flavor. The crust if hard and cannot bend. | The crust can bend and has a little flavor to it. The crust is flaky and not too hard for you to crew. | The crust is bendable and taste good. The crust is flaky and good for you to eat. | The crust is very good to eat. It is even around the whole pizza. The crust is perfect, not to thin and not too thick. | Sauce | The sauce has no flavor. Very bland and not good to eat. The sauce is cold. | The sauce is somewhat not too good to eat but can be eaten. The sauce is lukewarm. | The sauce has some flavor to it. It can be eaten but it is not at its best. The sauce is warm enough to eat. | The sauce has much flavor to it. It is spread evenly throughout the pizza. It is good and hot enough to eat. | The sauce has enough flavors to it. It is spread all over the pizza in a great amount. The sauce is hot and ready to eat. | Cheese | The cheese is not evenly spread. It is cold and hard. And not good to eat. It not melted on top. | The cheese is somewhat spread on top. The cheese is lukewarm and somewhat melted on top. | The cheese is spread throughout the top of the pizza. The cheese is melted and ready to eat. | The cheese is all over the pizza. It is melted evenly throughout the pizza...
Words: 1237 - Pages: 5
...Motivational Essay Motivational Plan Grand Canyon University: EDA-575 April 2, 2014 Developing a Motivational Plan Researchers have stated that effective motivation of individuals in a organization can help the organization to achieve it's goals and lead to the individual's satisfaction within the organization (Razik & Swanson, 2010). In the field of educational leadership there is not only the motivation of the staff to consider but also the motivation of the students enrolled within the organization. Motivation of the staff focuses on job satisfaction where motivation of the student is more focused on their motivation to learn, but with both of these groups share a common motivation to achieve their individual goals. Rowell and Eunsook (2013.) stated that motivation is a complex psychological phenomenon, where there is not just one definition or successful theory on motivation. A school should examine many different theories of motivation to determine which ones will work best to motivate not only the student body but also the teachers to excel and achieve their goals. Motivational Theories In the field of psychology and human relations they have theorized many different ways in which people are motivated. One such idea named McGregor's Theory Y postulates that, “when managers treat their subordinates as creative, committed, competent people, both the manager and the subordinate will reap the rewards” ( Razik & Swanson, 2010, p. 107). Most...
Words: 1148 - Pages: 5
...THEORY OF MOTIVATION The achievement goal theory is an essential theoretical approach towards understanding the relation between motivation and achievements of students. The approach of motivating students and the goals set for them to achieve are the two most important parameters of this theory. By achievement goals, the idea is to signify the objectives with which students undertake learning activities and the relation of these activities with the engagement behaviour (Ames, 1992). Achievement goals determine how students engage, learn, and perform in achievement based learning activities. There are two categories of achievement goals described in literature: mastery goals and performance goals (Xiang and Lee, 2002). While mastery goals are directed at creating a competitive environment through improvements in learning experience and skill level of students; performance goals, on the other hand, are meant to classify superiority based on the performance of students in a given achievement-based activity. In addition, while mastery goals explain the motivation with which students adapt to achievements, for example hard work and effort-based success; performance goals, on the other hand, are related to activities for which students are less motivated for adaptation, for example avoiding difficult activities and relating performance outcomes with personal abilities. MOTIVATIONAL APPROACH: MASTERY GOALS VS. PERFORMANCE GOALS Some teachers are of the opinion that motivation of students...
Words: 2298 - Pages: 10
...Relationships and Communication in a Classroom Studies have shown that learning, relationships and communication actively interrelate, influencing each other. If a teacher has good communication skills they will develop a good relationship with their students which in turn will have a positive effect on the learning environment (Kyriacou 1998). However, over the years theorists in educational psychology have viewed pupils’ motivation as one of the most important features that contribute to student learning (Chrisotphel 1990). Therefore, this essay will critically discuss motivation as a key factor that influences these three areas. According to Seifert (1999) motivation affects the amount of time and energy students are willing to devote to any task. If motivation is essential for learning students need reasons to expend the energy. Teachers are the main adults in students live for several hours during the week. Therefore teachers are given the opportunity to play a significant role in the pupil’s social and personal development (Woolfolk et al 2008). It is the teachers’ responsibility to establish such an environment, flourished with positive energy which enables pupils to reach their potential both academically and socially. Factors which influence Communication In order to motivate the students it is essential that the teacher has the necessary skills. Communication is of immense importance in relation to teaching skills. When communication is effective learning is easier, goals...
Words: 2104 - Pages: 9
...Motivation, as defined by Merriam-Webster is the act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something, or the act or process of motivating someone. This can be a needed tool for students especially at a younger age. Many students need motivation to make it through the school day or to improve grades Motivation can be given in many different ways. Some students seek physical rewards, some seek knowledge because they enjoy it. Without motivation some students may see learning as boring and choose failure as an only option Students in the first grade may not know what big words such as intrinsic and extrinsic are but, as a first year teacher I have learned my students know the difference between physical and mental rewards. To begin our school year some of my first grade students may be rebellious to Accelerated Reading. Learning from other teachers within the school, creating a super readers chart got their students reading AR books daily. This chart allows students to track books read to ten. Every time a student gets 100% on their AR test the get a star at ten stars they get a prize. This encourages students to read books and work towards that prize, this is a great example of extrinsic motivation. Advanced learners do not care about the physical reward they can receive but the mental rewards that follow them. These students want to learn for the love of learning Motivating students to be intrinsically involved is not a very easy task to do for teachers or parents...
Words: 509 - Pages: 3
...can certainly ignore motivation if you choose. But if you do, you maybe neglecting the most important part of reading. There are two sides to reading. On one side are the skills which include phonemic awareness, phonics, word recognition, vocabulary, and simple comprehension. On the other side is the will to read. A good reader has both skill and will. In the "will" part, we are talking about motivation to read. This describes children's enjoyments, their wants, and their behaviors surrounding reading. A student with skill may be capable, but without will, she cannot become a reader. It is her will power that determines whether she reads widely and frequently and grows into a student who enjoys and benefits from literacy. So we think you should care about motivation because it is the other half of reading. Sadly, it is the neglected half. Y What is motivation? Many teachers think of a motivated reader as a student who is having fun while reading. This may be true, but there are many forms of motivation that might not be related to fun and excitement. What we mean by motivation are the values, beliefs, and behaviors surrounding reading for an individual. Some productive values and beliefs may lead to excitement, yet other values may lead to determined hard work. We talk about three powerful motivations that drive students' reading. They operate in school and out of school, and they touch nearly every child. Some students may have all of these motivations and some may have only...
Words: 11116 - Pages: 45
...employees, teachers, and students. It plays a huge role and is vital to understand the basis of these theories and apply them to everyday scenarios. To provide job growth leaders and managers will apply motivational skills and techniques to motivate employees. Motivation will increase innovation and productivity for a successful business to thrive. It is essential for managers and leaders to motivate employees to achieve a high level of performance and productivity. Managers are inclined to pay attention to the needs of different personalities in order to excerpt the fullest potential from any one employee therefore employees need different types of motivation. According to Locke, the goal-setting theory is to enhance individuals work performance and job satisfaction. To achieve the highest potential of the employees the manager and leaders must work cohesively and set goals that are attainable. An example of this theory is transitioning from individualized preschool care to continuity of care. Continuity of care consists of a teacher keeping the same small group of kids throughout preschool allowing the teachers and children grow and get to know each other over several years. The program was offered to few schools in California and the owner of the preschool presented the employees with the opportunity, teachers were motivated to learn and teach something new. The owner also offered vacation hours for every hour completed in the program, enhancing the motivation of the staff...
Words: 780 - Pages: 4
...I will be looking at the following factors: Learner motivation, Communication, Interpersonal relations between learners and the facilitator, The maintenance of discipline, Classroom discipline policy. 1. Learner Motivation Firstly let me briefly describe the two types of motivations which are intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation exists when people are motivated by the results that are external or functionally unrelated to the activity in which they are engaged. Intrinsic motivation exists when someone works because of an inner desire to accomplish a task successfully, whether it has some external value or not. Learners can be proactive and engaged or, alternatively, lack initiative and responsibility for their learning. Self-regulated learning involves learning strategies and mental processes that learners deliberately engage to help themselves learn and perform better academically. The results of this study provide empirical support for the theoretical relationships among cognitive evaluation theory, achievement goal theory, and self-regulated learning strategies in the context of the classroom. Superficial learning strategies were linked to extrinsic motivation, while intrinsic motivation determined deep cognitive and met cognitive strategy usage. Perceived autonomy, perceived competence, and task mastery orientation mediated the classroom environment’s effect on intrinsic motivation. These findings suggest that active application oriented...
Words: 1072 - Pages: 5
...Chapter 7 Motivation and Classroom Learning This chapter will help you answer the following questions about your learners: • How can I help my learners interpret their classroom setbacks in ways that elicit renewed effort? • What are some things teachers say to learners that can lower their motivation to succeed? • How can learning strategies improve my students’ motivation to learn? • How can I convey to my students the motivation to say “Yes, I can do what my teacher expects”? • How can I enhance my learners’ determination to learn what I teach? • How can I use project-based learning to motivate my learners? In this chapter you will also learn the meanings of these terms: antecedents attribution theory causal schemata deficiency/growth needs theory BORICP07.doc - 2 drive theory instinct theory intrinsic motivation locus of causality project-based learning self-determination theory self-efficacy theory situational cues Behavioral and cognitive psychologists agree that motivation is essential for learning. Yet how to motivate learners in the classroom continues to be one of the most puzzling problems confronting the teacher. Let’s look in on Professor Thomas’s learning seminar as his students discuss the topic of motivation. Betty: Well, it seems to me that motivation is becoming the scapegoat for all learning failures. That’s all I hear at school ... “These kids just aren’t motivated” or “This kid just hasn’t any motivation.” And all the other teachers nod as if something...
Words: 13593 - Pages: 55
... “The industrial pragmatists see mathematics as an established collection of very useful techniques and skills that can be applied to a large range of technical and scientific contexts.” (Johnston-Wilder, Johnston-Wilder, Primm, & Lee, 2011) Mathematics is needed in the school curriculum for the prosperity of our country; industry needs the future workforce to have the necessary skills to push the economy forward. For this reason it is seen as important for education to provide good standards of numeracy, data handling skills and use of ICT. Although I acknowledge this is an important requirement of mathematics’ place in the curriculum, it appears a very sterile reason for its inclusion. In a recent Y8 classroom observation the teacher told the class that “maths is just a toolbox for solving problems”. I was somewhat mortified by this definition and had to restrain myself from speaking out; why should a child be motivated to learn maths if that was all there was? I had originally...
Words: 4940 - Pages: 20
...students is necessary for any teacher in today’s day and age. Most teachers are extremely busy and always striving to have their students achieve their goals and meet the standards, while at the same time monitor behavior around the room. Having a motivational plan that works in the classroom and/or school will help any teacher or administrator accomplish their lesson or school goals with the utmost efficiency. Motivation is what makes a person engage in an activity or uphold expected behaviors. Once an educator learns what motivates his or her students, everyone will benefit from the process. This paper will discuss a tentative motivational plan for Hinman Elementary School in Henderson, NV. In an elementary school setting, the children may have a hard time settling down to actually learn. The lack of student motivation in schools is a major concern for modern educators. Teachers and parents alike are trying to find the best ways to motivate their children to do well in school. Educational researchers have accepted four parts of motivation while studying student learning. They include: behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, and social aspects of motivation (Glynn, 2005). Because all children are somewhat different, it is important to find what each child would be motivated by. There are two main types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Motivation to perform an activity for the benefit of oneself is mainly intrinsic, whereas motivation to perform it as a means to...
Words: 1242 - Pages: 5
...different prototypical characteristics held by the members. Social classifications cognitively order and segments the social environment in a way such as to provide every individual with a method of classifying others. They also enable every individual to locate themselves and as such have a definition for one self. In light of this aspect, the social classifications answer the question who am I? Finally, social classifications equip every person with a way to identify themselves into a particular group (Davies 1995). It is of vital importance to acquire a positive identity, be it by the help of friends, parents or teacher in school. This identity is responsible for one’s success in life as it motivates one towards achieving their goals. As such, a positive identity is particularly important for young children and especially the school age. It is thus important that teachers should take charge of their students, to help them develop a positive identity and thus a positive recognition, so they can define others as well as themselves and their groups from a positive perspective (Cherry 2011). By definition, identity represents a private self of a person through values upheld, views, principles and ideals that collectively form a strong basis of personality. It is basically built around the language, beliefs and even the culture of the community in...
Words: 1026 - Pages: 5
...Reforming Education: Firing and Motivating Teachers The public educational system in Texas is failing. The current practice of retaining underperforming teachers is preventing students from receiving the quality of education that is necessary to succeed. To correct this problem, we propose a system for evaluating teacher performance at the elementary school level based on state test scores. Teachers will be placed into one of four categories based on their students’ educational growth: top performing tier, high performing tier, medium performing tier, or lowest performing tier. Teachers performing in the top tiers will be rewarded with public praise and annual bonuses, while teachers in the bottom tiers will be placed on probation which includes performance improvement courses. Teachers who are unable to improve their performance will be fired. The tactics to sell this plan to the Spring Branch Independent School District board will be based on consistency, intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, emotion, and the Expectancy Chain. Convincing the school board to fire underperforming teachers will challenge the educational status quo, but will improve the quality of education given to students. Reforming Education: Firing and Motivating Teachers Public education is failing in Texas. Texas ranks forty-first out of fifty states in high school graduation rates. “The research shows that kids who have two, three, or four strong teachers in a row will eventually excel, no matter...
Words: 2424 - Pages: 10
... "What drives school teachers towards better performance? - Findings from Qualitative interviews" Motivation Teachers are the focal point of knowledge dissemination anywhere in the world. A teacher discharges various roles in a society besides assisting learning in the classroom – that of a motivator, nurturer, critic, life coach, leader and a continual learner herself. During the course of her lifetime, a teacher touches multiple lives and engenders positive externalities in the community through her students and herself. Her role becomes all the more important in the context of primary and secondary education as development of a child’s personality takes place during her early years and a great deal of that development is built on learning that happens at school. It is the teacher who creates an environment conducive for learning. Learning takes place by constant engagement of both student and teacher. While the student’s engagement is for her own good, the teacher needs to engage in the heterogeneous learning needs of students she teaches, has taught or is connected to. That requires constant, untiring efforts on the part of the teacher. Edwards, Gandini and Forman (1998) describes optimal teaching to be a complex, delicate, multifaceted task, involving many levels and calling for much expertise and continuous self-examination. Given the pivotal role a teacher plays in the society it is imperative to understand the factors that drives her to keep her motivation levels high and...
Words: 2911 - Pages: 12
