It is important to acknowledge the reasons as to why students may not be motivated in their classroom. Teacher control in the classroom has constructed an environment, according to Simmons and Page, in which we no longer trust students and they do not trust themselves (Simmons and Page, 2010, 65). In this environment, students aren’t resisting learning; they are resisting the whole context in which they are taught (Simmons and Page, 2010, 65). Lack of human connection, care for students, mutual respect, bad learning habits, and an unsafe classroom environment demotivate students to contribute to their thoughts and believe in their competence and ability. Another factor that affects student motivation in the classroom is failure at initial examination. Encouragement becomes more difficult for both the instructor and student when a student performs poorly on initial examination (Dutta et al, 2008, 187). There are students who may not feel that school is important or who do not care about pursuing higher education after graduating. Why might this be? What strategies can be used to bring about intrinsic motivation in these students?
Existing literature on motivating students to learn suggests many different strategies that may not necessarily motivate the student but create a motivating environment instead, driving the learning of students. For instance, there is a huge emphasis on letting students take control of their learning and giving students the autonomy to make their own choices when it comes to their learning. According to Daniels, students feel motivated when they feel some sense of autonomy or control. Students feel connected to the class and the school and they feel they possess the skills necessary to meet the challenges of school (Daniels, 2010, 25). An example is allowing students to choose weights on various evaluation criteria which recognizes that different individuals have various strengths and weaknesses (Dutta et al, 2008, 187). By targeting the strengths and weaknesses of each student, teachers can figure out what assignments they could perform strongly on and weight them more and find out what assignments they might perform more weakly and weight them less. Students will get the opportunity to excel in what they are good which in turn will make them feel more confident in their abilities and motivate them to do better. Students look for clear and specific instruction from their teachers so that they know what they need to accomplish (autonomy), knowledge that their teachers care about them and are committed to the class (relatedness), and a belief that they can do what is being asked of them (competence) (Daniels, 2010, 25). Autonomy, relatedness, and competence are three aspects of learning that need to be fostered in a classroom in order to create an environment that encourages success. Davis and Forbes also suggest the importance of providing choice to students but also touch on the importance of acknowledging students every day, whether it by saying a simple “hi” or “what are you writing about?” (Davis and Forbes, 2016, 16). I think students who do not care about pursuing higher education or who have different interests outside of academics need to be acknowledged and cared for. Any student that does not care probably does so because the teacher does not show care for the interests of his or her students. Acknowledgement and care for students foster connections to the classroom, creating an interconnected space where having mutual respect for everybody is motivating and students want to do well (Davis and Forbes, 2016, 16). Accordingly, tapping into motivation meanings building an authentic culture of respect and celebrating individuality that makes us all humans, rather than working to tame it down in order to fit a prescribed mold (Davis and Forbes, 2016, 18). Building on positive motivations, such as interest in certain subjects, desire for recognition and praise, desire to avoid failure, desire for good grades, desire to please parents, and concern for the future are all strategies to motivate students in a classroom (Davis, 1985, 12). These findings lead me to understand the importance of Social and Emotional learning in intrinsically motivating students, even those who have fixed mindsets, an attitude and/or fear of failure, or who have career goals or interests that fall outside of the realm of academics. I plan to implement some of the social and emotional strategies during my practicum and I want to observe whether and which of these strategies work for my groups of students. Every week I will do a reflection on my blog, sharing my experiences, and recording what I have observed that has worked and not worked. I want to see whether there is a certain trend in terms of what groups of students certain strategies work for and do not work for.
References
Daniels, Erika. (2010). Creating Motivating Learning Environments: What We Can Learn fromResearchers and Students. The English Journal, 100 (1). Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/20787687.pdf
Davis, Andrea and Forbes, Leslie. (2016). Doing the Impossible: Motivating Middle School Students. Voices from the Middle 23 (4). Retrieved from http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=d1134a14-0dd8-4bcd-85b8-c5c3b7b74747%40sessionmgr4006&vid=1&hid=4212
Davis, Dale. (1985). Motivating Students in the Secondary School. American Secondary Education 14 (4). Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/stable/pdf/41063746.pdf
Dutta, Amitabh S., Ingram, Rhea W., Hogan, Patrick. (2008). Motivating Students to Continue Learning: A Case Study of Improving First Exam Disasters! International Journal of Learning 15 (8). Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f279817a-c32b-4238-8827-1d456c144aec%40sessionmgr120&vid=1&hid=128
Simmons, Amber M. and Page, Melissa. (2010). Motivating Students through Power and Choice. The English Journal 100 (1). Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/20787693.pdf