GENERAL METHODS OF
TEACHING
CODE No: 8601
Shomaila Habib
Unit#3
STUDENT MOTIVATION
Objectives
1. Define and clarify the concept of motivation.
2. Identify the types of motivation.
3. Describe difference between intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation.
4. Explain different theories of motivation.
5. Explain strategies that can increase motivation
DEFINITION OF MOTIVATION
• The word motivation is derived from a Latin word ‘movers’ which
means to move.
• “The term motivation refers to the arousal of tendency to act to
produce one or more effect”Allport (1935 )
• “Motivation is constant, never ending, fluctuating and complex and
it is an almost universal characteristic of particularly every
organismic state of affairs.” Maslow(1960 )
• “The process of arousing, sustaining and regulating activity” Crow.
L. D.(1953 )
• “The central factor in the effective management of the process of
learning.”B.R. Annandi (1981)
TYPES OF MOTIVATION
• Positive Motivation
• This brings about positive response to the
action that one needs to undertake in order to
achieve these goals.
• Negative Motivation
• It is being reinforced with fear, anxiety and
such negative feelings in order to have tasks
and goals achieved.
TYPES OF MOTIVATION
• Extrinsic Motivation
• Motivation is concerned with the factors that
stimulate or inhibit the desire to engage in
behavior. Teachers use extrinsic motivation to
stimulate learning or encourage students to
perform in a particular way
Examples
• A child may does chores not because he enjoys
them but because doing so earns an allowance and
students who are extrinsically motivated may study
hard for a test in order to obtain a good grade in the
course. Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation
that comes from outside an individual. The
motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards
such as money or grades. These rewards provide
satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself may
not provide.
Examples
• Children play game for no other reward than
the fun they get from the game itself or
students who are intrinsically motivated may
study hard for a test because he or she enjoys
the content of the course.
• Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is
driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task
itself, and exists within the individual rather
than relying on any external pressure.
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
• Different psychological perspectives explain motivation in
four different ways. Let us explore four of these
perspectives; behavioural, humanistic, cognitive and social.
• The Behavioural Perspective
• According to the behaviourist view of learning, when
children are rewarded with praise and a gold star for doing
their job correctly, they will look forward to the next
mathematics lesson, anticipating another rewards. At some
time in the past, they must have been rewarded for similar
achievements and this experience acts as a motivator for
future learning of a similar type.
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
• The Humanistic Perspective
• The humanist theory of motivation is interesting because it is
not only linked to achievement and education, but also has
implications for students’ welfare and well-being through its
concern with basic needs. It stresses on students’ capacity
for personal growth, freedom to choose their destiny and
positive qualities.
• There are two theories of motivation from humanistic
perspective:
• (a) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• b) Roger’s motivation theory
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
• Roger’s motivation theory
• Rogers argued that: Behaviour was influenced
by the individual’s perception of both personal
and environmental factors. People should listen
to their ‘inner voices’ or innate capacity to
judge what was good for themselves, rather
than relying on feedback from external sources.
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
• The Cognitive Perspective
• “According to Santrock (2006) the cognitive
perspective on motivation focuses on students’
thought guide their motivation. It focuses on students’
internal motivation to achieve, their attribution
(perception about the causes of success or failure) and
their beliefs that they can effectively control their
environment.
• (a) Achievement Motivation
• (b) Weiner Attribution Theory
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
• Achievement Motivation
• John Atkinson and David McClelland described
the need for achievement as: “A stable
personality characteristic that drives some
individuals to strive for success. Students who
have a high need for achievement are
motivated to become involved in an activity if
they believe that they will be successful.
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
• Weiner Attribution Theory
• Attribution theory is concerned with the way in
which an individual’s explanations of success
and failure influence that individual’s
subsequent motivation and behaviour.
Students may attribute success or failure to
different causes, depending on their beliefs
about who or what controls their success or
failure
APPLICATIONS OF MOTIVATION IN
EDUCATION
• Motivation in education can have several effects on
how students learn and how they behave towards
subject matter. It can:
• Direct behavior towards particular goals
• Lead to increased effort and energy
• Increase initiation of, and persistence in, activities
• Enhance cognitive processing
• Determine what consequences are reinforcing
• Lead to improved performance.
Implication for Educators
• Behavioral Approaches
• Cognitive Approaches
• Social Learning Approaches
• Humanist Approaches
STUDENT MOTIVATION
• Make it Real
• In order to foster intrinsic motivation, try to create learning
activities that are based on the topics that are relevant to your
student’s lives.
• Provide Choices
• Students can have increased motivation when they feel some
sense of autonomy in the learning process, and that motivation
declines when students have no voice in the class structure.
• Balance the Challenge
• Students perform best when the level of difficulty is slightly
above their current level
STUDENT MOTIVATION
• Seek Role Models
• If students can identify with role models they may be
more likely to see the relevance in the subject matter
• Use Peer Models
• Students can learn by watching a peer succeed at a task.
In this context, a peer means someone who the student
identities with, not necessarily any other student
• Establish a Sense of Belonging
• People have a fundamental need to feel connected or
related to other people.
STUDENT MOTIVATION
• Example of supportive-style teacher behaviors
• Listening- carefully and fully attended to the student’s
speech, as evidenced by verbal or non-verbal signals of
active, contingent, and responsive information processing.
• Asking what students want; such as, “which problem do you
want to start with?”
• Allowing students to work in their own way
• Allowing students to talk
• Using explanatory statements as to why a particular course
of action might be useful, such as “How about we try the
cube, because it is the easiest one.”
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DEVELOPMENT
OF STUDENT’S MOTIVATION
• According to JereBrophy (1987), motivation to
learn is a competence acquired “through
general experience but stimulated most
directly through modeling, communication of
expectations, and direct instruction or
socialization by significant others (especially
parents and teachers)”.
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DEVELOPMENT
OF STUDENT’S MOTIVATION
• How to help motivating learners
• According to Carol Ames (1990, 1992), there are six
areas that can influence students’ motivation to learn:
• Task students are asked to do.
• The strength of our motivation in a particular situation is
determined by our expectation that we can get success
and the value of that success. To understand how an
academic task can affect student’s motivation, we need
to analyze them. Tasks can be interesting or boring for
students. And tasks have different value for students
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DEVELOPMENT
OF STUDENT’S MOTIVATION
• The autonomy students are allowed in working.
• Give students a range of options that set valuable tasks
for them, but also allow them to follow personal
interest. The balance must be just right. Too much
autonomy is bewildering and too little is boring.
• How students are recognized for their
accomplishments.
• Students should be recognized for improving on their
own personal best, for tackling difficult tasks, for
persistence, and for creativity.
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DEVELOPMENT
OF STUDENT’S MOTIVATION
• Grouping Practices.
• Motivation can greatly influenced by the ways we relate to the
other people who are also involved in accomplishing a particular
goal.
• Evaluation Procedures.
• The greater the emphasis on competitive evaluation and grading,
the more students will focus on performance goals rather than
mastery
• Strategize with Struggling Students
• When students are struggling with poor academic performance,
low self-efficiency or low motivation, one strategy that may help is
to teach them how to learn
Thank You
