Motivation in the Classroom

In my previous blog posts, I’ve discussed the importance of emotional intelligence in the classroom to promote student well-being and success as well as incorporating project-based learning to create a more meaningful learning experience for all students. Now I’d like to address another key factor that I believe is essential for learning and growth to take place: student motivation.

Motivation in the classroom can be defined as “the individual’s desire to participate in the learning process; it involves the reasons or goals that underlie their involvement or non-involvement in academic activities” (Wery & Thomson, 2013). 

There are two types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic; both of which are necessary for optimal student learning, growth, and success. Intrinsic motivation involves “doing something for the pleasure that it gives you rather than for an external reward” (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2014). Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, “occurs when one is rewarded or encouraged by another person or thing” (Wery & Thomson, 2013). 

Students, as they get older, often lose their curiosity and interest in learning new things (intrinsic motivation). As they progress through the grades, school seems to become increasingly dreadful and students start to develop a negative attitude towards learning. In many cases, students will drop out due to the fact that they are not interested in learning, believe they are not capable of learning and succeeding in school, or they are simply not motivated to do so. 

Throughout my years of schooling, there have been numerous occasions where I felt extremely unmotivated to learn and did not look forward to attending school at all. I remember, in elementary school, feeling like the days just dragged on and that there was no purpose behind learning most of the stuff we were being taught. To make things worse, I’ve had a few teachers who you could tell did not want to be there with us, did not care about their students’ learning, and were uninterested in the subject material themselves; thus, making it more difficult for students to stay motivated and focused in school. 

As future teachers, it is important to address the issue of motivation in our own classrooms and strive to increase our students’ drive to learn and succeed. But how exactly are we supposed to achieve this? Many teachers believe that because motivation is an internal process, they have no control or influence over it. However, this is not the case. Teachers have great influence on students’ beliefs and attitudes about learning and can surely create many opportunities for students to engage in learning as well.

Here is a simple checklist created by the British Columbia Institute of Technology to help instructors assess their ability to increase students’ motivation (both intrinsically and extrinsically). This checklist can also help them recognize practices they may not be implementing in the classroom and areas where improvement is needed on behalf of the teacher.

There are many ways teachers can increase student motivation and it can be a bit confusing knowing where to start and how to go about implementing new practices. An article on Teach.com has provided 5 simple, yet effective, tips to help teachers motivate students in the classroom. You can access this article here.

When teachers are enthusiastic about learning and can clearly demonstrate they care about their students, whether this be by communication and providing positive feedback to build student confidence, making learning relevant and being open to different, creative forms of assessment, or by creating a stimulating learning environment, students become more interested, engaged and motivated to learn. They will not only put in the effort and energy into participating in lessons and tasks, but will enjoy the overall learning process alongside the teacher.

I came across this interesting video which is called “Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us.” It is mainly directed towards us as social beings in the workforce; however, it can certainly apply to education as well. The video is a bit lengthy and not all of it may relate to schooling in particular, so the part I found most interesting was at 5:13. Here the author talks about the three factors that can motivate us and lead to better performance and overall personal satisfaction.

What are your thoughts on this video? Can you think of different ways we can include, implement or increase student autonomy, mastery and purpose in our future classrooms? Do you have any extra tips on being able to motivate students?

References:

British Columbia Institute of Technology. (2010). Increasing student motivation. P. 1-8. Retrieved from: http://www.bcit.ca/files/ltc/pdf/ja_studentmotivation.pdf

Drake S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the 21^st Century Learner. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press.

Teach.com. (N.D.). Motivating Students. Retrieved from: http://teach.com/what/teachers-change-lives/teachers-motivate

The RSA. (2010). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

Wery, J., & Thomson, M. M. (2013). Motivational strategies to enhance effective learning in teaching struggling students. Support For Learning, 28(3), 103-108. doi:10.1111/1467-9604.12027

Should emotional intelligence be taught in schools?

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a topic we have briefly touched on in some of our previous courses, but we have never really considered the idea more closely and how it can influence education and student success. I was very intrigued by this topic when we first came across it because throughout my educational journey there was absolutely no emphasis or focus on learning about emotions and how they affect our daily lives. After taking a closer look at the topic and discovering findings from research studies, I believe that emotional intelligence should be implemented into our school curricula to not only promote student success, but student well-being as well.

There are a number of definitions for EI but the following video sums it up quite nicely and provides more information on the different components of emotional intelligence: 

source: youtube.com

Emotional intelligence creates a positive learning environment which contributes to academic achievement. In a classroom environment, it is important that students have the skills to communicate, pay attention, work in teams, and be able to let go of the personal and family issues that may get in the way of working and learning. In order to achieve this type of classroom environment, teaching students about self-awareness, managing emotions, empathy, cooperation, effective communication and how to resolve conflicts from an early age is essential.

source:clarionenterprises.com

Some emotions have a positive effect on learning while others block the learning process. This is why it is important to understand what you are feeling and why, and how you can take this information and use it to adapt to the situation or address the problem in a positive manner. For example, a student high in emotional intelligence working on a math problem may become frustrated because they don’t understand how to solve it. Instead of giving up, not asking for help or going off-task, this student will think about what exactly it is they don’t understand and then seek guidance from the teacher. Communicating effectively with others is also a crucial component of emotional intelligence. In this case, the student will not only get help with the work, but will gain a better understanding of the material, and the teacher may even provide an alternative method of working around the problem that is easier for the student to learn. Once the student accomplishes one difficult task, it can serve as a source of motivation to continue working hard and to discover new ways to overcome challenges. This is not only helpful for the individual, but can contribute to the overall success in a classroom as students learn to help each other and work together in groups to achieve a common goal, build leadership skills, and improve productivity.

There are a number of ways to implement emotional literacy in the classroom to promote EI among all students. For example, an article I read addressed a pedagogical approach that can be used in emotionally intelligent classrooms called Responsive Learning. Responsive learning is “an instructional approach that integrates the teaching of academic skills and the teaching of social skills as a part of everyday school life” (Gupta, 2012, p. 20). In this type of learning, teachers pay attention to the developmental levels of the students and enhance their communication skills, help create self-control to increase their academic capabilities and engage the parents in goal-setting as well. Another article explains how by promoting students’ emotional intelligence, teachers are “expanding their understanding of self [and are] giving them a better chance of developing relationships with others that might provide a basis for the development of full lives as active members of society, of being able to learn through those relationships much more about the richness of the world around them, and of being able to develop spiritual understanding” (Park, 1999, p. 24). I really like this last quote and agree with the author’s perspective on the importance of teaching emotional intelligence in schools.

Here is another video which explains that “educating the heart is as important as educating the mind.” It demonstrates how EI plays a key role in the educational journey of students and even offers a teaching strategy to implement in your own classroom: 

 source: youtube.com

What are your thoughts on integrating emotional intelligence into school curricula? Is it possible to do so considering teachers only have a limited time to cover all components of the curriculum? Are schools even the right place to introduce and build on emotional intelligence?

 

References:

Brenden Gouveia. (2013). Emotional Intelligence. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weuLejJdUu0

Christa Tinari. (2013). Teaching Emotional Intelligence Skills to Children. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfXsjrzu3i8

Gupta, S. (2012). Emotional Intelligence in Classroom. Advances In Management, 5(10), 16-23.

Park, J. (1999). Emotional Literacy: Education for Meaning. International Journal Of Children's Spirituality, 4(1), 19.