M OTIVATING S TUDENTS TO B E B ETTER W RITERS Kristi Verbeke Teaching and Learning Center

D EFINITION : MOTIVATION Motivation: the personal investment that an individual has in reaching a desired state or outcome (Maehr & Meyer, 1997 in Ambrose et al, 2010). In the context of learning, motivation influences the direction, intensity, persistence, and quality of the learning behaviors in which students engage (Ambrose, et al, 2010)

D EFINITION : MOTIVATION Students’ motivation generates, directs, and sustains what they do (Ambrose et al, 2010) Motivation Value Expectancy Environ ment

MOMO

V ALUE Importance of a goal (to the student) o Attainment - satisfaction from mastery/accomplishment o Intrinsic - satisfaction from simply doing task o Instrumental - satisfaction as a “means to an end” What strategies we can use when creating and implementing writing assignments and activities to get students to value writing?

E XPECTANCIES Beliefs about success in achieving a goal Influenced by self- efficacy, difficulty, past experience, attributions, etc.

E XPECTANCIES Attribution – how students explain their success/failure influences future motivation o Internal vs. external locus of control (persistence) o Stable vs. unstable (expectancy) o Controllable vs. uncontrollable (emotional response) Typical attributions: ability, task difficulty, effort, luck Magic combination = internal, unstable, controllable (effort)

E XPECTANCIES Important note: this is about students’ perceptions, not necessarily reality What factors might be influencing your students’ expectancies about writing? What strategies can you use to help them expect to be successful when writing?

E NVIRONMENT Environment is the broader context (classroom, institution, family, society) in which value and expectancies operate How can we create a more supportive class/course environment for writing?

S UMMARY Shoot for o Improving efficacy around writing o Creating meaningful writing assignments for students o Fostering a supportive writing environment Remember that past perceptions influence future motivations!