Motivating the Unmotivated Learners 1

The future student Personality competent Inter-personality competent Inter-culturally competent Communicatively competent Media competent 2

Motivation Motivation is the degree to which students have a desire to do something to achieve something. Intrinsic motivation comes from an internal force such as interest in learning or the desire for further personal development. Extrinsic motivation is an external motivation such as parental pressure or an examination. 3

Some common reasons why students fail to engage in a task, activity, or endeavor  Lack of skill or knowledge base to handle the task.  Different learning style or need for supports  Doesn’t see importance/connection to his/her life  No competition.  Rewards for success are meaningless, trivial, and/or fail to build motivation  Lack of belief in ability due to past failure & negative comments of significant others (parents, peers, teachers)  Fear of looking “dumb” if fail  Mistakes perceived as failure rather than opportunity to learn 4

Personality Type Motivators  Extrovert - Encourage interaction  Introvert -Set clear goals  Sensor -Set realistic goals  Intuitive -Set engaging goals  Thinker -Encourage debate  Feeler- Encourage cooperation  Judger -Set standards  Perceiver- Keep the time frame open

Thomas’s Intrinsic Motivators

Motivation & Culture  Individualism–Collectivism  Individualistic learner needs personal recognition.  Collectivist learner prefers being honored as part of a group.  Power Distance  High-power-distance learner values recognition by a leader.  Low-power-distance learner prefers compliments from peers ©2010, 2007, 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.

Motivation & Culture  Uncertainty Avoidance  Learners avoid uncertainty prefer tried and true methods.  Learners accept uncertainty see change as stimulating.  Masculine–Feminine Values  Learners with masculine values like competition and leadership opportunities.  Learners with feminine values take on group maintenance roles. ©2010, 2007, 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.

Motivation & Culture  High or Low Context  High context learners sense praise nonverbally.  Low-context learners need verbal praise and rewards.  Monochronic–Polychronic Time  Monochronic learners concentrate on a specific task and meet deadlines.  Polychronic learners like multitasking and flexible deadlines.

Assessment & Motivation Effective assessment can help determine: whether and to what extent a learner is progressing toward its goal. whether and to what extent there are interpersonal or procedural problems. ©2010, 2007, 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.

Motivation & Feedback  Controlling feedback tells learners what to do and emphasizes the power to reward or punish learners.  Informational feedback tells learners how they are doing and describes to what extent he/she is achieving the goal. ©2010, 2007, 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.

Motivation & Rewards ©2010, 2007, 2003 Pearson Education, Inc.

Objective Rewards  Fair: Reward those who truly earn it.  Equitable: Everyone has the same opportunity to earn rewards.  Competitive: Rewards are based on objective standards.  Appropriate: Rewards are based on the appropriate level of achievement.

The Role of Punishment  Punishment does not motivate!  When learners are punished, they may:  spend time and energy complaining.  do less work.  get even with punisher.  pursue outside interests.  sabotage the work of others.

Motivating the unmotivated Motivational conditions  Appropriate teaching behaviour and good teacher-student rapport.  A pleasant and supportive classroom atmosphere and environment.  A cohesive learner group characterised by appropriate group norms. 15

Overcoming obstacles  Change instructor beliefs and behaviour  Diversify instructor skills  Integrate discipline and content  Provide environment and technology  Train learners  Make learner responsibilities clear  Provide administrative support  Make changes in academic scheduling 16

The Teacher’s Role  Identify external goals  Create student ownership of goals  Offer learning options  Provide a variety of learning methods  Act as a resource  Assess against external criteria  Concentrate on higher levels of learning  Increase activity in learning  Give meaningful assessments 17

Interventions for Inadequacy  NEVER show frustration. (A sense of worthlessness)  Offer encouragement & support. Blame lack of success on the curriculum, materials, or the way you taught the lesson. Do not blame the student.  Focus on recognizing effort, not accuracy or grades.  Use praise in an informed & skilled manner.  If slight effort was exerted, positively acknowledge it via “partial praise” 18

Interventions for Inadequacy  Have the student self-evaluate, identifying what parts of the task were done correctly & incorrectly.  Then have him/her develop a plan for improvement (or have him/her redo the task well).  Assist & support as needed. 19

Partial Praise. Grp 1: Describe what has been done & what needs to be done Grp 2: Criticized & directed to engage in actions Grp 3: No feedback. Results: 1 st made gains. 2 nd & 3 rd, no change. 20

 Avoid saying “ Good ” or its vague & nebulous variations (“Nice job.” “Great.”) in isolation.  Be specific. Give details. Elaborate on what you mean by “ Good ”. 21

 Avoid labels and generalities that offer little, if any, helpful feedback on one’s performance. 22