1. CHAPTER 10: Motivating Students to Learn
Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice
Edition 11
Robert E. Slavin
© (2015, 2012, 2009) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

2. Organizing Questions
What Is Motivation?
What Are Some Theories of Motivation?
How Can Achievement Motivation Be Enhanced?
How Can Teachers Increase Students’ Motivation to Learn?

3. Motivation
An internal process which activates,
guides, and maintains behavior over time:
Intensity and direction vary.
Sources of motivation:
Personality characteristic.
Intrinsic characteristics of a task.
Sources extrinsic to a task.

4. Motivation and Behavioral Learning Theory
Rewards and Reinforcement
Inadequate to Explain Human
Motivation.
Human Motivation is Highly Complex
and Context-Bound.
Potential Reinforcers Determined by
Personal/Situational Factors.
In Classrooms—it is difficult to determine what motivation elicited a behavior

5. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

6. Maslow’s needs
Deficiency Needs: Critical to Physical and Psychological Well-Being
Once Satisfied—the Need to Satisfy Them Diminishes
Growth Needs: Need to Understand and Appreciate the World Around Us.
Never Can Be Satisfied—Some Want More
Self-Actualization: Desire to Become
Everything ONE is Capable of Becoming.

7. Motivation and attribution theory
Attribution Theory: deals with the ways people explain success and failure.
Characteristics for Explanations for Success/ Failure:
Internal (within the Person) or External
Stable or Unstable
Controllable or uncontrollable

8. Attributions for success and failure
Ability—stable and internal
Effort—can be altered and internal
Task Difficulty—stable and external
Luck—unstable and uncontrollable

9. Locus of control and self-efficacy
Locus (location) of control — source of success or failure
Internal Locus of Control—Person Responsible for Success/Failure.
High Internal Locus of Control Results in School Success.
External Locus of Control—Luck, task difficulty, or other people’s actions.
Low Self-Efficacy Results in Limited School Success.

10. Motivation and self-regulated learning
Self-Regulated Learning is Closely Related to Students’ Goals.
Highly Motivated Students :
Plan Their Learning.
Carry the Plan Out.
Retain the Information.
Source of Student Motivation:
Social Modeling.
Goal Setting.
Feedback.
Teacher Development of Engagement and Investment in Learning Leads to Self-Regulated Learning.

11. Motivation and expectancy theory
People’s Motivation to Achieve Something Depends on the Product of their Estimation of their Chance of Success.
Atkinson Developed Expectancy –Valence Model:
Motivation (M) = Perceived Probability of Success (Ps) x Incentive Value of Success (Is).
Students Belief in ONESELF + Value Academic Success = Success.

12. Motivation and achievement
Achievement Motivation—Strive for Success and Select Success/Failure Activities.
In the Early Years of Education, Achievement Motivation is Affected by Family Experience.
In the Upper Grades, Success and Motivation Cause Each Other—nothing succeeds like success.

13. Motivation and goal orientation
1. Learning Oriented Students: motivated by desire for knowledge acquisition and self-improvement.
Characteristic of Self-Regulated Learners.
Intrinsic/ Non-Competitive/Knowledge for Itself.
Resilient.
2. Performance Oriented Students: motivated by desire to gain recognition from others and earn good grades—can be discouraged.
Focus on Getting Good Grades.
Taking Easy Courses.
Avoid Challenges.

14. Teacher Expectations and Achievement
Students Live Up/Down to Teacher Expectations.
Communicate Positive Expectations.
Utilize Wait Time—communicates High Expectations.
Keep Assessment/Test Results Private.
Guard Against Bias—treat all Students Equally.

15. Anxiety and achievement
Anxiety: a constant companion of education.
Source: Fear of Failure + Loss of Self-Esteem.
Effects of Anxiety on Students:
Difficulty in Learning.
Difficulty in Transferring Knowledge.
Self-Conscious in Performance Settings.
Might Develop Math Anxiety.

16. Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic Incentives: something people enjoy and therefore find motivating and fulfilling.
Future Time Perspective: completing things now might bring benefit in the future—can delay the reward.
Students with intrinsic motivation want to learn without immediate incentives.
Extrinsic Incentives: reward is external to the activity
Necessary when material is not intrinsically interesting (grades, praise, or other rewards).
Teachers should be realistic and try to make learning intrinsically satisfying, but should not refrain from using extrinsic awards when needed.

17. Impact of rewards on motivation
Avoid promising extrinsic rewards for activities that are already intrinsically interesting.
Intrinsic motivation generally declines from early elementary school through secondary school.
Rewards should be contingent on the quality of performance rather than on the participation in an activity.
Strategic use of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators is necessary in most learning situations.

18. Principles for Providing Extrinsic Incentives to Learn
Express clear expectations: students should know explicitly what is expected of them
Provide frequent, immediate and clear feedback (specific praise, quizzes, asking questions, etc.)
Increase the value and availability of extrinsic motivators; reward and emphasize effort and progress/ improvement over time—portfolios.
Teach students to praise themselves—pat themselves on the back.

19. Using praise effectively
Purpose of praise:
Reinforce appropriate behavior
Provide feedback to students on what they are doing RIGHT.
Praise is effective when it is:
Contingent.
Specific.
Credible.
Neither too Easy nor too Difficult to Obtain.