Motivation to Learn: Igniting a Love of Learning in All Students

Motivation to Learn: Igniting a Love of Learning in All Students

Matt S. Giani and Christina M. O’Guinn

Introduction

How many times have we as educators wondered why a particular student or group of students does not seem to be engaged in school? These students may not complete their school work or participate in class. They may put little effort into the work they do, complain about the work, or skip class altogether. On the other hand, we may have other students who work independently, stick with a task through challenges they face until they have mastered it, and who delight in taking on new challenges. We may ask ourselves, “What is going on with these individual students?” and “How can I ignite the wonder of learning in all of my students?”

What do we mean by motivation?

Motivation is directly tied to our focus on the whole child, for motivation consists of the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social forces that drive our desire for and commitment toward reaching a particular goal even when challenges arise. We are never unmotivated. We are simply more motivated toward certain goals at different times depending on our needs, interests, and our beliefs about our ability to be successful in achieving a particular goal. This means that motivation changes and evolves and can be influenced by the environments in which we find ourselves and by the people in those environments.

What do we mean by motivation to learn?

When we talk about motivation in schools, we are generally talking about whether students are motivated to learn. Researchers measure “motivation to learn” by the degree to which students are committed to thinking through problems and working through challenges to master a concept or gain a new skill. This goes beyond student enjoyment of an activity, as students must persist through obstacles.

We witness some of these obstacles when we try to spark the motivation to learn in students whose biological, emotional, or social needs are not fully met or in those students who believe that they cannot be successful because of the discouraging messages they have received in the past. We also know from research that as youth reach adolescence, it becomes more difficult to accept personal shortcomings or limitations and to persist through challenges, so motivation to learn tends to decline in middle school years. Yet applying lessons learned from research can help to set up an environment that has the greatest potential of igniting the desire to learn in every student.

What is the difference between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation?

Intrinsic motivation is the natural curiosity and desire to learn that we are all born with. We experience intrinsic motivation when we find ourselves seeking answers to a question that intrigues us or pushing ourselves to work hard to master a skill. Extrinsic motivation is when we work for an external reward or to avoid an external punishment provided by someone else.

Many of us grew up during an era where it was believed that the best way to motivate young people was through the use of extrinsic rewards and consequences. These practices came from a focus on reinforcing human behavior and were based on experiments done with animals in which animal behaviors could be increased by rewarding treats. Subsequently, many parents and educators have relied heavily on the use of extrinsic rewards such as gold stars, money, parties, praise, or other external incentives. When students are extrinsically motivated, they participate because they expect a desirable outcome like a reward or avoidance of punishment.

More recently, researchers have realized that people do not just passively respond to their environment and began looking at how our thoughts and beliefs influence our behavior.  Researchers have found that intrinsic beliefs in our ability to be successful influence our level of motivation. Researchers also have found that people have an innate desire to learn for the sake of learning and that this intrinsic desire is connected to our engagement in learning new concepts or skills

What do we know about the effectiveness of intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic rewards?

Research shows that working on a task for intrinsic reasons rather than extrinsic influences is not only more enjoyable for the participant, but it also facilitates learning and achievement. Learning and intrinsic motivation are also mutually reinforcing; intrinsic motivation facilitates learning, and when students acquire new skills and observe their own growth, they feel more successful and their intrinsic desire to learn increases. Furthermore, when we are intrinsically motivated, we tend to:

• Prefer challenges that increase our learning over easy work that does not enhance our skills/knowledge;
• Be motivated by our own curiosity rather than to please others or to earn good grades
• Work independently and take responsibility for our learning rather than rely on others
• Use an internal gauge to inform our personal success or failure instead of relying on external criteria or comparisons with others (Stipek, 2001)

In fact, external rewards have been shown to actually decrease interest, motivation, and performance—particularly when an individual is already intrinsically motivated to perform a task and when the reward is continuous. Individuals who are rewarded for doing a task shift their interest to the reward instead of focusing on their desire to learn. They also do not perform as well on the task as those who are intrinsically motivated to complete the task.

Extrinsic rewards have been shown to be effective when used with students who were not intrinsically motivated, but only when rewards were given initially followed by increasingly longer periods of time in which no rewards were given to reinforce effort and persistence. Extrinsic rewards must be given immediately following the success, as people in general and middle school students in particular are not motivated by rewards that are too far in the future. Researchers have also found that extrinsic praise or positive reinforcement of behaviors such as effort or persistence rather than fixed traits such as intelligence can increase behaviors associated with motivation.

Most of us have used external rewards at one time or another because it can result in short-term improvement in student behavior. However, if our goal is to build life-long, independent learners, it is important to be aware of the dangers of extrinsic rewards and punishments, and to use them sparingly and carefully as a means to build intrinsic motivation in only those individual students who may need it. Indeed, instilling intrinsic motivation is a longer process that may use some external rewards but really focuses on self-improvement and helps students to shift from doing something for a reward or for a teacher or parent to doing something for themselves.

What can I do to ignite the internal desire to learn in my students?

Research in both laboratory and classroom environments has identified effective practices that can be used to motivate students to learn. These practices are based on the basic assumptions that all students are capable of learning and that students are motivated to learn when they:

·         Believe they can be successful

·         See value in learning the material presented

·        Feel supported and safe to make mistakes

Increasing students’ expectations that they will be successful: None of us is likely to put in much effort if we believe the effort will not result in success. We can help students to believe that they will be successful by:

• Scaffolding instruction: When educators break instruction down into steps or short-term learning goals and provide clear directions and adequate support to complete each step, reaching a larger goal feels doable for students. For example, a large report can be broken down into smaller steps of choosing a topic, researching, outlining, drafting each paragraph/section, and rewriting a final draft.  Reviewing pre-requisite concepts at the beginning of a new lesson also helps all students to be successful.

• Focusing on strengths: It is normal for middle school students to feel a lot of self-doubt. Identifying and reinforcing their strengths can help to build confidence important to persisting through challenges.

Helping students to see the value in learning the instructional material: We tend to put more effort into a task that interests us or that we find useful, especially when mastering a particular skill or concept that is challenging. Educators can increase student motivation by tying instruction to students’ experiences, giving students choices in topics or types of projects they do, or by providing a variety of active and real-world instructional activities. Teachers can help to draw connections between themes in the curriculum and students’ own experiences or current-day events and can help students to see how certain skills will be useful to them in their long-term goals. In supporting adolescents to improve their decision-making and leadership skills, it is particularly important to give youth opportunities to make choices about their work and to express their opinions and personal connections to the content they are studying. Finally, when students are engaged in authentic projects like writing their own stories, interviewing community members, or applying math and science skills in an engineering design challenge, they are much more likely to be interested in the task, to retain the concepts learned and to transfer the ideas they learn to tasks in the future.

Creating a supportive learning environment: Educators can create a supportive learning environment by:

• Focusing on the goal of learning rather than achievement: When educators focus on the goal of learning and improving over time rather than on the goal of performing well quickly or on the first attempt, students are more likely to be motivated to learn. In a supportive learning environment, grades reflect effort and progress toward learning goals and students are given clear evaluation criteria and specific, private feedback on what they accomplished well and what needs improvement.

• Emphasizing effort rather than intelligence: Students who believe that intelligence is an innate and static trait will naturally not be as motivated if they perceive of themselves as intellectually inferior. Convince students that there is no such thing as “smart” or “dumb” people but rather hard workers and not-so-hard workers and provide role models who have shown effort and persistence through challenges. Show students that our brains are always changing and growing and hard work will result in success. Also, when educators allow students to revise their work, they reward effort and encourage students to achieve deep learning rather than memorization of facts. For example, allowing a student to rewrite a term paper or redo a set of math problems after the teacher’s feedback can help the student improve their work and feel like their effort contributes to a better grade. 

• Focus on personal improvement rather than relative success: A practice which inevitably leads to some students feeling inferior is comparing students to one another. Try switching the paradigm from relative success or failure to personal improvement; not how students compare to others, but how they compare to their previous selves. Show students their own growth and they will begin to believe in their own learning and see that effort does equal results. Educators can also minimize competition and comparisons between students by featuring all student work on the walls of the classroom, rather than a select few, which can send the message that only a few can be successful and cause others to lose interest in putting forth effort.

• Encourage risk-taking and experimentation: When learning is the primary goal, students are encouraged to ask questions, experiment, and take risks in their attempts to approach and grapple with the material. Educators can do this by inviting students to express opinions and insights. “Mistakes” or incorrect answers can be reframed as valuable opportunities for learning and growth by asking students why they think they got a particular result or what they might do differently next time, rather than making students feel embarrassed for getting the wrong answer.

• Show care for all students: Particularly during adolescence, youth are motivated when they have social connections, feel accepted, and feel they belong. Research with middle school students has shown that students’ perceptions of their teachers as “caring” predicted motivation, as well as social and academic achievement, even when prior motivation was controlled for. In other words, students performed better socially and academically when they felt cared for by their teachers, even when past experiences with school had reduced their motivation or they had previously struggled academically. The love and care of the teacher, as perceived by the students, was more influential in predicting future success for the students than their previous motivation. This study reinforces the point that teachers’ attitudes and beliefs can have a profound effect on students. However, it is not the amount of care that teachers have per se, but how much care the students perceive teachers have.  Our care for our students will only have an effect on student performance if they feel that care.

How do I show my students that I truly care?

Focusing on effort, learning, and individual progress while acting on youth input and providing authentic choices as described above help contribute to supportive relationships with youth. The following strategies are additional approaches that convey care—when done with sincerity.

Make caring eye contact[1] and communicate caring and supportive messages: Young people respond to eye contact that is direct, sincere, caring, and encouraging, and they respond to sincere compassion. Young people also learn to internalize messages that encourage behaviors of persistence and effort associated with motivation. 

 

Connect with students as individuals and encourage youth input: Students are more motivated when they feel that their teachers know who they are as individuals. Students feel respected when teachers make an effort to learn about their interests, beliefs, or opinions, take them seriously, and act on them. Research also shows that student persistence through difficult transitions such as to middle school or through adolescence in general can increase when students are told that the self doubts they are experiencing are normal.

Be passionate about your work: Your passion is infectious. If students perceive you as being highly motivated, this will not only rub off on the students as a norm of behavior and work ethic, it will also make it clear and known to the students that you truly care about them and their learning.

Be authoritative: Many studies, specifically in regards to parenting styles, have shown that authoritativeness increases academic performance, social competence, self esteem, and good behavior. Authoritativeness is defined as a combination of being demanding and responsive. Responsiveness in this context refers to the extent to which one is attuned, supportive, and acquiescent to a child’s special needs and wants. Demanding refers to the standards set for the young person’s behavior and the degree to which youth are held accountable for their actions. A lack of high behavioral standards in a young person’s life often leads to problematic behavior in the future, and a lack of responsiveness stifles children and leads them to have lower self-esteem and social skills. A balance of both is ideal.

Use intrinsic motivation techniques to hold youth accountable: By shifting the locus of control from the adult to the youth, youth build communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills crucial for their development into independent adults. They also learn that they have control over their decisions, feel capable of handling problems, and learn to take responsibility for their actions. We can help youth to develop these skills and capabilities by engaging youth in dialogue about their behavior, rather than directing their behavior. The following is an example of what this could look like in practice:

• Check out assumptions with the youth about what led to the behavior or concern. Ask them for their perspectives on a particular issue or situation and how they want to deal with the situation before sharing your own perspectives and concerns.
• Allow youth to try their own strategies and reflect on what they learned and how they might apply those lessons in the future.
• Show appreciation for effort and ask youth what they learned or what progress they see themselves making.

How do these techniques apply to adults?

The above strategies also apply to adults. Just like youth, intrinsically motivated adults often perform better than extrinsically motivated adults and are more satisfied in their work. Extrinsic rewards and pressures such as directives, deadlines, and high pressure evaluations have been shown to decrease intrinsic motivation in adults. Adults who feel effective, supported, safe to take risks or try new things, and who see the value of their work are more intrinsically motivated in their work. For most school staff, this intrinsic motivation comes from our desire to connect with and make a difference for our young people.  It is when we feel we are not effective at our work with young people and become frustrated that we find we are less engaged in our work and do not perform as well. In order to sustain the energy required to meet the demands of the school environment, it becomes even more crucial for us as school staff to tap into our passions for helping youth and to support one another as a community in achieving this vision.

While similar motivation principles apply to both youth and adults, research reveals a few specific characteristics that lead to intrinsically motivated adults:

Competence: Just as youth need to feel they can be successful, adults need to feel competent in their work. When we feel competent and capable at what we do we are more motivated to perform that task even without extrinsic rewards.

Autonomy: Giving adults voice, choice, and opportunities for self-direction and self-evaluation are related to intrinsic motivation. Environments that promote risk-taking and experimentation, as opposed to compliance to specific procedures and protocols, lead to greater feelings of autonomy and increased motivation.

Internalization: When adults feel ownership over the goals of the organization and see them as their own goals rather than imposed goals, this increases their feelings of autonomy and motivation.   Adults who feel they have a voice in the vision or goals of their organization or how that vision is reached tend to internalize those goals as their own, and thus direct their own behavior intrinsically.

Educators also tend to feel more energized and motivated in their work if they are able to build more intrinsic motivation in students, as students will expend their own energy to push themselves, rather than educators feeling they have to extrinsically push students. Therefore, many educators find their own motivation and energy levels increase when they take the time up front to build relationships and a supportive, safe environment with students and explicitly teach, encourage, and support high expectations and develop individualized learning goals and plans with students.

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[1] Eye contact should be used only when culturally appropriate. In some cultures, eye contact is considered disrespectful.