Theories of Motivation

Shane Gallagher

Were you motivated to go to class today? Or make yourself something for breakfast? Or were you even motivated enough to get out of bed? Everything we do, even these small tasks, requires motivation. So if these small tasks require motivation, students must have a lot of motivation in order to go to school every day and do their work. It's our job as teachers to motivate them properly and recognize when they're not motivated. It's a big job, but hopefully by the end of this lesson you will be able to:

Define motivation and why it’s important in school
State the different theories of motivation
Describe what can get in the way of motivation

What is Motivation and Why is it Important?

Motivation has many different definitions, but the simplest explanation is the reason one acts a particular way. Ray (1992) goes more into detail and states that motivation is the process that can “arouse and instigate behavior; give direction and purpose to behavior; continue to allow behavior to persist; and lead to choosing or preferring a particular behavior.”

Why is this important?

We want students to want to and enjoy learning new things, and proper motivation can:

Promote engagement in the classroom
Foster a student’s desire to learn
Support the desire to stay in school (Souders 2021)

What are the 4 Theories of Motivation?

Theories of Motivation

Obstacles of Motivation

Learned Helplessness Theory

The biggest factor that demotivates students is the learned helplessness theory. Overmier (2002) states that the learned helplessness theory is “the perception and learning of independence between responses and outcomes and development of an expectation of future uncontrollability.” In shorter terms, if someone feels their actions will not have an effect on the outcome they will be less motivated to act. This can be connected to education through the activities and lessons a teacher uses to teach. If a student feels that what they are learning will not have an effect, either on their life or something else, they are more likely to be unmotivated to learn. This can be shown through a lack of effort, procrastination, or even a lack of doing similar activities. (Reeves, 2018)

Examples:

A student does poorly on math assignments and begins to feel no matter how hard they try they just aren't good at math.
A shy student may begin to feel there's nothing they can do to stand out more.
Studying for a test, only for the test to have different material than what the student studied for.

Things to look out for:

Not asking for help and still doing poorly
Frustration or giving up on assignments
Not turning in work or putting in any effort
Low self-esteem
Procrastination

How do I fix this?

Create activities where student actions affect other things in the class.
Point out the positive things a student does as opposed to what they did wrong.
Create plans with students to let them know you want them to succeed.

How do I Motivate Students?

What motivated you as a student?
Get to know your students. Different things work for different students.
Get creative with your lessons. Incorporate student interests into your lesson plans.
Get excited for the material yourself! Students are more invested in what you're saying if you say it enthusiastically.
Have their decisions affect something.

Conclusion

Overall motivation is one of the most important things in a classroom. A student properly motivated does better in school, is less frustrated, and has an overall better mental state than unmotivated students. (Souders, 2021) Using the theories of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation and self determination, a teacher can figure out how to use a rewards system to get students motivated. Teachers can also use the ARCS model and the expectancy theory to help relate the subject back to the students. These theories not only help us motivate students but also help us avoid them feeling a sense of helplessness. If a student feels they are not in control of an outcome, such as their grade, or they feel what they do won’t matter in the long run, they will be uninspired to take action. (Overmier, 2002)

Questions

Mr. Burney is a 10th grade math teacher and notices some of his students getting frustrated with the assignments he is giving them. On top of this, class test scores have been low and most his students are missing assignments. When asked what they think is causing this, his students responded by saying "It's not like we're going to be using this after high school." Which of the following is describes why his students feel this way?

A) The ARCS Model

B) The Expectancy Theory

C) The Learned Helplessness Theory

D) The students are being dramatic

What is extrinsic motivation?

A) An individual doing work outside of school

B) An individual doing work to fit in with a group

C) An individual performing a task because they want to

D) An Individual performing a task simply to receive a reward

References

Souders, B. (2021, May 11). Motivation in education: What it takes to motivate our kids. PositivePsychology.com. Retrieved September 28, 2021, from https://positivepsychology.com/motivation-education/.

Ray, N. L. (1992). Motivation in Education.

Roland Bénabou, Jean Tirole, Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation, The Review of Economic Studies, Volume 70, Issue 3, July 2003, Pages 489–520

Deci, El. "Motivation and Education: The Self-determination Perspective." Educational Psychologist. 26.3-4 (1991): 325. Web.

Overmier, J. B. (2002). On learned helplessness. Integrative Physiological & Behavioral Science, 37(1), 4-8.

Li, T., & Lynch, R. (2016). The relationship between motivation for learning and academic achievement among basic and advanced level students studying Chinese as a foreign language in years 3 to 6 at Ascot International School in Bangkok, Thailand. Scholar: Human Sciences, 8(1), 1-1.

Keller, J. M. (1987). Development and use of the ARCS model of instructional design. Journal of instructional development, 10(3), 2-10.

Reeve, J. (2014). Understanding motivation and emotion. John Wiley & Sons.

Question Answers:

1 - C

2 - D

Page updated

Report abuse