Issue 6: Intrinsic Student Motivation
Did you know?
Research shows providing students with a sense of control and choice over their school lives enhances intrinsic motivation.* When students have choices over class activities, they also report more interest in course content, value the subject more, and are more focused on learning for mastery rather than just for grades.**
"The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn." –John Lubbock
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Let's begin the New Year with a look at INTRINSIC STUDENT MOTIVATION!
Tips
To motivate your students by giving them the power of choice, you can use the following approach:
- KEEP what you must
- SHARE what you can
- GIVE what you dare
Instead of making all in-class decisions for your students, you can SHARE the control with them, and even GIVE them complete control over particular aspects of their learning.
In making decisions about how you can share or give control to your students, think about your classroom and ask yourself the five "W" questions:
Who decides WHAT content is to be learned, WHAT task is to be performed, and WHAT materials are to be used? (For example, you can give a reading assignment - deciding what students learn - while your students demonstrate their understanding of the text with their choice of a song, a skit, a poem, or a speech - deciding what kind of follow-up assignment they wish to do.)
Who decides WHO works together and WHO does what task? (For example, you can decide who works in which group while your students in each group decide who does which task within their group.)
Who decides WHEN to do a task, WHEN a task is to be completed, and WHEN to assess student learning? (For example, you can decide when a project is due, and your students can decide when they want class time to work on the assignment before the due date.)
Who decides WHERE to do work and WHERE to find resources? (For example, you can give students ideas of where they might find useful resources, and your students can decide where they want to do their research: in the library, in the computer lab, or in the classroom.)
Who decides WHY to learn and WHY to put forth effort? (For example, you can explain why you think an upcoming unit of study will be useful for your students, and your students can discuss why they think the unit will be worthwhile in their own lives.)
When considering the power of choice in the classroom, remember to KEEP what you must, SHARE what you can, and GIVE what you dare. The ideal lessons combine all three of these decision-making approaches.
The above concept is based on the PLS graduate course KEYS TO MOTIVATION™.
References:
*E. Deci & R. Ryan (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. Plenum, New York.
*M. Lepper & T. Malone R. Snow & M. Farr (1987). Intrinsic motivation and instructional effectiveness in computer-based education: Aptitude, learning, and instruction: Vol. 3. Conative and affective process analysis. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Erlbaum.
*P.R. Pintrich & D.H.Schunk (1996). Motivation in Education: Theory, Research, and Applications. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Merrill.
**P.R. Pintrich, R. Roeser, & E.A.M. De Groot (1992). Classroom influences on student motivation and self-regulated learning: Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. San Francisco, CA.
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