How can we keep our students engaged and motivated in
their learning? This is a question that runs through the minds of all teachers
as we see the presence of children who are all different in our classroom and
as we see students begin to fade away during lessons that don’t draw their
interest. When trying to answer this question, teachers are constantly looking
for motivational strategies. According to Guilloteaux and Dornyei (2008)
motivational strategies are instructional interventions applied by the teacher
to elicit and stimulate motivation and self-regulating strategies that are
purposefully used by students to manage their own level of motivation. According
to Drake, Reid and Kolohon (2014) when you tap into a learner’s motivation it
can also increase their engagement and the way assessment is delivered which is
important due to links between motivation, effort and identity in the
classroom. Motivation is important in sustaining the long and sometimes tedious
learning process and is often created by classroom factors such as tasks,
learning activities and instructional materials. In order for learners to
display their motivated behaviours they must be motivated to a certain extent.
This motivation is mainly shaped by the learning process, whether the activities/lessons
presented are meaningful to them and whether the learners feel comfortable
expressing their learning in the classroom (Huang, 2011). In my opinion I believe that one of the most
important factors in motivating students if providing them with information
that is meaningful to them. I think that this strategy is more likely to draw
in students attention as if they believe the content they are learning will
benefit them or if it interests them, they are more likely to be motivated to
put in their best effort. Edutopia presents four important strategies for
helping students to regulate their motivation.
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The video below is a Ted Talk presented by Peter
Gardenfors on how to motivate students. Gardenfors begins this video by stating
findings that say that the majority of high school students find school boring
and uses this to discuss why this is and how we can change this. The main reason
discussed for the reasoning students find school boring is hidden rules. Hidden
rules are rules that are not explicitly stated, but are used in a way to make
all students similar which consequently blocks motivation and does not allow
everyone to fit in. Gardenfors believes that motivation is the way to change
students thinking through curiosity, cooperation, control, peer learning and
metacognition.
References
Drake,
S.M., Reid, J.L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving
curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21st century
learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Guilloteaux,
M.J., & Dornyei, Z. (2008). Motivating language learners: A
classroom-oriented investigation of the effects of motivational strategies on
student motivation. Tesol Quarterly, 42(1),
55-77.
Huang,
K.M. (2011). Motivating lessons: A classroom-oriented investigation of the
effects of content-based instruction on EFL young learners motivated behaviours
and classroom verbal interaction. Science
Direct, 186-201.
Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteI liked your blog this week! I completely agree that motivation can help make learning less tedious for our students. When I teach swimming lessons I try to add things to my lesson that motivate children to get them to do what I am trying to teach. For example I use pool toys and games to get them into doing things like putting their faces under water. As they get older I try to show them how cool swimming can be. For example the older kids like if I time their laps or challenge them swim more laps. I liked the visual you used to illustrate motivation and I feel like this could even be used in a classroom! I think that our blogs have shown different ways to motivate our students and get them interested in learning, whether it be technology in the classroom, inquiry based learning or getting to know our students.
I really enjoyed the topic that you choose to write your blog about this week. I found it very insightful to learn about the importance of motivation and how it affects an individuals feeling of comfort in the classroom. From my experience, I completely agree with the previous statement. Throughout my educational experience when I was motivated I would feel more comfortable sharing my learning, and I would feel a higher level of drive to continue learning.
ReplyDeleteCynthia, I also agree with your statement about providing information that meaningful to the students. This I think is a key aspect to any successful learning or teaching process. Even from my teaching experience, students who find the information relevant and meaningful are more engaged and therefore easier to motivate to learn. How do you think we might as teacher approach students who do not find the information relevant even after we implement the four important strategies for helping students regulate their motivation?
I appreciated you inserting your beliefs about this topic. Although it would have been interesting to read if you have any positive or negative motivation experiences from your educational journey. The ted talk that you found talking about high school students feeling board I think was very applicable to your blog and important to consider all the insights when we have our own classroom.