GENERAL METHODS OF TEACHING : COURSE CODE 8601

RPs/INSTRUTOR :
 B.Ed 1½ YEAR
STUDENT MOTIVATION
UNIT: 3 CODE No: 8601
 Objectives of the Unit
After the completion of the unit you will be able
to:
1. Define and clarify the concept of motivation.
2. Identify the types of motivation.
3. Describe difference between intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation.
4. Explain different theories of motivation.
5. Explain strategies that can increase motivation
 DEFINITIONS OF MOTIVATION
 “The term motivation refers to the arousal of tendency to act to
produce one or more effect” Allport (1935 )
• “Motivation is constant, never ending, fluctuating and complex
and it is an almost universal characteristic of particularly every
organismic state of affairs.” Maslow-1960
• “The process of arousing, sustaining and regulating activity”
Crow. L. D.,1953
• “The central factor in the effective management of the process
of learning.” B.R. Annandi ,1981
• “Motivation in school learning involves arousing, persisting,
sustaining and directing desirable behavior.” Lepper, Mark
R.,1998
 TYPES OF MOTIVATION
• Positive Motivation
• Negative Motivation
• Intrinsic motivation
• Extrinsic Motivation
 TYPES OF MOTIVATION
• Positive Motivation
This brings about positive response to the action that one
needs to undertake in order to achieve these goals.
• Negative Motivation
It is being reinforced with fear, anxiety and such negative
feelings in order to have tasks and goals achieved. Negative
and Positive motivational forces could include coercion,
desire, fear, influence is framed, they could be either
negative or positive forces that act as actuators. For instance
a fear (negative force) of bodily injury could be a motivation
to implement the use of safety equipment (positive force).
 TYPES OF MOTIVATION
• Extrinsic Motivation
This motivation arises from the use of external rewards or bribes such as
food, praise,
free time, money or points toward an activity. These incentives are all
external, in that
they are separate from the individual and the task.
Example:
A child may does chores not because he enjoys them but because
doing so
earns an allowance and students who are extrinsically motivated may
study hard for a test in order to obtain a good grade in the course.
Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from outside an
individual. The motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards such
as money or grades. These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure
that the task itself may not provide.
 TYPES OF MOTIVATION
• Intrinsic motivation:
The motivation arises from internal factors such as a child’s
natural feeling of curiosity, exigent, confidence and satisfaction
when performing a task.
Example:
Children play game for no other reward than the fun they get
from the game itself or students who are intrinsically motivated
may study hard for a test because he or she enjoys the content of
the course.
Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an
interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the
individual rather than relying on any external pressure.
 Why Is Motivation in Education
Important?

• Motivation is the state that can maintain

students’ attention and behavior as well as
provides with more energy to needed to
lead tasks to completion.
• Thus, it can help sustain activities over a
period of time.
• In education, motivation can have a variety
of effects on students’ behavior,
preferences, and results.
• For instance, motivation can:
• help us direct our attention toward tasks that
need to be done,
• allow us to do these tasks in shorter periods of
time as well as maintain attention during a
longer time,
• minimize distractions and resist them better,
• affect how much information we retain and
store,
• influence the perception of how easy or
difficult tasks can appear.
 Factors that Influence Students’
Motivation in Education
1. Class and Curriculum Structure:
• When students sense or see that classes follow a
structure, and the curriculum and class materials
have been prepared beforehand, it provides them
with a greater sense of security.
• The feeling of security is one of our basic needs.
When that’s provided in a learning environment, it
allows students to fully focus on the learning
material.
2. Teacher Behavior and Personality
• If a student has a negative emotion such as fear or
disliking towards their teacher, that can negatively
affect their attitude toward the subject as a whole.
• If a teacher shows a preference towards certain
students or uses humiliating language, that can
lower their motivation in education.
• On the other hand, kindness, optimism, positive
feedback, and encouragement can positively
affect students’ motivation to learn.
3. Teaching Methods
• Students are more likely to retain their motivation in education if
educators use different teaching methods. That creates diversity
and prevents students from getting bored.
• Students in a single class are likely to have different styles of
learning.
• Thus, a teacher is more likely to meet these needs by applying
different teaching methods.
4.Learning Environment
• School environment or school climate is another factor that affects
motivation in education.
• School environment refers to different norms and regulations that
determine the overall climate in the school.
• Positive school environment makes students feel safe and secure,
meets their basic needs such as daily meals, and provides an
optimal environment for them to build healthy social relationships.
5. Assessment
• While standardized assessment increases the standards
of attainment, it can negatively influence students’
motivation in education, especially at a younger age.
• The opposite can be seen in countries like Finland
where primary school children do not get any tests.
• Despite the lack of assessment, Finnish children display
higher academic achievements.
• It is also common for students to lose motivation if
tests are continuously too challenging.
• This does not provide a sense of achievement and
lowers motivation in education over time.
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
• Different psychological perspectives explain
motivation in four different ways Let us
explore four of these perspectives; behavioral,
humanistic, cognitive and social.
• The Behavioral Perspective
• The Humanistic Perspective
• The Cognitive Perspective
 The Behavioral Perspective
• For behaviorists, motivation is simply a product of
effective contingent reinforcement. So, they
emphasize the use of extrinsic reinforcement to
stimulate students’ task engagement. The
reinforcement can take the form of praise, a smile,
an early mark or loss of privileges such as missing
out on sport.
• “Almost all teachers use extrinsic reinforcement in
some form to motivate students, although they
may not realize they are doing so and may not
always use such reinforcement effectively.”a
 The Humanistic Perspective
The humanist theory of motivation is interesting because
it is not only linked to achievement and education, but
also has implications for students’ welfare and wellbeing
through its concern with basic needs. It stresses on
students’ capacity for personal growth, freedom to
choose their destiny and positive qualities.
There are two theories of motivation from humanistic
perspective:
(a) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
b) Roger’s motivation theory
 The Humanistic Perspective
(a) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow (1954) perceived motivation in terms

of a hierarchy of needs that can also conceive
as ‘motives’. According to Maslow’s model,
once basic physiological needs have been
satisfied, efforts are directed toward
achieving needs associated with safety,
love and belonging, and self-esteem.
The Humanistic Perspective (b)
Roger’s motivation theory
Carl Roger’s ideas are also influential in discussing the
nature of motivation and its impact to human lives.
Rogers argued that: Behavior was influenced by the
individual’s perception of
both personal and environmental factors. People
should listen to their ‘inner
voices’ or innate capacity to judge what was good for
themselves, rather than relying on feedback from
external sources.
 The Cognitive Perspective

“According to Santrock (2006) the cognitive perspective

on motivation focuses on students’ thought guide their
motivation. It focuses on students’ internal motivation
to achieve, their attribution (perception about the
causes of success or failure) and their beliefs that they
can effectively control their environment. It also
stresses on the importance of goal setting, planning
and monitoring progress toward a goal.”
• (a) Achievement Motivation
• (b) Weiner Attribution Theory
 The Cognitive Perspective
(a) Achievement Motivation
John Atkinson and David McClelland described the need for
achievement as: “A stable personality characteristic that drives some
individuals to strive for success. Students who have a high need for
achievement are motivated to become involved in an activity if they
believe that they will be successful. They are moderate risk taker and
tend to be attracted to tasks where the chances of success are fifty-
fifty; since there is a good chance they will be successful. They like to
attempt a task, but not if they know there is substantial risk of
failure.”
On the other hand, Krause described: “Students who have a need to
avoid failure, rather than a need to achieve success, will look for
tasks that are either very easy and have little risk of failure, or very
difficult so that failure is not their fault.”
 The Cognitive Perspective
(b) Weiner Attribution Theory
Attribution theory is concerned with the way in which an
individual’s explanations of success and failure influence
that individual’s subsequent motivation and behavior.
Students may attribute success or failure to different
causes, depending on their beliefs about who or what
controls their success or failure.
There are three important elements to note regarding the
way in which students
interpret the cause of behavioral outcome. The three
important elements are lotus
of control, controllability and stability.
 Implication Approaches
Behavioral Approaches
• Remember that reinforcement to increase
desired behavior motivates further learning of
this types.
• Recognize that student motivation is shaped by
previous reinforcing experiences.
• Know that students’ maladaptive attribution of
success and failure, including learned
helplessness, can be modified.
 Implication Approaches
Cognitive Approaches
• Understand the underlying factors in students’ behavior,
studying students’ carefully and using a variety of information
sources to discover why students behave as they do.
• Accept that students are not always motivated to be successful,
and that the risk of attempting to succeed may be
overwhelmed by the need to avoid failure.
• Realize that motivating students by focusing on increasing
mastery in more effective than emphasizing performance goals.
• Be aware of their own biases and how these might affect the
way they attribute success and failure in individual students.
 Implication Approaches
Social Learning Approaches
• Ensure that students experience success, not
just failure.
• Remember that self-evaluation is influenced by
observing others’ achievements, and by
encouragement and high arousal in challenging
situations.
• Recognize that motivation is affected by
learners’ judgments about their own efficacy.
 Implication Approaches
Humanist Approaches
• Become more concerned with the wider
implication of student welfare, not just with
student’s education.
• Be aware that some students are more concerned
with feelings of safety, belonging and self-esteem
than with the demands of the school curriculum.
• Understand that students who have a major
impact on students’ motivation.
 APPLICATIONS OF MOTIVATION IN
EDUCATION
Motivation in education can have several effects on
how students learn and how they behave towards
subject matter. It can:
• Direct behavior towards particular goals
• Lead to increased effort and energy
• Increase initiation of, and persistence in, activities
• Enhance cognitive processing
• Determine what consequences are reinforcing
• Lead to improved performance.
 Simple Ideas To Improve Student
Motivation
• 1. Give students a sense of control
• 2. Be clear about learning objectives
• 3. Create a threat-free environment
• 4. Change your scenery (other than classroom)
• 5. Offer varied experiences
• 6. Use positive competition
• 7. Offer rewards
• 8. Give students responsibility
• 9. Allow students to work together
• 10. Give praise when earned (encouragement)