ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

Engage Them: How Students Can Become Motivated Learners

Leonor Gallardo Hevia
Columbia College Chicago

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

Abstract

How do you enjoy learning? When are you excited to learn more? Do you ever look up
the answer to a question just because you wanted to know and not because you were told to?
These are questions that need to be answered individually to best understand how to nurture
intrinsic motivation among our students. Why teach in a way, that not even you enjoy or find
motivating? I believe, engaging students is one of the most difficult tasks. This is problematic, as
learning does not occur if students are not even listening to what you have to share, or even
participating in the learning experiences. Therefore, the purpose of this action research is to
investigate how incorporating more teaching strategies and techniques can improve student
engagement, in turn motivating students to learn. Teaching strategies examined throughout the
action research project will include: providing opportunities for students to socially interact with
others about academic content, providing structured opportunities for students to choose how to
go about their learning, and providing opportunities for students to think creatively to improve
student engagement in the classroom.

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

Questions
The BIG Question:
Teaching strategies/techniques: How can I engage students so that they are motivated to learn?
Sub Question 1: Would structured opportunity for student collaboration increase student
motivation?
Sub Question 2: Would giving students the option to choose have an impact on their level of
participation?
Sub Question 3: Would students be more motivated in lessons in which the arts were
integrated?

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

Literature Review
Awww, man, followed by the heavy sighs is all too familiar to educators. As a teacher,
I understand the desire for students to be excited, maybe even jump up and down from joy about
a new learning experience. I am a strong believer that motivation plays a central role in learning.
Ill even tap my shoes. The goal is to nurture intrinsic motivation in students. Therefore, the
following literature review attempts to demonstrate how incorporating more teaching strategies
and techniques can improve student engagement. Teaching strategies examined throughout the
literature review include, providing opportunities for students to socially interact with others
about academic content, providing structured opportunities for students to choose how to go
about their learning, and providing opportunities for students to think creatively to improve
student engagement in the classroom.
Engaging Students through Collaborative Opportunities
The goal is to nurture intrinsic motivation in students. Social interactions among students
are extremely important in helping support students engagement. According to researcher and
author of Listening to the Voices of Boys: Exploring the Motivation of Primary Boys to Engage
in Reading, Krista Griffin (2016), collaboration was defined as the social discourse among
students in a learning community that enable them to see perspectives and to socially construct
knowledge from text (p. 7). Listening, engaging, and reflecting on various perspectives during
collaborative group work is essential to learning big ideas and mastering curriculum content. In
turn, students with mastery or learning goal orientations tend to be intrinsically motivated and
more engaged in the learning process (Griffin, 2016).
Although collaboration among students is a motivational factor in increasing whole-class
engagement, it is important to prepare structured and collaborative learning activities where each

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

student has the opportunity to engage. Without these strategies, group-work tends to digress into
one student completing the entire task alone. In other words, for collaboration to work, there
needs to be structure. According to educator Pamela Chapman and researcher Thomas Roberts
(2015), students need to be assigned roles with accompanying responsibilities. This ensures that
all participants have a meaningful way to contribute towards tasks, valuing each group members
contributions towards completion. In addition to engagement in the classroom, meaningful
collaboration aids in improving the classroom culture, increasing active learning, developing
accountable talk, and empowering students to take ownership in the learning (Chapman &
Roberts, 2015, p. 30).
Theorist Lev Vygotsky was an advocate for collaboration as a means for learning and
mastery. He proposed that learning was to be accomplished through experiences first based on a
social level and later, on the individual level (Griffin, 2016). Students who are learning through
structured, collaborative based activities not only be engage in the classroom as they actively
collaborate with one another, but their experiences are stored and saved into their long term
memory. Educational consultant Patti Drapeau, author of Sparking Student Creativity: Practical
Ways to Promote Innovative Thinking and Problem Solving (2014), explained this phenomena of
long-term memory storage as, the more senses you use when you learn, the more the learning
goes into long-term memory (p. 22). In other words, different experiences and encounters of the
same content, such as collaboration and arts integrated lessons, the more likely it will be stored
in the long-term memory.
Griffins (2015) study suggested taking notes and answering the following questions
during observation of student collaboration to provide evidence of students level of engagement
in the classroom.

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

1. Does the student appear to be engaged or distracted?

2. Is the noise level in the class conducive to reading?
3. Does the noise level appear to a ect the student?
4. Does the student get right to the task of reading or does it take him/her quite a while
to pick a book, find a place to read, get settled, etc.?
5. Does the student attempt to interact with those around him/her during this time? If
yes, is the conversation book related? (p.12)

Engaging Students through Choice

Choice can have a positive effect on student learning and comprehension as it engages
students throughout the learning process. Similar to collaboration, choice needs to be structured
for there to be a positive effect on student learning. Study results have suggested that choice has
a large effect on whether or not a student is either motivated or unmotivated in a classroom
environment. Analysts Idit Katz and Avi Assor (2007) conducted a study investigating the
correlation between choice and academic success. The result of the study found that, in relation
to Banduras (1997) social cognitive theory, student motivation correlates with student ability to
choose activities and set goals. These factors strengthen the students willingness to expend
effort and persistence. This study showed the importance and need for teachers to incorporate
opportunities for students to participate in autonomy-supportive choice (Katz & Assor, 2007).
Autonomy refers to the students ability to feel and/or understand the value or relevance of the
task in which they engage, suggesting that tasks need to be connected in value, interest, and
goals for students to feel motivated and be engaged in learning (Katz & Assor, 2007).
According to research by Turner and Paris, two psychologists (1995) the most reliable
indicator of motivation through choice were the daily classroom tasks provided by the teacher.
Open tasks that allow students to have control over product and process were found to be more

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

motivating than closed tasks, where students had little control and few choices (Marinak, 2013).
Open tasks can be summarized with what professor and chair of the Education Department at
Mount St. Marys University, Barbara A. Marinak, called The Six Cs: Choice, Challenge,
Control, Collaboration, Constructive, Comprehension, and Consequences (2013).
In one study, one fifth-grade classroom teacher implemented a simple motivation
intervention using topic choice. Students depicted a higher level of engagement when given the
simple opportunity to choose the teacher read-aloud. Teacher and students would book-talk
every title, followed by a vote in three days to choose the book to be read. In addition to book
lobbying, analysis report students listen attentively during the book talks and browsed the book
basket frequently during the 3 day leading up to the vote (Marinak, 2013).
However, it should also be noted that the study concluded that merely offering choice is
not motivating by itself. In order for choice to be motivating, it has to be aligned to students
needs, interests, goals, abilities, and cultural background (Katz & Assor, 2007). Therefore, topicchoice and response-format choice are reliable forms for strengthening student engagement,
leading to strong student motivation. An example of one of these forms of an action choice is
how to allocate time for a stronger impact on student motivation. Option choices, such as which
puzzle to solve, have less of an impact on student motivation. Students are more engaged in
learning when given the opportunity to decide what and how they are interested in learning.
The belief that choice can be effectively used to engage students in the classroom to
become motivated learners was supported by a survey in which 500 boys were asked to explain
what they wished they were allowed to do in the classroom, in terms of writing (Senn, 2012).
The responses received, such as create our own topic, choose, and write whatever we
want, supported the importance of choice to strengthen student engagement and intrinsic

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

motivation (Senn, 2012, p. 218). Allowing students to choose the topics they write about,
develops a sense of ownership over their learning, which in turn develops greater intrinsic
motivation.
Although the context for many of the studies to do with structured collaborative and
choice opportunities has a role in engaging students in literacy, strategies are effectively
transferable to other subjects: similar to art and its positive effects in other subjects.

Engaging Students through Arts Integration

Arts integration can be defined as learning through and with the arts, as a curricular
connection process, and as a collaborative engagement (Robinson, 2013). Art integration
involves teamwork and collaboration. Several studies reviewed in the Art Integration and the
Success of Disadvantaged Students: A Research Evaluation (2013), reported improvements in
student self-efficacy and self-esteem. As stated in the study, Self-efficacy beliefs regulate
human functioning through cognitive, motivational, affective, and selection processes (Bandura,
1990, p. 202). In other words, arts integrated engagement can lead to a development in student
self-efficacy resulting in students who have become motivated in learning.
According to research, in the context of poverty and low performing schools, arts
integration has improved student learning, behavior, and academic performance (Cooper, 2015).
Similar to Vygotskys theory of social collaboration to attain knowledge, Patti Drapeau (2015),
and educational consultant, states children remember what they learn when they are active and
thinking creatively about the content (p. 22). A study in Massachusetts was completed to better
understand the effects of arts integration throughout the school environment. Prior to art being
integrated the school in Roxbury, had serious discipline issues that required security guards to

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

roam the halls. After a new principal decided to replace the guard with art, dace, and music
teachers, the school ranked among top two percent in Boston in student improvement (Cooper,
2015). The study provided data on how the arts can not only improve a classroom, but also an
entire schools mindset, motivation to do better, and level of engagement in learning.
An example of some visual thinking strategies that can be used in the classroom to
promote a positive and engaging learning experience is to introduce an artwork related to the unit
theme before beginning the lesson. Students will connect to literacy elements, without even
noticing by pondering the setting or what the main character is thinking, Students become
engaged by connecting to the artworks feeling, overall tone, or message. The result of the study
found that arts integration resulted in higher test scores, civic engagement, and planning for
college (Cooper, 2015).
Conclusion
In summary, this literature review shows that teachers can support student engagement
and intrinsic motivation by incorporating structured opportunity for collaboration, choice, and art
integration in the classroom. All students can learn, and through collaboration, choice, and art
integration we can engage more students to become motivated to learn!

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

10

Data Collection Tools

SUBQUESTIONS
1.
Would structured
opportunity for
student
collaboration
increase student
motivation?

SOURCE #1

SOURCE #2

SOURCE #3

Video Data

Student Journal

Semantic Differential

Teacher will be
focusing on disengaged
students. Students will
be video taped to
observe student
behavior and
engagement level.
Teacher will record
students participation
and engagement during
collaborative
discussions.

Writing in daily
journals will be used as
part of assessment
system.
Students will write
response to questions on
their experiences with
peers and the level of
motivation felt.
Students will be able to
reference opportunities
they have been given
related peer
collaboration.

Students will complete

a quantitative rating
scale survey pre- and
post intervention.
Students will be asked
to rate the learning
process in terms of
whether it was exciting
or boring, relevant or
irrelevant, or enjoyable
or not enjoyable

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Semantic Differential

Student Journals

Student Survey

Post intervention:
students will be asked
to rate the curriculum in
terms of whether it was
exciting or boring,
relevant or irrelevant,
or enjoyable or not
enjoyable

Students will write

response to questions on
their experiences with
situations where they
have had to make a
decision that has
motivated their
learning. Students will
be able to make
reference to
opportunities they have
been given related to
topic-choice and
response-format choice.

Pre: Teacher will

provide a synopsis of
upcoming unit to
students. Each student
will fill out a pre-unit
survey to help identify
students topic-choice
and response-format
choice. Survey will
address student
interests, goals, and
values.

2.
Would giving
students the
option to choose
have an impact
on their level of
participation?

[Material that
they find
personally
meaningful]

Post: students will be

asked to respond to
questions about why
they did or didnt like
the opportunity to
choose different

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

11

options during the

unit.
Appendix C

Appendix B

Appendix D

Semantic Differential

Document/ Artifacts/
Student work Samples

Video Data

Students will be asked

to rate some lessons in
which the arts were not
integrated, and rate
other lessons in which
they are. Students will
be asked to respond in
terms of whether the
lessons were exciting or
boring, engaging or not
engaging, enjoyable or
not enjoyable.

Post intervention
documents of student
work will be collected
to assess student work
completion in arts
integrated lessons.

Teacher will be
focusing on disengaged
students. Students will
be video taped
throughout arts
integrated lessons to
observe student
behavior and
engagement level.
Teacher will record
students participation
and engagement during
art-related activities.

Appendix C

Appendix E

Appendix A

3.
Would students
be more
motivated in
lessons in which
the arts were
integrated?

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

12

Data Analysis and Interpretation

SUBQUESTIONS
1.

SOURCE #1

SOURCE #2

SOURCE #3

Video Data

Student Journal

Semantic Differential

Teacher will observe

student participation
during collaborative
opportunities and art
integrated lessons.
Video will provide
evidence on student
behavioral and
engagement level.
Teacher will record
student behavior on a
checklist that
incorporates and
measures the following
behaviors:
participation,
Student engagement
(on or off task) during
lesson and activities.
Teacher will code the
information from the
questions into themes.
Timestamps will be
used for memoing to
ask key questions such
as when do the students
participate the most?
And under what
conditions?

Teacher will begin by

coding the information
from the questions into
themes. Student
journals will be used to
identify similar
categories to look for
any emerging patterns.
A concept map will be
used to better identify
information into
patterns. Student
journals will help in
identifying factors
affecting student
engagement and level
of motivation.

Quantitative rating scale

pre- and post
intervention scale
statistics will be used to
describe students
engagement and
motivation. Students
rating the learning
process in terms of
whether it was exciting
or boring, relevant or
irrelevant, or enjoyable
or not enjoyable.
Teacher will calculate
the average response
and be able to describe,
on average, if the
students where
interested, engaged, or
not. Numerical value is
used to identify
students attitudes;
helping the teacher
make sense of the
questionnaire data.

Appendix B

Appendix C

Semantic Differential

Student Journals

Student Survey

Teacher will use

students average rating
of the curriculum in

Teacher will begin by

coding the information
from the questions into

Teacher will collect and

code information from
the observational survey

Collaboration

Appendix A
2.
Choice

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

13

terms of whether it is
exciting or boring,
relevant or irrelevant,
or enjoyable or not
enjoyable to calculate
the average student
motivational levels.
Defined descriptive
statistics of the mode
will be used to interpret
the data. Teacher will
calculate the mode to
identify which
category/ theme attracts
students to be most
engaged.

themes. Student
journals will be used to
identify similar
categories to look for
any emerging patterns.
A concept map will be
used to better identify
information into
patterns. Student
journals will help in
identifying factors
affecting student
engagement and level
of motivation.

to identify student
behavior. Teacher will
code the information
from the questions into
themes. Concept map
will be used to identify
factors affecting
students engagement
such as choice
opportunities,
strategies, and interests
throughout the unit.

Appendix C

Appendix B

Appendix D

Semantic Differential

Document/ Artifacts/
Video Data
Student work Samples

Quantitative rating
scale pre- and post
intervention scale
statistics will be used to
describe students
engagement and
motivation. Students
rating the learning
process in terms of
whether it was exciting
or boring, relevant or
irrelevant, or enjoyable
or not enjoyable.
Teacher will use the
calculated mean to
students excitement,
relevance to content,
level of engagement,
and motivation during
arts integrated lessons.
If the mean is low,
raising questions will
extend the analysis.

Teacher will collect and

code student work
samples into themes.
Concept map will be
used to identify factors
affecting student
engagement.
Documents of students
work will be collected
to assess student work
completion in arts
integrated lessons.
These findings will
help the teacher
determine the overall
effectiveness of arts
integrated lessons on
students motivation to
learn.

3.
Arts Integration

Teacher will collect,

code and categorize
information from arts
integrated lessons to
determine how often
students were: on task,
semi-on task, and off
task. Findings will help
teacher determine the
overall effectiveness of
art integrated lessons on
students ability to stay
on task and rate of
student engagement
through evidence of
participation.

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

Such as, Are the
students not motivated
to learn because the
content is not exciting
enough? Or not
relevant? Or not
enjoyable?
Appendix C

Appendix E

Appendix A

14

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

15

Timeline
Week One and Two: Ready, Set, Go!

Share action plan with administration and students parents.

Review and become familiar with student collaboration, student choice, and arts
integration strategies.

Create and collect all Data Collection Tools. Make sure all technology and materials
are ready to begin!

Administer and collect pre-intervention surveys defining students topic-choice and

response-format choice (week 2).

Week Three and Four: Start Video, Student Sample, and Checklist

Videotaping students during lessons that will incorporate student collaborative

opportunities and arts integrated lessons.

Begin to collect and keep record of student work.

Complete student On Task/ Off Task checklist

Week Five and Six: Semantic Differential

Videotaping students during lessons that will incorporate student collaborative

opportunities and arts integrated lessons.

Complete student On Task/ Off Task checklist.

Continue to collect and keep record of student work.

Administer and collect student semantic differential surveys in regards to lessons that
incorporate student collaborative opportunities and arts integrated lessons.

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

16

Week Seven: Journal Time!

Videotaping students during lessons that will incorporate student collaborative

opportunities and arts integrated lessons.

Complete student On Task/ Off Task checklist.

Continue to collect and keep record of student work.

Administer student journal prompts after lessons that will incorporate student
collaborative and choice opportunities.

Week Eight: Post-Intervention Surveys

Videotaping students during lessons that will incorporate student collaborative

opportunities and arts integrated lessons.

Complete student On Task/ Off Task checklist.

Continue to collect and keep record of student work.

Administer and collect post-intervention student surveys in regards to students topicchoice and response-format choice.

Week 8 and beyond: Time to wrap it up, girl!

Collect all data!

Code and categorize all data results into themes using concept maps.

Measure data results from pre and post surveys. Assess student growth and overall
value.

Compile results and draw conclusions!

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

17

Obstacles and Opportunities

An obstacle that may arise from the research might be is keeping accurate data of
students level of engagement to become motivated learners. Video recording for data during
collaborative opportunities might prove to be difficult, as it will not capture all students
discussions and interactions throughout. Therefore, a small focus group of students who seem to
be the least motivated to learn will be focused on. Audio and background noise are always
challenges when it comes to video recording, along with the typical technological dilemmas.
Back up and more back up will be required for accurate data collection.
Another challenge that may arise is students behavior when being introduced to new
strategies. At first, students might find the new teaching strategies not relevant, boring, or
stressful, resulting in off-task behaviors. Consistency will help students become familiar with
strategies, enhancing student engagement in such opportunities. On another hand, delivering
lessons that is of interest or relevance to all students may prove to be challenging. Finally,
students might not truthfully complete journals or surveys, altering data. This can be addressed
by assigning an anonymous system, so they do not feel pressured to write a certain response.
Despite the possible challenges, the process if the integration of three interventions into
the class will bring a wealth of information. First, students will come to understand which
strategies best suit their learning and will be able to make proper decisions when it comes to their
independent learning. Secondly, a positive learning community will be established through
constant collaborative opportunities. But most importantly, the teacher will come to understand
what strategies are best suited for the students in order to nurture intrinsically motivated learners.
And for those strategies that do not increase student motivation will still get us one step closer to
the goal: engaging students to become motivated to learn!

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

18

References
Chapman, P. & Roberts, T. (2015). Collaboration by design: Encouraging positive interactions
through engaging tasks. Children's Technology and Engineering. 28-31.
Cooper, A. (2015). The art of success: An innovative program shows how arts integration can
increase engagement and improve learning.
Griffin, K. (2016). Listening to the Voices of Boys: Exploring the motivation of Primary Boys to
Engage in Reading.
Ktaz, I. & Assor, A. (2007). When choice motivates and when it does not. Educational
Psychology Review,19(4), 429-442.
Lane, L. K., Royer, J. D., Messenger, L. M., Common, A. E., Ennis, P. R., & Swogger D. E.,
(2015).Empowering teacher with low-intensity strategies to support academic
engagement: Implementation and effects of instructional choice for elementary students
in inclusive settings. Education and Treatment of Children, 38(4), 473-504.
Marinak, A. B. (2013). Courageous reading instruction: The effects of an elementary motivation
intervention.
Robinsons, A. H. (2013). Arts integration and the success of disadvantaged students: A research
evaluation. Arts Education and Policy Review, 114(4), 191-204.
Senn, N. (2012). Effective approaches to motivate and engage reluctant boys in literacy. The
Reading Teacher, International Reading Association. 66(3), 211220.

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

Appendices
Appendix A
Video Student Engagement Records
Video Date

Student Name



Participated __________ times



Participated __________ times



Participated __________ times.



Participated __________ times.



Participated __________ times.



Participated __________ times.



Participated __________ times.



Participated __________ times.

Collaboration
Opportunities

Arts Integrated
Lessons

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

On Task
Semi-On Task
Off-Task

19

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

Appendix B
Student Journal
Please write a reflective journal entry that answers the following questions. Be detailed and
descriptive when you write.
1. Give a specific example of what you found exciting to do during the _______ lesson?
2. What would you wish to do when learning?
3. How do you like to learn? What makes learning fun for you?

20

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

Appendix C
Survey
Name: _________________________________

Date: ______________________

Please answer the following statements by circling the number that most reflects your
opinion.

Working with my peers was

Boring ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Exciting

-3

-2

-1

The topic was

Irrelevant ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Relevant

-3

-2

-1

I found the unit

Unenjoyable ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoyable

-3

-2

-1

I feel

Unmotivated ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Motivated

-3

-2

-1

21

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22

Appendix D
Name: _________________________________

Date: ______________________

Student Survey
Lets make learning fun! To do so I need to learn more about you and your preferences.
Please answer the following questions.
1. Throughout this unit, what would you be interested in learning about?

2. D you like the opportunity to choose different options during the unit? Why or why not?

3. What strategies/methods would you like to implement to help you learn?

4. What motivates you to learn?

ENGAGE THEM: HOW STUDENTS CAN BECOME MOTIVATED LEARNERS

Appendix E
Document/ Artifacts/ Student work Samples
Student observation throughout arts integrated lessons.
Student Name: ________________________________
Date

Work
Completed

Meets
Objective

Observations

23