Motivating Students to Learn

Theories of Education
Prof. Marco Rodrigues

Module 1: Behavior and Goals as Motivation

SourcesMotivatingStudentstoLearn
BehaviorandGoalsasMotivationSourcesLearningOutcomes
Aftercompletingthismoduleyouwillbeableto:
UnderstandandexplainthetheoryofBehaviorism
Reframeoperantconditioningintermsofmotivation
Practicecautionwithbehavioristperspectives
Knowthedifferencebetweenthetypeofgoalsthat affectastudentsmotivationi.Masteryii.
Performanceiii.Failureavoidance
Useyourinfluenceasateachertoencouragemasterygoals,andavoidfailureavoidancegoals

BehaviorasaSourceofMotivation
Student Motivation Differences in motivation are an important source of diversity in classrooms,
comparableinimportancetodifferencesinpriorknowledge,ability,ordevelopmentalreadiness.When
itcomestoschoollearning,furthermore,studentsmotivationstakeonspecialimportancebecause
studentsmerepresenceinclassis(ofcourse)noguaranteethatstudentsreallywanttolearn.Itisonly
asignthatstudentsliveinasocietyrequiringyoungpeopletoattendschool.Sincemoderneducationis
compulsory,teacherscannottakestudentsmotivationforgranted,andtheyhavearesponsibilityto
insurestudentsmotivationtolearn.Somehoworother,teachersmustpersuadestudentstowanttodo
whatstudentshavetodoanyway.Fortunately,therearewaysofaccomplishingthistaskthatrespect
studentschoices,desires,andattitudes.BehaviorismSometimesitisusefultothinkofmotivationnot
as something inside a student driving the students behavior, but as equivalent to the students
outwardbehaviors.Thisistheperspectiveofbehaviorism,whichissometimesusedasawaytothink
aboutthelearningprocess.Initsmostthoroughgoingform,behaviorismfocusesalmostcompletelyon
whatcanbedirectlyseenorheardaboutapersonsbehavior,andhasrelativelyfewcommentsabout
whatmayliebehind(orunderneathorinside)thebehavior.Whenitcomestomotivation,this
perspectivemeansminimizingorevenignoringthedistinctionbetweentheinnerdriveorenergyof
students,andtheoutwardbehaviorsthatexpressthedriveorenergy.Thetwoareconsideredthesame,
ornearlyso.Equatingtheinnerandtheoutwardmightseemtoviolatecommonsense.Howcana
studentdosomethingwithoutsomesortoffeelingorthoughttomaketheactionhappen?Thisvery
questionhasledtoalternativemodelsofmotivationthatarebasedoncognitiveratherthanbehaviorist
theoriesoflearning.However,consideringtheadvantagesofabehavioristperspectiveonmotivationis
encouragedallthesame.Sometimesthecircumstancesofteachingcanlimitteachersopportunitiesto
distinguishbetweeninnermotivationandoutwardbehavior.Certainlyteachersseeplentyofstudent
behaviorssignsofmotivationofsomesort.Butthemultipledemandsofteachingcanlimitthetime
neededtodeterminewhatthebehaviorsmean.Ifastudentasksalotofquestionsduringdiscussions,
forexample,isheorshecuriousaboutthematerialitself,orjustwantingtolookintelligentinfrontof
classmatesandtheteacher?Inaclasswithmanystudentsandabusyagenda,theremaynotbealotof
timeforateachertodecidebetweenthesepossibilities.Inothercases,theproblemmaynotbelimited
timeasmuchascommunicationdifficultieswithastudent.Considerastudentwhoisstilllearning
English,orwhobelongstoaculturalcommunitythatusespatternsofconversationthatareunfamiliar
totheteacher,orwhohasadisabilitythatlimitsthestudentsgenerallanguageskill.Inthesecases
discerningthestudentsinnermotivationsmaytakemoretimeandeffort.Itisimportanttoinvestthe
extratimeandeffortforsuchstudents,butwhileateacherisdoingso,itisalsoimportantforherto
guide and influence the students behavior in constructive directions. That is where behaviorist
approachestomotivationcanhelp.OperantConditioningasaWayofMotivatingThemostcommon
versionofthebehavioralperspectiveonmotivationisthetheoryofoperantconditioningassociated
withB.F.Skinner(1938,1957).Thedescriptionsometimesfocusesonbehaviorallearning,butthe

sameoperantmodelcanbetransformedintoanaccountofmotivation.Intheoperantmodelabehavior
being learned (the operant) increases in frequency or likelihood because performing it makes a
reinforcementavailable.Tounderstandthismodelintermsofmotivation,thinkofthelikelihoodof
responseasthemotivationandthereinforcementasthemotivator.Imagine,forexample,thatastudent
learnsbyoperantconditioningtoanswerquestionsduringclassdiscussions:eachtimethestudent
answersaquestion(theoperant),theteacherpraises(reinforces)thisbehavior.Inadditiontothinking
ofthissituationasbehaviorallearning,however,youcanalsothinkofitintermsofmotivation:the
likelihoodofthestudentansweringquestions(themotivation)isincreasingbecauseoftheteachers
praise (the motivator). Many concepts from operant conditioning, in fact, can be understood in
motivationalterms.Anotherone,forexample,istheconceptofextinction,whichisdefinedasthe
tendencyforlearnedbehaviorstobecomelesslikelywhenreinforcementnolongeroccursasortof
unlearning,oratleastadecreaseinperformanceofpreviouslylearned.Thedecreaseinperformance
frequencycanbethoughtofasalossofmotivation,andremovalofthereinforcementcanbethought
ofasremovalofthemotivator.Anexampleofthisoccurringintheclassroomwouldbeateacher
ceasing to comment on students homework. Operant conditioning can be reframed in terms of
motivation,aswillbeseenonthefollowingslides.OperantIntermsoflearningtheconceptofan
operant is phrased as behavior that becomes more likely because of reinforcement. In terms of
motivation,however,itcanbephrasedasbehaviorthatsuggestsanincreaseinmotivation.Inthe
classroomanexampleofthiswouldbeastudentlisteningtotheteacherscommentsduringlectureor
discussion.ReinforcementIntermsoflearning,reinforcementisphrasedasastimulusthatincreases
the likelihood of a behavior. In terms of motivation, this can also be phrased as a stimulus that
motivates. An example of this inthe classroom iswhen a teacher praises a student for listening.
PositiveReinforcementThiscanbephrasedintermsoflearningasastimulusthatincreaseslikelihood
ofabehaviorbybeingintroducedoraddedtoasituation.Intermsofmotivation,however,itisa
stimulus that motivates by its presence, an incentive. For example, when a teacher makes
encouraging remarks about students homework. Negative Reinforcement This is a stimulus that
increasesthelikelihoodofabehaviorbybeingremovedortakenawayfromasituation,whenphrased
intermsoflearning.Intermsofmotivationitisastimulusthatmotivatesbyitsabsenceoravoidance.
Anexampleofthisbeingachievedintheclassroomiswhenateacherstopsnaggingastudentabout
late homework. Punishment Punishment can be described in terms of learning as a stimulus that
decreases the likelihood of a behavior by being introduced or added to a situation. In terms of
motivationitisphrasedasastimulusthatmotivatesbyitsabsenceoritsavoidance.Anexampleof
punishment intheclassroommaybewhenateacherdeductspointsforlatehomework.Shaping
SuccessiveApproximationsIntermsoflearning,shapingsuccessiveapproximationscanbephrasedas
reinforcementsforbehaviorsthatgraduallyresembleafinalgoalbehavior.Intermsofmotivation,they
canbephrasedasstimulithatgraduallyshiftmotivationtowardafinalgoalmotivation.Anexampleof
thiswouldbewhenateacherpraisesastudentforreturningtheirhomeworkabitclosertothedeadline,
graduallyshepraisesforbeingontime.ContinuousReinforcementThisisreinforcementthatoccurs
eachtimethatanoperantbehavioroccurs,whenphrasedintermsoflearning.Intermsofmotivation
continuousreinforcementisamotivatorthatoccurseachtimethatabehavioralsignofmotivation
occurs.Forexampleateacherpraisesahighlyactivestudentforeverytimeheworksforfiveminutes
withoutinterruption.IntermittentReinforcementIntermsoflearning,thisisphrasedasreinforcement
thatsometimesoccursfollowinganoperantbehavior,butnotoneveryoccasion.Inmotivationterms,it
isamotivatorthatoccurssometimeswhenabehavioralsignofmotivationoccurs,butnotonevery
occasion.Intheclassroomanexampleofthiswouldbewhentheteacherpraisesthehighlyactive
studentsometimeswhenheworkswithoutinterruption,butnoteverytime.

CautionsaboutBehavioralPerspectivesonMotivation
As was mentioned, behaviorist perspectives about motivation do reflect a classroom reality: that
teachers sometimes lack time and therefore must focus simply on students appropriate outward
behavior.Buttherearenonethelesscautionsaboutadoptingthisview.Anobviousoneistheambiguity
ofstudentsspecificbehaviors;whatlookslikeasignofonemotivetotheteachermayinfactbeasign
ofsomeothermotivetothestudent(DeGrandpre,2000).Ifastudentlooksattheteacherintently
while she isspeaking, does it mean the student is motivated to learn, or only that the student is
daydreaming?Ifastudentinvariablylooksawaywhiletheteacherisspeaking,doesitmeanthatthe

studentisdisrespectfuloftheteacher,orthatstudentcomesfromafamilyorculturalgroupwhere
avoiding eye contact actually shows more respect for a speaker than direct eye contact? Another
concern about behaviorist perspectives, including operant conditioning, is that it leads teachers to
ignorestudentschoicesandpreferences,andtoplayGodbymakingchoicesontheirbehalf(Kohn,
1996).Accordingtothiscriticism,thedistinctionbetweeninnermotivesandexpressionsofmotives
inoutwardbehaviordoesnotdisappearjustbecauseateacher(orapsychologicaltheory)choosesto
treatamotiveandthebehavioralexpressionofamotiveasequivalent.Studentsusuallydoknowwhat
theywantordesire,andtheirwantsordesiresmaynotalwayscorrespondtowhatateacherchoosesto
reinforce or ignore. Thisisthe issue of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation.Approachesthat are
exclusively behavioral, it is argued, are not sensitive enough to students intrinsic, selfsustaining
motivations.Thereistruthtothisallegationifateacheractuallydoesrelyonrewardingbehaviorsthat
she alone has chosen, or even if she persists in reinforcing behaviors that students already find
motivating without external reinforcement. In those cases reinforcements can backfire: instead of
servingasanincentivetodesiredbehavior,reinforcementcanbecomeareminderoftheteachers
powerandofstudentslackofcontrolovertheirownactions.Aclassicresearchstudyofintrinsic
motivationillustratedtheproblemnicely.Inthestudy,researchersrewardeduniversitystudentsfortwo
activitiessolvingpuzzlesandwritingnewspaperheadlinesthattheyalreadyfoundinteresting.Some
of the students, however, were paid to do these activities, whereas others were not. Under these
conditions, the students who were paid were less likely to engage in the activities following the
experimentthanwerethestudentswhowerenotpaid,eventhoughbothgroupshadbeenequally
interestedintheactivitiestobeginwith(Deci,1971).Theextrinsicrewardofpayment,itseemed,
interfered with the intrinsic reward of working the puzzles. Later studies confirmed this effect in
numeroussituations,thoughtheyhavealsofoundcertainconditionswhereextrinsicrewardsdonot
reduceintrinsicrewards.Extrinsicrewardsarenotasharmful,forexample,ifapersonispaidbythe
hour(i.e.byaflatrate)ratherthanpiecemeal(bythenumberofitemscompleted)(Cameron&Pierce,
1994;Eisenberger&Cameron,1996).Theyalsoarelessharmfulifthetaskitselfisrelativelywell
defined(likeworkingmathproblemsorplayingsolitaire)andhighqualityperformanceisexpectedat
alltimes.Sotherearestilltimesandwayswhenexternallydeterminedreinforcementsareusefuland
effective. In general, however, extrinsic rewards do seem to undermine intrinsic motivation often
enoughthattheyneedtobeusedselectivelyandthoughtfully(Deci,Koestner,&Ryan,2001).Asit
happens,helpwithbeingselectiveandthoughtfulcanbefoundintheother,morecognitivelyoriented
theoriesofmotivation.Theseusethegoals,interests,andbeliefsofstudentsaswaysofexplaining
differencesinstudentsmotivesandinhowthemotivesaffectengagementwithschool.

GoalsthatContributetoAchievement
GoalsasaMotivationOnewaymotivesvaryisbythekindofgoalsthatstudentssetforthemselves,
andbyhowthegoalssupportstudentsacademicachievement.Asyoumightsuspect,somegoals
encourageacademicachievementmorethanothers,butevenmotivesthatdonotconcernacademics
explicitly tend to affect learning indirectly. Goals that contribute to achievement What kinds of
achievementgoalsdostudentshold?Imaginethreeindividuals,Maria,Sara,andLindsay,whoare
takingalgebratogether.Mariasmainconcernistolearnthematerialaswellaspossiblebecauseshe
finds it interesting and because she believes it will be useful to her in later courses, perhaps at
university.Hersisamasterygoalbecauseshewantsprimarilytolearnormasterthematerial.Sara,
however,isconcernedlessaboutalgebrathanaboutgettingtopmarksontheexamsandinthecourse.
Hersisaperformancegoalbecausesheisfocusedprimarilyonlookingsuccessful;learningalgebrais
merelyavehicleforperformingwellintheeyesofpeersandteachers.Lindsay,forherpart,is
primarilyconcernedaboutavoidingapoororfailingmark.Hersisaperformanceavoidancegoalor
failureavoidancegoalbecausesheisnotreallyasconcernedaboutlearningalgebra,asMariais,or
aboutcompetitivesuccess,asSarais;sheissimplyintendingtoavoidfailure.Asyoumightimagine,
mastery,performance,andperformanceavoidancegoalsoftenarenotexperiencedinpureform,butin
combinations.Ifyouplaytheclarinetintheschoolband,youmightwanttoimproveyourtechnique
simplybecauseyouenjoyplayingaswellaspossibleessentiallyamasteryorientation.Butyoumight
alsowanttolooktalentedintheeyesofclassmatesaperformanceorientation.Anotherpartofwhat
youmaywish,atleastprivately,istoavoidlookinglikeacompletefailureatplayingtheclarinet.One
ofthesemotivesmaypredominateovertheothers,buttheyallmaybepresent.Masterygoalstendto

beassociatedwithenjoymentoflearningthematerialathand,andinthissenserepresentanoutcome
thatteachersoftenseekforstudents.Bydefinitionthereforetheyareaformofintrinsicmotivation.As
suchmasterygoalshavebeenfoundtobebetterthanperformancegoalsatsustainingstudentsinterest
inasubject.Inonereviewofresearchabout learninggoals,forexample,studentswithprimarily
masteryorientationstowardacoursetheyweretakingnotonlytendedtoexpressgreaterinterestinthe
course,butalsocontinuedtoexpressinterestwellbeyondtheofficialendofthecourse,andtoenrollin
furthercoursesinthesamesubject(Harackiewicz,etal.,2002;Wolters,2004).Performancegoals,on
theotherhand,implyextrinsicmotivation,andtendtoshowthemixedeffectsofthisorientation.A
positiveeffectisthatstudentswithaperformanceorientationdotendtogethighergradesthanthose
whoexpressprimarilyamasteryorientation.Theadvantageingradesoccursbothintheshortterm
(withindividualassignments)andinthelongterm(withoverallgradepointaveragewhengraduating).
Butthereisevidencethatperformanceorientedstudentsdonotactuallylearnmaterialasdeeplyor
permanentlyasstudentswhoaremoremasteryoriented(Midgley,Kaplan,&Middleton,2001).A
possiblereasonisthatmeasuresofperformancesuchastestscoresoftenrewardrelativelyshallow
memorizationofinformationandthereforeguideperformanceorientedstudentsawayfromprocessing
theinformationthoughtfullyordeeply.Anotherpossiblereasonisthataperformanceorientation,by
focusingongainingrecognitionasthebestamongpeers,encouragescompetitionamongpeers.Giving
andreceivinghelpfromclassmatesisthusnotintheselfinterestofaperformanceorientedstudent,
andtheresultingisolationlimitsthestudentslearning.EncouragingmasterygoalsEventhougha
degree of performance orientation may be inevitable in school because of the mere presence of
classmates,it doesnothavetotakeoverstudentsacademicmotivationcompletely.Teacherscan
encouragemasterygoalsinvariousways,andshouldinfactdosobecauseamasteryorientationleads
tomoresustained,thoughtfullearning,atleastinclassrooms,whereclassmatesmaysometimesdebate
anddisagreewitheachother(Darnon,Butera,&Harackiewicz,2006).Howcanteachersdoso?One
way is to allow students to choose specific tasks or assignments for themselves, where possible,
because their choices are more likely than usual to reflect prior personal interests, and hence be
motivatedmoreintrinsicallythanusual.Thelimitationofthisstrategy,ofcourse,isthatstudentsmay
notseesomeoftheconnectionsbetweentheirpriorinterestsandthecurriculumtopicsathand.Inthat
caseitalsohelpsfortheteachertolookforandpointouttherelevanceofcurrenttopicsorskillsto
studentspersonalinterestsandgoals.Suppose,forexample,thatastudentenjoysthelateststylesof
music.Thisinterestmayactuallyhaveconnectionswithawiderangeofschoolcurriculum,suchas:
Biologybecauseofthephysiologyoftheearandofhearing)Physicsorgeneralsciencebecauseof
thenatureofmusicalacousticsHistorybecauseofchangesinmusicalstylesovertimeEnglish
because of relationships of musical lyrics and themes with literary themes Foreign languages
becauseofcomparisonsofmusicandsongsamongculturesStillanotherwaytoencouragemastery
orientationistofocusonstudentsindividualeffortandimprovementasmuchaspossible,ratherthan
oncomparingstudentssuccessestoeachother.Youcanencouragethisorientationbygivingstudents
detailedfeedbackabouthowtheycanimproveperformance,orbyarrangingforstudentstocollaborate
onspecifictasksandprojectsratherthantocompeteaboutthem,andingeneralbyshowingyourown
enthusiasmforthesubjectathand.

GoalsthatAffectAchievementIndirectly
FailureAvoidant Goals As was mentioned, failureavoidant goals by nature undermine academic
achievement.Oftentheyareanegativebyproductofthecompetitivenessofperformancegoals(Urdan,
2004).Ifateacher(andsometimesalsofellowstudents)puttoomuchemphasisonbeingthebestinthe
class,andifinterestinlearningthematerialassuchthereforesuffers,thensomestudentsmaydecide
that success is beyond their reach or may not be desirable in any case. The alternative simply
avoidingfailuremayseemwiseraswellasmorefeasible.Onceastudentadoptsthisattitude,heor
shemayunderachievemoreorlessdeliberately,doingonlytheminimumworknecessarytoavoid
lookingfoolishortoavoidseriousconflictwiththeteacher.Avoidingfailureinthiswayisanexample
ofselfhandicappingdeliberateactionsandchoicesthatthereducechancesofsuccess.Studentsmay
selfhandicapinanumberofways;inadditiontonotworkinghard,theymayprocrastinateabout
completing assignments, for example, or set goalsthat are unrealistically high.Social goals Most
studentsneedandvaluerelationships,bothwithclassmatesandwithteachers,andoften(thoughnot
always) they get a good deal of positive support from therelationships.But the effects of social

relationshipsarecomplex,andattimescanworkbothforandagainstacademicachievement.Ifa
relationshipwiththeteacherisimportantandreasonablypositive,thenthestudent islikelytotry
pleasingtheteacherbyworkinghardonassignments(Dowson&Mclnerney,2003).Note,though,that
thiseffectisclosertoperformancethanmastery;thestudentisprimarilyconcernedaboutlookinggood
tosomeoneelse.If,ontheotherhand,astudentisespeciallyconcernedaboutrelationshipswithpeers,
theeffectsonachievementdependonthestudentsmotivesfortherelationship,aswellasonpeers
attitudes.Desiringtobeclosetopeerspersonallymayleadastudenttoaskforhelpfrom,andgivehelp
topeersabehaviorthatmaysupporthigherachievement,atleastuptoapoint.Butdesiringto
impresspeerswithskillsandknowledgemayleadtotheopposite:aswasalreadymentioned,the
competitiveedgeofsuchaperformanceorientationmaykeepthestudentfromcollaborating,andin
thisindirectwayreduceastudentsopportunitiestolearn.Theabilitiesandachievementmotivationof
peersthemselvescanalsomakeadifference,butonceagaintheeffectsvarydependingonthecontext.
Low achievement and motivation by peers affects an individuals academic motivation more in
elementaryschoolthaninhighschool,moreinlearningmathematicsthanlearningtoread,andmoreif
thereisawiderangeofabilitiesinaclassroomthanifthereisamorenarrowrange(Burke&Sass,
2006).Inspiteofthesecomplexities,socialrelationshipsarevaluedsohighlybymoststudentsthat
teachersshouldgenerallyfacilitatethem,thoughalsokeepaneyeontheirnatureandtheirconsequent
effectsonachievement.Manyassignmentscanbeaccomplishedproductivelyingroups,forexample,
aslongasthegroupsareformedthoughtfully.Relationshipscanalsobesupportedwithactivitiesthat
involvestudentsoradultsfromanotherclassorfromoutsidetheschool,asoftenhappenswithschool
orcommunityserviceprojects.Thesecanprovideconsiderablesocialsatisfactionandcansometimes
beconnectedtocurrentcurriculumneeds(Butin,2005).Butthemajorityofstudentssocialcontacts
arelikelyalwaystocomefromstudentsowninitiativeswitheachotherinsimplytakingtimetotalk
andinteract.Theteachersjobistoencouragetheseinformalcontacts,especiallywhentheyhappenat
timesthatsupportratherthaninterferewithlearning.

BehaviorandGoalsasMotivationSourcesSummary
BehaviorismThinkingofmotivationnotassomethinginsideastudentdrivingtheirbehavior,but
asequivalenttotheiroutwardbehavior.Operantconditioningcanbereframedintermsofmotivation,
bythinkingofansweringthequestionasthemotivation,andoftheteacherasthemotivator.Ifteaching
fromthebehavioristperspective,itisimportanttorememberthatwhatlookslikeasignofonemotive
totheteachermayeasilybeasignofadifferentmotivetothestudent.Asextrinsicrewardsoftenseem
toundermineintrinsicmotivation,theyshouldbeusedselectivelyandthoughtfully.Masterygoalsare
aformofintrinsicmotivation,whenastudentwishestolearnormasternewmaterial.Performance
goalsareaformofextrinsicmotivation,whenastudentwishestolooksuccessful,andperformwellin
theeyesofpeersandteachers.Failureavoidancegoalscanbedescribedasanegativebyproductof
performancegoals,wherebyastudentisnotconcernedaboutlearningthesubject,butsimplywishes
nottofail.

Module2:MotivationRelatedtoAttributionsand
InterestsMotivatingStudentstoLearn
MotivationRelatedtoAttributionsandInterestsLearningOutcomes
Aftercompletingthiscourseyouwillbeableto:Understandhowastudentsinterestscanaffecttheir
learningandmotivationGenerateinterestinatopictohelpstudentsgetmotivatedUnderstand
differentattributionsaboutsuccessandfailure,andhowtheyaffectastudent'smotivationEncourage
attributionsthataffectstudentmotivationpositivelyProvideappropriateconditionsforstudentsto
learn

InterestasMotivation
Inadditiontoholdingdifferentkindsofgoalswithconsequentdifferencesinacademicmotivation
studentsshowobviousdifferencesinlevelsofinterestinthetopicsandtasksoftheclassroom.Suppose
thattwohighschoolclassmates,FrankandJason,botharetakingchemistry,andspecificallylearning
howtobalancechemicalequations.Frankfindsthematerialboringandhastoforcehimselftostudy
it; as a result he spends only the time needed to learn the basic material and to complete the
assignmentsatabasiclevel.Jason,ontheotherhand,enjoysthechallengesofbalancingchemical
equations.Hethinksofthetaskasanintriguingpuzzle;henotonlysolveseachofthem,butalso
comparestheproblemstoeachotherashegoesthroughthem.Frankslearningisbasedoneffort
comparedtoJasons,whoselearningisbasedmorefullyoninterest.Astheexampleimplies,when
studentslearnfrominteresttheytendtodevotemoreattentiontothetopicthaniftheylearnfromeffort
(Hidi&Renninger,2006).Thefindingisnotsurprisingsinceinterestisanotheraspectofintrinsic
motivationenergyordrivethatcomesfromwithin.Adistinctionbetweeneffortandinterestisoften
artificial, however, because the two motives often get blended or combined in students personal
experiences.Mostpeoplecanremembertimeswhentheyworkedataskillthattheyenjoyedandfound
interesting,butthatalsorequiredefforttolearn.Thechallengeforteachersisthereforetodrawonand
encouragestudentsinterestasmuchaspossible,andthuskeeptherequiredeffortwithinreasonable
boundsneithertoohardnortooeasy.SituationalInterestversusPersonalInterestStudentsinterests
varyinhowdeeplyorpermanentlytheyarelocatedwithinstudents.Situationalinterestsareonesthat
aretriggeredtemporarilybyfeaturesoftheimmediatesituation.Unusualsights,sounds,orwordscan
stimulatesituationalinterest.Ateachermightshowaninterestingimageontheoverheadprojector,or
playabriefbitofmusic,ormakeasurprisingcommentinpassing.Atamoreabstractlevel,unusualor
surprisingtopicsofdiscussioncanalsoarouseinterestwhentheyarefirstintroduced.Personalinterests
arerelativelypermanentpreferencesofthestudent,andareusuallyexpressedinavarietyofsituations.
Intheclassroom,astudentmay(ormaynot)haveapersonalinterestinparticulartopics,activities,or
subjectmatter.Outsideclass,though,heorsheusuallyhasadditionalpersonalinterestsinparticular
nonacademicactivities(e.g.sports,music)oreveninparticularpeople(acelebrity,afriendwholives
nearby).Thenonacademicpersonalinterestsmaysometimesconflictwithacademicinterest;itmaybe
moreinterestingtogototheshoppingmallwithafriendthantostudyevenyourmostfavoritesubject.
BenefitsofpersonalinterestIngeneral,personalinterestinanacademictopicoractivitytendsto
correlatewithachievementrelatedtothetopicoractivity.Asyoumightsuppose,astudentwhoistruly
interestedismorelikelytofocusonthetopicoractivitymorefully,toworkatitforlongerperiods,to
usemorethoughtfulstrategiesinlearningandtoenjoydoingso(Hidi,2001;Hidi&Renninger,
2006).Smallwonderthatthestudentachievesmore!Note,though,apersistentambiguityaboutthis
benefit: it is often not clear whether personal interest leads to higher achievement, or higher
achievementleadstostrongerinterest.Eitherpossibilityseemsplausible.Researchtosortthemout,
however, has suggested that at least some of the influence goes in the direction from interest to
achievement.Whenelementarystudentsweregivenbooksfromwhichtolearnaboutanewtopic,for
example,theytendedtolearnmorefrombookswhichtheychosethemselvesthanfrombooksthat
weresimplyassigned(Reynolds&Symons,2001).Sointerestseemedtoleadtolearning.Butthis
conclusiondoesnotruleoutitsconverse,thatachievementmaystimulateinterestaswell.AsJoe

learnsmoreabouthistory,hesteadilyfindshistorymoreinteresting;asMcKenzielearnsmoreabout
biology,shegraduallywantstolearnmoreofit.Ifastudenthaslittlepriorpersonalinterestinatopic
oractivity,theteacherisfacedwithstimulatinginitial,situationalinterest,inhopesthattheinitial
interestwillgraduallybecomemorepermanentandpersonal.Thereareanumberofstrategiesfor
meetingthischallenge:Ithelpstoincludesurprisesinyourcommentsandinclassroomactivities
fromtimetotime:tellstudentsfactsthataretruebutcounterintuitive,forexample,ordemonstratea
scienceexperimentthatturnsoutdifferentlythanstudentsexpect(Guthrie,Wigfield,&Humenick,
2006).Italsohelpstorelatenewmaterialtostudentspriorexperienceseveniftheirexperiencesare
not related to academics or to school directly. The concepts of gravitation and acceleration, for
example,operateeverytimeaballishitorthrowninasoftballgame.Ifthisconnectionispointedout
toastudentwhoenjoysplayingalotofsoftball,theconceptscanmakeconceptsmoreinteresting.It
helpstoencouragestudentstorespondtonewmaterialactively.Byhavingstudentstalkaboutthe
materialtogether,forexample,studentscanbeginmakingtheirownconnectionstopriorpersonal
interests,andthesocialinteractionitselfhelpstolinkthematerialtotheirpersonal,socialinterestsas
well.ACaution:SeductiveDetailsEventhoughitisimportanttostimulateinterestinnewmaterial
somehow,itisalsopossibletomisleadordistractstudentsaccidentallybyaddinginappropriate,but
stimulatingfeaturestonewmaterial(Garner,etal.,1992;Harp&Mayer,1998).Distractionshappena
numberofways,suchasanyoftheseamongothers:DeliberatelytellingjokesinclassUsing
colorful illustrations or pictures Adding interesting bits of information to a written or verbal
explanationWhenwellchosen,allofthesemovescanindeedarousestudentsinterestinanewtopic.
Butiftheydonotreallyrelatetothetopicathand,theymaysimplycreatemisunderstandingsor
preventstudentsfromfocusingonkeymaterial.Aswithmostotherlearningprocesses,however,there
areindividualdifferencesamongstudentsindistractibility,studentswhoarestruggling,andaremore
pronetodistractionandmisunderstandingthanstudentswhoarealreadylearningmoresuccessfully
(Sanchez&Wiley,2006).Onbalancethebestadviceisprobablythereforetousestrategiestoarouse
situationalinterest,buttoassessstudentsresponsestothemcontinuallyandashonestlyaspossible.
Thekeyissueiswhetherstudentsseemtolearnbecauseofstimulatingstrategiesthatyouprovide,orin
spiteofthem.

MotivesRelatedtoAttribution
Attributionsareperceptionsaboutthecausesofsuccessandfailure.Supposethatyougetalowmark
onatestandarewonderingwhatcausedthelowmark.Youcanconstructvariousexplanationsfor
makevariousattributionsaboutthisfailure.Maybeyoudidnotstudyveryhard;maybethetestitself
was difficult; maybe you were unlucky; maybe you just are not smart enough. Each explanation
attributesthefailuretoadifferentfactor.Theexplanationsthatyousettleuponmayreflectthetruth
accuratelyorthenagain,theymaynot.Whatisimportant about attributionsisthat theyreflect
personal beliefs about the sources or causes of success and failure. As such, they tend to affect
motivationinvariousways,dependingonthenatureoftheattribution(Weiner,2005).Locus,Stability
andControllabilityAttributionsvaryinthreeunderlyingways:locus,stability,andcontrollability.The
locusofanattributionisthelocation(figurativelyspeaking)ofthesourceofsuccessorfailure.Ifyou
attributeatopmarkonatesttoyourability,thenthelocusisinternal.Butifyouattributethemarkto
thetestshavingeasyquestions,thenthelocusisexternal.Thestabilityofanattributionisitsrelative
permanence.Ifyouattributethemarktoyourability,thenthesourceofsuccessisrelativelystableby
definition,abilityisarelativelylastingquality.Ifyouattributeatopmarktotheeffortyouputinto
studying,thenthesourceofsuccessisunstableeffort canvaryandhastoberenewedoneach
occasionorelseitdisappears.Thecontrollabilityofanattributionistheextenttowhichtheindividual
caninfluenceit.Ifyouattributeatopmarktoyoureffortatstudying,thenthesourceofsuccessis
relativelycontrollableyoucaninfluenceeffortsimplybydecidinghowmuchtostudy.Butifyou
attributethemarktosimpleluck,thenthesourceofthesuccessisuncontrollablethereisnothingthat
caninfluencerandomchance.Asyoumightsuspect,thewaythattheseattributionscombineaffects
studentsacademicmotivationsinmajorways.Itusuallyhelpsbothmotivationandachievementifa
studentattributesacademicsuccessesandfailurestofactorsthatareinternalandcontrollable,suchas
effortorachoicetouseparticularlearningstrategies(Dweck,2000).Attributingsuccessestofactors
thatareinternalbutstableorcontrollable(likeability),ontheotherhand,isbothablessinganda
curse:sometimesitcancreateoptimismaboutprospectsforfuturesuccess(Ialwaysdowell),butit

canalsoleadtoindifferenceaboutcorrectingmistakes(Dweck,2006),orevencreatepessimismifa
studenthappensnottoperformattheaccustomedlevel(MaybeImnotassmartasIthought).Page
Worstofallforacademicmotivationareattributions,whetherstableornot,relatedtoexternalfactors.
Believingthatperformancedependssimplyonluck(Theteacherwasinabadmoodwhenmarking)
oronexcessivedifficultyofmaterialremovesincentiveforastudenttoinvestinlearning.Allinall,
then, it seems important for teachers to encourage internal, stable attributions about success.
InfluencingStudentsAttributionsHowcantheydoso?Onewayoranother,theeffectivestrategies
involveframingteachersownexplanationsofsuccessandfailurearoundinternal,controllablefactors.
Insteadoftellingastudent:Goodwork!Youresmart!trysaying:Goodwork!Youreffortreally
madeadifference,didntit?Ifastudentfails,insteadofsaying,Toobad!Thismaterialisjusttoo
hardforyou,trysaying,Letsfindastrategyforpracticingthismore,andthenyoucantryagain.In
bothcasesthefirstoptionemphasizesuncontrollablefactors(effort,difficultylevel),andthesecond
optionemphasizesinternal,controllablefactors(effort,useofspecificstrategies).Suchattributions
willonlybeconvincing,however,ifteachersprovideappropriateconditionsforstudentstolearn
conditionsinwhichstudentseffortsreallydopayoff.Therearethreeconditionsthathavetobein
placeinparticular.First,academictasksandmaterialsactuallyhavetobeatabouttherightlevelof
difficulty.Ifyougiveproblemsinadvancedcalculustoafirstgradestudent,thestudentwillnotonly
fail them but also be justified in attributing the failure to an external factor, task difficulty. If
assignmentsareassessedinwaysthatproducehighlyvariable,unreliablemarks,thenstudentswill
rightly attribute their performance to an external, unstable source: luck. Both circumstances will
interferewithmotivation.Second,teachersalsoneedtobereadytogivehelptoindividualswhoneed
iteveniftheybelievethatanassignmentiseasyenoughorclearenoughthatstudentsshouldnotneed
individualhelp.Readinesstohelpisalwaysessentialbecauseitisoftenhardtoknowinadvance
exactlyhowhardataskwillprovetobeforparticularstudents.Withoutassistance,ataskthatproves
difficult initially may remain difficult indefinitely, and the student will be tempted to make
unproductive,thoughcorrect,attributionsabouthisorherfailure(Iwillneverunderstandthis,Im
notsmartenough,orItdoesntmatterhowhardIstudy).Third,teachersneedtorememberthat
abilityusuallyconsideredarelativelystablefactoroftenactuallychangesincrementallyoverthe
longterm.Recognizingthisfactisoneofthebestwaystobringaboutactualincreasesinstudents
abilities(Blackwell,Trzniewski,&Dweck,2007;Schunk,Pintrich,&Meese,2008).Amiddleyears
studentmightplaythetrumpetintheschoolbandatahighlevelofability,butthisabilityactually
reflectsalotofpreviouseffortandagradualincreaseinability.Asecondgradestudentwhoreads
fluently,inthissensemayhavehighcurrentabilitytoread;butatsomepointinthedistantpastthat
samestudentcouldnotreadaswell,andevenfurtherbackhemaynothavebeenabletoreadatall.
Theincreasesinabilityhavehappenedatleastinpartbecauseofeffort.Whiletheseideasmayseem
obvious,theycaneasilybeforgottenintheclassroombecauseeffortandabilityevolveaccordingto
verydifferenttimeframes.Effortanditsresultsappearrelativelyimmediately;astudentexpends
effortthisweek,thisday,orevenatthisverymoment,andtheeffort(ifnottheresults)arevisibleright
away.Abilitymaytakelongertoshowitself;astudentoftendevelopsitonlyovermanyweeks,
months,oryears.

MotivationRelatedtoAttributionsandInterestsSummary
Whenastudentfindsmaterialinteresting,theyarelikelytodevotemoreattentiontothetopic.Thisis
anotherformofintrinsicinterest.Personalinterestsarerelativelypermanentpreferencesofthestudent,
andareusuallyexpressedinavarietyofsituations.Situationalinterestsaretriggeredtemporarilyby
featuresoftheimmediatesituation.Asateacheritispossibletogeneratesituationalinterestwhen
teachingatopicthatstudentsmaynothavepersonalinterestin.Situationalinterestmaybegenerated
by:Includingsurprisesinyourcommentsandinclassroomactivitiesfromtimetotime.Relating
new material to students prior experiences. Encouraging students to respond to new material
actively,bytalkingabout thematerial togetherbriefly,forexample.Whenattemptingtogenerate
situationalinterest,itisimportanttoremembernottodistractstudentsbyaddingdistractingfeatures.
Attributionsareperceptionsaboutthecausesofsuccessorfailure.Theyvaryinthreeways:Locus
locationofsourceofsuccess/failureStabilityrelativepermanenceControllabilityextenttowhich
theindividualcaninfluenceitAstheteacher,youcaninfluenceyourstudentsattributionsbyputting
emphasisonstable,controllableattributes.Ifyouwishtoinfluencestudents'attributions,youmustalso

provideappropriateconditionsforlearning.Someconditionsthat must beprovidedare: Correct

difficultylevelofmaterialReadinesstohelpindividualsiftheyneeditRememberingthatability
changesincrementally

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Module3:SelfEfficacyMotivatingStudentsto
Learn
SelfEfficacyLearningOutcomes
Aftercompletingthismoduleyouwillbeableto:Understandanddescribethetheoryofselfefficacy
Identifylearnedhelplessness,andhowtominimizeitsoccurrenceIdentifysourcesofselfefficacy
beliefsinastudent,andinfluencethempositively

EffectsofSelfEfficacyonStudentsBehavior
Inadditiontobeinginfluencedbytheirgoals,interests,andattributions,studentsmotivesareaffected
byspecificbeliefsaboutthestudentspersonalcapacities.Inselfefficacytheorythebeliefsbecomea
primary,explicitexplanationformotivation(Bandura,1977,1986,1997).Selfefficacyisthebelief
thatyouarecapableofcarryingoutaspecifictaskorofreachingaspecificgoal.Notethatthebelief
andtheactionorgoalarespecific.Selfefficacyisabeliefthatyoucanwriteanacceptabletermpaper,
for example, or repair an automobile, or make friends with the new student in class. These are
relatively specific beliefs and tasks. Selfefficacy is not about whether you believe that you are
intelligentingeneral,whetheryoualwayslikeworkingwithmechanicalthings,orthinkthatyouare
generallyalikeableperson.Thesemoregeneraljudgmentsarebetterregardedasvariousmixturesof
selfconcepts(beliefsaboutgeneralpersonalidentity)orofselfesteem(evaluationsofidentity).They
areimportantintheirownright,andsometimesinfluencemotivation,butonlyindirectly(Bong&
Skaalvik,2004).Selfefficacybeliefs,furthermore,arenotthesameastrueordocumentedskillor
ability.Theyareselfconstructed,meaningthattheyarepersonallydevelopedperceptions.Therecan
sometimes therefore be discrepancies between a persons selfefficacy beliefs and the persons
abilities.Youcanbelievethatyoucanwriteagoodtermpaper,forexample,withoutactuallybeing
abletodoso,andviceversa:youcanbelieveyourselfincapableofwritingapaper,butdiscoverthat
youareinfactabletodoso.Inthiswayselfefficacyisliketheeverydayideaofconfidence,except
thatitisdefinedmoreprecisely.Andaswithconfidence,itispossibletohaveeithertoomuchortoo
littleselfefficacy.Theoptimumlevelseemstobeeitheratorslightlyabovetruecapacity(Bandura,
1997).Largediscrepanciesbetweenselfefficacyandabilitycancreatemotivationalproblemsforthe
individual.EffectsofSelfEfficacyonStudentsBehaviorSelfefficacymaysoundlikeauniformly
desirablequality,butresearchaswellasteachersexperiencesuggeststhatitseffectsareabitmore
complicatedthantheyfirst appear.Selfefficacyhasthreemaineffects,eachofwhichhasbotha
darkorundesirablesideandapositiveordesirableside:ChoiceoftasksPersistenceattasks
ResponsetofailureChoiceoftasksThefirsteffectisthatselfefficacymakesstudentsmorewillingto
choosetaskswheretheyalreadyfeelconfidentofsucceeding.Thiseffectisalmostinevitable,giventhe
definitionoftheconceptofselfefficacy,ithasalsobeensupportedbyresearchonselfefficacybeliefs
(Pajares&Schunk,2001).Forteachers,theeffectonchoicecanbeeitherwelcomeornot,depending
oncircumstances.Ifastudentbelievesthatheorshecansolvemathematicalproblems,thenthestudent
is more likely to attempt the mathematics homework that the teacher assigns. Unfortunately the
converseisalsotrue.Ifastudentbelievesthatheorsheisincapableofmath,thenthestudentisless
likelytoattemptthemathhomework(perhapstellinghimself,Whatstheuseoftrying?),regardless
ofthestudentsactualabilityinmath.Sinceselfefficacyisselfconstructed,furthermore,itisalso
possibleforstudentstomiscalculateormisperceivetheirtrueskill,andthemisperceptionsthemselves
canhavecomplexeffectsonstudentsmotivations.Fromateacherspointofview,alliswellevenif
students overestimate their capacitybut actually dosucceed at a relevant taskanyway, or ifthey
underestimatetheircapacity,yetdiscoverthattheycansucceedandraisetheirselfefficacybeliefsasa
result.Allmaynotbewell,though,ifstudentsdonotbelievethattheycansucceedandthereforedo
not even try, or if students overestimate their capacity by a wide margin, but are disappointed
unexpectedlybyfailureandlowertheirselfefficacybeliefs.PersistenceattasksAsecondeffectof
high selfefficacy is to increase a persistence at relevant tasks. If you believe that you can solve
crosswordpuzzles,butencounteronethattakeslongerthanusual,thenyouaremorelikelytowork

11

longeratthepuzzleuntilyou(hopefully)reallydosolveit.Thisisprobablyadesirablebehaviorin
manysituations,unlessthepersistencehappenstointerferewithother,moreimportanttasks(whatif
youshouldbedoinghomeworkinsteadofworkingoncrosswordpuzzles?).Ifyouhappentohavelow
selfefficacyforcrosswords,ontheotherhand,thenyouaremorelikelytogiveupearlyonadifficult
puzzle.Givingupearlymayoftenbeundesirablebecauseitdeprivesyouofachancetoimproveyour
skillbypersisting.Thenagain,theconsequentlackofsuccessbecauseofgivingupmayprovidea
useful incentive to improve your crossword skills. And again, misperceptions of capacity make a
difference.Overestimatingyourcapacitybyalot(excessivelyhighselfefficacy)mightleadyounotto
preparefororfocusonataskproperly,andtherebyimpairyourperformance.Aswithchoosingtasks,
the effects of selfefficacy vary from one individual toanother and one situation toanother. The
teachers task is therefore twofold: first, to discern the variations, and second, to encourage the
positiveselfefficacybeliefs.Thefollowingpointsoffersomeadditionaladviceabouthowtodothis.
Setgoalswithstudents,andgetacommitmentfromthemtoreachthegoals.Example:Bytheendof
themonth,Iwantyoutoknowallofthetimestableupto25x25.CanIcountonyoutodothat?
Encouragestudentstocomparetheirperformancewiththeirownpreviousperformance,notwithother
students.Example:Comparethatdrawingagainsttheonethatyoumadelastsemester.Ithinkyoull
findimprovements!Pointoutlinksbetweeneffortandimprovement.Example:Isawyoustudying
for this text more this week. No wonder you did better this time! In giving feedback about
performance,focusoninformation,notevaluativejudgements.Example:Part1ofthelabwriteup
wasverydetailed,justastheassignmentasked.Part2hasalotofgoodideasinit,butitneedstobe
moredetailedandstatedmoreexplicitly.Pointoutthat increasesinknowledgeorskillhappen
graduallybysustainedeffort,notbecauseofinbornability.Example:EverytimeIreadanotheroneof
youressays,Iseemoregoodideasthanthelasttime.Theyaresomuchmorecompletethanwhenyou
started the year. Response to failure High selfefficacy for a task not only increases a persons
persistenceatthetask,butalsoimprovestheirabilitytocopewithstressfulconditionsandtorecover
theirmotivationfollowingoutrightfailures.Supposethatyouhavetwoassignmentsanessayanda
sciencelabreportdueonthesameday,andthiscircumstancepromisestomakeyourlifehecticas
youapproachthedeadline.Youwillcopebetterwiththestressofmultipleassignmentsifyoualready
believeyourselfcapableofdoingbothofthetasks,thanifyoubelieveyourselfcapableofdoingjust
oneofthemor(especially)ofdoingneither.Youwillalsorecoverbetterintheunfortunateeventthat
youendupwithapoorgradeononeorevenbothofthetasks.Thatisthegoodnews.Thebadnews,at
leastfromateacherspointofview,isthatthesameresiliencecansometimesalsoservenonacademic
andnonschoolpurposes.Howso?Suppose,insteadoftwoschoolassignmentsdueonthesameday,a
studenthasonlyoneschoolassignmentdue,butalsoholdsaparttimeeveningjobasaserverinalocal
restaurant.Suppose,further,thatthestudenthashighselfefficacyforbothofthesetasks;hebelieves,
inotherwords,thatheiscapableofcompletingtheassignmentaswellascontinuingtoworkatthejob.
Theresultofsuchresilientbeliefscaneasilybeastudentwhodevoteslessattentiontoschoolwork
thanideal,andwhoevenendsupwithalowergradeontheassignmentthanheorsheiscapableof.

LearnedHelplessness
Ifapersonssenseofselfefficacyisverylow,heorshecandeveloplearnedhelplessness,aperception
ofcompletelackofcontrolinmasteringatask.Theattitudeissimilartodepression,apervasivefeeling
of apathy and a belief that effort makes no difference and does not lead to success. Learned
helplessness was originally studied from the behaviorist perspective of classical and operant
conditioningbythepsychologistMartinSeligman(1995).Thestudiesusedasomewhat gloomy
experimentalprocedureinwhichananimal,suchasaratoradog,wasrepeatedlyshockedinacagein
awaythatpreventedtheanimalfromescapingtheshocks.Inalaterphaseoftheprocedure,conditions
werechangedsothattheanimalcouldavoidtheshocksbymerelymovingfromonesideofthecageto
the other. Yet frequently they did not bother to do so! Seligman called this behavior learned
helplessness.Inpeople,learnedhelplessnessleadstocharacteristicwaysofdealingwithproblems.
Theytendtoattributethesourceofaproblemtothemselves,togeneralizetheproblemtomanyaspects
oflife,andtoseetheproblemaslastingorpermanentMoreoptimisticindividuals,incontrast,are
morelikelytoattributeaproblemtooutsidesources,toseeitasspecifictoaparticularsituationor
activity,andtoseeitastemporaryortimelimited.Consider,forexample,twostudentswhoeachfaila
test.Theonewithalotoflearnedhelplessnessismorelikelytoexplainthefailurebysayingsomething

12

like:Imstupid;Ineverperformwellonanyschoolwork,andIneverwillperformwellatit.The
other,moreoptimisticstudentismorelikelytosaysomethinglike:Theteachermadethetesttoohard
thistime,sothetestdoesntproveanythingabouthowIwilldonexttimeorinothersubjects.Whatis
noteworthyaboutthesedifferencesinperceptionishowmuchthemoreoptimisticoftheseperspectives
resembleshighselfefficacyandhowmuchlearnedhelplessnessseemstocontradictordifferfromit.
Asalreadynoted,highselfefficacyisastrongbeliefinonescapacitytocarryoutaspecifictask
successfully.Bydefinitionthereforeselfefficacyfocusesattentiononatemporaryortimelimited
activity(thetask),eventhoughthecauseofsuccessfulcompletion(oneself)isinternal.Teacherscan
minimizelearnedhelplessnessinstudents,therefore,byencouragingtheirselfefficacybeliefs.There
areseveralwaysofdoingthis,aswillbeexplorednext.

SourcesofSelfEfficacyBeliefs
Psychologists who study selfefficacy have identified four major sources of selfefficacy beliefs
(Pajares&Schunk,2001,2002).Inorderofimportancetheyare:1.Priorexperiencesofmastering
tasks2.Watchingothersmasteringtasks3.Messagesorpersuasionfromothers4.Emotionsrelated
tostressanddiscomfortFortunatelythefirstthreecanbeinfluencedbyteachersdirectly,andeventhe
fourthcansometimesbeinfluencedindirectlybyappropriateinterpretivecommentsfromtheteacher
orothers.PriorexperiencesofmasteryNotsurprisingly,pastsuccessesatataskincreasestudents
beliefsthattheywillsucceedagaininthefuture.Theimplicationofthisbasicfactmeansthatteachers
need to help students build a history of successes. Whether they are math problems, reading
assignments,orathleticactivities,taskshavetoendwithsuccessmoreoftenthanwithfailure.Note,
though, that the successes have to represent mastery that is genuine or competence that is truly
authentic.Successattasksthataretrivialorirrelevantdonotimproveselfefficacybeliefs,nordoes
praiseforsuccessesthat astudent hasnotreallyhad(Erikson,1968/1994).Asapractical matter,
creatingagenuinehistoryofsuccessismostconvincingifteachersalsoworktobroadenastudents
visionofthepast.Youngerstudents(elementaryage)inparticularhaverelativelyshortorlimited
ideasofwhatcountsaspastexperience;theymaygobackonlyafewoccasionswhenforming
impressionsofwhethertheycansucceedagaininthefuture(Eccles,etal.,1998).Olderstudents
(secondary school) gradually develop longer views of their personal pasts, both because of
improvementsinmemoryandbecauseofaccumulatingapersonalhistorythatistrulylonger.The
challengeforworkingwithanyage,however,istoinsurethatstudentsbaseselfefficacybeliefsonall
relevantexperiencesfromtheirpasts,notjustonselectedorrecentexperiences.WatchingOthers
Experiences of Mastery A second source of efficacy beliefs comes from vicarious experience of
mastery,orobservingotherssuccesses(Schunk&Zimmerman,1997).Simplyseeingsomeoneelse
succeedatatask,inotherwords,cancontributetobelievingthatyou,too,cansucceed.Theeffectis
strongerwhentheobserverlacksexperiencewiththetaskandthereforemaybeunsureofhisorher
own ability. It is also stronger when the model is someone respected by the observer, such as a
studentsteacher,orapeerwithgenerallycomparableability.Evenundertheseconditions,though,
vicariousexperienceisnotasinfluentialasdirectexperience.Thereasonsarenothardtoimagine.
Suppose,for example, youwitnessbothyourteacher anda respectedfriendsucceed at singinga
favorite tune, but you are unsure whether you personally can sing. In that case you may feel
encouragedabout yourownpotential,but arelikelystill tofeel somewhat uncertainofyourown
efficacy.Ifontheotherhandyoudonotwitnessotherssinging,butyouhaveahistoryofsingingwell
yourself,itisadifferentstory.Inthatcaseyouarelikelytobelieveinyourefficacy,regardlessofhow
others perform. All of which suggests that to a modest extent, teachers may be able to enhance
studentsselfefficacybymodelingsuccessatataskorbypointingoutclassmateswhoaresuccessful.
Thesestrategiescanworkbecausetheynotonlyshowhowtodoatask,butalsocommunicateamore
fundamentalmessage,thefactthatthetaskcaninfactbedone.Ifstudentsarelearningadifficult
arithmeticprocedure,forexample,youcanhelpbydemonstratingtheprocedure,orbypointingout
classmateswhoaredoingit.Note,though,thatvicariousmasteryishelpfulonlyifbackedupwithreal
successesperformedbythestudentsthemselves.Itisalsohelpfulonlyifthemodelclassmatesare
perceivedastrulycomparableinability.Overuseofvicariousmodels,especiallyintheabsenceofreal
successbylearners,cancauselearnerstodisqualifyamodelssuccess;studentsmaysimplydecidethat
themodelisoutoftheirleagueinskillsandisthereforeirrelevanttojudgingtheirownpotential.
SocialMessagesandPersuasionAthirdsourceofefficacybeliefsareencouragements,bothimplied

13

andstated,thatpersuadeapersonofhisorhercapacitytodoatask.Persuasiondoesnotcreatehigh
efficacybyitself,butitoftenincreasesorsupportsitwhencoupledwitheitherdirectorvicarious
experience,especiallywhenthepersuasioncomesfrommorethanoneperson(Goddard,Hoy,&Hoy,
2004).Forteachers,thissuggeststwothings.Thefirst,ofcourse,isthatencouragementcanmotivate
students,especiallywhenitisfocusedonachievable,specifictasks.Itcanbemotivatingtosaythings
like:IthinkyoucandoitorIveseenyoudothisbefore,soIknowthatyoucandoitagain.But
the second implication is that teachers should arrange wherever possible to support their
encouragementbydesigningtasksathandthatareinfactachievablebythestudent.Strikingabalance
ofencouragementandtaskdifficultymayseemstraightforward,butsometimesitcanbechallenging
becausestudentscansometimesperceiveteacherscommentsandtasksquitedifferentlyfromhow
teachersintend.Givingexcessiveamountsofdetailedhelp,forexample,maybeintendedassupport
forastudent,butbetakenasalackofconfidenceinthestudentsabilitytodothetaskindependently.
EmotionsRelatedtoSuccess,StressorDiscomfortThepreviousthreesourcesofefficacybeliefsare
all rather cognitive orthinking oriented, but emotionsalso influence expectationsof success or
failure.Feelingnervousoranxiousjustbeforespeakingtoalargegroup(sometimesevenjustaclass
fullofstudents!)canfunctionlikeamessagethatsaysImnotgoingtosucceedatdoingthis,evenif
thereisinfactgoodreasontoexpectsuccess.Butpositivefeelingscanalsoraisebeliefsaboutefficacy.
Whenrecallingtheexcitementofsucceedingataprevious,unrelatedtask,peoplemayoverestimate
theirchancesofsuccessatanewtaskwithwhichtheyhavenopreviousexperience,andaretherefore
innopositiontopredicttheirefficacy.Forteachers,themostimportantimplicationisthatstudents
motivationcanbeaffectedwhentheygeneralizefrompastexperiencewhichtheybelieve,rightlyor
wrongly,toberelevant.Bysimplyannouncingatest,forexample,ateachercanmakesomestudents
anxiousevenbeforethestudentsfindoutanythingaboutthetestwhetheritiseasyordifficult,or
evencomparableinanywaytootherexperiencescalledtestsintheirpasts.Conversely,itcanbe
misleadingtoencouragestudentsonthebasisoftheirsuccessatpastacademictasksiftheearliertasks
werenotreallyrelevanttorequirementsofthenewtasksathand.Suppose,forexample,thatamiddle
yearsstudenthaspreviouslywrittenonlybriefopinionbasedpapers,andneverwrittenaresearch
basedpaper.Inthatcaseboostingthestudentsconfidencebytellinghimthatitisjustlikethepapers
youwrotebeforemaynotbehelpfulorevenhonest.

ACaution:MotivationasContentversusMotivationasProcess
Acautionaboutselfefficacytheoryisitsheavyemphasisonjusttheprocessofmotivation,atthe
expenseofthecontentofmotivation.Thebasicselfefficacymodelhasmuchtosayabouthowbeliefs
affectbehavior,butrelativelylittletosayaboutwhichbeliefsandtasksareespeciallysatisfyingorlead
tothegreatestwellbeinginstudents.Theanswertothisquestionisimportanttoknow,sinceteachers
mightthenselecttasksasmuchaspossiblethatareintrinsicallysatisfying,andnotmerelyachievable.
Anotherwayofposingthisconcernisbyasking:Isitpossibletofeelhighselfefficacyaboutatask
thatyoudonotenjoy?Itdoesseemquitepossibleforsuchagaptoexist.AsayouthKelvinSeifert
hadconsiderablesuccesswithsolvingmathematicsproblemsinhighschoolalgebra,andexpended
considerableeffortdoingalgebraassignmentsashomework.Beforelong,hehaddevelopedhighself
efficacywithregardtosolvingsuchproblems(2000).ButKelvinneverreallyenjoyedsolvingthe
algebraproblems,andlatereventurnedawaypermanentlyfrommathorscienceasacareer(muchto
thedisappointmentofhisteachersandfamily).Inthiscaseselfefficacytheorynicelyexplainedthe
processofhismotivationKelvinsbeliefinhiscapacityledtopersistenceatthetasks.Butitdidnot
explainthecontentofhismotivationhisgrowingdislikeofthetasks.Accountingforsuchagap
requiresadifferent theoryofmotivation,onethatincludesnot onlyspecificbeliefs,butdeeper
personalneedsaswell.Anexampleofthisapproachisselfdeterminationtheory,whichwillbeturned
tonext.

SelfEfficacySummary
Selfefficacyisthebeliefthatyouarecapableofcarryingoutaspecifictaskorofreachingaspecific
goal.Threemaineffectsofselfefficacyare:1)Choiceoftasksselfefficacymakesstudentsmore
willingtochoosetaskswheretheyalreadyfeelconfidentofsucceeding2)Persistenceattasksself

14

efficacy increases persistence at relevant tasks 3) Response to failure selfefficacy for a task
improvesastudentsabilitytocopewithstressfulconditionsandtorecovertheirmotivationfollowing
outrightfailuresLearnedhelplessnessisaperceptionofcompletelackofcontrolinmasteringatask.It
canoccurwhenapersonhasalowsenseofselfefficacy.Teacherscanminimizelearnedhelplessness
instudentsbyencouragingtheirselfefficacybeliefs.Cautionmustbepracticednottoonlyemphasize
the process of motivation, the content of motivation is important also. The main sources of self
efficacyare:1.Priorexperiencesofmasteringtasks2.Watchingothersmasteringtasks3.Messages
orpersuasionfromothers4.EmotionsrelatedtostressanddiscomfortThesecanbeinfluencedby
teachers.

15

Module4:SelfDeterminationMotivating
StudentstoLearn
SelfDeterminationLearningOutcomes
After completing this module you will be able to: Describe and understand the theory of self
determinationListthethreebasichumanneedsthat,whenfulfilled,leadtoselfdetermination
Understandhowintrinsicandextrinsicmotivationaffectaperson'sselfdeterminationImplement
teachingstrategiestosupportstudents'needsKeepselfdeterminationinperspective

SelfDeterminationandIntrinsicMotivation
Commonsensesuggeststhathumanmotivationsoriginatefromsomesortofinnerneed.Everyone
thinks of themselves as having various needs, a need for food, for example, or a need for
companionshipthatinfluencetheirchoicesandactivities.Thissameideaalsoformspartofsome
theoretical accounts of motivation, though the theories differ in the needs that they emphasize or
recognize.Forexample,Maslowshierarchyofneedscanbeseenasanillustrationofmotivationsthat
function like needs which influence longterm personal development. According to Maslow,
individualsmustsatisfyphysicalsurvivalneedsbeforetheyseektosatisfyneedsofbelonging,they
satisfybelongingneedsbeforeesteemneeds,andsoon.Intheory,too,peoplehavebothdeficitneeds
andgrowthneeds,andthedeficitneedsmustbesatisfiedbeforegrowthneedscaninfluencebehavior
(Maslow,1970).InMaslowstheory,asinothersthatusetheconcept,aneedisarelativelylasting
conditionorfeelingthatrequiresrelieforsatisfactionandthattendstoinfluenceactionoverthelong
term.Someneedsmaydecreasewhensatisfied(likehunger),butothersmaynot(likecuriosity).Either
way,needsdifferfromtheselfefficacybeliefsdiscussedpreviously,whicharerelativelyspecificand
cognitive,andaffectparticulartasksandbehaviorsfairlydirectly.Arecenttheoryofmotivationbased
ontheideaofneedsisselfdeterminationtheory,proposedbythepsychologistsEdwardDeciand
RichardRyan(2000),amongothers.Thetheoryproposesthatunderstandingmotivationrequirestaking
intoaccountthreebasichumanneeds:Autonomytheneedtofeelfreeofexternalconstraintson
behaviorCompetencetheneedtofeelcapableorskilledRelatednesstheneedtofeelconnected
orinvolvedwithothersNotethattheseneedsareallpsychological,notphysical;hunger,forexample,
isnotonthelist.Theyarealsoaboutpersonalgrowthordevelopment,notaboutdeficitsthataperson
triestoreduceoreliminate.Unlikefood(inbehaviorism)orsafety(inMaslowshierarchy),youcan
never get enough of autonomy, competence, or relatedness. You (and your students) will seek to
enhance these continually throughout life. The key idea of selfdetermination theory is that when
persons(suchasyouoroneofyourstudents)feelthatthesebasicneedsarereasonablywellmet,they
tendtoperceivetheiractionsandchoicestobeintrinsicallymotivatedorselfdetermined.Inthat
casetheycanturntheirattentiontoavarietyofactivitiesthattheyfindattractiveorimportant,butthat
donotrelatedirectlytotheirbasicneeds.Amongyourstudents,forexample,someindividualsmight
readbooksthatyouhavesuggested,andothersmightlistenattentivelywhenyouexplainkeyconcepts
fromtheunitthatyouhappentobeteaching.Ifoneormorebasicneedsarenotmetwell,however,
people will tend to feel coerced by outside pressures or external incentives. They may become
preoccupied, in fact, with satisfying whatever need has not been met and thus exclude or avoid
activitiesthatmightotherwisebeinteresting,educational,orimportant.Ifthepersonsarestudents,
theirlearningwillsuffer.SelfDeterminationandIntrinsicMotivationInproposingtheimportanceof
needs,then,selfdeterminationtheoryisassertingtheimportanceofintrinsicmotivation.Theself
determinationversionofintrinsicmotivation,however,emphasizesapersonsperceptionoffreedom,
ratherthanthepresenceorabsenceofrealconstraintsonaction.Selfdeterminationmeansaperson
feelsfree,evenifthepersonisalsooperatingwithincertainexternalconstraints.Inprinciple,astudent
canexperienceselfdeterminationevenifthestudentmust,forexample,livewithinexternallyimposed
rules of appropriate classroom behavior. To achieve a feeling of selfdetermination, however, the
studentsbasicneedsmustbemetneedsforautonomy,competence,andrelatedness.Inmotivating
students,then,thebottomlineisthatteachershaveaninterestinhelpingstudentstomeettheirbasic

16

needs,andinnotlettingschoolrulesortheteachersownleadershipstylesinterferewithorblock
satisfactionofstudentsbasicneeds.Pureselfdeterminationmaybetheidealformostteachersand
students, of course, but the realityis usuallydifferent. For avariety of reasons, teachers in most
classroomscannotbeexpectedtomeetallstudentsbasicneedsatalltimes.Onereasonisthesheer
numberofstudents,whichmakesitimpossibletoattendtoeverystudent perfectlyat alltimes.
Anotherreasonisteachersresponsibilityforacurriculum,whichcanrequirecreatingexpectationsfor
studentsactivitiesthatsometimesconflictwithstudentsautonomyormakesthemfeel(temporarily)
lessthanfullycompetent.Stillanotherreasonisstudentspersonalhistories,rangingfromdivorceto
poverty,which may create needs in some individuals which are beyond the power of teachers to
remedy. The result from students point of view is usually only a partial perception of self
determination, and therefore a simultaneous mix of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Self
determinationtheoryrecognizesthisrealitybysuggestingthattheintrinsicnessofmotivationis
reallyamatterofdegree,extendingfromhighlyextrinsic,throughvariousmixturesofintrinsicand
extrinsic,tohighlyintrinsic(Koestner&Losier,2004).Attheextrinsicendofthescaleislearningthat
isregulatedprimarilybyexternalrewardsandconstraints,whereasattheintrinsicendislearning
regulatedprimarilybylearnersthemselves.Thedifferentlevelsofthescale,alongwithexamplesand
their effects on motivation, are described in more detail on the following slides. Pure extrinsic
motivationPersonlackstheintentiontotakeanyaction,regardlessofpressuresorincentivesExample:
Student completes noworkeven when pressured orwhen incentivesare offeredVeryexternal to
personActionsregulatedonlybyoutsidepressuresandincentives,andcontrolsExample: Student
completes assignment only if reminded explicitly of the incentive of grades and/or negative
consequencesoffailingSomewhatexternalSpecificactionsregulatedinternally,butwithoutreflection
or connection to personal needs Example: Student completes assignment independently, but only
becauseoffearofshamingselforbecauseofguiltaboutconsequencesofnotcompletingassignment
SomewhatinternalActionsrecognizedbyindividualasimportantorasvaluableasameanstoamore
valuedgoalExample:Studentgenerallycompletesschoolworkindependently,butonlybecauseofits
valueingainingadmissiontocollegePureintrinsicregulationActionspracticedsolelybecausethey
are enjoyable and valued for their own sake Example: Student enjoys every topic, concept, and
assignmentthateveryteachereverassigns,andcompletesschoolworksolelybecauseofhisenjoyment
VeryinternalActionsadoptedbyindividualasintegraltoselfconceptandtopersonsmajorpersonal
valuesExample:Studentgenerallycompletesschoolworkindependently,becausebeingwelleducated
ispartofthestudentsconceptofhimselfByassumingthatmotivationisoftenamixoftheintrinsic
andextrinsic,thejoboftheteacherbecomesmorerealistic;thejobisnottoexpectpurelyintrinsic
motivationfromstudentsallthetime,butsimplytoarrangeandencouragemotivationsthatareas
intrinsicaspossible.Todothis,theteacherneedstosupportstudentsbasicneedsforautonomy,
competence,andrelatedness.

UsingSelfDeterminationTheoryintheClassroom
Whataresometeachingstrategiesforsupportingstudentsneeds?Educationalresearchershavestudied
thisquestionfromavarietyofdirections,andtheirresultingrecommendationsconvergeandoverlapin
anumberofways.Forconvenience,therecommendationscanbegroupedaccordingtothebasicneed
that they address: Supporting autonomy in learners Supporting the need for competence
SupportingtheneedtorelatetoothersSupportingAutonomyinLearnersAmajorpartofsupporting
autonomy istogive students choices wherever possible (Ryan & Lynch, 2003). The choices that
encouragethegreatestfeelingsofselfcontrol,obviously,areonesthatareaboutrelativelymajorissues
orthathaverelativelysignificantconsequencesforstudents,suchaswhomtochooseaspartnersfora
majorgroupproject.Butchoicesalsoencouragesomefeelingofselfcontrolevenwhentheyareabout
relativelyminorissues,suchashowtoorganizeyourdeskorwhatkindoffoldertouseforstoringyour
papers at school. It is important, furthermore, to offer choices to all students, including students
needingexplicitdirectionsinordertoworksuccessfully;avoidreservingchoicesforonlythebest
studentsorgivingupofferingchoicesaltogethertostudentswhofallbehindorwhoneedextrahelp.
Allstudentswillfeelmoreselfdeterminedandthereforemoremotivatediftheyhavechoicesofsome
sort.Teacherscanalsosupportstudentsautonomymoredirectlybyminimizingexternalrewards(like
grades)andcomparisonsamongstudentsperformance,andbyorientingandrespondingthemselvesto
students expressed goals and interests. Inteaching elementary studentsabout climate change, for

17

example,youcansupportautonomybyexploringwhichaspectsofthistopichavealreadycometo
studentsattentionandarousedtheirconcern.Thepointofthediscussionwouldnotbetofindout
whoknowsthemostaboutthistopic,buttobuildandenhancestudentsintrinsicmotivationsas
muchaspossible.Inreality,ofcourse,itmaynotbepossibletosucceedatthisgoalfullysome
studentsmaysimplyhavenointerestinthetopic,forexample,oryoumaybeconstrainedbytimeor
resources from individualizing certain activities fully. But any degree of attention to students
individuality,aswellasanydegreeofchoice,willsupportstudentsautonomy.SupportingtheNeed
forCompetenceThemostobviouswaytomakestudentsfeelcompetentisbyselectingactivitieswhich
arechallengingbutnonethelessachievablewithreasonableeffortandassistance(Elliott,McGregor,&
Thrash,2004).Althoughfewteacherswoulddisagreewiththisidea,therearetimeswhenitishardto
putintopractice,suchaswhenyoufirstmeetaclassatthestartofaschoolyearandthereforeare
unfamiliar with their backgrounds and interests. But there are some strategies that are generally
effectiveevenifyouarenotyetinapositiontoknowthestudentswell.Oneistoemphasizeactivities
that require active response from students. Sometimes this simply means selecting projects,
experiments,discussionsandthelikethatrequirestudentstodomorethansimplylisten.Othertimesit
meansexpectingactiveresponsesinallinteractionswithstudents,suchasbyaskingquestionsthatcall
fordivergent(multipleorelaborated)answers.Inasocialstudiesclass,forexample,tryasking
Whataresomewayswecouldfindoutmoreaboutourcommunity?insteadofTellmethethree
best ways tofind out about our community. The first question invites more divergent, elaborate
answersthanthesecond.Anothergenerallyeffectivewaytosupportcompetenceistorespondandgive
feedbackasimmediatelyaspossible.Testsandtermpapershelpsubsequentlearningmoreifreturned,
withcomments,soonerratherthanlater.Discussionsteachmoreifyouincludeyourownideasin
them,whilestillencouragingstudentsinput.Smallgroupandindependentactivitiesaremoreeffective
if you provide a convenient way for students to consult authoritative sources for guidance when
needed,whetherthesourceisyoupersonally,ateachingassistant,aspeciallyselectedreading,oreven
acomputerprogram.Inaddition,youcansometimesdevisetasksthatcreateafeelingofcompetence
becausetheyhaveanaturalsolutionorendingpoint.Assemblingajigsawpuzzleofthecommunity,
forexample,hasthisquality,andsodoescreatingajigsawpuzzleofthecommunityifthestudents
need a greater challenge. Supporting the Need to Relate to Others The main way of supporting
studentsneedtorelatetoothersistoarrangeactivitiesinwhichstudentsworktogetherinwaysthat:
AremutuallysupportiveRecognizestudentsdiversityMinimizecompetitionamongindividuals
Notethathavingstudentsworktogethercanhappeninmanyways.Youcan,forexample,deliberately
arrangeprojectsthatrequireavarietyoftalents;someeducatorscallsuchactivitiesrichgroupwork
(Cohen,1994;Cohen,Brody,&SaponShevin,2004).Instudyinginsmallgroupsaboutmedieval
society,forexample,onestudentcancontributehisdrawingskills,anothercancontributehiswriting
skills, and still another can contribute his dramatic skills. The result can be a multifaceted
presentationwritten,visual,andoral.Thegroupsneededforrichgroupworkprovideforstudents
relationshipswitheachother,whethertheycontainsixindividualsoronlytwo.Thereareotherwaysto
encourage relationships among students. In the jigsaw classroom (Aronson & Patnoe, 1997), for
example,studentsworktogetherintwophases.Inthefirstphase,groupsofexpertsworktogether
tofindinformationonaspecializedtopic.Inasecondphasetheexpertgroupssplitupandreform
intogeneralistgroupscontainingonerepresentativefromeachformerexpertgroup.Exampleofthe
jigsawclassroomInstudyingtheanimalsofAfricaeachexpertgroupmightfindinformationabouta
differentparticularcategoryofanimalorplant;onegroupmightfocusonmammal,anotheronbird,a
thirdonreptiles,andsoon.In the second phaseof the jigsaw,thegeneralist groups wouldpool
informationfromtheexpertstogetamorewellroundedviewofthetopic.Thegeneralistgroups
wouldeachhaveanexpertaboutmammals,forexample,butalsoanexpertaboutbirdsandabout
reptiles.Asateacher,youcanaddtotheseorganizationalstrategiesbyencouragingthedevelopmentof
yourownrelationshipswithclassmembers.Yourgoal,asteacher,istodemonstratecaringandinterest
in your students not just as students, but as people. The goal also involves behaving as if good
relationships between and among class members are not only possible, but ready to develop and
perhapsevenalreadydeveloping.Asimpletactic,forexample,istospeakofweandusasmuchas
possible,ratherthanspeakingofyoustudents.Anothertacticistopresentcooperativeactivitiesand
assignmentswithoutapology,asiftheyareinthebestinterestsnotjustofstudents,butofusallin
theclassroom,yourselfincluded.

KeepingSelfDeterminationinPerspective
18

IntroductionIncertainwaysselfdeterminationtheoryprovidesasensiblewaytothinkaboutstudents
intrinsic motivation and therefore to think about how to get them to manage their own learning.
StrengthsAparticularstrengthofthetheoryisthatitrecognizesdegreesofselfdeterminationand
bases many ideas on this reality. Most people recognize combinations of intrinsic and extrinsic
motivationguidingparticularactivitiesintheirownlives.Youmightenjoyteaching,forexample,but
alsodothisjobpartlytoreceiveapaycheck.StrengthsToitscredit,selfdeterminationtheoryalso
reliesonalistofbasichumanneedsautonomy,competence,andrelatednessthatrelatecomfortably
withsomeofthelargerpurposesofeducation.Althoughthesearepositivefeaturesforunderstanding
andinfluencingstudentsclassroommotivation,someeducatorsandpsychologistsnonethelesshave
lingeringquestionsaboutthelimitationsofselfdeterminationtheory.ConcernsOneiswhethermerely
providing choices actually improves students learning, or simply improves their satisfaction with
learning.Thereisevidencesupportingbothpossibilities(Flowerday&Schraw,2003;Deci&Ryan,
2003),anditislikelythatthereareteacherswhoseclassroomexperiencesupportsbothpossibilitiesas
well.Anotherquestioniswhetheritispossibletooverdoattentiontostudentsneedsandagainthere
isevidenceforbothfavoringandcontradictingthispossibility.Toomanychoicescanactuallymake
anyone(notjustastudent)frustratedanddissatisfiedwithachoicethepersonactuallydoesmake
(Schwartz,2004).ConcernsFurthermore,differentiatingactivitiestostudentscompetencelevelsmay
be impractical if students are functioning at extremely diverse levels within a single class, as
sometimeshappens.Differentiatingmaybeinappropriate,too,ifitholdsateacherbackfromcovering
keycurriculumobjectiveswhichstudentsneedandwhichatleastsomestudentsareabletolearn.
Theseareseriousconcerns,thoughnotseriousenoughtogiveupofferingchoicestostudentsortostop
differentiatinginstructionaltogether.

SelfDeterminationSummary
The theory of selfdetermination is based on the idea of needs. It proposes that understanding
motivationrequirestakingintoaccountthreebasichumanneeds:Autonomytheneedtofeelfreeof
externalconstraintsonbehaviorCompetencetheneedtofeelcapableorskilledRelatednessthe
needtofeelconnectedorinvolvedwithothersAccordingtothetheory,whenapersonfeelsthatthese
needsaremet,theyperceivetheiractionstobeselfdetermined,andcanturntheirattentiontoother
activities that are important such asstudying.Selfdeterminationcan bethought ofasa mixof
intrinsicandextrinsicmotivations,assomeofthebasicneedsmaybefulfilledbyanoutsidesource,
such as a teacher. A teacher can implement strategies to support students' needs, so that self
determination can become easier for their students to achieve. Some of these strategies are:
Supportingautonomyinlearnersbyofferingthemchoices.Supportingtheneedforcompetenceby
settingactivitiesthatarebothchallengingandachievable.Supportingtheneedtorelatetoothersby
arranging activities in which students will work together constructively. Selfdetermination theory
providesasensiblewaytothinkaboutgettingstudentstomanagetheirownlearning,howevertake
carenotto:Providetoomanychoicesforstudents,asthiscanbefrustratingDifferentiateactivities
tostudents'competencelevels,ifitmeansnotcoveringkeycurriculumobjectives.

19

Module5:CombiningMotivationTheories
MotivatingStudentstoLearn
CombiningMotivationTheoriesLearningOutcomes
After completing this module you will be able to: Understand that the expectancy of success
combinedwiththevalueofsuccessisthegeneralmodelformotivationUsetheTARGETmodel,
whichisacombinationofmotivationtheories.Integratethecombineddifferenttheoriesofmotivation
intoyourownstyleofteaching

ExpectancyxValue:EffectsonStudentsMotivation
ExpectancyxValue=MotivationMotivationisaffectedbyseveralfactors,includingreinforcementfor
behavior, but especially also students goals, interests, and sense of selfefficacy and self
determination.Thefactorscombinetocreatetwogeneralsourcesofmotivation:studentsexpectation
ofsuccessandthevaluethatstudentsplaceonagoal.Viewingmotivationinthiswayisoftencalled
theexpectancyvaluemodelofmotivation(Wigfield&Eccles,2002;Wigfield,Tonk,&Eccles,2004),
and sometimes written with a multiplicative formula: expectancy x value = motivation. The
relationshipbetweenexpectationandvalueismultiplicativeratherthanadditivebecauseinorderto
bemotivated,itisnecessaryforapersontohaveatleastamodestexpectationofsuccessandtoassign
ataskatleastsomepositivevalue.Ifyouhavehighexpectationsofsuccessbutdonotvalueataskat
all(mentallyassignita0value),thenyouwillnotfeelmotivatedatall.Likewise,ifyouvalueatask
highlybuthavenoexpectationofsuccessaboutcompletingit(assignita0expectancy),thenyou
alsowillnotfeelmotivatedatall.ExpectanciesandValuesExpectanciesaretheresultofvarious
factors,butparticularlythegoalsheldbyastudent,andthestudentsselfefficacy.Astudentwith
masterygoalsandstrongselfefficacyforatask,forexample,islikelytoholdhighexpectationsfor
successalmostbydefinition.Valuesarealsotheresultofvariousfactors,butespeciallystudents
interestsandfeelingsofselfdetermination.Astudentwhohasalastingpersonalinterestinataskor
topicandisallowedtochooseitfreelyisespeciallylikelytovaluethetaskandthereforetofeel
motivated.Ideallybothexpectanciesandvaluesarehighinstudentsonanykeylearningtask.The
reality,however,isthatstudentssometimesdonotexpectsuccess,nordotheynecessarilyvalueit
whensuccessispossible.Howcanateacherrespondtolowexpectationsandlowvaluing?Inbrief,
raisinglowexpectationsdependsonadjustingtaskdifficultysothatsuccessbecomesareasonable
prospect:ateachermustmaketasksneithertoohardnortooeasy.Reachingthisgeneralgoaldepends
inturnonthoughtful,appropriateplanningselectingreasonableobjectives,adjustingthemonthe
basis of experience, finding supportive materials, and providing students with help when needed.
Raisingthevalueofacademictasksisequallyimportant,butthegeneralstrategiesfordoingsoare
differentthanforraisingexpectations.Increasingvaluerequireslinkingthetasktostudentspersonal
interestsandpriorknowledge,showingtheutilityofthetasktostudentsfuturegoals,andshowingthat
thetaskisvaluabletootherpeoplewhomstudentsrespect.

TheTARGETModel
Amodelofmotivationthatintegratesmanyideasaboutmotivation,includingthosealreadylookedat,
hasbeendevelopedbyCaroleAmes(1990,1992).Theacronymorabbreviatednamefortheprogram
isTARGET,whichstandsforsixelementsofeffectivemotivation:TaskAutonomyRecognition
GroupingEvaluatingTimeEachoftheelementscontributestostudents'motivationeitherdirectlyor
indirectly.TaskStudentsexperiencetasksintermsoftheirvalue,theirexpectationofsuccess,andtheir
authenticity.Thevalueofataskisassessedbyitsimportance,interesttothestudent,usefulnessor
utility,andthecostintermsofeffortandtimetoachieveit.Expectationofsuccessisassessedbya
student'sperceptionofthedifficultyofatask.Generallyamiddlinglevelofdifficultyisoptimalfor
students;tooeasy,andthetaskseemstrivial(notvaluableormeaningful),andtoohard,andthetask

20

seemsunlikelytosucceedandinthissenseuseless.Authenticityreferstohowmuchataskrelatesto
reallifeexperiencesofstudents;themoreitdoesso,themoreitcanbuildonstudents'interestsand
goals, and the more meaningful and motivating it becomes. Autonomy Motivation is enhanced if
studentsfeeladegreeofautonomyorresponsibilityforalearningtask.Autonomystrengthensself
efficacyandselfdeterminationtwovaluedandmotivatingattitudesdescribedearlierinthischapter.
Wherepossible,teacherscanenhanceautonomybyofferingstudents'choicesaboutassignmentsand
byencouragingthemtotakeinitiativeabouttheirownlearning.RecognitionTeacherscansupport
students'motivationbyrecognizingtheirachievementsappropriately.Muchdepends,however,onhow
thisisdone;assometimespraiseunderminesperformance.Itisnotespeciallyeffectiveifpraiseisvery
generalandlackingindetailedreasonsforthepraise;orifpraiseisforqualitieswhichastudentcannot
influence(likeintelligenceinsteadofeffort);orifpraiseisofferedsowidelythatitlosesmeaningor
evenbecomesasignalthatperformancehasbeensubstandard.Manyoftheseparadoxicaleffectsare
described by selfdetermination and selfefficacy theory. Grouping Motivation is affected by how
studentsaregroupedtogetherfortheirwork.Therearemanywaystogroupstudents,buttheytendto
fallintothreetypes(Johnson&Johnson,1999):CooperativeCompetitiveIndividualisticIn
cooperative learning, a set of students work together to achieve a common goal (for example,
producingagrouppresentationfortheclass);oftentheyreceiveafinalgrade,orpartofafinalgrade,
incommon.Incompetitivelearning,studentsworkindividually,andtheirgradesreflectcomparisons
amongthestudents(forexample,theirperformancesarerankedrelativetoeachother,ortheyare
gradedonacurve).Inindividualisticlearning,studentsworkbythemselves,buttheirgradesare
unrelatedtotheperformanceofclassmates.Researchthatcomparesthesethreeformsofgrouping
tendstofavorcooperativelearninggroups,whichapparentlysupportsstudents'needforbelongingan
idea important in selfdetermination theory discussed earlier in this chapter. Evaluation Grouping
structuresobviouslyaffect howstudents'effortsareevaluated.Afocusoncomparingstudents,as
happens with competitive structures, can distract students from thinking about the material to be
learned,andtofocusinsteadonhowtheyappeartoexternalauthorities;thequestionshiftsfromWhat
am Ilearning?toWhat willtheteacherthinkabout myperformance?Afocusoncooperative
learning,ontheotherhand,canhavedoubleedgedeffects:studentsareencouragedtohelptheir
groupmates,butmayalsobetemptedtorelyexcessivelyonothers'effortsoralternativelytoignore
each other's contributions and overspecialize their own contributions. Some compromise between
cooperative and individualistic structures seems to create optimal motivation for learning (Slavin,
1995).TimeAseveryteacherknows,studentsvaryintheamountoftimeneededtolearnalmostany
material or task. Accommodating the differences can be challenging, but also important for
maximizingstudents'motivation.Schooldaysareoftenfilledwithinterruptionsandfixedintervalsof
timedevotedtononacademicactivities.Theseareallfactsthatmakeitdifficulttobeflexibleabout
grantingindividualsdifferentamountsoftimetocompleteacademictasks.Nonethelessadegreeof
flexibilityisusuallypossible:largerblocksoftimecansometimesbecreatedforimportantactivities
(forexample,writinganessay),andsometimesenrichmentactivitiescanbearrangedforsomestudents
whileothersreceiveextraattentionfromtheteacheroncoreorbasictasks.

Motivation:SustainingFocusonLearning
Itisimportanttoremembertosustainthefocusofmotivationonthestudents'learning.Soonerorlater
whenyouteach,therewillbesituationsappropriateforeachperspectiveaboutmotivationdescribedin
thischapter.Therewillbetimeswhenfocusingexclusivelyonstudentsappropriatebehavior(orlack
thereof)willbebothnecessaryandsufficientevidenceofmotivation.Buttherewillbeothertimes
whenitisimportanttoencouragestudentsbeliefsthattheycanaccomplishspecifictasks,andstill
othertimeswhenprovidingforstudentsunderlyingneedsforcompetenceorsocialconnectionis
important.Thinkoftheseperspectivesasalternativestobeusedeithersinglyorincombinationwhen
thetimeisright.Becauseofyourownvalues,attitudes,orbeliefs,youmayfindoneperspectivemore
personallycompatiblethananother.Evenifyousettleonfavoritewaysofmotivatingstudents,though,
itisencouragedtokeeptheother,lessfavoredapproachesinreserveanyway,andtoexperimentwith
them.Aneclecticapproachtomotivationwillenrichyourteachingthemost,andenrichyourstudents
motivationandlearningaswell.Ifthereisasinglelessonfromtheconceptsaboutmotivationoutlined
inthiscourse,itisthis:academicmotivationhasnosinglesource,andteachersmotivatestudentsthe
bestwhentheyassumemotivationiscomplex.

21

CombiningMotivationTheoriesSummary
Thefactorswhichinfluencemotivationcanbecombinedtocreatetwogeneralsourcesofmotivation
Students'expectationofsuccessThevaluethatstudentsplaceonagoalThisiscalledtheexpectancy
valuemodelofmotivation,andiswrittenasamultiplicationformula:expectancyxvalue=motivation.
Ifastudentdoesnotexpecttosucceed,theywillfeelnomotivation.Likewiseiftheydonotvaluethe
tasktheywillhavenomotivation.Itisvitaltoremembertosustainthefocusofmotivationonthe
students'learning.TheTARGETmodelintegratesmanyideasofmotivation.Theacronymstandsfor:
TaskthevalueastudentplacesonataskisimportantAutonomymotivationisenhancedifstudents
feeladegreeofautonomyforthetaskRecognitionbeingrecognizedfortheirachievementscan
enhancemotivationGroupingworkingingroupscanincreasemotivationEvaluatingthetypeof
evaluationwillgreatlyinfluenceastudent'soutlookonatask,andhencetheirmotivationtowardsit
Timeknowingthereisampletimetocompleteataskcanincreaseastudentsmotivation

22

Module6:MotivatingStudentstoLearn
AssessmentMotivatingStudentstoLearn
MotivatingStudentstoLearnAssessment100%

23

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