Jennifer Fulton

TE 861C Professor Brian Hancock

April 29, 2016
Introduction
Teachers in urban schools often discuss motivation because student motivation is a
complicated topic. When you ask students what motivates them, you will get answers as varied
as your students themselves. Educators often talk about motivation in one of two categories
intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is when a student does
something (reads a book, completes a task, comes to class on time) because they are genuinely
interested in the activity itself and motivated by internal factors (Ryan and Deci, 2000). Extrinsic
motivation is when a student does that same something because they want to earn some external
reward, such as completing an assignment to earn a good grade, or avoid a negative
consequence, such as being on time to class to avoid punishment (Ryan and Deci, 2000). I am
interested in exploring motivation factors for my students in credit recovery classes and what
motivational mindsets cause a student to be most successful.
Students in my school district come from mostly urban areas and have varied interest
levels in school, from not being motivated by their classes at all to being fully invested and
working in high school to earn college credit through International Baccalaureate Diploma
Programme (IB DP) or Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Similar to most, if not all, high
schools, you must earn a certain number of credits during your four years in order to graduate.
Credits are earned through successfully passing classes and if students do not pass one or more
classes, they are often placed into credit recovery (CR) courses.

First, it will be necessary to look back at data related to CR at my high school. Given that
APEX, my districts choice for CR, has never been offered during the school year prior to 20152016, I am unsure of how much credit the students will be able to complete in a semester or a
full year. I have data from first semester, but only a handful of students completed the online
course and earned credit. I will work with two groups of students from two different APEX
courses. Some students will be given extrinsic rewards for completing quizzes and tests (the
main tasks in the credit recovery courses). These extrinsic rewards will include candy, snacks,
stickers on a publicly displayed sticker chart, high fives, or a note of encouragement. They will
be the experimental group. Other students will receive a printed letter of congratulations and earn
the credit upon completing the online work in other words, no extrinsic reward beyond what is
normally provided to a student in APEX or any other CR course. They will be considered the
control group.
What all of this boils down to is the question of what factors influence student motivation
in credit recovery classes and what can teachers do to make students most successful in credit
recovery course settings. I hope that my results can show more insight into what factors
influence student motivation through quantitative data how many students successfully pass at
least one course and/or are on track to graduate on time and qualitative data how students
feelings about the course and their own personal success changes over time. I plan to measure
students feelings through exit tickets, surveys, and an extended personal response (about a page)
at the end of the semester. The extended personal response is a course requirement at my high
school which the students complete during designated final exam time. To measure the success
of the experimental group, I will be measuring their course completion rates against the previous

summer and first semester data, as well as examining their exit tickets and personal responses to
see if their perceived motivation levels changed over time.
Literature Review
First, in order to situate motivation within credit recovery courses in high school, Ill
discuss recent research in motivation and how it fits into my research context. Ill further focus
on student perception of motivation in their peers and how motivation has been quantified in
research. Ill discuss how I will quantify motivation in my research and then summarize current
research I have examined in the conclusion, and how my research has implications for future
actions for educators to take.
Current beliefs about student motivation in school are mixed. As Tollefson details in her
researchs introductory paragraphs: some people blame students for not working hard enough in
school and not being motivated by grades; others blame teachers (2000). Still others blame
parents. However, there is no clear-cut answer based on current research as to who is blame. In
fact, current research looks for answers rather than placing blame. I believe that playing the
blame game at all is patently ridiculous. It is much more valuable to turn to science to research
motivation and act to build student motivation on a case-by-case basis or mitigate circumstances
or situations that will lead a child to be unmotivated, as much as possible.
Motivation
Ryan and Deci define a motivated person as someone who is moved to do something. A
person who feels no impetus or inspiration to act is thus characterized as unmotivated, whereas
someone who is energized or activated toward an end is considered motivated (2000, p. 54).
Motivation as described in educational research is traditionally divided into two categories:
extrinsic and intrinsic. Ryan and Deci continue by defining this divide in motivation by

describing intrinsic motivation, which refers to doing something because it is inherently

interesting and enjoyable to the student and extrinsic motivation, which refers to doing
something because it leads to a separable outcome (2000, p. 55). Deciphering the differences in
student motivation between these two categories has guided research on motivation for years.
Tollefson explains that children begin their educational careers not knowing yet what factors or
behaviors will make them successful as a student (2000). I agree: these are learned behaviors,
influenced by every formal (classroom setting) and informal (every day) educational experience
from kindergarten all the way through whenever their formal schooling ends, whether high
school, college, or graduate school. Students are constantly taking information in from the world
around them, much like scientists do, and they either become convinced that they can be
successful or they become unconvinced, or worse, unmotivated.
This fits with Wigfield and Eccless research into the expectancy-value theory of
motivation as well (2000). Students who expect to succeed because of past successes in school or
students who have a strong faith in their abilities are more likely to succeed than students who
have opposing experiences or different expectancies. In my experience, and according to
Wigfield and Eccles, intrinsic motivation becomes more difficult to develop as students enter
middle and high school; it is either within the child or it is not (2000). If students believe they are
not good at a particular task or subject, they find less value in completing the task or learning
about the subject over time. Wigfield and Eccles posit this may be due to a greater social
pressure and influence; comparison of oneself to peers holds a great deal of importance to many
adolescents (2000).
Students Perception of Motivation

Although their research involved middle school students, I believe that there are
significant implications for high school students in Graham and Taylors research into motivation
(1998). In looking at ethnic minorities achievement values as rated by their peers, girls were
significantly more likely to rate high achieving peers as having value, whereas boys were much
more likely to not see social value in their high achieving peers. They say that respondents in
their survey were much more likely to associate academic disengagement and social deviance
with maleness, low academic achievement, and being a member of a minority ethnic group
(1998, p. 606). I think that this view is pervasive and harmful in schools today, as it can dictate
how both peers and teachers view black males and males of other minority groups - males who
are not white. When students do not have high expectations of their peers, this can harm student
engagement in the classroom, damaging both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Considering this
potential bias while conducting my own research will be important.
Research Methods
Quantifying motivation in the past has frequently involved surveys or interviews of
students. Generally students rate themselves using a scale or continuum. Tuan, Chin, and Shieh
examined student motivation in science classes using six different aspects: self-efficacy, active
learning strategies, science learning value, performance goal, achievement goal, and learning
environment stimulation (2005, p. 639). Their research highlights the varied aspects of
motivation, from the intrinsic (self-efficacy) to the extrinsic (learning environment stimulation).
Zimmerman describes self-efficacy as a strong predictor of student success in school and defines
it as personal judgments of ones capabilities to organize and execute courses of actions to attain
designated goals (2000, p. 83). Self-efficacy is different from, but strongly influences,
motivation.

Following in the footsteps of researchers before me, I will be using a survey to quantify
my students perceived levels of motivation. I will also be looking at their data in terms of credit
recovered to determine their level of motivation. Passing a class requires self-discipline and
successful students tend to exhibit outward signs of motivation, which I hope to be able to
capture in their survey answers as well, in their own words. Wigfield and Eccles also used survey
results to help quantify how students viewed their expectancy of success, their beliefs in their
own abilities, and the usefulness of tasks and ideas learned in school, along with their interest in
such concepts. Their research showed that students show a distinct difference in what students
feel they are good at and how highly they value educational experiences (2000, p. 75).
Conclusion
Arguably, student motivation is the one of the most challenging issues facing educators
today. Here, research shows that students are influenced by their own expectancies of success,
and that permeates all of their experiences throughout their formal schooling. Research also
shows that a large variety of factors influence student motivation, and most of the studies
employed qualitative data collection techniques which will be easily integrated and used in my
own research. As such, investigating student motivation in credit recovery courses is worthwhile
because if I can gain some insight into students levels of motivation and expectancy of success,
and further apply this in the school as a whole, it may help keep some students in school who
otherwise might not stay in school through high school graduation.
Research Context
I teach at an urban school in Lansing, Michigan. The school is located near the downtown
area, across the street from a major hospital, Sparrow. The school is an International
Baccaleaureate (IB) school and 11th and 12th graders in the Diploma Programme (DP) can earn

the full IB diploma. I teach one section of DP Environmental Systems and Societies, three
sections of Middle Years Programme (MYP) Environmental Science, and two sections of APEX,
as I have already explained is our current online CR offering.
The school is roughly 40% African American, 30% Hispanic, and 30% White. There are
approximately 1300 students 7th through 12th grades. The school is about 70% free or reducedcost lunch. There has been a lot of teacher turnover in the last few years; for example, in the
science department, last year four of the eight high school science teachers retired or moved to
other schools. In early 2016, Sparrow Hospital purchased the high school in order to expand. As
such, staff and student pride in the high school and our mission is extremely high but morale is
shaky. We have five years rent free in our current building, which means that all or nearly all of
the students currently in the building, 7th to 12th grades, will graduate from that building.
However, after those five years have passed, the location of the school is uncertain. All that is
known for certain is that we will have a building somewhere in Lansing, Michigan.
Keeping that in mind, I am going to focus on student motivation. I will be working with
all high school grade levels (9-12) and examining how student motivation changes based on a
number of factors, including student age, grade level (whether it matches the students age or
doesnt, and thus, are they on track to graduate?), classes in which they are enrolled, whether
they have an accommodation in the form of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan,
and others. What factors make a student most likely to pass a course - or even successfully
progress in a course - like APEX? If a student has failed a class before, our schools policy is that
that student cannot take the face-to-face class again, the student has to take the class through
APEX, which assumes a certain level of self-motivation and self-efficacy. We now have CR
during the school day whereas in previous years, we have only offered CR after school or over

the summer. Will our schools rate of students passing classes through APEX change now that we
offer APEX during the school day or will it stay the same? Will this increase student motivation?
APEX is taught in a corner of the school in the middle of nowhere, as the kids say, so
teachers shuffle in and out of the room all day. Five sections total with four different teachers
means that no one has truly taken ownership of the room. The decorations are sparse and the
computers are the focus. There are sometimes not enough computers for all of the students to be
working at the same time, which may actually harm motivation. The classroom environment
leaves something to be desired and I believe contributes to the perceived lack of motivation in
the students.
The APEX classes are currently limited to a maximum of 30 students per section, and my
second hour has 29 students while my fourth hour has 27. Two of these students are enrolled in
both sections, which means that my sample size for this study will be 54 unique students.
Currently, the breakdown of grade levels is as follows: in second hour, the students include one
12th grader, ten 11th graders, nine 10th graders, and nine 9th graders in second hour. In fourth
hour, there are twelve 12th graders, nine 11th graders, two 10th graders and four 9th graders. As
of March 2016, I have signed the forms for ten courses successfully completed by nine students,
all in fourth hour. It seems to me that age has a strong correlation with completion of an APEX
course -- all students have been 11th or 12th graders so far.
There is a high number of students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and/or
504 plans in APEX. Second hour has nine students with IEPs or 504 plans and fourth hour has
three students with IEPs. Attendance also is a force with which I struggle. In my second hour,
there are regularly around twelve students absent. My data collection tools allow for tracking of

daily attendance and will be explained in the following section, Methods and Analysis. My study
time will be approximately one semester long.
Methods and Analysis
For this study, I will be dividing the students up or more accurately, taking advantage of
a natural division that exists. I teach APEX two separate hours so one hour will receive the
experimental treatment and the other will be the control group and will be treated as usual. I am
not sure yet which hour should receive which treatment. Second hour students are a more
heterogenous group, with most grade levels represented, with the exception of twelfth. Fourth
hour students are nearly all upperclassmen, eleventh and twelfth graders.
Methods
The experimental group will receive extrinsic rewards frequently in order to increase
student progress and motivation. These rewards will include a sticker on a chart for each unit a
student completes while working on a class, candy, snacks, high fives, or an extra note of
encouragement. Second hour students will receive these rewards and will be considered the
experimental group. All students will receive a printed letter of congratulations and earn the
credit upon completing the online work in other words, no extrinsic reward beyond what is
normally provided to a student in APEX or any other CR course. These fourth hour students will
be the control group and will not receive the rewards of the experimental group.
My data collection tools include a variety of different data forms, some for which the
students are responsible and others for which the responsibility falls on the teacher. Data tables
will be daily collection tools (Appendix A). Each student will have a row filled out every day. If
they are absent, not applicable (n/a) will take the place of data. Qualitative data includes student
attitude (examples can be found in the second column heading of table 1), whether the student

was on social media that day or not (social media includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.),
whether the student asked for help or not, and if behavior follow-up was necessary (either
positive or negative). Positive behavior follow-up includes good news postcards, a positive
phone call home, stickers, or other extrinsic rewards. Negative behavior follow-up includes a
phone call home, a student being sent to an administrator or another teacher because of
disruption, a disciplinary write-up, or other consequences. Table 2 includes quantitative data
tracking. Attendance status daily includes whether a student was present, tardy, or absent. If a
student is tardy, the data table will include how many minutes late the student was and whether
the student had a pass excusing the tardy or not. Excessive absences or tardies will help explain
student non-progress and will warrant a phone call home or follow-up through administration.
Next, the number of activities successfully completed will tracked, along with the number of
attempts. If a student needs a quiz or test reset too many times and does not ask for help, either
from a classmate or from the teacher, that data will be tracked. The APEX system allows a
teacher to see how much time the student spends logged into APEX in total and each day, which
shows effort on the part of the student. In a 55-minute class period, a student generally should be
logged in for at least 45 minutes and be actively engaged in the course material. This 45 minute
time period will be used as a baseline for comparison. The final column in Table 2 will be used to
track how many units the student has completed and if a unit was completed that day.
Generally speaking, depending on the difficulty of the class, a student should be able to
complete a course with 30-80 hours of work. The higher end of this estimate accounts for the
increased rigor and large number of units in math and literature classes. Separate from the tables
in Appendix A, I will keep track of the number of classes completed by each student. A binder
with the course completion records will be kept in the classroom.

Appendix B contains the extended personal response questions that will serve to gauge
the students general feelings about APEX and success in the class(es) in which the student is
enrolled. This survey will be administered to students during the final exam time period for
APEX. Although the students were not previously required to complete a self-reflection
questionnaire for APEX, I have decided to make it a requirement in all APEX classes with the
agreement of other APEX teachers and my principal. Students are not required to complete a
formal final exam, but they are required to be present during this time period per the districts
guidelines. This will avoid student disengagement in answering the questions. The answers to
these survey questions will be used in conjunction with the rest of the data to evaluate student
motivation and success.
Additionally, periodically throughout the semester, I will conduct interviews with several
focus students. These interviews will allow me to delve deeper into their reasons for particular
behaviors, whether positive or negative, and to discover their feelings as the semester progresses
relating to motivation and success. Their personal assessment in their own words will be
invaluable. The interviews will be videotaped.
Analysis
Because I am interested in motivation in APEX, I will compare this semesters (Spring
2016) data regarding how many students successfully pass a course in APEX to that of first
semester (Fall, 2015) and the summer of 2015. As motivation can and often does vary by grade
level, I will be splitting the results by grade level to make a stronger comparison and running a ttest to see if the differences are statistically significant. Existing records have been collected
from the first semester courses and from the summer (I have maintained a binder with a record of

all successful course completions, including the amount of time logged into the program, the date
the course was completed, and the final grade awarded in course).
Conclusion
In closing, prior research shows that student motivation continues to be a puzzle teachers
must piece together in order to understand how to encourage their students to work harder and
achieve the ultimate goal: graduation. My research is valuable in that it looks at a previously
unexamined group, students who have previously not been successful in classes required for a
high school diploma. Unpacking and discovering what motivates these students will be essential
to ensuring their success. This research will be valuable for future students at the Lansing School
District and potentially other urban school districts across the country.

References
Graham, S., Taylor, A., & Hudley, C. (1998). Exploring achievement values among ethnic
minority early adolescents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 606-620.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and
New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54-67.
Tollefson, N. (2000). Classroom applications of cognitive theories of motivation. Educational
Psychology Review, 12, 63-83.
Tuan, H., Chin, C. & Shieh, S. (2005). The development of a questionnaire to measure students'
motivation towards science learning, International Journal of Science Education, 27(6),
639-654.
Usher, A. (2015). Equity and the Social Dimension: An Overview [Overview Paper]. The
European Higher Education Area, 433-447.
Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2000). Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation.
Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 68-81.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Self-efficacy: An essential motive to learn. Contemporary
Educational Psychology, 25, 82-91.

Appendix A: Tables
Table 1: Daily Student Engagement
Student

Attitude in
Class
(Positive,
Negative,
Helpful to
Others,
Disruptive,
Distracted, Offtask Talking)

On Social
Media?
Yes/No

Asking for Help

Yes/No
Number of
times help was
requested?

Behavior
Follow-up
Necessary?
Yes/No

Table 2: Numerical Explanations

Student

Attendance Status
Present/Tardy/Absent

Number of
Activities
Successfully
Completed/Numbe
r of Attempts

Amount of
Time Spent
Logged onto
APEX

Units
Completed

Appendix B: Extended Personal Response

Please answer the following questions in as much detail as possible.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

How do you feel about the pacing of the course in APEX?

Do you feel like you learned the course material?
Are you comfortable with how APEX fit your learning style?
What could have made you more successful in APEX this semester?
Did you enjoy having the opportunity to take credit recovery during the school day? Why
or why not?
6) Did you take advantage of APEX being offered after school this semester? Why or why
not?