Description of the group

School/private institution
Age characteristics
Level (describe their knowledge)
Timetable (details)
Number of students
Classroom

Description of the problem

Announce the problem
Described instances in which you can observe the problem (examples) and
outcomes
How you tackled the situation
Hypothesis and questions
Theoretical background
Theory to plan a course of action
Theory that will back up your course of action
Your action (propose a practical solution)
Design or redesign a lesson plan (sample)
Introduction
This action research will aim to a solution of a specific problem I have been dealing
with during my Teaching Training Period. My intention is to deeply reflect on this problem
and to find the most suitable solution by backing up my ideas and by reinforcing them
through adequate bibliography.
Description of the group:

Since September 28th, I have been working with a third Polimodal group at Colegio
San Jose. This group is formed by 34 seventeen-eighteen year-old students. They have
English lessons on Wednesdays from 12 to 13 and on Fridays from 10.45 to 11.45. Classes
on Wednesday tend to be shorter for they come from a 15 minute break and students
always take their time to enter the class. Besides, it is their last hour at school; therefore at
12.50 they are already catching a glimpse of the time.
As regards their level of English, they are working with the book Total English Upper
Intermediate. Although there may be some students below this level, all of them work
really hard and successfully achieve the requirements of the subject. There are 23 boys and
11 girls. Although the boys tend to be a little more talkative and noisier, the classroom
atmosphere is quite relaxed and amiable. However, the big amount of students does
represent a problem when working in groups or with activities which require students to
move from their seats. When working in groups, it is normal that some of the members of
the group work and the others do not. That is why, it is a better idea to make them work in
pairs or threesomes at the most. The same happens when just one or two students have to
go to the front, the rest of them tend to misbehave and not to pay attention to what their
partners are doing
The size of the classroom is just right; students are sat on a comfortably way and the
teacher can move around it easily which facilitates the monitoring of the group.
The surrounding atmosphere is quiet; there is not much noise coming from the outside
at the moment of delivering lesson However, usually, one of the school tutors or a student

from another classroom interrupts the class to make an announcement or to ask the pupils
for something.
Description of the problem
The group I have previously described has many characteristics that usually help to
construct a good classroom environment which, consequently, facilitates the process of
learning. However, there were problems. I started delivering lessons in this group on
September 14th, at that moment, students were planning their schedule for Spring Day. It
was really difficult to hold their attention for more than 20 minutes for this day is of utter
importance for them. Whenever I gave them activities they rushed to finish it as soon as
without paying any attention possible and then they started talking about the picnic, the
disco, the clothes they were going to wear, and so on. This situation was quite frustrating
but I tried to calm myself down by thinking it would be over once the Spring Day has
passed. I was wrong. The following class, I noticed that students were talking
enthusiastically about another topic that, of course, had nothing to do with my subject. I
asked the mainstream teacher what it was about and she told me that students were having
the farandula in a month time. For sure, I was receiving bad news. Commonly, only 10
out of 35 students would pay attention in class; therefore, it was impossible for them to
understand what I was saying because there was too much noise in the class. My first
attempt to solve this problem was to try almost every technique I knew about to make
students be silent: I raised my hand, I stood up in the middle of the class, I sat at the front
of the classroom, I moved around asking students individually, and I repeated the phrases
silence, please, could you listen to me, please? come on, guys, just five minutes! one

thousand times. None of these techniques worked. I took it personal for I thought they did
not like me and, for this, they would not want to work. I had this horrible feeling until I
talked to the course teacher and others who told me that these students were also
misbehaving in their respective subjects. They also said it had always been like that in that
part of the year; students got excited about the Farandula and it was absolutely difficult to
hold their complete attention. That was a critical part in my Teaching Training Period; I
knew I had no time to lose for it usually ends on the second week of October. I had started
in September and I needed at least 8 weeks to complete my internship; therefore, I could
not miss one single class. Luckily, instead of panicking, I tried to be in control of the
problem I was facing.

Solution:
Once I had identified the problem, I decided that the solution for it would be to work on the
students motivation.

How to
Motivate Students?
As College Professors, you may have often wondered why some students are more
involved in class, better prepared for discussions, ask more questions, and, in general,
simply try harder than other students. Is it something about them or you? More important,
what can you do differently to motivate students and enhance learning? By trying to
understand why students act as they do, we are struggling with what psychologists and

educators term motivation - a somewhat mysterious dispositional quality that facilitates

learning. If you are looking for ways to motivate your students, the model that is presented
here may offer some help.
Keller (1987) offers a very practical model of designing motivational instruction. This
model is termed the ARCS model. The 4 components of the ARCS model acronym are:
Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction.

ATTENTION: Student attention may be fairly easy to catch, initially, but difficult to
sustain over an entire course. Some strategies for gaining attention and holding it involve
the use of incongruity, e.g. presenting evidence contradictory to an accepted theory. Other
attention strategies might include varying the pace or style of presentation of the course
materials, using humour, and planning activities that require student participation.

RELEVANCE: the R in the ARCS model, is especially important in motivating learners,

since competing priorities, such as part-time jobs or other commitments, reduce the amount
of time available for learning. Skills and information gained through education or training
must be perceived as usable beyond the course level. Course relevance can be emphasized
by relating the content to learner experience or the learners future goals.

CONFIDENCE: A useful strategy for confidence-building is to plan for success

opportunities which means not to fail students early on in the program. Other strategies for
increasing student confidence include helping students to set realistic goals for themselves,

providing clear and specific criteria for evaluation, and attributing success to learner effort
when giving feedback. Your hard work really shows in this assignment - good job! or
These answers show a great deal of insight; its clear youve been reading very carefully.

SATIFACTION: Satisfaction is feeling good about accomplishing instructional goals. To

increase the chance of learner satisfaction, we should provide activities that allow new
skills to be used in realistic settings, transfer of learning is intrinsically motivating.
Flexibility and choice within the instructional program by providing options for objectives,
study methods, and/or evaluations, can increase the learners sense of control. Providing
extrinsic rewards for progress and reinforcing students intrinsic feelings of pride will also
strengthen learner satisfaction.
The ARCS model provides structure for educators who are concerned about the
motivational aspects of instruction. In teaching and learning, the components of attention,
relevance, confidence, and satisfaction may determine whether a student successfully
completes a course, and therefore are critical to the success of the teaching and learning
process.
Maureen Tam
Coordinator
Teaching & Learning Centre
Reference:
Keller, J. (1987). Development and use of the ARCS model of instructional design.
Journal of Instructional Development, 10(3), 2-10.
N. B. If you want to know more about the ARCS model, you may borrow a video-tape
that features Professor John Kellers ARCS model produced for tertiary teachers in
Hong Kong by the T&T project team. The tape is available at the TLC.
http://www.ln.edu.hk/tlc/learning_matters/12-98-0298.pdf

My students aren't motivated - how can I help them?

Teachers have a lot to do with their students' motivational level. A student may arrive in class with a
certain degree of motivation. But the teacher's behavior and teaching style, the structure of the
course, the nature of the assignments and informal interactions with students all have a large effect
on student motivation. We may have heard the utterance, "my students are so unmotivated!" and
the good news is that there's a lot that we can do to change that.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Related Links
Engaging students from urban backgrounds

Educational psychology has identified two basic classifications of motivation - intrinsic and extrinsic.
Intrinsic motivation arises from a desire to learn a topic due to its inherent interests, for selffulfillment, enjoyment and to achieve a mastery of the subject. On the other hand, extrinsic
motivation is motivation to perform and succeed for the sake of accomplishing a specific result or
outcome. Students who are very grade-oriented are extrinsically motivated, whereas students who
seem to truly embrace their work and take a genuine interest in it are intrinsically motivated.

Motivating Students (more info)

This chapter from the book Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis (Jossey-Bass Publishers: San
Francisco, 1993) is a great place to start for ideas and tips about increasing student motivation in
your classes. The author presents a handy distillation of research on motivation and uses examples
and anecdotes that bring this material to life. In addition to general strategies, this chapter
addresses successful instructional behaviors, how to structure a course to motivate students, deemphasizing grades and responding with other types of feedback to students, and tips to encourage
students to complete assigned readings. A reference list points the way to more specific information.
Excerpts from this chapter:
Give frequent, early, positive feedback that supports students' beliefs that they can do well.
Ensure opportunities for students' success by assigning tasks that are neither too easy nor
too difficult.
Help students find personal meaning and value in the material.
Create an atmosphere that is open and positive.
Help students feel that they are valued members of a learning community.

Motivating Students - from the Vanderbilt Center for

Teaching (more info)
This website contains a quick and useful primer on many of the important topics in student
motivation. Topics include intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, the effect of learning style on
motivation and strategies for motivating your students.

Here are some recurring themes about student motivation,

drawn from the educational literature
Make

it real

In order to foster intrinsic motivation, try to create learning activities that are based on
topics that are relevant to your students' lives. Strategies include using local examples,
teaching with events in the news, using pop culture technology (iPods, cell phones,
YouTube videos) to teach, or connecting the subject with your students' culture, outside
interests or social lives. ([Brozo, 2005] ; McMahon and Kelly, 1996)
Provide

choices

Students can have increased motivation when they feel some sense of autonomy in the
learning process, and that motivation declines when students have no voice in the class
structure. Giving your students options can be as simple as letting them pick their lab
partners or select from alternate assignments, or as complex as "contract teaching"
wherein students can determine their own grading scale, due dates and assignments.
Kurvink, 1993 Reeve and Hyungshim, 2006 (Perkins 2002, GSA Abstract)
Balance

the challenge

Students perform best when the level of difficulty is slightly above their current ability
level. If the task is to easy, it promotes boredom and may communicate a message of
low expectations or a sense that the teacher believes the student is not capable of better
work. A task that is too difficult may be seen as unattainable, may undermine selfefficacy, and may create anxiety. Scaffolding is one instructional technique where the
challenge level is gradually raised as students are capable of more complex tasks. (Wang
and Han) (more info) , [Margolis and McCabe, 2006] [Adams, 1998]
Seek

role models

If students can identify with role models they may be more likely to see the relevance in
the subject matter. For example, Weins et al (2003) found that female students were
more likely to cite a positive influence with a teacher as a factor for becoming interested
in science [Wiens et al, 2003] . In some cases, you can be a role model but it's unlikely
that you will connect on that level with everyone in the class due to differences in gender,
age and social circles. However there can be many sources of role models, such as
invited guest speakers, fellow students or other peers.

 Use

peer models

Students can learn by watching a peer succeed at a task. In this context, a peer means
someone who the student identities with, not necessarily any other student. Peers may
be drawn from groups as defined by gender, ethnicity, social circles, interests,
achievement level, clothing, or age. [Margolis and McCabe, 2006]
Establish

a sense of belonging

People have a fundamental need to feel connected or related to other people. In an

academic environment, research shows that students who feel they 'belong' have a
higher degree of intrinsic motivation and academic confidence. According to students,
their sense of belonging is fostered by an instructor that demonstrates warmth and
openness, encourages student participation, is enthusiastic, friendly and helpful, and is
organized and prepared for class. [Freeman, Anderman and Jensen, 2007] [Anderman
and Leake, 2005]
Adopt

a supportive style

A supportive teaching style that allows for student autonomy can foster increased
student interest, enjoyment, engagement and performance. Supportive teacher
behaviors include listening, giving hints and encouragement, being responsive to student
questions and showing empathy for students. Reeve and Hyungshim, 2006
Strategize

with struggling students

When students are struggling with poor academic performance, low self-efficacy or low motivation,
one strategy that may help is to teach them how to learn. That is, to outline specific strategies for
completing an assignment, note-taking or reviewing for an exam. [Tuckerman 2003] [Margolis and
McCabe, 2006]

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/motivation.html
Intrinsic motivators include fascination with the subject, a sense of its relevance to life
and the world, a sense of accomplishment in mastering it, and a sense of calling to it.
Students who are intrinsically motivated might say things like the following.
Literature interests me.
Learning math enables me to think clearly.
I feel good when I succeed in class.

Advantages: Intrinsic motivation can be long-lasting and self-sustaining. Efforts to build

this kind of motivation are also typically efforts at promoting student learning. Such
efforts often focus on the subject rather than rewards or punishments.
Disadvantages: On the other hand, efforts at fostering intrinsic motivation can be slow to
affect behavior and can require special and lengthy preparation. Students are individuals,
so a variety of approaches may be needed to motivate different students. It is often helpful
to know what interests ones students in order to connect these interests with the subject
matter. This requires getting to know ones students. Also, it helps if the instructor is
interested in the subject to begin with!
Source: Matt DeLong and Dale Winter, Learning to Teaching and Teaching to Learn
Mathematics: Resources for Professional Development, Mathematical Association of
America, 2002, page 163.
Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivators include parental expectations, expectations of other trusted role
models, earning potential of a course of study, and grades (which keep scholarships
coming).
Students who are extrinsically motivated might say things like the following.
I need a B- in statistics to get into business school.
If I flunk chemistry, I will lose my scholarship.
Our instructor will bring us donuts if we do well on todays quiz.
Advantages: Extrinsic motivators more readily produce behavior changes and typically
involve relatively little effort or preparation. Also, efforts at applying extrinsic motivators
often do not require extensive knowledge of individual students.
Disadvantages: On the other hand, extrinsic motivators can often distract students from
learning the subject at hand. It can be challenging to devise appropriate rewards and
punishments for student behaviors. Often, one needs to escalate the rewards and
punishments over time to maintain a certain effect level. Also, extrinsic motivators
typically do not work over the long term. Once the rewards or punishments are removed,
students lose their motivation.
Source: Matt DeLong and Dale Winter, Learning to Teaching and Teaching to Learn
Mathematics: Resources for Professional Development, Mathematical Association of
America, 2002, page 163.
Furthermore, research indicates that extrinsic rewards can have a negative impact on
intrinsic motivation. In one series of experiments, psychologist Edward Deci had two
groups of college students play with a puzzle called Soma. One group of students was paid
for each puzzle they solved; the other wasnt. He found that the group that was paid to
solve puzzles stopped solving puzzles as soon as the experimentand the paymentended.
However, the group that wasnt paid kept solving the puzzles even after the experiment was
over. They had found the puzzles intrinsically interesting. Deci argued that the group that
had been paid to solve puzzles might have found the puzzles intrinsically interesting as
well, but the extrinsic, monetary reward had reduced their intrinsic interest.
Source: Ken Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do, Harvard University Press, 2004,
pages 32-33.

Effects of Motivation on Learning Styles

Deep learners respond well to the challenge of mastering a difficult and complex
subject. These are intrinsically motivated students who are often a joy to teach!
Strategic learners are motivated primarily by rewards. They react well to
competition and the opportunity to best others. They often make good grades but
wont engage deeply with a subject unless there is a clear reward for doing so. They
are sometimes called bulimic learners, learning as much as they need to do well
on a test or exam and then promptly forgetting the material once the assessment is
over.Handle strategic learners by avoiding appeals to competition. Appeal to their
intrinsic interest in the subject at hand. Design your assignments (tests, papers,
projects, etc.) so that deep engagement with the subject is necessary for success on
the assignments. Do so by requiring students to apply, synthesize, or evaluate
material instead of merely comprehending or memorizing material.
Surface learners are often motivated by a desire to avoid failure. They typically
avoid deep learning because it they see it as inherently risky behavior. They will
often do what it takes to pass an exam or course, but they wont choose to go beyond
the minimum required for fear of failure.Handle surface learners by helping them
gain confidence in their abilities to learn and perform. Scaffold course material
and assignments by designing a series of activities or assignments that build on each
other over time in complexity and challenge. Encourage these learners often and
help them reflect on what theyve learned and what theyve accomplished.
Source: Ken Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do, Harvard University Press, 2004,
pages 40-41.
A Model of Intrinsic Motivation
James Middleton, Joan Littlefield, and Rich Lehrer have proposed the following model of
intrinsic academic motivation.
First, given the opportunity to engage in a learning activity, a student determines if
the activity is one that is known to be interesting. If so, the student engages in the
activity.
If not, then the student evaluates the activity on two factorsthe stimulation (e.g.
challenge, curiosity, fantasy) it provides and the personal control (e.g. free choice,
not too difficult) it affords.
If the student perceives the activity as stimulating and controllable, then the student
tentatively labels the activity as interesting and engages in it. If either condition
becomes insufficient, then the student disengages from the activityunless some
extrinsic motivator influences the student to continue.
If the activity is repeatedly deemed stimulating and controllable, then the student
may deem the activity interesting. Then the student will be more likely to engage in
the activity in the future.
If over time activities that are deemed interesting provide little stimulation or
control, then the student will remove the activity from his or her mental list of
interesting activities.

The challenge, then, is to provide teaching and learning activities that are both stimulating
and offer students a degree of personal control.
Source: James A. Middleton, A Study of Intrinsic Motivation in the Mathematics
Classroom: A Personal Constructs Approach, Journal for Research in Mathematics
Education, Vol. 26, No. 3, pages 255-257.
Strategies for Motivating Students
Following are some research-based strategies for motivating students to learn.
Become a role model for student interest. Deliver your presentations with energy
and enthusiasm. As a display of your motivation, your passion motivates your
students. Make the course personal, showing why you are interested in the material.
Get to know your students. You will be able to better tailor your instruction to the
students concerns and backgrounds, and your personal interest in them will inspire
their personal loyalty to you. Display a strong interest in students learning and a
faith in their abilities.
Use examples freely. Many students want to be shown why a concept or technique is
useful before they want to study it further. Inform students about how your course
prepares students for future opportunities.
Use a variety of student-active teaching activities. These activities directly engage
students in the material and give them opportunities to achieve a level of mastery.
Teach by discovery. Students find as satisfying as reasoning through a
problem and discovering the underlying principle on their own.
Cooperative learning activities are particularly effective as they also provide
positive social pressure.
Set realistic performance goals and help students achieve them by encouraging
them to set their own reasonable goals. Design assignments that are appropriately
challenging in view of the experience and aptitude of the class.
Place appropriate emphasis on testing and grading. Tests should be a means of
showing what students have mastered, not what they have not. Avoid grading on the
curve and give everyone the opportunity to achieve the highest standard and grades.
Be free with praise and constructive in criticism. Negative comments should
pertain to particular performances, not the performer. Offer nonjudgmental
feedback on students work, stress opportunities to improve, look for ways to
stimulate advancement, and avoid dividing students into sheep and goats.
Give students as much control over their own education as possible. Let students
choose paper and project topics that interest them. Assess them in a variety of ways
(tests, papers, projects, presentations, etc.) to give students more control over how
they show their understanding to you. Give students options for how these
assignments are weighted.
Sources:
Ken Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do, Harvard University Press, 2004,
pages 32-42.
Linda Nilson, Teaching At Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College
Instructors, 2nd edition, Anker Publishing, 2003, pages 41-44.

Matt DeLong and Dale Winter, Learning to Teaching and Teaching to Learn
Mathematics: Resources for Professional Development, Mathematical Association
of America, 2002, pages 159-168.

http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/interactions/motivating-students/
Motivating Students
[From the hard copy book Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis; Jossey-Bass
Publishers: San Francisco, 1993. Linking to this book chapter from other websites is
permissible. However, the contents of this chapter may not be copied, printed, or
distributed in hard copy form without permission.]
Some students seem naturally enthusiastic about learning, but many need-or expect-their
instructors to inspire, challenge, and stimulate them: "Effective learning in the classroom
depends on the teacher's ability ... to maintain the interest that brought students to the
course in the first place" (Ericksen, 1978, p. 3). Whatever level of motivation your students
bring to the classroom will be transformed, for better or worse, by what happens in that
classroom.
Unfortunately, there is no single magical formula for motivating students. Many factors
affect a given student's motivation to work and to learn (Bligh, 1971; Sass, 1989): interest
in the subject matter, perception of its usefulness, general desire to achieve, self-confidence
and self-esteem, as well as patience and persistence. And, of course, not all students are
motivated by the same values, needs, desires, or wants. Some of your students will be
motivated by the approval of others, some by overcoming challenges.
Researchers have begun to identify those aspects of the teaching situation that enhance
students' self-motivation (Lowman, 1984; Lucas, 1990; Weinert and Kluwe, 1987; Bligh,
1971). To encourage students to become self-motivated independent learners, instructors
can do the following:
Give frequent, early, positive feedback that supports students' beliefs that they can
do well.
Ensure opportunities for students success by assigning tasks that are neither too
easy nor too difficult.
Help students find personal meaning and value in the material.
Create an atmosphere that is open and positive.
Help students feel that they are valued members of a learning community.
Research has also shown that good everyday teaching practices can do more to counter
student apathy than special efforts to attack motivation directly (Ericksen, 1978). Most
students respond positively to a well-organized course taught by an enthusiastic instructor
who has a genuine interest in students and what they learn. Thus activities you undertake
to promote learning will also enhance students' motivation.
General Strategies

Capitalize on students' existing needs. Students learn best when incentives for learning in
a classroom satisfy their own motives for enrolling in the course. Some of the needs your
students may bring to the classroom are the need to learn something in order to complete a
particular task or activity, the need to seek new experiences, the need to perfect skills, the
need to overcome challenges, the need to become competent, the need to succeed and do
well, the need to feel involved and to interact with other people. Satisfying such needs is
rewarding in itself, and such rewards sustain learning more effectively than do grades.
Design assignments, in-class activities, and discussion questions to address these kinds of
needs. (Source: McMillan and Forsyth, 1991)
Make students active participants in learning. Students learn by doing, making, writing,
designing, creating, solving. Passivity dampens students' motivation and curiosity. Pose
questions. Don't tell students something when you can ask them. Encourage students to
suggest approaches to a problem or to guess the results of an experiment. Use small group
work. See "Leading a Discussion," "Supplements and Alternatives to Lecturing," and
"Collaborative Learning" for methods that stress active participation. (Source: Lucas,
1990)
Ask students to analyze what makes their classes more or less "motivating." Sass (1989)
asks his classes to recall two recent class periods, one in which they were highly motivated
and one in which their motivation was low. Each student makes a list of specific aspects of
the two classes that influenced his or her level of motivation, and students then meet in
small groups to reach consensus on characteristics that contribute to high and low
motivation. In over twenty courses, Sass reports, the same eight characteristics emerge as
major contributors to student motivation:
Instructor's enthusiasm
Relevance of the material
Organization of the course
Appropriate difficulty level of the material
Active involvement of students
Variety
Rapport between teacher and students
Use of appropriate, concrete, and understandable examples
Incorporating Instructional Behaviors That Motivate Students
Hold high but realistic expectations for your students. Research has shown that a
teacher's expectations have a powerful effect on a student's performance. If you act as
though you expect your students to be motivated, hardworking, and interested in the
course, they are more likely to be so. Set realistic expectations for students when you make
assignments, give presentations, conduct discussions, and grade examinations. "Realistic"
in this context means that your standards are high enough to motivate students to do their
best work but not so high that students will inevitably be frustrated in trying to meet those
expectations. To develop the drive to achieve, students need to believe that achievement is
possible -which means that you need to provide early opportunities for success. (Sources:

American Psychological Association, 1992; Bligh, 1971; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991 -1
Lowman, 1984)
Help students set achievable goals for themselves. Failure to attain unrealistic goals can
disappoint and frustrate students. Encourage students to focus on their continued
improvement, not just on their grade on any one test or assignment. Help students evaluate
their progress by encouraging them to critique their own work, analyze their strengths, and
work on their weaknesses. For example, consider asking students to submit self-evaluation
forms with one or two assignments. (Sources: Cashin, 1979; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991)
Tell students what they need to do to succeed in your course. Don't let your students
struggle to figure out what is expected of them. Reassure students that they can do well in
your course, and tell them exactly what they must do to succeed. Say something to the
effect that "If you can handle the examples on these problem sheets, you can pass the
exam. People who have trouble with these examples can ask me for extra help." Or instead
of saying, "You're way behind," tell the student, "Here is one way you could go about
learning the material. How can I help you?" (Sources: Cashin, 1979; Tiberius, 1990)
Strengthen students' self-motivation. Avoid messages that reinforce your power as an
instructor or that emphasize extrinsic rewards. Instead of saying, "I require," "you must,"
or "you should," stress "I think you will find. . . " or "I will be interested in your reaction."
(Source: Lowman, 1990)
Avoid creating intense competition among students. Competition produces anxiety, which
can interfere with learning. Reduce students' tendencies to compare themselves to one
another. Bligh (1971) reports that students are more attentive, display better
comprehension, produce more work, and are more favorable to the teaching method when
they work cooperatively in groups rather than compete as individuals. Refrain from public
criticisms of students' performance and from comments or activities that pit students
against each other. (Sources: Eble, 1988; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991)
Be enthusiastic about your subject. An instructor's enthusiasm is a crucial factor in
student motivation. If you become bored or apathetic, students will too. Typically, an
instructor's enthusiasm comes from confidence, excitement about the content, and genuine
pleasure in teaching. If you find yourself uninterested in the material, think back to what
attracted you to the field and bring those aspects of the subject matter to life for your
students. Or challenge yourself to devise the most exciting way topresent the material,
however dull the material itself may seem to you.
Structuring the Course to Motivate Students
Work from students' strengths and interests. Find out why students are enrolled in your
course, how they feel about the subject matter, and what their expectations are. Then try to
devise examples, case studies, or assignments that relate the course content to students'
interests and experiences. For instance, a chemistry professor might devote some lecture
time to examining the contributions of chemistry to resolving environmental problems.
Explain how the content and objectives of your course will help students achieve their
educational, professional, or personal goals. (Sources: Brock, 1976; Cashin, 1979; Lucas,
1990)

When possible, let students have some say in choosing what will be studied. Give
students options on term papers or other assignments (but not on tests). Let students
decide between two locations for the field trip, or have them select which topics to explore
in greater depth. If possible, include optional or alternative units in the course. (Sources:
Ames and Ames, 1990; Cashin, 1979; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991; Lowman, 1984)
Increase the difficulty of the material as the semester progresses. Give students
opportunities to succeed at the beginning of the semester. Once students feel they can
succeed, you can gradually increase the difficulty level. If assignments and exams include
easier and harder questions, every student will have a chance to experience success as
well as challenge. (Source: Cashin, 1979)
Vary your teaching methods. Variety reawakens students' involvement in the course and
their motivation. Break the routine by incorporating a variety of teaching activities and
methods in your course: role playing, debates, brainstorming, discussion, demonstrations,
case studies, audiovisual presentations, guest speakers, or small group work. (Source:
Forsyth and McMillan, 1991)
De-emphasizing Grades
Emphasize mastery and learning rather than grades. Ames and Ames (1990) report on
two secondary school math teachers. One teacher graded every homework assignment and
counted homework as 30 percent of a student's final grade. The second teacher told
students to spend a fixed amount of time on their homework (thirty minutes a night) and to
bring questions to class about problems they could not complete. This teacher graded
homework as satisfactory or unsatisfactory, gave students the opportunity to redo their
assignments, and counted homework as 10 percent of the final grade. Although homework
was a smaller part of the course grade, this second teacher was more successful in
motivating students to turn in their homework. In the first class, some students gave up
rather than risk low evaluations of their abilities. In the second class, students were not
risking their self-worth each time they did their homework but rather were attempting to
learn. Mistakes were viewed as acceptable and something to learn from.
Researchers recommend de-emphasizing grading by eliminating complex systems of credit
points; they also advise against trying to use grades to control nonacademic behavior (for
example, lowering grades for missed classes) (Forsyth and McMillan, 1991; Lowman
1990). Instead, assign ungraded written work, stress the personal satisfaction of doing
assignments, and help students measure their progress.
Design tests that encourage the kind of learning you want students to achieve. Many
students will learn whatever is necessary to get the grades they desire. If you base your
tests on memorizing details, students will focus on memorizing facts. If your tests stress the
synthesis and evaluation of information, students will be motivated to practice those skills
when they study. (Source: McKeachie, 1986)
Avoid using grades as threats. As McKeachie (1986) points out, the threat of low grades
may prompt some students to work hard, but other students may resort to academic
dishonesty, excuses for late work, and other counterproductive behavior.
Motivating Students by Responding to Their Work

Give students feedback as quickly as possible. Return tests and papers promptly, and
reward success publicly and immediately. Give students some indication of how well they
have done and how to improve. Rewards can be as simple as saying a student's response
was good, with an indication of why it was good, or mentioning the names of contributors:
"Cherry's point about pollution really synthesized the ideas we had been discussing."
(Source: Cashin, 1979)
Reward success. Both positive and negative comments influence motivation, but research
consistently indicates that students are more affected by positive feedback and success.
Praise builds students' self-confidence, competence, and self-esteem. Recognize sincere
efforts even if the product is less than stellar. If a student's performance is weak, let the
student know that you believe he or she can improve and succeed over time. (Sources:
Cashin, 1979; Lucas, 1990)
Introduce students to the good work done by their peers. Share the ideas, knowledge, and
accomplishments of individual students with the class as a whole:
Pass out a list of research topics chosen by students so they will know whether
others are writing papers of interest to them.
Make available copies of the best papers and essay exams.
Provide class time for students to read papers or assignments submitted by
classmates.
Have students write a brief critique of a classmate's paper.
Schedule a brief talk by a student who has experience or who is doing a research
paper on a topic relevant to your lecture.
Be specific when giving negative feedback. Negative feedback is very powerful and can
lead to a negative class atmosphere. Whenever you identify a student's weakness, make it
clear that your comments relate to a particular task or performance, not to the student as a
person. Try to cushion negative comments with a compliment about aspects of the task in
which the student succeeded. (Source: Cashin, 1979)
Avoid demeaning comments. Many students in your class may be anxious about their
performance and abilities. Be sensitive to how you phrase your comments and avoid
offhand remarks that might prick their feelings of inadequacy.
Avoid giving in to students' pleas for "the answer" to homework problems. When you
simply give struggling students the solution, you rob them of the chance to think for
themselves. Use a more productive approach (adapted from Fiore, 1985):
Ask the students for one possible approach to the problem.
Gently brush aside students anxiety about not getting the answer by refocusing their
attention on the problem at hand.
Ask the students to build on what they do know about the problem.
Resist answering the question "is this right?" Suggest to the students a way to check
the answer for themselves.
Praise the students for small, independent steps.
If you follow these steps, your students will learn that it is all right not to have an instant
answer. They will also learn to develop greater patience and to work at their own pace.

And by working through the problem, students will experience a sense of achievement and
confidence that will increase their motivation to learn.
Motivating Students to Do the Reading
Assign the reading at least two sessions before it will be discussed. Give students ample
time to prepare and try to pique their curiosity about the reading: "This article is one of
my favorites, and I'll be interested to see what you think about it." (Sources: Lowman,
1984; "When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)
Assign study questions. Hand out study questions that alert students to the key points of
the reading assignment. To provide extra incentive for students, tell them you will base
exam questions on the study questions. (Source: "When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)
If your class is small, have students turn in brief notes on the day's reading that they can
use during exams. At the start of each class, a professor in the physical sciences asks
students to submit a 3" x 5" card with an outline, definitions, key ideas, or other material
from the day's assigned reading. After class, he checks the cards and stamps them with his
name. He returns the cards to students at a class session prior to the midterm. Students can
then add any material they would like to the cards but cannot submit additional cards. The
cards are again returned to the faculty member who distributes them to students during the
test. This faculty member reports that the number of students completing the reading
jumped from 10 percent to 90 percent and that students especially valued these "survival
cards." (Source: Daniel, 1988)
Ask students to write a one-word journal or one-word sentence. Angelo (1991) describes
the one-word journal as follows: students are asked to choose a single word that best
summarizes the reading and then write a page or less explaining or justifying their word
choice. This assignment can then be used as a basis for class discussion. A variation
reported by Erickson and Strommer (199 1) is to ask students to write one complex
sentence in answer to a question you pose about the readings and provide three sources of
supporting evidence: "In one sentence, identify the type of ethical reasoning Singer uses in
his article 'Famine, Affluence, and Morality.' Quote three passages that reveal this type of
ethical reasoning" (p. 125).
Ask nonthreatening questions about the reading. Initially pose general questions that do
not create tension or feelings of resistance: "Can you give me one or two items from the
chapter that seem important?" "What section of the reading do you think we should
review?" "What item in the reading surprised you?" "What topics in the chapter can you
apply to your own experience?" (Source: "When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)
Use class time as a reading period. If you are trying to lead a discussion and find that few
students have completed the reading assignment, consider asking students to read the
material for the remainder of class time. Have them read silently or call on students to
read aloud and discuss the key points. Make it clear to students that you are reluctantly
taking this unusual step because they have not completed the assignment.
Prepare an exam question on undiscussed readings. One faculty member asks her class
whether they have done the reading. If the answer is no, she says, "You'll have to read the
material on your own. Expect a question on the next exam covering the reading." The next

time she assigns reading, she reminds the class of what happened the last time, and the
students come to class prepared. (Source: "When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)
Give a written assignment to those students who have not done the reading. Some faculty
ask at the beginning of the class who has completed the reading. Students who have not
read the material are given a written assignment and dismissed. Those who have read the
material stay and participate in class discussion. The written assignment is not graded but
merely acknowledged. This technique should not be used more than once a term. (Source:
"When They Don't Do the Reading," 1989)
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(eds.), Dimensions of Thinking and Cognitive Instruction. Hillsdale, N. J.: ErIbaum, 1990.
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Teaching and Learning, no. 46. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.
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