Motivating Students This page was written and compiled by Karin Kirk, SERC, and contains a summary of motivation

research and pertinent references.

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 self-fulfillment, 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, de-emphasizing 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 self-efficacy, 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 Also see how immediacy in the classroom can be part of a supportive style of teaching. Show me examples of supportive-style teacher behaviors Hide
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Listening - carefully and fully attended to the student's speech, as evidenced by verbal or nonverbal signals of active, contingent, and responsive information processing. Asking what student wants - Such as "Which problem do you want to start with?" Allowing students to work in their own way Allowing the students to talk Using explanatory statements as to why a particular course of action might be useful, such as "How about we try the cube, because it is the easiest one." Using praise as informational feedback, such as "Good job" and "That's great." Offering encouragements to boost or sustain the student's engagement, such as "Almost," "You're close," and "You can do it." Offering hints, such as "Laying the map on the table seems to work better than holding it in your lap" and "It might be easier to work on the bottom of the map first." Being responsive to student-generated questions, such as "Yes, you have a good point" and "Yes, right, that was the second one." Communicating with empathic statements to acknowledge the student's perspective or experience, such as "Yes, this one is difficult" and "I know it's sort hard to tell."

From What Teachers Say and Do Supports Students' Autonomy during a Learning Activity Show me examples of controlling-style teacher behaviors Hide
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Talking Holding or monopolizing learning materials Giving the solutions or answers before the students had the opportunity to discover the solution themselves.

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Uttering directives or commands, such as "Do it like this," "Start this way," or "Use pencil." Making statements that the student should, must, has to, got to, or ought to do something, such as "You should keep doing that" and "You ought to . . ." Asking controlling questions, such as "Can you move it like I showed you?" and "Why don't you go ahead and show me?" Making statements communicating a shortage of time, such as "We only have a few minutes left." Using praise as contingent reward to show approval of the student or the student's compliance with the teacher's directions, such as "You're smart" or "You are really good at playing with blocks." Criticizing the student or the student's lack of compliance with the teacher's directions, such as "No, no, no, you shouldn't do that."

From What Teachers Say and Do Supports Students' Autonomy during a Learning Activity 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] Example - Strategies for College Success from the Ohio State University. This course teaches learning strategies and motivational skills. Show me examples of learning strategies Hide Specific learning strategies: Pre-action phase (preparing for task) -take a reasonable risk, work toward goals that are challenging but attainable, work in manageable, bite-size pieces, take responsibility for your actions, believe in your own effort and capability, set a plan and work from it. Action phase - search the environment, ask questions, visualize it (?) Reaction phase (after one task, preparing for the next one) - use feedback from prior tasks, monitor your own actions, give yourself instructions (see also Tuckerman, 2003 )

Link to more information about the Strategies for College Success course, including a course description, resources used in the course, and a PowerPoint presentation covering helpful motivational strategies. Also, try these on line resources:
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Test yourself- three self-assessment quizzes on learning style, learning strategies and procrastination. Study Strategies and Test Preparation Motivational Assistance

Further Information Presentations from the 2007 workshop on student motivations and attitudes

Internal and External Aspects of Motivation (PowerPoint 332kB Feb20 07) Eric Pyle, Department of Geology & Environmental Science, James Madison University

Thinking About Motivation (PowerPoint 139kB Feb20 07) Jenefer Husman, Psychology in Education, Arizona State University

Thinking About Learning: Motivating Students to Become Intentional Learners (PowerPoint 720kB Feb20 07) Karl Wirth, Department of Geology, Macalester College Read and respond to classroom dilemmas about student motivation written by workshop participants. Web Sites Motivation: A General Overview of Theories (more info) This chapter in an e-book provides a brief summary of motivational theories that is written for educators. Topics include goals, self-efficacy, attribution theory, selfregulation and volition, and intrinsic motivation. Six C's of motivation (more info) This website describes a scenario in a geography classroom where the teacher uses

instructional strategies to promote motivation amongst her students. The tactics are to give students choices in their assignments, to challenge them, to allow the class some extent of control over the learning environment, to promote collaboration between students, to construct meaning in the material and to establish positive consequences for students' achievement. The author concludes that when students engage in meaningful open-ended tasks, their motivation increases and the effect of learning is more powerful. Motivation: What does the Research Say? (more info) This website is written in the context of high school or middle school students, but is easily applied to the undergraduate learning experience. The site provides definitions of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, strategies for increasing motivation, and suggestions to motivate students to engage in class activities. How Can Teachers Develop Students' Motivation -- and Success? (more info) This interview with Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at Columbia University, answers questions about types of motivation, with emphasis on performance (extrinsic) motivation vs. mastery (intrinsic) motivation. Questions address topics such as what teachers can do to help develop students who will work to overcome challenges rather than be overwhelmed by them, the challenge of the "gifted" label, and if self-esteem something that teachers can or should "give" to students. The site is easy reading, yet provides many useful insights. Books and Journal Articles Motivation from Within: Approaches for Encouraging Faculty and Students to Excel Michael Theall, editor citation and bibliographic information The dozen authors of this book describe how motivational efforts involve adapting one's personal strengths to accommodate unique situations. Motivation is not something one "does to" others. Rather, efforts to motivate students and professors involve first connecting with their interests and their concerns, then broadening these with expanded significant choices, and gradually increasing participants' empowerment to meet these new aspirations. Improving Self-Efficacy and Motivation: What to Do, What to Say Howard Margolis and Patrick P McCabe citation and bibliographic information This article suggests practical solutions to improve the motivation of struggling learners. Specifically, the authors present strategies such as using peers as role models, teaching specific learning strategies, presenting the students with options and choices, communicating recent success, and more. These tactics can strengthen struggling learners' beliefs in their academic abilities and increase their willingness to engage in academic tasks.

The Effect of Learning and Motivation Strategies Training on College Students' Achievement Bruce W. Tuckerman, the Ohio State University citation and bibliographic information The general purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of teaching students the use of specific learning and motivation strategies to meet the cognitive and motivational demands of college. A group of college students went through a course that was specifically designed to teach them learning strategies and give them an opportunity to practice the techniques and transfer these skills to other learning situations. The results showed that this method improved the GPA of the students who went through the program. Who Does Extra-Credit Work in Introductory Science Courses? Randy Moore citation and bibliographic information This study measured how many introductory biology students took advantage of extracredit opportunities, the grades they earned, and reasons they gave for not completing extra credit work. The study found that high-achieving students pursued the extra credit work, while students who were earning poor grades did not. The author asserts that this behavior is tied to student motivation. Students who were motivated to succeed in the course made the choice to do the extra credit work, which is consistent with the other choices they had made, such as to attend lectures and help sessions. Similarly, students who earned poor grades typically demonstrated a low commitment to several components of the course, including the extra credit work. Sense of Belonging in College Freshman at the Classroom and Campus Levels Tierra M. Freeman, Lynley Anderman and Jane M. Jensen citation and bibliographic information This study examines how students' sense of belonging is related to academic motivation, and which type of teacher behaviors is correlated with developing a sense of belonging in students. The paper presents some useful background information on the topics of belonging, motivation and academic self-efficacy. In their experiments, the authors found that students' 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. What Teachers Say and Do to Support Students' Autonomy During a Learning Activity Johnmarshall Reeve and Hyungshim Jang citation and bibliographic information This research paper presents the results of an educational experiment to measure the effects of different instructional behaviors. The experiment investigated a controlling style of teaching compared to an autonomy supportive style, and found that the supportive style resulted in increased student interest, enjoyment, engagement and performance. Autonomy-supportive teacher behavior can be effective in fostering intrinsic motivation in students. The paper provides useful background information on the

topics of motivation, intentionality and autonomy, and also gives examples of controlling vs. supportive teacher behaviors. The ABCs of Motivation Lynley H. Anderman and Valerie S. Leake citation and bibliographic information Although this paper is written for faculty of educational psychology, the information is useful for any teacher who is interested in learning about some of the theory behind motivation. The purpose of this paper is to distill the numerous theories and frameworks for motivational principles into a simpler format. The authors offer that motivation is based on three fundamental needs: the need for autonomy, the need for belonging and the need for competence. An understanding of these concepts can help teachers provide a learning environment that increases motivation in their students. Gender matters Darrell J Wiens, Dayna J Depping, Stacey R Wallerich, Emily S Van Laar, Angela L Juhl citation and bibliographic information Do females and males choose science for different reasons? In this study 271 college biology students were surveyed to learn when they became interested and what factors determined their origin and maintenance of interest in biology. One finding was that females were more likely to cite a positive influence with a teacher as a factor for becoming interested in science, which has implications for teacher behavior in fostering an interest in science among female students. "Contracting" as a motivational teaching tool Karen Kurvink citation and bibliographic information The concept behind contracting, a motivational tool for stimulating learning, is discussed. Contracting involves a learning agreement between students and teachers, and it offers the opportunity for independent thinking. What works in the nonmajors' science laboratory David L. Adams citation and bibliographic information This paper offers practical advice on building a workable and meaningful introductory science laboratory for non-science majors. These students usually lack experience in and motivation for the laboratory, so a balanced use of "cookbook" and discovery-based approaches is recommended. Connecting with students who are disinterested and inexperienced William G Brozo citation and bibliographic information This article was written in the context of middle school education, but is still relevant for undergraduate students who are hard to reach. The author states that when students claim they are not interested in anything, educators must help them discover what actually does

interest them. Furthermore, another way to help youth expand their repertoire of interests is by arranging systematic opportunities for them to interact with community members who are engaged citizens and have a wide variety of life experiences. A Candle Lights the Way to Scientific Discourse Li-hsuan Yang citation and bibliographic information This short article describes a simple and thought-provoking teaching strategy, burning a candle in the classroom and asking students to observe it and try to explain the processes they observe. The result is that students are able to engage in scientific discourse, hold competing hypotheses, looking for supporting evidence, communicating their ideas with supportive arguments, and proposing possible empirical studies to further their understanding. This technique could be applied to a geoscience classroom via simple demonstrations with physical models, videos or rock samples. To learn more, read about how self-efficacy is related to student motivation and academic performance.

Self-Efficacy: Helping Students Believe in Themselves This summary was written and compiled by Karin Kirk, SERC, and contains an overview of motivation research and pertinent references.

Self efficacy is commonly defined as the belief in one's capabilities to achieve a goal or an outcome. Students with a strong sense of efficacy are more likely to challenge themselves with difficult tasks and be intrinsically motivated. These students will put forth a high degree of effort in order to meet their commitments, and attribute failure to things which are in their control, rather than blaming external factors. Self-efficacious students also recover quickly from setbacks, and ultimately are likely to achieve their

personal goals. Students with low self-efficacy, on the other hand, believe they cannot be successful and thus are less likely to make a concerted, extended effort and may consider challenging tasks as threats that are to be avoided. Thus, students with poor self-efficacy have low aspirations which may result in disappointing academic performances becoming part of a self-fulfilling feedback cycle. (Bandura (more info) ) [Margolis and McCabe, 2006] How can students gain self-efficacy? There are four sources of self-efficacy. Teachers can use strategies to build self-efficacy in various ways. Mastery experiences - Students' successful experiences boost self-efficacy, while failures erode it. This is the most robust source of self-efficacy. Vicarious experience - Observing a peer succeed at a task can strengthen beliefs in one's own abilities. Verbal persuasion - Teachers can boost self-efficacy with credible communication and feedback to guide the student through the task or motivate them to make their best effort. Emotional state -A positive mood can boost one's beliefs in self-efficacy, while anxiety can undermine it. A certain level of emotional stimulation can create an energizing feeling that can contribute to strong performances. Teachers can help by reducing stressful situations and lowering anxiety surrounding events like exams or presentations. [Margolis and McCabe, 2006] and (Bandura (more info) ) Pedagogic strategies that foster self-efficacy It is particularly exciting to note that teaching strategies used in the classroom can and do make a difference to students' self-efficacy. (Fencl and Scheel, 2005) Research shows that the type of learning environment and teaching method can improve self efficacy in the classroom (Bandura (more info) ). A similar result was reported by Fencl and Scheel . They describe a required, nonmajors' physics course where the effects of different teaching methods on the classroom climate and self-efficacy were measured. The students' response indicated that a question and answer format, inquiry-based lab activities and conceptual (rather than quantitative) problems had a significant effect on creating a positive climate in the classroom. In addition to those pedagogies, collaborative learning and the use of electronic applications showed a positive correlation with increased self-efficacy in their student sample. Fencl and Scheel point out that the teaching methods that showed a measurable positive effect share the common feature of engaging students in a comfortable or creative manner. Moreover, pedagogies such as collaborative learning and inquiry-based activities have also been shown to have a strong correlation with how well students learn physics [Fencl and Scheel, 2005] . Bandura also concludes that cooperative learning strategies have the dual outcome of improving both self-efficacy and academic achievement. "Cooperative learning

structures, in which students work together and help one another also tend to promote more positive self-evaluations of capability and higher academic attainments than do individualistic or competitive ones." (Bandura (more info) ) Other pedagogies for improving self-efficacy include:

Establish specific, short-term goals that will challenge the students, yet are still viewed as attainable. [Schunk and Pajares, 2002] Help students lay out a specific learning strategy and have them verbalize their plan. As students proceed through the task, ask students to note their progress and verbalize the next steps. [Schunk and Pajares, 2002] Compare student performance to the goals set for that student, rather than comparing one student against another or comparing one student to the rest of the class(Bandura (more info) ).

Teaching Practices to Avoid In his 1994 textbook chapter, Albert Bandura notes that certain well-worn pedagogical practices may have the unintended effect of diminishing the self-efficacy of students who do not reside at the top of the class academically. These include:

Generalized, "lock-step" instruction that is inflexible and does not allow for student input. A formulaic type of instructional setting makes it harder for students to ask questions or become involved in the process. The result may be that if a student becomes confused or discouraged, they are likely to remain so. Statements or teaching practices that compare students' performance against each other. This may raise the self-efficacy of the top students, but is likely to lower the self-efficacy of the rest of the class. (Bandura (more info) )

Tips to improve self-efficacy for struggling students (from Margolis and McCabe, 2006 )

Use moderately- difficult tasks If the task is too easy will be boring or embarrassing and may communicate the feeling that the teacher doubts their abilities; a too-difficult task will re-enforce low self-efficacy. The target for difficulty is slightly above the students' current ability level. Use peer models Students can learn by watching a peer succeed at a task. Peers may be drawn from groups as defined by gender, ethnicity, social circles, interests, achievement level, clothing, or age. Teach specific learning strategies Give students a concrete plan of attack for working on an assignment, rather than simply turning them loose. This may apply to overall study skills, such as preparing for an exam, or to a specific assignment or project. Capitalize on students' interests Tie the course material or concepts to student interests such as sports, pop culture, movies or technology. Allow students to make their own choices Set up some areas of the course that allow students to make their own decisions, such as with flexible grading, assignment options or self-determined due dates. Encourage students to try Give them consistent, credible and specific encouragement, such as, "You can do this. We've set up an outline for how to write a lab report and a schedule for what to do each week - now follow the plan and you will be successful." Give frequent, focused feedback Giving praise and encouragement is very important, however it must be credible. Use praise when earned and avoid hyperbole. When giving feedback on student performance, compare to past performances by the same student, don't make comparisons between students. Encourage accurate attributions Help students understand that they don't fail because they're dumb, they fail because they didn't follow instructions, they didn't spend enough time on the task, or they didn't follow through on the learning strategy.

Teachers need high self-efficacy too Teachers with a high sense of efficacy about their teaching capabilities may have an easier time motivating their students and enhancing their cognitive development. These teachers may also be able to rebound from setbacks and more willing to experiment with new ideas or techniques. Low efficacious teachers may rely more on a controlling teaching style and may be more critical of students. [Woolfolk Hoy, 2003] and (Bandura (more info) )

"Schools in which staff members collectively judge themselves capable of promoting academic success imbue their schools with a positive atmosphere for development that promotes academic attainments regardless of whether they serve predominantly advantaged or disadvantaged students."(Bandura (more info) ) Further reading

Web sites Self-Efficacy (more info) by Albert Bandura, Stanford University This is a comprehensive summary of the topic written by one of its pioneers. The site provides a definition of self-efficacy, characteristics of efficacious people, and a description of how self-efficacy can be developed or undermined. The author describes self-efficacy in social, family and school settings and in various stages of life. Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Academic Contexts (more info) by Frank Pajares, Emory University This site contains an extensive historical overview about self-efficacy and its place in education. Topics include the origins of the theory, current research and educational applications. One of the author's conclusions is that the educational system would benefit from additional focus on self-efficacy in students.

Information on Self-Efficacy: A Community of Scholars This is a clearinghouse of information about self-efficacy, hosted by the Division of Educational Studies at Emory University. Journal Articles Improving Self-Efficacy and Motivation: What to Do, What to Say by Howard Margolis and Patrick P McCabe citation and bibliographic information This article suggests practical solutions to improve the motivation of struggling learners. Specifically, the authors present strategies such as using peers as role models, teaching specific learning strategies, presenting the students with options and choices, communicating recent success, and more. These tactics can strengthen struggling learners' beliefs in their academic abilities and increase their willingness to engage in academic tasks. Engaging Students: An Examination of the Effects of Teaching Strategies on Self-Efficacy and Course Climate in a Nonmajors Physics Course by Heidi Fencl and Karen Scheel citation and bibliographic information Self-efficacy is a key predictor of achievement and retention in most academic areas, including the sciences. In this study, the effects of teaching strategies on self-efficacy and course climate were examined. The teaching methods that made significant contributions to self efficacy were question and answer, collaborative learning, conceptual problems, electronic applications and inquiry lab activities. The Development of Academic Self-Efficacy by Dale Schunk and Pajares, Frank Pajares This textbook chapter provides a synthesis of educational psychology research as it relates to students' beliefs in their own abilities. The authors describe selfefficacy and its relation to other motivation constructs and explain the role of various sources of and influences on self-efficacy. The effects of various pedagogical practices are discussed, including a description of specific methods that improve self-efficacy. The role of gender and ethnicity on self-efficacy are also discussed. Self-Efficacy in College Teaching by Anita Woolfolk Hoy, The Ohio State University This essay examines the topic of self-efficacy in the context of teachers' selfefficacy and how that translates into their performance. The author asserts that highly efficacious teachers tend to be more open to new ideas, more willing to experiment with new methods to better meet the needs of their students, and more committed to teaching. They persist when things do not go smoothly and are more resilient in the face of setbacks. And they tend to be less critical of students who make errors and to work longer with a student who is struggling.

Student Motivations and Attitudes: The Role of the Affective Domain in Geoscience Learning

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Cutting Edge > Affective Domain > Immediacy in the Classroom Immediacy in the Classroom: Research and Practical Implications This material is derived from a presentation given by Kelly Rocca of St. John's University at the 2007 workshop Student Motivations and Attitudes: The Role of the Affective Domain in Geoscience Learning held at Carleton College. Immediacy Defined Instructional immediacy is behavior that brings the instructor and the students closer together in terms of perceived distance. Non-verbal immediacy includes behaviors such as smiling, gesturing, eye contact and having relaxed body language. Verbal immediacy refers to calling the students by name, using humor and encouraging student input and discussion.

To get an idea of what is meant by immediacy, view the presentation Immediacy in the Classroom: Research and Practical Implications (PowerPoint 148kB Feb20 07). This presentation was part of the 2007 workshop Student Motivations and Attitudes: The Role of the Affective Domain in Geoscience Learning held at Carleton College. Background Immediacy is the perception of physical and psychological closeness between communicators.

Social psychologist Albert Mehrabian has been credited with defining the concept of immediacy in terms of his "principle of immediacy," which states "people are drawn toward persons and things they like, evaluate highly, and prefer; and they avoid or move away from things they dislike, evaluate negatively, or do not prefer" (Mehrabian, 1971). Immediacy relates to approach and avoidance behaviors and can be thought of as the perceived distance between people (Andersen, 1979; Mehrabian, 1971).

Immediacy Behaviors Nonverbal Behaviors

Gestures while talking to the class Uses vocal variety (non-monotone) when talking to the class Looks at the class while talking Smiles at the class while talking Has a relaxed body posture while talking to the class Moves around the classroom while teaching Looks very little at board or notes while talking to the class Removes barriers between self and students Uses appropriate touch when dealing with students Professional but more casual dress, appropriate to the context (or more professional dress initially to increase credibility, then more casual dress throughout the semester)

Verbal Behaviors

Calling on students by name Uses terms like "we" and "us" to refer to the class Allows for small talk and out of class conversations Gives feedback to students Asks students how they feel about things Allows students to call him/her by first name

Relationships Between Immediacy and Other Classroom Variables Most immediacy research is in the classroom, though some has been conducted in other interpersonal situations such as roommates, colleagues or spouses.

Immediacy is Positively Correlated with:

Student affect and affective learning (Gorham, 1988; many others, across cultures; recent: Pogue & AhYun, 2006), even in large classes (Messman & Jones-Corley, 2001), and even when workload demands are high (Mottet, ParkerRaley, Cunningham, Beebe, & Raffeld, 2006) Student cognitive learning (Chesebro & McCroskey, 2001; Christophel, 1990; Kelley & Gorham, 1988; Titsworth, 2001), though a smaller relationship was found than for affective learning. Perceived instructor competence, caring and trustworthiness (Thweatt, 1999) Positive student evaluations (Moore, Masterson, Christophel, & Shea, 1996) Student state motivation (Christophel, 1990; Christophel & Gorham, 1995; Frymier, 1994) Attitude and background homophily with instructors (Rocca & McCroskey, 1999) Interpersonal attraction (all 3 forms: task, physical, and social attraction), (Rocca & McCroskey, 1999) Perceived teacher assertiveness and responsiveness (Thomas, Richmond, & McCroskey, 1994) Student attendance and participation (Rocca, 2004) Out-of-class communication between professors and students (Jaasma & Koper, 1999)

Immediacy is Negatively Correlated with:

Verbal aggression (Rocca & McCroskey, 1999) Student resistance (Kearney, Plax, Smith & Sorensen, 1988) Distance education classrooms (decrease in immediacy; Carrell & Menzel, 2001)

Integrating Immediacy Into Your Classroom

You may already do some of these things! If you are already engaging in some immediacy behaviors, you can make an effort to do more of them, add some that you may not do, or use some more frequently. If you are not immediate at all (which is probably not the case since you're interested in affect in the classroom), start slowly and just do one at a time. If you're sharing this information with colleagues who aren't immediate, you could suggest one behavior at a time because otherwise the behavior may appear unnatural if too much is taken on at once. At the times when you need more credibility (such as when giving back tests or during disciplinary issues), engage in fewer immediacy behaviors, but don't eliminate immediacy altogether. Only use what you're comfortable with Remember all of the positive relationships with affect-related variables

Journals and Information Sources Communication Education is a highly-regarded national journal published by the National Communication Association. It publishes peer-reviewed manuscripts related to communication instruction, communication skills, and communication in instruction. This journal is one of the most prestigious journals in communication and considered to be the top journal in the field of instructional communication, with an acceptance rate less than 10% during most years. The Journal on Excellence in College Teaching is an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed national academic journal. Its readership is in the thousands with many university library subscriptions. Its goal is to provide a medium to display the scholarship of teaching and learning. It has an acceptance rate of 25%. Communication Teacher is a quarterly teaching resource dedicated to the identification and promotion of excellent teaching practices in the K-12, community college, and university classrooms. It is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the National Communication Association. References

Andersen, J.F. (1979). Teacher immediacy as a predictor of teaching effectiveness. In D. Nimmo (Ed.), Communication Yearbook, 3 (pp.543-559). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books. Carrell, L.J. and Menzel, K.E. (2001). Variations in learning, motivation, and perceived immediacy between live and distance education. Communication Education, 50, 230-241. Chesebro, J.L. and McCroskey, J.C. (2001). The relationship of teacher clarity and immediacy with student state receiver apprehension, affect, and cognitive learning. Communication Education, 50, 59-68. Christophel, D.M. (1990). The relationships among teacher immediacy behaviors, student motivation, and learning. Communication Education, 39, 323-340.

Christophel, D.M. and Gorham, J. (1995). A test-retest analysis of student motivation, teacher immediacy, and perceived sources of motivation and demotivation in college classes. Communication Education, 44, 292-306. Frymier, A.B. (1994). A model of immediacy in the classroom. Communication Quarterly, 42, 133-144. Gorham, J. (1988). The relationship between verbal teaching immediacy behaviors and student learning. Communication Education, 17, 40-53. Jaasma, M.A. and Koper, R.J. (1999). The relationship between student-faculty out-of-class communication to instructor immediacy and trust, and to student motivation. Communication Education, 48, 41-47. Kearney, P., Plax, T.G., Smith, V.R., and Sorensen, G. (1988). Effects of teacher immediacy and strategy type on college student resistance to on-task demands. Communication Education, 37, 54-67. Kelley, D.H. and Gorham, J. (1988). Effects of immediacy on recall of information. Communication Education, 37, 198-207. Mehrabian, A. (1971). Silent messages. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Messman, S.J. and Jones-Corley, J. (2001). Effects of communication environment, immediacy, communication apprehension on cognitive and affective learning. Communication Monographs, 68, 184-200. Moore, A., Masterson, J.T., Christophel, D.M., and Shea, K.A. (1996). College teacher immediacy and student ratings of instruction. Communication Education, 45, 29-39. Mottet, T.P., Parker-Raley, J., Cunningham, C., Beebe, S.A., and Raffeld, P. C. (2006). Testing the neutralizing effect of instructor immediacy on student course workload expectancy violation and tolerance for instructor unavailability. Communication Education, 55, 147-166. Pogue, L. and AhYun, K. (2006). The effect of teacher nonverbal immediacy and credibility on student motivation and affective learning. Communication Education, 55, 331-344. Rocca, K.A. (2004). College student attendance: Impact of instructor immediacy and verbal aggression. Communication Education, 53, 185-195. Rocca, K.A. and McCroskey, J. C. (1999). The interrelationship of student ratings of instructors' immediacy, verbal aggressiveness, homophily, and interpersonal attraction. Communication Education, 48, 308-316. Thomas, C.E., Richmond, V. P., and McCroskey, J. C. (1994). The association between immediacy and socio-communicative style. Communication Research Reports, 11, 107-115. Thweatt, K.S. (1999). The impact of teacher immediacy, teacher affinity-seeking, and teacher misbehaviors on student-perceived teacher credibility. Paper presented at the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL. Titsworth, B.S. (2001). The effects of teacher immediacy, use of organizational lecture cues, and students' note-taking on cognitive learning. Communication Education, 50, 283-297.

Teaching Controversial Topics This summary was compiled by Karin Kirk, SERC. Related Links Teaching with Structured Academic Controversy Anecdotal accounts about teaching controversial issues Some subjects are largely cognitive, while others involve more of the affective domain. Learning Bowen's Reaction Series is probably a cognitive exercise for most students. But studying the Kyoto Treaty will elicit a host of affective issues. In order to teach controversial topics effectively, we must be especially aware of the role of the affective domain and the potential for affective roadblocks. If a contentious topic doesn't sit well emotionally, then students may be unable to learn the science. Affective challenges for teaching controversial topics

Pre-held beliefs The student may enter the classroom with a lifetime of personal beliefs on a topic. These beliefs may extend from family, social experiences, church or other influences. How can your teaching allow students to be open to these topics? Biases and stereotypes Unfortunately, many controversial topics are loaded with baggage. Biases may originate from media or political influences. For example, does practicing an environmentally-conscious lifestyle make you a "granola?" Is it true that only college professors drive hybrid cars? All or nothing Science is often thought of as a black and white, all-or-nothing proposition. Scientists are portrayed as purely logical with no personal feelings. Of course our students do not aspire to emulate that behavior. Can we show students that there is room for both emotion and science? In order to accept the science of evolution, must a student abandon all of their religious feelings on the topic? Judgments

As teachers, we need to be careful not to preach or be judgmental about topics like evolution and environmental conservation. This may be a sure-fire way to irreparably turn students off. Worse yet, we may not even be aware when our word choice, attitude or body language may be broadcasting a judgmental tone. How can we establish an open and non-judgmental learning environment? Learn more See suggestions, literature and examples for teaching evolution and teaching environmental issues.

Teaching Evolution and the Affective Domain This summary was compiled by Karin Kirk, SERC, and is drawn from the sources referenced below.

View looking northeast from the Yavapai Observation Station on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Few topics engage the multifaceted challenges of the affective domain as much as evolution does. From the faculty point of view, teachers may be frustrated by judicial, political and social pressures against the teaching of evolution that seem poised to undermine the science. Meanwhile students may be faced with the difficult decision to "believe" in the science or to maintain their faith in another interpretation. There is no shortage of information written about the teaching of evolution. Upon review, some useful themes for addressing the affective domain while teaching emerge.

Understand and be respectful of where the students are coming from. Teaching evolution should not make students with religious beliefs feel that their beliefs are wrong. Teachers should make a clear distinction between the roles of science and religion; the two need not be in conflict. Be clear about your role as a faculty member. Is your goal simply to teach the science or to change students' personal beliefs?

Related Links Evolution Site Guide - an index to all SERC materials for teaching about evolution

Employ active learning techniques. Students will be more receptive to controversial topics if they have an active learning experience. A lecture-only, authoritative approach will do little to encourage students to have an open mind. Many of the references below recommend teaching science as a process, rather than a finalized "truth." Students should come to understand the ways that scientists formulate and test ideas, how science can resolve events that happened long ago, and how critical thinking plays a role in science. Even if there is political, social, departmental or parental pressure against the teaching of evolution, it is imperative that frustrations about that be left outside the classroom. While teaching a controversial topic it is especially important to maintain a classroom atmosphere that is positive, open and encouraging.

Resources for Teaching Evolution and the Affective Domain Examples from Across the SERC Website Structured Academic Controversy This is a type of cooperative learning strategy in which small teams of students learn about a controversial issue from multiple perspectives.This technique is designed to engage students in controversy and then guide them to seek consensus. In addition to documentation about the technique, there is also a specific classroom example developed for teaching about science and religion

See video clips about Structured Academic Controversy. This page contains two video clips and a PowerPoint presentation describing this role-playing technique, plus links to references for using this method in your classroom. This is an excerpt from the 2007 Affective Domain workshop.

Addressing Creationism This Earth history module is intended to assist science faculty who are teaching Earth history, evolution, or plate tectonics by providing them with access to solid information about creationism and about teaching science to students who may have creationist beliefs.

The Evolution/Creation Debate In this course students are exposed to the modern scientific theories of the earth and life and to the diverse brands of Christian creationism and how they measure up to scientific analysis. Students explore these topics through readings, lectures, discussions, and essays.

General References This list is not intended to present a comprehensive list of evolution resources. Rather, the papers and web sites below offer strategies that are useful for teaching evolution while minimizing conflict and maximizing learning. Evolution Resources from the National Academies (more info) This web page provides easy access to books, position statements, and additional resources on evolution education and research. These materials have been produced by the National Academies and other sources. This is a handy clearinghouse of reliable information for teaching evolution. About Life. Concepts in Modern Biology Agutter, Paul S., Wheatley, Denys N., Springer 2007 This book uses modern biological knowledge to tackle the question of what distinguishes living organisms from the non-living world. The authors first draw on recent advances in cell and molecular biology to develop an account of the living state that applies to all organisms (and only to organisms). This account is then used to explore questions about evolution, the origin of life, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. The novel approach taken by this book to issues in biology will interest and be accessible to general readers as well as students and specialists in the field. Approaches to Teaching Evolution Perspective: Teaching Evolution in Higher Education citation and bibliographic information This paper presents statistics and explanations for students' (and the general public's) misunderstandings of and feelings toward evolution. The authors note that traditional pedagogy does little to unseat students' misconceptions, largely because the teaching is passive. The key recommendation is for constructivist teaching methods including tools such as discussion, concept mapping, and using a historical perspective. The Creation Controversy and the Science Classroom citation and bibliographic information This book provides science teachers with extensive information and useful techniques for teaching evolution and other

controversial issues. The second section, "Effective Strategies for Teaching Evolution and Other Controversial Topics," is particularly relevant for teachers. A key recommendation is that teachers should teach science as a set of processes for thinking critically about alternatives. The author lists potential problems that may be encountered when teaching controversial topics in science and suggests specific strategies for addressing them. Structured Academic Controversy: A Peaceful Approach to Controversial Issues (PDF file) citation and bibliographic information This article describes the use of structured academic controversy to teach evolution to pre-service science teachers. This pedagogic strategy is designed to engage students in controversy and then guide them to seek an agreement. The format includes time for readings, thinking, questions, small group discussion, large group discussion and consensus building. A follow-up survey indicated that the participants felt that the process allowed for consensus-building, avoided confrontation, and emphasized currently accepted scientific thinking. The Evolution Solution: Teaching Evolution Without Conflict (PDF file) This paper presents a strategy for teaching evolution that is built around a novel sequence of topics -- using a series of classroom-tested interactive lessons. This strategy effectively minimizes conflict while students come to recognize many misconceptions and to understand why evolution is considered one of the strongest of scientific theories. High School Students' Perceptions of Evolutionary Theory (more info) This article offers a useful literature review along with results from the authors' own study. The conclusions from this paper are that teachers should take great care not to alienate students, that they should educate the "whole" student and that teaching methods should include time for reflection and discussion. Changes in students' understanding of evolution resulting from different curricular and instructional strategies citation and bibliographic information This study assessed students' learning of evolution by natural selection within four different sections of an introductory biology course. The authors used different combinations of curricular materials and instruction methods. Pretest-to-posttest differences within each section showed gains in correct conceptions but few reductions in alternative conceptions. Comparisons between sections support the use of the paired problem-solving instructional strategy in conjunction with a historically-rich curriculum. The Goal of Evolution Instruction: Belief or Literacy? (more info)

This paper discusses an approach to teaching evolution that allows students to develop an accurate understanding of the nature of science and the scientific process, resulting in improvement in their scientific literacy. The author contends that attempting to make students believe in evolution is both ineffective and is not the most important goal in teaching evolution. It is stressed that teachers should respect students' beliefs. General suggestions for teaching approaches are provided, with recommendations drawn from a variety of other papers. Exploring the Social, Moral, and Temporal Qualities of Pre-Service Teachers' Narratives of Evolution citation and bibliographic information This article from the Journal of Geoscience Education is particularly relevant for evolution education. This qualitative study explores pre-service teachers' conceptual representations of an evolutionary process through their personal narratives of evolution for an imaginary humanoid species on a far-off planet. The connection among social and moral issues, evolution, and difficulties envisioning the future may provide important clues into pre-service teachers' conceptualizations of human evolution. Addressing personal barriers and misunderstandings that might impede geoscience education may become an effective tool for teaching scientific principles. Specific Examples and Activities Activities for Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science citation and bibliographic information This is a chapter from the National Academy of Sciences book "Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science" (1998). This chapter presents eight activities that science teachers can use as they begin developing students' understandings of evolution and the nature of science. Activity collection from the Evolution and Nature of Science Institute This is a large collection of classroom activities about the nature of science, evolution and the origin of life.

Structured Academic Controversy - Science and Religion This is as example of the structured academic controversy technique, which aims to provide deeper content knowledge about evolution as well as to broaden students' perspectives to help them be more understanding of their own and others' views.

Do you know of an article, example or other reference for teaching evolution? Please tell us about it. If you have a classroom activity that is useful for teaching evolution, you can add it to the teaching activities collection.

Teaching Environmental Issues and the Affective Domain

Dept. of Energy photo by Warren Gretz This summary was compiled by Karin Kirk, SERC, and is drawn from the sources referenced below. Teaching environmental topics can bring out unexpected responses in your students. For example, when you cover the topic of Earth's resources in a physical geology course, you may find previously mild-mannered students become impassioned about the topics, or otherwise attentive and hard-working pupils dig in their heels and resist the information. Doing rock and mineral identification may elicit little emotional response from most students. But when the subject matter seems to confront one's personal lifestyle, political leanings or economic situation, then the topic may be perceived in a very different light. What are some strategies to teach environmental topics, particularly controversial ones, without coming up against affective barriers to learning? How can you help students learn the science and the policy without getting weighed down by feeling guilty or defiant?

Teach the science first Even though most environmental topics are a blend of science, policy, economics and human impacts, it may be helpful to separate these into three distinct subtopics. First, present the science objectively, using data and relevant examples. Next, discuss the policy and economic issues related to this topic. Once those subjects are covered thoroughly, students will often be interested to learn what their own personal stake may be. By setting the stage deliberately, students are more likely to be receptive to the information and are less likely to get turned off. Teach with data Statements like "species are going extinct at an alarming rate," "wetlands are being turned into strip malls," and "the climate is getting hotter"are emotional statements (even if true) and will elicit emotional responses in your students. Rather than risk sounding like an alarmist, let the data speak for itself. Have students work through data sets, and they can discover for themselves the rate and extent of environmental change. In some cases, they still may end up being

surprised or emotional, but it's because they reached their own conclusion, not because you told them to be alarmed. [Schweizer and Kelly, 2005] Use active learning techniques

Photo by Stuart Van Greuningen, Idaho Energy Division Students learn better when the can learn it for themselves, and this is especially true for topics that are potential turn-offs for students. Environmental issues lend themselves to teaching techniques like using local examples, gathering data from the field, using role-playing or debates, or participating in environmental projects. [Iozzi, 1989] , [Schweizer and Kelly, 2005]

Controversy, ambiguity, and topics with incomplete or missing evidence can be used constructively (but need to be introduced judiciously) Engaging controversial topics, or topics that have no clear-cut answers, can create an environment where students are motivated to learn more out of curiosity or imminent need [e.g. Edelson, 2001 ]. Students can be encouraged to review what is known, to identify what additional information is needed to solve the problem, and to continue the search to find and critically examine new information. Learning goals for students can include development of "scientific habits of the mind" [AAAS, 1989 (more info) ], to be critical consumers of information, and to be able to create, present and rebut arguments based on evidence. A supportive environment needs to be created to encourage scholarly and open review of the arguments and ideas, and provisions need to be put in place to prevent interpersonal (ad hominem) attacks in reporting results in class activities. It's not all doom and gloom Certain environmental topics can be downright depressing. However, there are also many environmental success stories. Strive for a balance in which students do not feel overwhelmed by a preponderance of "bad news." After all, environmental successes provide relevant examples of how problems can be overcome.

Clearly define your role and your teaching approach There are many ways to teach environmental issues. Before jumping into your curriculum, consider what your desired outcomes are and what approach you will take. Is your intent to teach just the relevant scientific processes, to promote an awareness of environmental issues, or to lead students toward a shift in their own environmental behavior? In the classroom, do you assume the role of environmental guardian, a free-marketeer, or a devil's advocate? There are advantages to various approaches, but it's important to consciously consider what your goals are and how you can best achieve them. [Corney, 1998] Lead by example, but don't preach We all know the stereotype that college professors drive tiny, efficient cars and live an eco-minded lifestyle. Regardless of whether or not this describes you, it's best to avoid talking down to your students for their own personal choices. Preaching to the class about what's "good" and what's "bad" will likely have the opposite effect than you intended; it can be a major turn-off for students. If your goal is to promote environmentally-favorable behavior in your students, consider a hands-on project that will challenge students to consider the environmental impacts of their own actions. [Kirk and Thomas, 2003]

Resources and Examples Selected Literature

US Dept of Energy photo by Warren Gretz Teaching and learning in environmental education: Developing environmental conceptions (Ballantyne and Packer, 1996) citation and bibliographic information This paper discusses how environmental education is closely connected with the affective domain in that it involves attitudes, values and behaviors, in addition to cognitive knowledge. The authors recommend that teachers develop conceptions in environmental education by using a range of strategies designed to integrate an individual's environmental knowledge, attitudes/values, and behavior. The application of constructivist learning provides a basis for encouraging students to become aware of their environmental conceptions, challenge inconsistencies in those conceptions, and make informed decisions regarding their environmental conceptions.

Enhancing environmental conceptions: An evaluation of cognitive conflict and structured controversy learning units (Ballantyne and Bain, 1995) citation and bibliographic information Learning experiences which challenge and enhance students' conceptions of environmental issues and environmental education by confronting them with alternative viewpoints and evidence were trialed in two postgraduate environmental teacher education courses. Findings indicate that as a result of participating in the learning experiences, students formulated their own position more clearly, better understood the viewpoints of others, became aware of inadequacies and inconsistencies in their conceptions and were challenged to increase their environmental commitment. Learning to Teach Environmental Issues (Corney, 1998) citation and bibliographic information This paper describes preliminary results from a qualitative research study into the thinking and practice of student geography teachers in the teaching of environmental issues. The study investigates ways that teachers think about environmental issues and the corresponding ways that teachers teach these topics. The author points out that teachers must make various value judgments in teaching environmental issues. A Multivariate Analysis of the Relationship Between Attitude Toward Science and Attitude Toward the Environment (Ma and Bateson, 1999) citation and bibliographic information This statistical study identified the relationship between students' attitude toward science and attitude toward the environment. Canadian 9th grade students answered sets of attitude questions about the environment and about science in general. The strongest correlation was that students who had a positive attitude toward science also had a positive attitude toward science. Another correlation indicated that students favored preservation of natural resources but also did not favor a reduction in freedom for logging companies, farmers, automobile drivers, and so on. Developing Analytical and Communication Skills in a Mock-Trial Course Based on the Famous Woburn, Massachusetts Case (Bair, 2000) This paper describes an interdisciplinary course based on the book A Civil Action. Students analyze aerial photographs, well logs, streamflow records, permeability tests, and water-level and water-quality data from the trial to complete assignments that become exhibits in the mock trial. Assignments include construction of geologic cross sections, potentiometric maps, hydrographs, flood recurrence graphs, and calculation of hydraulic gradients, groundwater velocities, and contaminant travel times. The course teaches students how to develop and defend their opinions, how to question the opinions of others, the limitations of data collection and analysis, and the importance of integrating computational and communication skills. The Use of a Mock Environment Summit to Support Learning about Global Climate Change (Gautier and Rebich, 2005) citation and bibliographic information This paper describes a course that addresses the human aspects of global change through the development and negotiation of an international environmental agreement. Students play the roles of country representatives

and participate in activities such as writings, class discussions, presentations and negotiations. An Investigation of Student Engagement in a Global Warming Debate (Schweizer and Kelly, 2005) citation and bibliographic information This study investigates how using debate as a pedagogical tool for addressing earth system science concepts can promote active student learning, present a realistic and dynamic view of science, and provide a mechanism for integrating the scientific, political and social dimensions of global environmental change. The investigation examines how students make use of observationally-based climatic data sets when debating the cause of global warming. Teaching Methods Related Links Teaching Climate Change

A student gathering stream discharge data The Starting Point collection contains introductory earth science teaching materials organized by various teaching methods. The collection contains sections on teaching with data, using role-playing activities, using your campus as a laboratory, experience-based environmental projects, and Structured Academic Controversy. Activity Collections

Activities with role-playing Campus-based activities Activities that use data

Selected examples: What Should We Do About Global Warming? Teaching materials by Sharon Anthony, Thomas W. Brauch, Elizabeth J. Longley (Beloit College/ChemConnections)

This 3-4 week science module is designed for introductory college courses and uses data to tackle questions related to global warming. The module includes short and long term temperature trend data, along with IR spectra, concentration trend data for greenhouse gases, and information about the Kyoto Protocol. The Great Energy Debate Teaching materials by National Geographic This lesson plan explores the controversial issues surrounding the energy debate in the United States. Students will research recent initiatives being taken in this area and analyze their implications. They will then assume the roles of pivotal stakeholders in this debate and testify to a mock congressional committee responsible for making decisions about public lands and energy resources. Mock Environmental Summit Teaching materials by Catherine Gautier (University of California Santa Barbara) At the end of a six-week class or unit on global warming, students role-play representatives from various countries and organizations at an international summit on the Santa Barbara protocol, dealing with global warming. The students prepare by studying the IPCC report on Global Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, and other information on human impacts on the environment. The Use of a Piece of Land Teaching materials by Duane Leavitt for Activities and Resources for Earth Science Teachers from the Maine Geological Survey This activity is designed to engage students in a practical exercise in land use planning, to make the students aware of the positive and negative aspects of land use laws and local zoning ordinances through role-playing. The students represent groups interested in purchasing the same piece of land. Each group must research to devise a plan that is legal and attractive and present proposals to convince the current owners to sell the land to their group. The instructor is advised to use a real plot of land so that real land use laws can be researched. Global Temperatures Created by Columbia University Earth and Environmental Science Faculty Students analyze the global temperature record from 1867 to the present. Long-term trends and shorter-term fluctuations are both evaluated. The data is examined for evidence of the impact of natural and anthropogenic climate forcing mechanisms on the global surface temperature variability. The Lifestyle Project Karin Kirk (Montana State University) and John J. Thomas (Skidmore College) This project allows students to challenge themselves to reduce their impact on the environment by changing the way in which they live from day to day, over a period of three weeks. Students write about their experiences in journals, which are incredibly insightful, illustrating just how profoundly the project affects them. Structured Academic Controversy - Climate Change Claudia Khourey-Bowers, Kent State University Students use a role-playing format to explore various positions on climate change. Students use a meeting of an international council to expand their perspectives on the issue and increase their understanding of others' points of view.

 Communicating Global Climate Change: Using Debate to Engage Integrative Learning This series of video clips from MERLOT/ELIXR demonstrates the use of debate as a strategy for engaging student with the issues surrounding climate change. Project materials, timelines and PowerPoint slides are also included. Do you know of an article, web site, data set or other reference for teaching environmental issues? Please tell us about it. If you have a classroom activity that is useful for teaching environmental issues, you can add it to the teaching activities collection.

Affective Domain Dilemmas This collection of dilemmas began at the February 2007 Workshop as a way of harnessing the collective expertise of the participants to help each other figure out how best to deal with scenarios and situations that commonly arise in the geoscience classroom. A short write-up of the "dilemma method" was presented at the October 2007 POD workshop on the Affective Domain in teaching and learning, where further solutions to the dilemmas were written. If you would like to share a dilemma from your own experience and potentially receive feedback and advice from community members, you can start a new thread in the Dilemma Discussions page. You can also see what comments community members have contributed to dilemmas in the collection by checking out the Dilemma Discussions page.

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Help Refine the Results Affective Domain Vocabulary

Student Motivation 7 matches Student Attitudes 14 matches Teaching Controversial Subjects 10 matches

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Convincing faculty about the importance of the affective domain part of Dilemmas Professors may believe they are "only there to teach" and the students are "there to learn,"

and it is not the professor's responsibility to worry about motivating them or making them feel good about learning. Possibly, students don't have the ability to succeed, so why should a professor try to motivate students who have a stronger potential to fail? Affective Domain Vocabulary: Student Motivation Age of the earth and relationship to belief systems part of Dilemmas In order to fully understand Earth processes such as plate tectonics, mountain building, erosion, evolution, and various time scales of global climate change students must have a firm grasp of geologic time and the age of the Earth. Mary is a student in science class for teachers. In a reflective writing assignment Mary reported that she did not believe that the Earth was 4.6 billion years old and constructed a list of young earth arguments that indicate an age of ~6,000 years. Affective Domain Vocabulary: Teaching Controversial Subjects Avoiding hopeless paralysis part of Dilemmas In an intro class, I wanted to engage students and show them the importance of the field of geology in their lives. So I presented the evidence for an imminent peak in world oil production and explained how oil forms, how long that takes and how difficult it is to find. I followed the bad news with some good news about research into energy efficiency and alternative energy sources. I assigned the students to write minute-papers at the end of class about this lecture. Affective Domain Vocabulary: Student Motivation, Teaching Controversial Subjects Scientific uncertainty and global warming part of Dilemmas Climate change is the major environmental issue facing all inhabitants of spaceship Earth. As Earth science educators, we must inform students about the scientific consensus on global warming and projections of future warming through this century. Recent research has resulted in a dramatic advance in our understanding of climate history. Affective Domain Vocabulary: Teaching Controversial Subjects:Climate Change Selective use of evidence to support viewpoints part of Dilemmas In an Introductory Geology class you give your students a final project where they select their own topic of interest. John chooses the topic on the theory of evolution. By the time of your first meeting to discuss the project, he found a lot of information on the Internet which claims to have evidence that disproves the theory of evolution. Affective Domain Vocabulary: Teaching Controversial Subjects:Evolution Sermon of the rocks part of Dilemmas Professor Jones has taught in the geology department for 30 years. His notions of teaching and learning can be summarized in the saying, "I'm here to teach, and students are here to learn." His approach to teaching involves lecturing from the textbook that he

authored. Lectures, for Dr. Jones, are not unlike a Sunday sermon. He talks and some students listen. Others sleep, read newspapers, and surf the Web. Student evaluation of his classes and teaching effectiveness are routinely low. Affective Domain Vocabulary: Student Motivation, Teaching Controversial Subjects Working for big oil part of Dilemmas A student has already completed several courses in geology and is seriously considering majoring comes to you with the following personal dilemma. The student has realized that the most lucrative employment opportunities are with major oil and mining industries. However, she doesn't want to put herself in a position of working for one of the "bad guys." Affective Domain Vocabulary: Student Attitudes The legacy of We have always done it this way part of Dilemmas Joe recently completed his PhD and has landed a tenure track faculty position in the geology department at "Research U" for the fall semester. Joe will be teaching a large introduction to physical geology course in the spring. Research U has a variety of resources to help Joe develop his course and integrate the "affective domain," active learning, "clickers," etc. into his teaching. However, the department has a strong emphasis on research and views innovative teaching as not a priority. While in graduate school, Joe TAed both lower level introductory lectures and an upper level lab class, but received no formal training in teaching and was encouraged by his research advisor "just get by teaching." Affective Domain Vocabulary: Student Motivation Comfort in simplicity and discomfort in complexity part of Dilemmas Professor Spurrier has prepared carefully for a presentation on paleoclimates, in an effort to have students learn about past climate changes. She presents information on current and historical measurements, tree ring data, ice core data, and ocean sediment data, going further into the past and demonstrating the inferences on what the climates were like. The students seem restless with this presentation, and finally one bright student raises his hand. Affective Domain Vocabulary: Teaching Controversial Subjects:Climate Change Empathy part of Dilemmas Students in a small upper level class discussing global warming students argue that anything we do to "save" the environment is worth any cost and ultimately benefits everyone equally. We explain that a person in another country might be willing to accept a degraded environment in exchange for economic improvement. Students are willing to accept that as an intellectual argument but it becomes clear in subsequent discussions that they did not change their arguments to accommodate this idea.

Affective Domain Vocabulary: Student Attitudes

How can I improve my students' motivation so they can improve their learning? A draft case study of AR into Integrated Skills of English, by Tao Rui Chinas Experimental Centre for Educational Action Research in Foreign Languages Teaching, Guyuan Teachers College, Ningxia, P.R. China. January, 2004. I: Introduction Having been exposed to the teacher-centered methods of my previous teachers for four years in university as well as with the traditional concept: a teachers role is to deliver a moral, pass on knowledge and skills, and help students solve puzzles, (Confucius) I followed suit after graduation. In other words, my teaching methods in the classroom are naturally traditional and adopt a teacher-centred academic style. This academic teaching style is characterized by teaching techniques of grammatical explanation and translation, and so is sometimes known as the 'grammar-translation method.' (Cook P176.) This is what I have done in the past: Lead my students through the text of grammatical sentences step by step; Provide some background information concerning certain texts. Paraphrase some difficult words on grammatical points exist. I would like to paraphrase them, or translate them into first language.

Through this style, I believe I succeeded in delivering the necessary language knowledge as well as giving cultural information to my students. Furthermore, as a teacher, before the class, I prepared my lessons very carefully and thoroughly. In the class, I did my best to pass on as much knowledge as possible to my students. Once I fulfilled the syllabuss requirements, I was satisfied. Hence I believed that I was a good and responsible teacher. Such a situation remained until Dr. Moira Laidlaw came to Guyuan Teachers College together with her Action Research theory and practice. AR, as a branch of western

teaching methodology, is also influenced by Socrates' dialectical method, characterised by a logic of question and answer, and concentrating as well on students' perspectives orientation and their learning much more than teachers methodology. Here is a brief introduction of Educational Action Research. Action Research is a term, which refers to a practical way of looking at your own work to check that it is as you would like it to be. a form of self-reflection practice. (McNiff, 2002). The basic steps of an AR process constitute an Action Plan: we review our current practice identify an aspect that we want to investigate imagine a way forward try it out and take stock of what happens we modify we are doing in the light of what we have found, and continue working monitor what we do review and evaluate the modified action (Whitehead, 1989)

All in all, Educational AR is a self-reflective, problem-finding, problem-solving, selfevaluative and self-improving process for teachers (McNiff, 2000, 2002). With such a brief understanding of educational AR, in May 2002, I began my journey as a teacherresearcher. My first step was to observe my classroom as well as my students learning. What I later found through observation is really amazing. First, during the fifty-minute-long class, I kept talking just like a lecturer, explaining difficult vocabulary, paraphrasing troublesome grammatical points, telling students to do this or that. I was like a nanny doing everything for my babies. Thus students talking time was far less than teachers talking time. Secondly, since I was a dictator, students became mere passive listeners. The learning atmosphere was consequently inactive all the time: Thirdly, the learning atmosphere itself was undynamic, controlled and intense, for students never found enough freedom and space to speak, to communicate and to take part in any activity. All these rendered students passive instead of active and eager to learn. In other words, my academic teaching style restrained students motivation for learning. As soon as I identified such a problem, I developed it into my first concern of Action Research, namely, How can I improve students motivation so they can improve their learning? II My practice of Educational Action Research

A brief explanation of my concern So, how could I improve students motivation so they could improve their learning. By students, I mean the whole class, instead of individual students, for any class teaching is a compromise to suit the greatest number of students" (Cook, 2000, p102). So I decided to concentrate on how to improve the motivation of the majority of the whole class instead of improving one or two students motivation. Next came motivation: "Motivation in second-language learning has chiefly been used to refer to the long-term fairly stable attitudes in the students mind. Two types of motivation have been talked about : integrative and instrumental motivation. (Vivian, Cook, 2000, p97). Since both of these two motivations can benefit students learning, I aimed to improve both of integrative and instrumental motivations, which, I believe, contribute a lot to students success in second language learning. Why am I concerned about it? Firstly, in terms of the underlying values of some AR (Whitehead, 1989; McNiff, Lomax and Whitehead, 2002), I learnt that what is most important for education in the class should be students learning not teachers teaching (McNiff, 1993). No matter how excellent a teachers teaching method may be, it is nothing if it fails to encourage and improve students learning. The aim of education is to improve students learning. Secondly, when I distract my attention from my own teaching to students learning, students silence, non-participation and passiveness really frustrated me. It led me to considering whether or not I was a responsible and good teacher after all. I found the answer was not really, I was trapped in my own living contradiction (Whitehead, 1989). This was constituted thus: to be a teacher, teaching students well is most important, I hoped my students would achieve a lot from me and in the future, what they have learned would consequently benefit their students . However, what I observed only proved that I had failed to fulfill my expectation and goes against my educational value of empowering students in their learning. Accordingly, two problems at least arose out of my former teaching methods. One is my teaching style was actually restraining students motivation and degrading their learning. The other was students silence and non-cooperation, which in turn influenced my arrangement and teaching in the class. I realized that things would go round in a vicious circle, if no solution were provided for this phenomenon. Thirdly, I now knew from my own experience that an active, interesting learning atmosphere could improve students motivation and thus their learning. I still remember my own listening class as a college student. The teacher was so strict that punishment and scolding words would swarm like wasps towards those of us who made a mistake or failed to answer her questions. Her attitude seriously affected our motivation.

Most of my classmates kept silent and refused to be active. The listening class was a nightmare. Even today, some scolding words from my memory can make me shudder. Such experiences have led me to believe that the teacher has a great influence on her students motivation as well as their learning. It also makes me believe I, as an educator, can do something to change my students passivity and non-participation. Fourthly, the questionnaire I devised at some point with my students in Class 2, Grade 2 showed that 99% students preferred to learn in an interesting, free, and relaxed atmosphere. They dont want to learn in a passive and silent atmosphere. Fifthly, from my own teaching experience, I think an 'academic' style benefits teachers teaching more than students learning. In such a class, the teacher talks while students listen. As a result, the teacher becomes a fluent lecturer, while students poor remain speakers. Motivation consists of two chief factors, it seems to me: the prevailing attitude to the learning situation, i.e. to the teacher, and integrativeness (Cook, 2000, p168). I believe motivation should also include students attitude to the class, namely, the learning atmosphere. Thus, my first step to alter such a situation is to change my learning atmosphere. How can I improve students motivation? When realizing students motivation was mainly restrained by my present academic style I decided to alter my teaching method, so as to maximize student-participation and minimize teacher-domination - to offer students much freedom to talk, to discuss and to communicate so as to change the passive, silent atmosphere into an active and interesting one. First hypothesis--pair/group work My first imagined solution was to apply group/pair work to my class. Instead of leading students to the text sentence by sentence as before, I asked them to work in pairs or groups, discussing with each other and then tell me their result. From the very beginning, I found that my attempt was working. I walked around the class and observed their behavior as they were doing their pair/group work. To work in a group or pair seemed to come naturally, since they could face their learning partners instead of the teacher. They usually held an animated talk, and I could hear them arguing with each other, could see them smiling. Most importantly, they would like to stop me to ask questions such as, Miss Tao, what does this mean?" or I cant understand this. This was really impossible when I stood on the platform before, delivering knowledge to them. Ss questioning in groups/pairs together with my own observations proved to me that the present learning atmosphere had changed a lot and they were becoming active in raising questions.

Another thing I would like to add to suggest group/pair work does indeed change the learning atmosphere, which in turn to some extent, improves students motivation - is an extract from my students work. On one occasion the teaching aim was for students to talk about their own future. Had I still followed my previous teaching method, Id have asked students to keep silent and think about it for several minutes, then ask some of them to describe their own future. However, I didn't do it that way anymore. Ss were now required to talk about their future in pairs or as part of their group work. Take Tian Xings group as an example. Their group created a story of Ma Dongyuans future. Here are some extracts from their story: after two years he will have a lovely daughter who is good at dancing and singing, By the age of 35, he will divorce with his wife. Then he will have had disease and a beautiful girl will fall in love with him This is a complete and funny made-up story. I still remember when Tian Xing read it out, other students laughed a lot. Such a story could not have resulted from my previous teaching method, and I believe it proves to some extent that group/pair work liberates students from the teachers control and direction, offering them much opportunity and freedom to speak in the way they want to. In addition, it also fosters their creativity and imagination. Apart from this, I was also enlightened by such an idea----why not try another method of questioning since students' actively questioning behavior seems naturally to arise out of their pair/group work. ii. Second hypothesis---questioning Based on group/pair work, I decided to put a more questioning method into practice and apply it mainly to the teaching of text. Students were divided into groups/pairs, discussing the text with each other and solving problems by themselves. Whenever some difficult problems were beyond their understanding, they would present it to me through questioning and I would answer their questions. Alternatively, I sometimes supervised their learning by questioning them. Thus the questioning-method was put into effect in two ways: one was through students raising questions and teachers answering; another was teachers raising questions and students answering them. Does this method comply with my AR questions, in other words, does it improve students motivation? After a long time, I collected students feedback. According to that, most of them agreed that questioning really improves their learning interest. When I collected students feedback, I told them to decide to sign or not to sign their names for I believe it can guarantee the validity of my evidence. Thus if some students wanted to say something against the teacher, they might feel more at ease if they didn't have to sign their names. Here are some of their comments: Zhang Lizheng wrote: Your teaching way fits me, especially the questioning way. It not only makes me more active, but also makes me learn it by myself. I found my study was much more improved than before.

Another student wrote: I am very appreciative about your methods of teaching recently, because you have a large change than before, we can ask you and you can answer us. We can understand it well. It is better than before. Apart from this, I myself also noticed that students were more active than before. All this reassured me that questioning students on the basis of their group/pair work actually helped improve their participation and motivation. However, things always have two sides, just like a coin. Lets listen to several students voice who belong to the minority in the class. An anonymous student wrote: I think it is good , but it doesnt make some students understand the text completely or clearly because some good students can follow this way, they can understand the text easily. But others dont pay much attention to our lessons Zhang Junlang wrote: When you teach with teacher-centered method, we felt very clear about the structure, content and phrases of the articles. Thus it wont take a long time for us to finish our homework. With the questioning method though we can understand the words, phrases very well, we failed to understand its structure and content completely. Thus we couldnt finish our homework easily. Of course, questioning really motivates us, activate the atmosphere, but I notice that some students are busy with finding out questioning instead understanding the article, whats more, some students questions are too far beyond the article. Actually questions have nothing to do with what we will learn. This is a waste of our time. So to me, I still prefer teach-centered method than questioning method, for I can learn more by it . Zhangs critical comments make me reflect a lot. It seems that there should be a balance between questionnaire and academic style. A teacher shouldnt randomly force himself to adopt one teaching method while utterly abandoning another or simply make a judgement that this teaching method is better than that based on one experience. The adoption of a certain kind of teaching method should be decided by two factors: students learning needs as well as the teaching materials available. All in all, teaching methods should alter with students' learning needs as well as the difficult degree of the teaching materials. As Cook comments: it is rare to encounter a classroom that is a pure version of one or other of these reaching styles as none of them fully satisfy all the needs of any real class of students: nevertheless they provide convenient reference points for the discussion o language teaching. (Cook, 2000, p.174) Thus I believe that teaching encourages a variety of methods. Take questioning as an example: it seems to work well for me and the students if the teaching materials are less difficult and individual student prefers them. Hence I tried to introduce various teaching methods according to different teaching materials as well as students learning needs. The following is a list of what I have tried:

Micro-teaching experiential learning techniques Encouragement Teacher-centered methods Rearrangement of the classroom

iii. The third hypothesismicro-teaching The Land Where There Were No Old Men (a story from the textbook we were using) is an article of low difficulty. It is full of simple conversations and few difficult grammatical points and the vocabulary is easy. This ascertains me that students are capable of learning and even teaching this text by themselves. Guided by this idea, I asked students to work in a group of 5 or 6, solving difficult problems and learning by themselves. In order to test my hypothesis, I required each group to choose a group leader who would be in charge of explaining certain paragraphs. To my surprise, they really did an excellent job. Most of them were good at controlling their language and making sense of it. An typical example is Tian Xings explanation of the following paragraph (appendix 2). I remember challenging her by questioning her explanation and she presented very satisfactory answers. Furthermore, students feedbacks also proved that micro-teaching is really improving their learning. Here are some words from students group feedbacks (appendix3). Zhang Lizheng, Liu Xiaxia, Niu Huiyang, Zhao Weidong wrote: Our group thinks that this micro-learning is useful for our self-study and enables us to think of questions by ourselves. And it also improves our ability of teaching. In our group, we explain important and useful points one by one. We can improve our skills of explanation. And by this method, all of us must explain and teach the text, so the lazy people will be punished by explaining." On the contrary, the words from Tian Pings group is really funny. They wrote: We dont think it is an useful way of learning a new article. There are many difficult vocabulary and phrases even sentences. You should guide us to learn every point. This voice states again that applying a variety of teaching methods according students learning needs and the teaching materials is extremely necessary and important." iv. The fourth hypothesisTPR of experiential learning Where the Sun Always Rises is an article describing the scene of the sun rising in the countryside. It is filled with exquisite language and vivid description. I suppose that students can fully appreciate this article, especially the beauty of nature if I adopt such

skills of TPR of experiential learning. (TPR is a language teaching method built around the coordination of speech and action. It attempts to teach through physical activity. Jack C. Richards and Theodores Rodgers, p. 87). From my point of view, it not only makes my class interesting but also helps students understand this text very well. The following is some extract from my reflective journals: sentence 1: my eyes flash open. To explain it, I required students to close their eyes and not to open them until I counted from one to three. Through this they were able to figure out that this sentence meant: open ones eyes quickly and wide; sentence 2: I relax and curl deeper beneath the blanket's warmth. When I asked students to demonstrate it with their body language, Zhao Weidong even stretched his arms and yawned. Sentence 3: My mother whispers again. To explain it, I stood on the platform with my hand on my wrist, shouting get up to show the difference between whisper and shout. When students are asked to answer the question why whisper not shout or scream, Ma Dongyuan (usually a silent student) offered an excellent answer: it showed mothers love for her child. Sentence 4: a heron fans its way to understand the vivid description fan, students are asked to stretch their arms to demonstrate a herons flying and I observed most of them were active in doing this. This also seemed to activate them. As to me, all these things can show students are motivated to learn, to participate. Another piece of evidence I want to add is the following. In the class I drew a picture of the forest to show the meaning of the sentence a sliver of brilliant red crests the top of the shadowed forest. During the break, some students added eyes and mouths to each tree of my forests. To tell the truth, I was moved at that time, for their joke seemed to show a friendly relationship was being built between my students and myself. I dont believe the same situation would have happened if I had still been using my previous more academic style. v. v. The fifth hypothesisencouragement, personal communication between teacher and students, rearrangement of the classroom Now lets abandon such abstract theories as questioning method, TPR etc., because I found ways to encourage students that werent routines or gambits. One of those findings was giving encouragement to some students. Ji Jianjun was usually a silent student. He seldom appeared active in my class. At first, I guessed it was due to his poor English. However an interview with him changed my mind. Here is a part of our talk concerning his study. Tao Rui: in your opinion, what can I do to improve your motivation?

Ji: last year, teacher Ma (Ma Jianfu is my colleague) taught me the same course. He constantly asked me to answer his questions. This made me feel that I was not ignored by the teacher. Furthermore, whenever I raised a correct answer for a question, even a very easy one, he would praise me a lot. His attitude to me really encourages me to learn a lot and I began to recover my interest in English. Tao Rui: How about your study now? Ji: Well, much things have changed. Our head teacher was changed and another student took my place of the monitor. You began to teach us the integrated skills of English. I felt I lost my interest and confidence in English again. His words reminded me of what I have done to him in my class. Whenever I asked him to answer my questions, he did a bad job. His broken sentences and murmuring voice made me feel tired. Furthermore, I was afraid I wouldn't fulfill the teaching schedule and syllabus since I had to spend lots of time correcting his mistakes. Therefore, I often avoided asking him questions and usually commented on his answers with simple words such as OK, well, sit down, please. As a result, my conscious behavior possibly made him feel ignored by me and consequently he seemed to lose his confidence and learning interest. This led me to believe that teachers encouragement to students and personal communication with them, especially the slow ones, are extremely significant factors in their development. It can improve to some extent some students motivation. Classroom management is what I want to turn to next. On one occasion, I required students to make a report on the topic of modernization. I was surprised that they were more active in reading out their own reports than before. Their active participation was only apparently due to a little change in classroom management. Usually, they would give their reports standing on the platform, which accordingly activated those seated in the front rows more than those seated at the back. However, this time, thanks to a change of classroom management (students were asked to turn back and show their reports in an open area at the back of the class) they appeared more active in the face of such a novelty, especially those sitting at the back. Students like Ma Dongyuan, Ma Jianhui, Yanan, Wang Shuisheng, Zhang Junlan seemed eager to listen. They even volunteered to read out their reports without my constant badgering, perhaps because all at once they felt themselves to be a significant focus. How will I know that I have improved students motivation? Through the above-mentioned formative evaluation, I may claim that my adoption of various teaching methods has really motivated my students to improve their learning. However, to further substantiate my claim, Id like to turn to some summative evaluation (Interpretation on New Curriculum, P14) i. My ways to collect evidence

Since AR inquires a triangulation of evidence to validate a researchers claim (Winter, 1989), I tried various ways to collect data: . questionnaires . interview . students feedback as soon as the class is over . tape recording . journals/notes . observation i. ii. My standards to evaluate my research whether the learning atmosphere is altered examination results their attitudes to my teaching students improvement in their self-study ability improvements in creativity and confidence

After one-and-a-half-year's research, I designed a questionnaire at the end of the term on Class2, Grade 2. Here is an analysis of some of it: Question 4: Do you like the learning atmosphere in my class? Answer (a) interesting v. relaxed (b) boring (c) just so so (d) terrible v. pressured Ss choice 14 0 6 1 % 67% 0 28% 4%

[notes: altogether 24ss took part in this questionnaire, 2 were absent and 3 didnt answer this question. This questionnaire was conducted anonymously, which, I believe to some extent, increases its validity.] Question 10: Do you think youre motivated to learn in the class or in another word, you are happy and ready to learn without much pressure?

Ss choice Motivated Not motivated

Numbers 17 4

% 76% 29%

Question 8: How do you feel about our previous teaching methods and present ones? Tian Ping: the previous teaching method regard us as a container, and the teacher tried to fill in it, while now the teacher and students communicated with each other and interacted. It is better than before. Niu Huiyan: Previously, the teacher kept talking while students listening, but presently, the teaching method is students-centered, encouraging students self-reflection, and communicating. Question 11: Do you think my teaching method is suitable for you? Why? Zhao Weidong: Yes, because I can learn without pressure. An anonymous student wrote: I felt no pressure for the learning atmosphere is active which could make my feel interesting. Here, a problem arises, I believe. If I believe what students said in their questionnaires, I might simply take it at face-value. How can I prove what they said really happened, namely, were they really motivated to learn better than before? I turned to their examination result. I believed if they were really motivated, they would gain much improvement on their examination results. (Thanks to Moira. It is she who leads me to think about this). I took a sample of their final exams on two terms of the year, 2003, and made a comparison among the classes of the same level. Here is a list: Class Average Not 90~100 80~90 scores failed% 1 74.70 2 74.04 3 61.78 4 5 70.92 2nd 1 73 2 75.04 3 69 4 5 72 70~80 60~70 Up to 60

From these two charts, we can see that the students examination scores improved. On the one hand, compared with these level classes, students in class 2's average scores were in second place, which then moved to first place during the second term. On the other hand,

using an ipsative criterion, in other words, comparing the students former experiences with their present ones, we can see that they have also improved. As to the students selfstudy ability, I invited Tasha (my dear foreign colleague) to interview six students of mine. (Tasha and I chose them both according to their scores and degree of participation in class. Thus we hoped they could represent the students of a high level, a middle level, and of low attainment respectively. We also tape-recorded the interview in order to increase validity. An analysis of their interview helped me draw the following conclusions: They mainly seemed to prefer student-centered teaching methods, especially questioning which they regarded as a good method to motivate them. Most importantly, they all agreed that their self-study ability improved during that year and were more motivated and interested in the learning atmosphere. Tasha also told me that my students appeared more active since I am engaged in Educational Action Research on them. My conclusions During these one and a half years, I have experienced my own living contradictions. Thanks to Moira Laidlaws instruction together with the enlightenment of AR as well as other colleagues help - Li Peidong, Zhao Xiaohong, Tasha Bleistein, Ma Jianfu - I have reflected on my own teaching and realized what I claimed and believed were in reality going against what was actually happening and what I actually wanted to happen. I believed that as long as a teacher played the role of delivering morals, passing on the knowledge and skills, and helping solve the problems, s/he was no doubt a good teacher. I also believed that my previous academic style helped to fulfill my dream of being a good teacher. Ironically, what I later learned from students was that I actually denied my values in my actions (Whitehead, 1989). By this austere teaching style I spoon-fed the knowledge to my students, which, far from motivating them to learn, badly constrained their creativity and freedom to communicate, as well as their insight and rights as individuals. It is Moira and Action Research that have helped me realize what was truly happening in my class. During my Action Research enquiry, I have simultaneously developed my own living educational theory (Whitehead, 1989, 1993) which, in mainly resulting from my own practice, is bound to enlarge my horizons, strengthen my insight, and improve my knowledge towards second language teaching as a professional teacher. I have started to regard education as a constantly developmental, sustainable process instead of a static, passive 'thing'. Such practice and self-reflection, as well as selfdirecting research have helped me enhance my own professional development. I now feel capable of monitoring my teaching more flexibly, confidently and wisely. Most importantly, I am able to concentrate my attention on my students learning not merely on my teaching. To sum up, what I have achieved will not only improve my students learning but also will empower my teaching and their learning. Now Id like to share what living educational theory I have learned from my research in more general terms. First comes motivation. Apart from students aptitude, motivation is an essential key to students success in second-language learning. To improve students

motivation is far from solving the whole problem, however. Owing to different teaching materials as well as different students learning needs, a variety of teaching methods are required to enhance motivation. Metaphorically, this can be linked to a spiders web or triangulation instead of a linear pathway. In other words, various teaching methods and techniques work together to hold students motivation, which, in my view, a singular method can never achieve. For instance, a poor student may be motivated by several encouraging words, whereas a good student may need more challenging questions. Secondly, teachers are not always responsible for students motivation as that partly arises out of the students themselves. I remember once when other students appeared active in my class, several seemed tired and one of them even yawned. To start with I thought I had failed to motivate them. But why were other students so active? Through a small talk with them (Bai Liang, Ji Jianjun, Ma Dongyuan) during the break, I learned they had gone to bed too late the previous night! Another typical example is Tian Ping. She is usually inactive and silent in my class. Both Moira and I supposed that she was not motivated. Moira once wrote: How can you involve her in the learning? She is writing nothing in her book. However, an interview with her later proved that she preferred an inactive and silent learning style. Other students active participation even made her feel uncomfortable. She said her silence didnt mean she was distracted from my teaching: She also told me that my teaching methods were very good because in this way it can cater to different demands of different students. Thus she always kept quiet and inactive in my class, but she insisted that she was listening carefully. For her seldom taking notes, she said she tried to memorise what I said in my lesson and her way did work. Thus her attitudes in my eyes were explained properly. (Journal entry, May) I believe what she told me for she usually gained a decent score in examinations. In the light of that, I am reassured that students are also responsible for their own motivation and that it reveals itself in different ways. Their tiredness and preference for different learning styles may influence their motivation and learning. Thirdly, I advocate that, apart from the two types of motivations, namely, integrative and instrumental, there is another typeemotional motivation. By it, I mean teachers encouragement and conscious attention to some students, particularly the poor, may motivate them to learn. Put plainly, emotional motivation encourages a building-up of a friendly relationship between teachers and students through such ways as chat, individual communication, personal talk or even conscious attention, encouragement etc. my previous experience with Ji Jianjun and Tian Ping go some way to underlining that possible truth. Another example comes from Tian Xing. She is an active student. However I always used to ignore her because of her very activeness because I believed more opportunities should be offered to other inactive and poor students. What was beyond my expectation was she

was so sensitive that she felt my intentional avoidance of her. Without sensing my true purpose, she once wrote to me: I dont think I am motivated by you and please give me a suitable explanation for why you always jump over me, only me in the whole class? Her inquiry really surprised me and assured me that emotional motivation actually exists among students. No discrete teaching method would solve this problem. What I realised was that I needed to have a talk with her, informing her of my true intention. Futhermore, my research has strengthened my insight into Action Research. I hold the following opinion: Action Research is a self-reflective, problem-spotting, problemsolving, evaluative, and self-improving process. It starts with a value (McNiff, 2002), then encourages educators to spot their own living contradictions (Whitehead, 1989), and try to solve them so as to generate their living educational theories through their practice and research. As a consequence, they can enhance their professional development. As a researcher, you have to undergo the process, which looks like a black box in some ways. AR focuses on student-centered teaching and students' learning needs. And the individuals learning needs always come first. It seems a basic tenet of Action Research (McNiff, 1993, 2000; Whitehead, 1989, 1993) that the whole class consists of different individuals whose differences should be noted and respected as human beings. Here you may notice another contradiction. What I have concerned myself about actually goes against the above-mentioned value. What I have focused on and talked about are mostly the group instead of individuals. Moira, after listening to my class once wrote: Do you know what individual students are doing in your lesson?Next time you could have given the poor students some individual encouragement! To compensate for that, I have decided that my next Action Research question should be: How can I understand individual students learning needs so as to increase their motivation in the learning of English?

Bibliography Cook, V. (2000), Second Language Learning and Language Teaching, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, Beijing. Richards, J. C. and Theodores S. Rodgers, (1986), Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. McNiff, J (2002), Action Research for Professional Development", booklet at: http://www.jeanmcniff.com Whitehead, J., (1985), An Analysis of an Individuals Educational Development: The Basis for Personally Oriented Action Research, Shipman. M., Falmer Books, London. Whitehead. J (1989), Creating a Living Educational theory from Questions of the kind, How do I improve my practice? Cambridge Journal of Education. Winter, R., (1989), Learning from Experience, Falmer Press, England. The New Curriculum of English, Beijing. The integrated Skills of English. References Edge, J, (2001) Action Research: Case Studies in TESOL Practice Series, Jill Burton, Series Editor. McNiff, J., (2000), Teaching as Learning, Routledge, London. McNiff, J. (2002) with Whitehead, J., Action Research: Principles and Practice, Routledge, London and New York. McNiff, J., Lomax, P., Whitehead, J., (1996), You and Your Research Project, Hyde Publcation, Dorset, U.K. Laidlaw, M., (2002), A Handbook of Communicative Methodology, first draft, China's Centre for Educational Action Research in Foreign Languages Teaching, Guyuan Teachers College, Ningxia, 756000. Whitehead, J., 1993, 'The Growth of Educational Knowledge', Hyde Publications, Dorset, England. Yule, G., (2000), The Study of Language, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, Beijing.

Running Head: WEB 2.0 AND MOTIVATION TO READ Web 2.0 and Motivation to ReadMeredith Megan OrmondEast Carolina University

AbstractThis is a teacher action research study examining the impact of the use of Web 2.0technologies on motivation to read. Two groups of ninth graders, eighteen studentstotal, participated in the study. The Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile was used as apre-test and post-test to determine motivation to read. The intervention groupparticipated in literature discussions using online tools while the comparison groupparticipated in traditional oral literature discussion. No significant change in motivationwas seen in either group at the end of the study, but qualitative data suggests the use of Web 2.0 may affect student engagement.

Web 2.0 and Motivation to Read Are we going to read today? asks Lindsey. Twenty-four freshman faces turn tome in anticipation.Yes, we get to read today, I respond, excited that they asked.What about Shelfari? Can we post about our books today? We havent done thatsince last week, says Tyana.Absolutely. Thats a great idea. Ill make sure we have time to do that before weleave today, I say and notice several faces register with satisfaction.This day is a far cry from the first week of school when I told students to find abook they liked because we would be reading often during class. Eyes rolled; groanswere audible. This was not, however, unexpected. After eight years of teaching I knowthat many of the students whom I teach come to me as reluctant readers, some even asnon-readers. It used to discourage me; I loved books in high school. Then I realized,these students are from a generation and a time far different than the one in which Igrew up. How do we reach this new generation of students? Can technology be theanswer rather than the problem? The purpose of this study was to examine howtechnology, specifically Web 2.0 tools, impacts motivation to read.There has never been a time when there was such a bevy of sensory distractionswaiting for teenagers at every turn: PlayStation3, computer games, iPhones,Blackberrys, text messaging, instant messengers, the internet, Facebook, and the listgoes on. There is a virtual smorgasbord of social interaction tools and technologicaldelights that, to many students, just seem more fun than reading. MySpace has morethan 110 million active users, while Facebook claims more than 500 million active users

WEB 2.0 AND MOTIVATION TO READ - 4 (The Neilsen Company, 2008). Teenagers like the constant interaction sites likeFacebook provide as well as the distance provided by instant messaging. Facebook isfun because you get to see what other people are thinking. Its like poking around intheir life, in their brain, says senior Lauren Carraway. Texting and chatting let studentssay what they want without feeling like theyre being judged by someone else, andthese tools provide instant access to talk with friends (Carraway).Meanwhile, interest in reading seems to decline with age. A study by students atExeter University found that of the 707 adolescents surveyed, the number of studentswho read books at home dropped almost 30% between the ages of 11 and 15 (Hopper,2005). Because motivation is linked to important reading skills such as strategy use andcomprehension, this decline is especially concerning (Guthrie, et al., 1997).Many educators ask, How can I compete with all the internet and technology?However, the question we should be asking is How can we harness the interest in Web2.0 technologies to motivate our students? Every day teachers use students intereststo engage students in the classroom. We choose books to share in which we think theymay be interested. We craft assignments that we think will engage their curiosity andcreativity. Why should Web 2.0 be any different? Teachers must stop fighting againstthe distractions and begin to investigate if using these popular tools can improvelearning and engagement in our schools.The following details a study conducted in two 9 th grade classrooms during whichI sought to discover whether participation in online literature discussion using Web 2.0tools affected motivation to read. For the purpose of this study, motivation is defined interms of goals, competence-related beliefs, and needs that influence an individuals

achievement (Guthrie, Wigfield, Metsala, and Cox, 1999, p.233). Web 2.0 refers toonline tools that allow students to create, manipulate, and collaborate online(Handsfield, et al, 2009, p. 40). I compared the behavior and attitudes of my studentsparticipating in Web 2.0 conversations to those in a comparable 9 th grade classparticipating in more traditional class discussion and activities. I predicted that thestudents participating in Web 2.0 conversations would see a greater increase in readingmotivation than the comparison group. Much research has been presented about theeffectiveness of collaborative learning and the use of Web 2.0 to enhancecomprehension, but very few studies have focused on how the use of thesetechnologies affects motivation, a key ingredient to successful literacy achievement. Literature Review Motivation has been shown to positively correlate with reading amount. In a studyof 217 third and fifth graders, results showed that when considering the variables of pastachievement, prior knowledge, selfefficacy and motivation, motivation was thestrongest predictor of reading amount (Guthrie, et al., 1999). Students who weredeemed highly motivated, meaning they ranked in the top third of the reading motivationscale, read almost 20 minutes more outside of school than their peers in the bottomthird of the motivation scale (Guthrie et al., 1999). Therefore, it is likely that studentswho are motivated will make gains in reading skills since reading amount has beenpositively linked to higher reading proficiency. Conversely, unmotivated readers suffer from many problems, including a lack of motivation, attention deficits, failure to complete

assignments, reading resistance, and task avoidance (Guthrie, Alao, & Rinehart, 1997).This decline in reading amount and motivation is furthered by the rapid influx of technology aimed at children and adolescents. Many students would prefer to spendtime with a computer rather than a book. This prolific increase in students technologyuse has drastically impacted the way educators must view the teaching of literacy.Literacy teachers can no longer rely on traditional books and paper formats. They mustbegin to harness the power of this technology to teach literacy, and especially toincrease students motivation to engage in literacy activities. This paper will explore thequestion: Does participation in online literacy discussions through the use of Web 2.0tools increase students reading motivation? Importance of Motivation In discussions of reading motivation, there are two types to consider: intrinsicmotivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation involves curiosity and interest inthe task one is doing and a mastery orientation toward tasks (Guthrie et al., 1999, p.234). Pintrich and Schrauben (1992) showed strong correlations between intrinsicmotivations and the use of reading strategies (Guthrie et al., 1997). Intrinsic motivationmay also affect the quality of learning. Several studies show that students with intrinsicmotivation were better able to relate different parts of a text and were better able toconnect texts to prior knowledge (Schiefele, 1999).Extrinsic motivation involves efforts exerted in order to be recognized by othersor obtain rewards or other external incentives (Guthrie et al., 1999). Extrinsic motivationmay have the opposite effect on reading as intrinsic motivation. Because extrinsic

motivation is based in competition and the avoidance of negative judgment, it can leadto reading avoidance and the use of weak strategies (Guthrie et al., 1997).Motivation is a particular concern for teachers of adolescents. Middle school staff rate reading motivation at the top of their priority list for what most needs more research(Guthrie et al., 1997) The fact is, most middle school students just are not reading. Thetypical middle school student reads less than five minutes per day for his or her owninterest (Guthrie et al., p.438). Gambrell (1996) administered the Motivation to ReadProfile to a group of third and fifth graders. This study revealed that, as studentsadvance in school, the value they place on reading decreases (Gambrell). As intrinsicmotivation for reading drops, extrinsic motivation seems to rise as teachers try to lurestudents into reading and have the leverage of failing grades (Guthrie et al., 1997).This trend towards a drop in reading motivation as students progress in school isalarming because motivation has been linked to comprehension and engagement. In astudy measuring passage comprehension in more than 17,000 tenth-grade students,reading motivation was found to predict text comprehension (Guthrie et al., 1999).However, research by Schiefele (2000) suggests that motivations impact on learningmay have certain limits, especially on the deepest levels of learning, which may stilllargely depend on ability. The Rise of the Google Generation The rapid growth of technology in the past two decades has had a profoundeffect on the nations younger generation. This proliferation has changed the waystudents spend free time, interact, and learn. Todays students live in a world that has

developed in them a desire for immediacy. They crave the quick responses that theinternet can provide (Kitsis, 2010). Many students are literally surrounded bytechnology. There are more computers with internet access in schools than there aretelephones, televisions, or encyclopedias (Leu, 2000). By 2005, 100% of public schoolsin the United States had Internet access and 94% had instructional access. TheNational Center for Educational Statistics says that 97% of all public schools havebroadband Internet services (Handsfield, Dean, & Cielocha, 2009). In fact, the UnitedStates government spends billions of dollars each year providing schools with Internetand telecommunication services (Leu & Kinzer, 2000). This plentiful access to theInternet means that communication is commonly occurring in online discussions(Larson, 2009). These online discussions and Internet activity take place out of schoolas well. With the rise of social networking, more students are using Internet tools thanever before. Fifty percent of Facebook users log in every day, and people spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook. Facebook boasts that more than 250thousand new members are added each day, and roughly half of its users are college-aged and younger (Facebook Statistics). These numbers, while staggering, grow larger every day. The social networking tool Twitter averages a 343 percent increase in usersper year (The Neilsen Company). Students are spending more and more of their freetime online. These online communities have become the way many young peopleinteract and communicate. What does this mean for educators? Teachers must learn toharness the power of the Internet and social networking for educational purposes.Additionally, teachers must aid students in gaining the technology skills they need to livein a global community. Many nations have realized this, the United States included, and

have begun to develop technology standards and resources in order to graduatestudents who use technology tools proficiently (Leu & Kinzer, 2000) In 2002, theInternational Reading Association asserted that educators needed to meaningfullyintroduce students to new technologies in current language curriculums to prepare themfor futures involving digital literacies (Larson, 2008). Online discussion of literature isone way of accomplishing that. Understanding the Benefits of Web 2.0 Web 2.0 refers to online tools that allow students to create, manipulate, andcollaborate online (Handsfield, et al, 2009, p. 40). These tools differ from Web 1.0applications, which required users to be passive consumers. Web 2.0 software includesblogs, digital storytelling, wikis, as well synchronous and asynchronous messageboards and chat rooms. These applications are purposely designed for collaboration(Handsfield, et al., 2009). Web 2.0 tools provide many benefits to the literacy classroom.Hancock (2008), as cited in Larson (2009), asserts that new technologies in classroomsprovide new guiding principles and depth to reader response research. TheInternational Reading Association agrees that literacy instruction will be significantlyimpacted by new digital literacies. For example, asynchronous discussion boardssupport collaborative learning since participants can contribute without interruption.They are interactive but allow participants to reflect before responding (Larson, 2009).Discussion boards and chat rooms have been shown to increase interest, which canthen increase motivation to learn. This effect is more substantial when these tools allowstudents to interact with others (Burgess, 2009). New literacies offer even more of a

social component than previous modes of literacy instruction (Larson, 2009). Throughthese social interactions, learning is created, often even more so than in printenvironments (Leu, 1996). As new literacies increase, students will become more relianton social learning strategies (Larson, 2009). Studies by Wolsey (2004) and Carico &Logan (2004) as cited in Larson (2009) show that online literature discussions offer great possibilities. Researchers claim, Results of early studies support that onlineliterature discussions have great potential for fostering literacy skills, strengtheningcommunication, and building a sense of community (Larson, 2009, p. 638). Newtechnologies offer more options and can provide closer conversations betweenparticipants (Larson, 2008). The use of Web 2.0 has the added benefit of promotingself-direction and critical thinking. Researchers posit that engaging students withactivities that use online networks is important for creating critical citizens who areprepared for a global age (Handsfield, et al., 2009). Knobel and Lankshear (2006) saidthat students should be allowed to author their own online spaces and create for anaudience. This promotes powerful and authentic writing (Handsfield, et al., 2009). Thetypes of new technologies can help struggling readers and writers gain meaningfulpractice with literacy skills. For instance, using blogs is beneficial in ESL classes toteach idiomatic and conversational discourse. Blogs provide community and safeopportunities to share ideas (Handsfield, et al., 2009). Threaded discussions allow lessproficient students to view models of appropriate literary response modeled by their peers. This type of modeling would be difficult to preserve in face-to-face interactions(Wolsey, 2004). In fact, motivation for all students may increase when they publishwriting online for authentic audiences.

Cooperative Learning Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of Web 2.0 tools is its ability to let studentsinteract socially as they learn. This type of cooperative and collaborative work has beenshown to have positive effects in the classroom. Cooperative grouping allows studentsto learn from one another (Leu, 2000). It provides a supportive atmosphere andmeaningful interaction, which can enhance motivation to learn (Shaaban, 2006).Students are more intrinsically motivated when their basic needs are met. These needsinclude the need for competence, the need for social relatedness, and the need for autonomy. These needs can be met by cooperative grouping. Students who areintrinsically motivated by this type of collaborative work explore and experiment morebecause they enjoy the activity in which they are involved (Boekaert & Minnaert, 2006).Flippos (2001) study, as cited in Burgess (2009), showed that the chance to interactsocially while learning improved reading engagement. Collaborative learning has beenshown to have many other benefits, as well. Students often learn more by sharingdiscoveries with each other (Leu, 1996). According to Flood (1986), cooperativelearning helps children activate prior knowledge. Cooperative learning also helpsstudents take responsibility for their own learning, allows each member to contributesignificantly to the group, develops higher level thinking skills, allows members tosuccessfully complete tasks, forces them to consider multiple perspectives, andprovides practice with decision-making skills (Uttero, 1988). The social interactionsprovided by cooperative learning will be increasingly essential as technology continuesto grow (Leu, 2000). Web 2.0 can fuse the benefits of cooperative learning with the

ever-increasing importance of effectively using technology. Studies Integrating Web 2.0 with Literacy Instruction There have been several studies of different age groups that examined the useof Web 2.0 tools in literacy instruction. One such study by Handsfield, Dean, andCielocha (2009) was conducted in a 4 th grade bilingual class consisting of eight boyswho were native Spanish speakers. The participants used online blogs to discuss booksthey were reading independently. The teacher-researchers involved conductedinterviews, videotaped lessons, and collected and analyzed observations of instruction.The researchers found that one of the major benefits of blogging was the expectation of social interaction. In previous instruction using paper response journals, studentsfrequently ignored teacher comments, and instead of responding, moved on to their next thought. However, participation in the blogs encouraged students to respond toeach other. Additionally, researchers found that students more frequently madeinterpersonal connections during online discussions. Use of blogs also createdopportunities for language development through authentic conversations. Whenteachers followed up with these students three years later, almost 80% of students wereusing Web 2.0 tools outside of school (Handsfield, et al., 2009). This suggests that useof new technologies in the classroom can carry over into students out of class habits.A similar study was conducted in the midwestern United States using a 5 th gradeclass of 26 students (Larson, 2009). The data collection and analysis focused on twogroups of 5 students. Students participated in asynchronous online discussion board todiscuss the novel their small group was reading. Researchers used qualitative

methodology and analyzed field notes, interviews, electronic student journals and onlinemessage board transcripts. Engagement in the literature study using Web 2.0promoted socially constructed learning and established a community of inquiry inwhich the students shared diverse perspectives (Larson, 2009, p.646). The findingsshowed that students took charge of conversations by creating their own prompts withlittle teacher direction or involvement. Students generated conversational, interactiveresponses. Researchers found that participation in asynchronous discussion boardselicited responses that were deep and represented varied points of view. Studentresponses in interviews and journal entries indicated they enjoyed using Web 2.0 for literature study. One student wrote, I loved writing new threads and reading whatpeople responded to me, while another student said, It was fun making new threadsbecause people reply to you (Larson, 2009, p.645). These responses reiterate thepositive impact collaborative learning can have on student motivation, and this effectseems to be heightened by the use of new technologies.Kitsis (2010) carried out a year-long study with her own 11 th and 12 th gradeclasses in which students used online social networking to discuss literature. Using thewebsite Blogger, students responded to prompts about the literature the class wasreading and began conversations with each other about the text. Kitsis found thatstudents demonstrated active reading, analysis, synthesis, and evaluationskills thatwere previously missing from class literature discussions. Students had moreopportunities for interaction using blog because they were able to interact at any time.Those students who had not participated in traditional face-to-face discussions regularlycontributed to blog discussions. Blogs gave students a common jumping off point in

WEB 2.0 AND MOTIVATION TO READ - 14 later face-to-face conversations (Kitsis, 2010, p. 52). Online dialogue created the feelingof community that increased students patience as readers. Also, students learned tosupport their arguments when justifying responses to their peers. Participation wasshown to be more equally distributed among group members than it had been inphysical discussions. Another important benefit was that the teacher was able tovirtually listen in on each conversation without necessarily having to change thedynamic of the conversation by intruding (Kitsis).Studies have also analyzed the effectiveness of using Web 2.0 technologies withcollege undergraduate students. These studies when compared to the studiesconducted in elementary, middle, and high schools provide a wide range of informationabout how Web 2.0 influences students literacy study in the classroom. Larson (2008)observed how her undergraduate pre-service literacy teachers interacted in onlinediscussion forums to discuss the novels they were reading in small groups. She foundthat the use of asynchronous discussion boards gave students time to reflect, therebycreating more meaningful responses. The online interaction also created moremeaningful interaction between students and the text because students were able togain insight by reading peer responses. Students stayed on topic more so than they hadin traditional literature discussions, and the students found the online forum to be a safeplace for sharing personal thoughts. The students enjoyment of the social interactionincreased their enjoyment of the interactions with the literature. In her electronic journal,one student responded, I really loved the online discussion. Oh my goodness, did our group have fun! (Larson, 2008, p. 128).Similarly, Burgess (2009) conducted a study implementing the use of Web 2.0

tools found on WebCT for online literature discussion with eighteen students in her undergraduate developmental reading class. Burgess noted improvement inengagement and critical thinking at the end of the four month study period. Studentsparticipated in online discussions and chat rooms to discuss reading assignments.Message board transcripts and quiz results were analyzed, and student surveys andinterview responses were collected. Survey results showed that students feltparticipation in the discussion board and chat rooms increased motivation to read.Additionally, students indicated that they strongly agreed with statements reflectingenjoyment of the activities (Burgess). While these online discussion tools were found tobe helpful with developmental readers, Wolsey (2004) also asserts that this type of electronic threaded discussion is beneficial for more advanced readers, as well. Giftedstudents and advanced readers can participate in electronic discussions with each other and the teacher that meet their developmental needs. These discussions would bedifficult to hold face to face during class time because they would exclude other students, but because of the never-ending access to online forums, students are able toengage with each other for extended periods and are not limited by the confines of theschool day (Wolsey). Conclusions on Literature This information suggests that there are many things literacy educators must doto prepare students for todays world: 1) Literacy educators must motivate students toread and participate in literacy activities in order to develop their literacy skills, 2)Literacy educators must harness the power of technology to engage students and

prepare them for a globally connected world dependent on new literacies, and 3)Literacy educators must incorporate cooperative grouping into their lesson plans inorder to allow social interaction which can interest students and develop importantthinking and collaborative skills. Effectively using Web 2.0 for literature discussionsaccomplishes all three of these tasks. Web 2.0 is designed to be collaborative andtherefore offers easy opportunities for students to work cooperatively. It can allow for discussions of literature and collaboration on other literacy-centered activities sostudents can continue to develop crucial literacy skills. However, there is still very littleresearch on whether participation in Web 2.0 can increase a students motivation toread. More research must be done to determine if using Web 2.0 can increase not onlycomprehension, but motivation, as well.My research question is: Does participation in online literature discussion usingWeb 2.0 tools increase students motivation to read? I believe that the use of Web 2.0will be a motivating factor for the students involved. MethodologyParticipants The participants in this study were members of two English classes of 9 th gradestudents at a rural high school in Eastern North Carolina. There were eighteen totalparticipants. There were nine participants in the treatment group, four males and fivefemales. One of the students was white, seven were African American, and one wasHispanic. Students ranged in age from 14-15. The class was taught by Teacher A, theresearcher, who holds National Board Certification and is pursuing a masters degree inreading. This class was chosen by convenience since it was the only class of freshmen

prepare them for a globally connected world dependent on new literacies, and 3)Literacy educators must incorporate cooperative grouping into their lesson plans inorder to allow social interaction which can interest students and develop importantthinking and collaborative skills. Effectively using Web 2.0 for literature discussionsaccomplishes all three of these tasks. Web 2.0 is designed to be collaborative andtherefore offers easy opportunities for students to work cooperatively. It can allow for discussions of literature and collaboration on other literacy-centered activities sostudents can continue to develop crucial literacy skills. However, there is still very littleresearch on whether participation in Web 2.0 can increase a students motivation toread. More research must be done to determine if using Web 2.0 can increase not onlycomprehension, but motivation, as well.My research question is: Does participation in online literature discussion usingWeb 2.0 tools increase students motivation to read? I believe that the use of Web 2.0will be a motivating factor for the students involved. MethodologyParticipants The participants in this study were members of two English classes of 9 th gradestudents at a rural high school in Eastern North Carolina. There were eighteen totalparticipants. There were nine participants in the treatment group, four males and fivefemales. One of the students was white, seven were African American, and one wasHispanic. Students ranged in age from 14-15. The class was taught by Teacher A, theresearcher, who holds National Board Certification and is pursuing a masters degree inreading. This class was chosen by convenience since it was the only class of freshmen

the researcher was teaching in the spring semester.The comparison group contained nine students, four white students, threeAfrican-American students, one Hispanic student, and one multi-racial student. Four of the students were male and five were female. Students ranged in age from 14-15. Thisclass was taught by Teacher B, the English Department chair and most veteran Englishteacher at the school.While each class contained more than nine students, only nine students in eachclass returned necessary consent and assent forms to participate in the study. Bothteachers involved in this study share the philosophy that reading is vitally important for high school students. Each teacher encourages reading and active involvement withreading daily within her classroom. Setting The school chosen for this experiment has a population of approximately 750students. The majority of students are considered to have low socioeconomic status,with approximately 54% of the student body receiving free and reduced lunch. Theentire school population is roughly 60% African American, 30% Caucasian, and 10%Hispanic. The school also participates in a 1:1 laptop program, so each student isassigned an Apple laptop for use each day. Most students are familiar with usingdifferent software and computer applications. The teachers involved in the study havebeen teaching at the school for eight and eleven years respectively, and both teachersgraduated as North Carolina Teaching Fellows from the local university with degrees inEnglish education

WEB 2.0 AND MOTIVATION TO READ - 18 Procedures Consent and assent forms were distributed and explained to both classes by theresearcher. Those students who returned parental consent forms and signed forms of assent were included in the study. To begin the study, baseline data about studentsattitudes towards reading and motivation to read was established. Each respectiveteacher administered the Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile (see Appendix A) to thetreatment and comparison class. Students in each class participated in independentreading during which students were able to choose books to read on their own.Students in both classes also participated in whole class literature study, during whichthe teacher selected a text that the entire class read independently or as a group. Thetexts chosen for whole class literature study were the same for both the treatment andthe comparison group and were found within the Holt, Rinehart, & Winston Elements of Literature , Third Course Textbook.However, each week the treatment group, students in Teacher As class, wasassigned to respond to literature, either their independent reading texts or the wholeclass literature study texts, in an online format. Students participated in onlinediscussions using the class asynchronous discussion board on eChalk, synchronousonline chat via TitanPad, or the social networking site Shelfari one to two times eachweek for five weeks (See Appendix B). The students used the discussion board andTitanPad to discuss class texts. The teacher gave the students prompts for these onlinediscussions, and discussions typically lasted ten to fifteen minutes per session.Students were grouped randomly in both forums by choosing one student per seating

table to create the online group. The researcher monitored the online discussions byviewing discussion board transcripts and outlined specific requirements for eachsession (number of posts required, number of group members, topics of discussion).These requirements varied for each session. Students used Shelfari to discussindependent reading texts with other students reading the same book. Again, theresearcher gave students prompts to discuss in their posts on other students pages.Meanwhile, the comparison group, the students in Teacher Bs class, participatedin more traditional classroom activities and discussion of literature. On the days whenthe treatment group participated in online dialogue, the comparison group participated inwhole class discussion or answered comprehension and critical thinking questions fromthe textbook. Teacher B facilitated class conversations and assigned the questions for each session. Instead of discussion, the comparison group took Accelerated Reader (AR) quizzes on their independent reading books.At the end of the intervention period, the AMRP was administered again to bothgroups. Data Collection and Analysis Quantitative and qualitative data were collected for this study. The primarymeasure of reading motivation was the Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile (AMRP)administered to each group. The original Motivation to Read Profile was developed byGambrell (2006) to measure reading motivation in elementary students. Pitcher, et al.(2007) adapted the instrument to make it more applicable for use with adolescents. TheAMRP asks students to identify their attitudes about books and reading in a series of

multiple-choice questions. Specifically, the answers to the twenty multiple-choicequestions are coded with a value of one to four. Ten of the questions measure thestudents self-concept as a reader, and the other ten questions measure the studentsperception of the value of reading.The researcher printed the directions for the AMRP and trained Teacher B toadminister the survey. Teachers A and B administered the survey during class time onthe same day. Both teachers read aloud the questions and answer choices to their owngroup. Students were given approximately ten minutes to complete the survey.The researcher tabulated student responses on the AMRP reading surveyscoring sheet. The researcher obtained a raw score for both self-concept and value of reading which were added together to find the full survey raw score. Two scoring sheetswere completed for each participating student: the initial AMRP administration fullsurvey raw scores were recorded as pre-test data and the final AMRP administration fullsurvey raw scores were recorded as post-test data.The researcher used a spreadsheet to calculate the pre-test/post-test changescore for each student in both groups. The independent t-test was used to compare thechange scores for the treatment group and the comparison group.The researcher interviewed a focus group of four randomly-selected studentsfrom the intervention group at the end of the intervention period to supplement thefindings of the survey and gain specific qualitative data about student perceptions andattitudes about the use of Web 2.0 (See Appendix C). Both teachers recordedobservations in a daily journal about motivation and behaviors in each group. Thesenotes provided anecdotal evidence of motivation seen in the classroom. Additionally,

WEB 2.0 AND MOTIVATION TO READ - 21 the field notes of Teacher A and Teacher B were compared to analyze any patterns of behavior found to be similar or different in both groups. Reliability and Validity Teacher A and B followed scripted procedures for AMRP administration on bothpre-test and post-test administrations. Both groups were surveyed on the same dayusing the same procedures. Threats to validity included a subject-characteristic threat,as some students in one group or the other may have had a more entrenched aversionto reading than others. History was an additional threat since any of the students mayhave experienced something during the intervention period that affected their readingmotivation, such as problems at home, an illness, or trouble at school. There was nospecific way to address these threats other than choosing two classes that werecomparable in size and make-up. Findings Results showed a positive mean change score of 2, a 4% change, for theintervention group when comparing pre-test and post-test scores. As shown in Figure 1,change scores varied per student, ranging from -1 to 7, within this group Intervention Group AMRP Data

As shown in Figure 3, the comparison group showed a negative mean changescore of -0.2, a 0% change, when comparing pre-test and post-test scores. Individualstudent change scores ranged from -4 to 5 in this group as shown in Figure 2. Nopatterns between racial or gender subgroups were discernible in either the interventiongroup or the comparison group. An independent t-test of equal variance, pictured inTable 1, showed the two tailed p value to be .117, which does not show a statisticalsignificance in the difference in change scores between the two groups. Comparison Group AMRP Data

WEB 2.0 AND MOTIVATION TO READ - 23 (Figure 2) Mean Change ScoresIndpendent t-test on Change Scores of Web 2.0 Treatment Group vs. TraditionalInstruction Comparison Group with 18 cases

http://htmlimg3.scribdassets.com/8zcpnbozy8x17nl/images/24-059c89bcaa.jpg

Field notes by Teacher A and Teacher B did not show significant variationsbetween the groups in motivation to read, but there was evidence of variation inmotivation to engage in literature discussion. The intervention group taught by theresearcher, Teacher A, showed increased motivation to discuss texts when theopportunity was given to discuss online, particularly when Shelfari was the mode of discussion. Students engaged in discussion tasks more quickly and with more focusthan they had before the intervention period. Additionally, an increased level of studentparticipation was noted in the intervention group when engaging in online discussionthan before the onset of intervention. Teacher B noted no change in motivation toengage in discussion during the course of the intervention period. An interview with afocus group of four students randomly selected from the intervention group supportedthese findings. Students said they liked using Web 2.0 tools to discuss literature, thoughit did not make them want to read more. Three of the four students in the focus groupintimated that they preferred discussions online.Lisa (all student names are pseudonyms) explained, I cant really say that it

WEB 2.0 AND MOTIVATION TO READ - 25 -

[participation in Web 2.0 discussions] made me want to read, but I liked talking to myfriends that way. I guess, though, sometimes it can make you want to read something if your friend tells you something theyre reading is good like on Shelfari. I like talking tomy friends on the internet but that doesnt make me want to read; I would rather talk tothem about other things, Kasey said. Corey added, I like it when we get to use Shelfaribecause it feels like being on Facebook at school. That makes it feel like fun. Studentsexpressed some frustrations with Web 2.0 conversations, as well. One thing I dont likeabout the chat room is that you have to wait on someone else to say something. Likesometimes, your group is just waiting for one person to respond, added Kashawn.Conversely, Lisa liked the accountability provided in TitanPad, I like that the teacher can see who talked and who didnt. In regular groups when you talk out loud, a lot of time, one person does all the work but everyone gets credit. Plus people know theteacher can see so they feel more like they have to participate. Kasey explained thathe liked the asynchronous discussion board dialogue because he could read posts byhis classmates and get thoughts together before posting. Kashawn agreed saying, Ilike reading what my friends say. Sometimes when we talk out loud you cant hear whatsomeone says or not everybody talks.These results do not imply that participation in Web 2.0 dialogue to discussliterature impacts reading motivation; however, qualitative evidence suggests that theremay be reason to study the effect the use of Web 2.0 on student engagement. Discussion Although the mean score of the intervention group did increase while the mean

score of the comparison group decreased from the pre-test administration of the AMRPto the post-test administration of the AMRP, the change was not statistically significant.Several students showed an increase in scores on the AMRP while other studentsscores decreased. Based on these findings, the research hypothesis was incorrect;there is no evidence to suggest that participation in online literature discussions usingWeb 2.0 tools increases students motivation to read.Research shows that collaborative grouping in traditional settings can motivatestudents to engage in activities (Leu, 1996; Boekaert & Minnaert, 2006; Shaaban,2006); however, it does appear that cooperative grouping for online literaturediscussions can impact reading motivation itself. This should not dismiss, though, thepositive benefits researchers have found Web 2.0 integration with literacy can have oncomprehension and critical thinking (Larson, 2009). Since very little impact on readingmotivation was seen by the group participating in Web 2.0 discussions and a negativechange was seen by the group participating in traditional oral discussion, the results of this study seem to reiterate the importance of pre-reading activities and decisionsteachers and students make (i.e. building background knowledge, allowing for choice)prior to reading that build motivation rather than the activities that occur subsequent toreading (Guthrie, et al., 1997; Schiefele, 2000).However, the qualitative data suggests that the use of Web 2.0 to discussliterature may have the potential to increase student engagement. Teacher observationsindicated students in the intervention groups showed signs of increased engagementwhile discussing literature while the comparison group showed no such increase.Responses from the focus group supported these observations. This seems valid

considering research shows that cooperative grouping can increase engagement(Flippo, 2001) as does the use of technology (Larson, 2009; Kitsis, 2010).There are several limits of this study. Because of the small sample size in thisstudy, more research is needed to determine if participation in Web 2.0 conversations tostudy literature can increase motivation to read. Additionally, it may be prudent to studywhether more frequent participation in Web 2.0 discussions could impact readingmotivation. The original proposal for this study called for Web 2.0 discussions three tofive times per week. However, at the onset of the intervention, the participating schoolentered transformation status due to poor test scores. This classification created newpacing and new mandated benchmark testing with more frequent formativeassessments in freshman English classes. Therefore, more class time was spent onEnd-of-Course test practice and computerized assessments, causing classes to readfewer texts and leaving even less time for participation in literature discussion online.These limitations and their effect on the frequency of online discussion may haveinfluenced the impact the intervention had on student reading motivation. The frequenttest preparation also may have been an intervening variable itself, affecting readingmotivation. Additionally, although the AMRP, based on the Gambrells Motivation toRead Profile (MRP), is commonly used to assess motivation to read quantitatively, itprovides a limited measure of reading motivation based on self-concept as a reader andperceived value of reading. This instrument was not ideal in measuring actualmotivation to read, as defined in this study. Further refinement of instrumentationavailable to quantitatively assess reading motivation would be useful to teacher-researchers

While more research may be needed on this type of interventions impact onreading motivation, based on these results, it seems more warranted to research further the impact technology-literacy integration, particularly the use of Web 2.0 tools, canhave on student engagement. Encouraging student discussion and interaction throughthe use of Web 2.0 tools may be a way to engage students, especially those who enjoyusing technology, in literature study and critical thinking about texts.This study was designed based on evidence that cooperative learning and theuse of Web 2.0 technologies could have positive effects in the classroom (Larson 2009;Burgess, 2009; Wolsey, 2004). Based on the research indicating the importance of reading motivation to reading achievement (Guthrie, et al., 1997; Pintrich & Schrauben,1992), the researcher hoped to examine whether cooperative work using Web 2.0 couldraise reading motivation as a way to further reading achievement. While that correlationwas not seen, there was qualitative data that confirmed positive benefits of using Web2.0 in the classroom, which provides a basis for further research. Reflection The action research process was completely new for me. As a teacher, I amconstantly wondering whether one strategy or one approach would be more effectivethan another. I often try new things in my classroom and informally evaluate whether or not the new implementation was effective. However, I have never had the opportunity or the know-how to implement a formal action research study. It was a daunting task, and Inever dreamed how involved it would truly be. As the researcher in this study, I had a

great deal of responsibility, and I felt that the pressure of this responsibility wasespecially evident in the planning stages. It took me a very long time to decide on atopic for my study because there seemed to be so many possibilities I wanted to lookinto. I took the literature review very seriously and tried to really consider how previousresearch should help inform my proposal. As a teacher-researcher, I wanted theresearch to guide me as I considered how to implement an intervention in my ownclassroom. The IRB training had given me a wealth of background knowledge onconducting research, but I was still nervous as I began to prepare my proposal for IRBsubmission. I typically tweak and adjust things as I work, but I learned that theprocedures and methodologies included in my proposal would have to be exact and thatI would be responsible for adhering to what was in my proposal. There were severalobstacles I faced in completing my research as planned. Gaining consent and assentwas challenging because high school students are notorious for not bringing papersback signed. This was problematic since so few students returned consent forms.Additionally, my school underwent many changes during the semester my study wasimplemented which impacted how often and in what ways I could implement myintervention strategy. However, as the teacher-researcher, it was my responsibility tomake the study work. I had to remain focused on the bigger picture and ensure that thecorrect procedures were followed in my classroom as well as the comparisonclassroom. This was a significant difference from my traditional role as teacher becauseduring the research process I felt like I was in a more managerial role in addition toteaching. As the study concluded, it was my job to analyze the data in a very specificway. I learned a great deal about using statistics to analyze data by performing

calculations myself instead of just reading about them. I feel confident that I coulddesign, implement, and analyze future research more independently after havingcompleted this process with the help of my professors and peers.The action research process was extremely valuable in my growth as aneducator. This process allowed me objectivity. As a teacher, we are often soemotionally invested in teaching in a particular way that it is hard to take a step backand look at what is happening in an unbiased manner. During this process, though, Iwas concerned with the results of the study as a researcher would be and was able tothink about the outcomes objectively, without worrying about how they reflected on myteaching. I learned how valuable that type of objectivity can be. As a teacher, if I amobjective in analyzing what happens in my classroom, I will be more open to new ideasand more likely to identify what may not be working. Also, the action research processemphasized the importance of reflection and focused observation. Because I wasrecording my observations and reflections each day, I was more focused on noticingthings in my classroom than I was in the past. Making myself take five or ten minutes atthe end of each day to record my reflections helped me to reflect in a more systematicway, and I was able to see the progression of what was happening in my classroom. Ihave always been reflective as a teacher, thinking about my classes as I drove home or washed my hair in the mornings. Recording those reflections, though, pushed me toreflect in a more focused way. The outcome of my research project made me reflectagain, on what my results meant and on factors that may have contributed to thoseresults. After analyzing my data, I started thinking clearly about the difference betweenmotivation and engagement and how those two concepts shape what happens in a

classroom.Finally, I gained an abundance of content knowledge through my action researchstudy. The literature review I conducted in preparation for the research was eye-opening. I learned so much about motivation and cooperative learning, as well as thecontext of technology in 21 st century learning, and I learned who leaders in thosevarious fields of research are. My understanding of reading motivation is much morecomplex now, and I can truly see how technology usage and cooperative learning affecta classroom environment. The action research process showed me how researchersgain the vital data that shapes the field of educational research. I am more appreciativeof data driven research now after this experience. It is easy for teachers to do what theyfeel is best, but it is important for teachers to do what has been proven to be bestpractices based on sound research. Through my study, I learned that while technologyis an invaluable asset in the classroom, using online discussions does not seem toimpact motivation to read. After reflecting on this, I realize that it is typically what we dobefore reading (i.e. activating background knowledge, making connections, buildingupon interest) that motivates students to want to read. I found potential for usingtechnology to increase engagement in my classroom, though, which makes meinterested to continue making focused observations and reflections to further investigatethis theory.

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