Motivating Students for Better Retention, Learning and Achievement

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Motivating Students for Better Retention,
Learning and Achievement

• Workshop
• King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
• Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
• May, 2006
• Sergio J. Piccinin, Ph.D.

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A Right Start Motivating Learning

• Two key questions in teaching and learning
• How do students learn?
• How to create a motivating climate for students?
• Lets consider the question of motivation.

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MOTIVATED STUDENT
UNMOTIVATED STUDENT
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Objectives

• Demonstrate a clearer understanding of the role
  of motivation in learning
• Describe the fundamentals of the
  Self-Determination theory of motivation
• Explain the implications of SD theory for
  teaching and learning
• Apply SD theory in teaching so as to enhance
  student motivation

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The Concept of Motivation

• Energy stimulates behaviour
• Intensity - amount, degree
• Persistence maintenance
• Direction - to learning objectives
• Consequences - production

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Some Features of Motivation

• Motivation is not a singular construct
• People are moved to act by different types of
  factors with varied experiences and consequences
• People can have the same level of motivation, but
  the type of motivation is very different
• Motivation is quite variable, often unpredictable
• Most theorists, including SDT theorists agree
  that there are two broad types of motives,
  intrinsic and extrinsic motives

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Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

• Empirical approach to human motivation and
  personality
• Investigates peoples inherent growth tendencies
  and innate psychological needs that are basic for
  their self-motivation and personality integration
  and the conditions that foster or inhibit such
  processes
• Initiated by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan,
  University of Rochester (1975, 1985, 2002)

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SDT Basic Tenets

• Human organism has natural tendency to activity,
  growth, learning, development, change, intrinsic
  to nature of human devpt.
• This basic tendency can be fostered or
  undermined, depends largely on the social
  envmt.
• Three basic innate psychological needs autonomy,
  competence, relatedness are essential for
  facilitating optimal functioning of natural
  growth
• SDT investigates what fosters or inhibits
  self-motivation and social integration

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Two Major Types of Motivation

• Intrinsic emanates from self-motivation,
  curiosity, interest, value of activity
• Extrinsic doing something for some extraneous
  reason gain, pressure, coercion, money, fear

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Intrinsic Motivation

• Innate tendency to seek out novelty and
  challenges
• To extend and exercise capacity to explore and
  learn
• To do things for pleasure of doing, learning
• Natural inclination to assimilate, master,
  explore so essential to cognitive and social
  development
• Source of enjoyment, vitality
• BUT maintenance enhancement of this inherent
  tendency requires supportive conditions.

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Two Types of Conditions Required to Support
Intrinsic Motivation

• An interesting task or tasks
• Satisfaction of 3 basic (innate) psychological
  needs

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SDT Three Basic Innate Needs

• Autonomy self-determination, personal control,
  volition, vs. EPLOC
• Competence effectance, can do it
• Relatedness need for support, caring,
  encouragement of significant others, eg. parents,
  teachers, boss, etc.

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Effects of Psych. Need Fulfillment on (Academic)
Motivation

• There are many factors involved in enhancing or
  reducing motivation (even intrinsic motivation)
• Most of these are related to fulfilling or
  thwarting of these needs in one way or another
• 30 years of research in a variety of areas shows
• - The more satisfaction of these needs is
  facilitated, better will be motivation more
  interest, energy, satisfaction, pleasure,
  encouragement.

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Intrinsic Motivation-Summary

• Inherent tendency to seek out novelty and change
• To extend and exercise capacities to explore,
  learn
• To do things for pleasure of doing, learning
• To assimilate, master, explore
• BUT maintenance and enhancement of this inherent
  tendency requires supportive conditions i.e.
  tasks of interest as well as the satisfaction of
  the basic psychological needs.

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Not all Motivation is Intrinsic!

• Many tasks to be learned in life or in education
  are not inherently interesting to everyone
• What are teachers, parents or others to do in
  order to get others to do or learn something?
• The immediate tendency is to use some form of
  EXTRINSIC motivation reward, punishment,
  threat, control, etc.

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Effects of Extrinsic Motivation

• 30 years of research suggests that
• Use of rewards/punishments emphasize external LOC
• All tangible rewards diminish Intrinsic
  motivation
• That is threats, deadlines, directives,
  pressured evaluations, imposed goals, diminish
  intrinsic motivation
• Whereas choice, acknowledgment of feelings,
  opportunities for self-direction, allowing for a
  greater feeling of autonomy, enhance intrinsic
  motivation.

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Effects of Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

• More interest
• More excitement
• More commitment
• More confidence
• Better performance
• More persistence
• More creativity
• More vitality
• Greater well-being

• Less of all the factors to the left, plus
• Lower quality learning
• Higher incidence of drop outs
• Lower teacher ratings
• Lower assimilation to social group
• Less behavioural effectiveness

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Extrinsic Motivation

• Not a unitary phenomenon.
• There are various types of extrinsically
  motivated actions.
• SDT suggests that understanding these different
  types and what fosters them is important for
  educators.
• Hence it is important to know how to promote more
  active and VOLITIONAL versus passive and
  controlling forms of extrinsic motivation.

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Some Comments

• The sequence of regulation identified by SDT is
  not a necessary or developmental sequence
• An individual can begin an activity at any level
  of self-regulation
• Environmental events or experiences can influence
  movement toward more or less autonomy
• There are, however, predictable conditions that
  elicit, sustain or diminish intrinsic motivation

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Conditions which Elicit, Sustain or Diminish
Self-Regulation

• Elicit or Sustain
• Choice
• Opportunity for self - direction
• Support, relatedness
• Feeling of competence

• Diminish
• Tangible rewards
• Threats
• Deadlines
• Directives
• Competitive pressure

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How to Promote Autonomous Regulation?

• The key to START the process, according to SDT
  is
• RELATEDNESS behaviours are prompted, modeled,
  valued by significant others students need to
  feel belonging, connectedness show interest in
  them, their welfare, their lives show caring for
  them, respect, be warm, friendly, accessible be
  trustworthy, honest, sincere. Eg. Cold and
  uncaring teachers reduce intrinsic motivation.

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Promoting Autonomous Self-Regulation (contd)

• Enhance Competence
• Challenge
• Choice of activities
• Effective feedback
• - prompt
• - Focus on positive
• - helpful suggestions
• - no put downs
• - respectful, caring

• Enhance Autonomy
• Acknowledge feelings
• Focus on curiosity
• Emphasize choice
• Opportunity for self direction
• Stress relevance to their needs
• Use invitational language

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Scoring the SDI

• Amotivation items 4, 7, 15
• External Regulation items 6, 14, 18
• Introjection items 2, 10, 16
• Identification - items 1, 9, 11
• Integration items 3, 5, 13
• Intrinsic items 8, 12, 17
• Formula SDI 3(intr.)2(integ)(ident)-(intro)-
  2(ext.reg.)-3(amotiv.)