Motivation & Engagement
Understanding students
Motivating Students
Theories of Motivation
Humanist Views
Behaviourist Views
Emotions & Motivation
Social Cognitivist Views
Rewards & Punishments
Motivation to learn
Engaging motivation
Understanding the twenty-first century learner
Digital Natives
Impact of stress & anxiety
Limiting stress & Anxieties
Fostering Motivation
Quantifiably & qualitatively different from previous generations
Different relationship to information & learning
Definition
Someone who has never known a world without computers, TVs, internet or mobile phones
Facts
ABS stated in 2006 that 39% of the population was apart of this group
Been raised in an era of affluence aligned with expansive & pervasive technological change
Their world revolves around digitisation
Their experiences are shaped by the technology they adeptly manoeuvre through on a daily basis
A recent study identified that people 8 to 18 years of age expose their brains to more than 8 hours of digital and video sensory stimulation each day
Neuroplasticity
Defintion
The Brain
The changes that occur in the organisation of the brain as a result of experience
Full maturation does not occur until the second decade of life
Major restructuring occurs during adolescence
It changes & organises based on the inputs it receives from the environment and via the senses
Influence on education
Not all negative
Digital natives spend a great amount of time shifting from medium to medium as they navigate their way through technology
Requires a pedagogy that considers multitasking & a continual shifting of focus
Could be improving cognitive ability, mental response times, specialised attention skills & multitasking skills
Interest Theory
Self Efficacy Theory
Goal-directed behaviour linked to feelings of personal effectiveness
Linked to achievement & education as well as student welfare & wellbeing
Negatives
Defintion
Relates to one's drive to do something or the will to set things in motion
Influenced by family, culture, health and prior physical, social, emotional & environmental learning experiences, etc.
Motivation to do something is derived from past experiences & influenced by rewards and/or punishment
Emphasises extrinsic reinforcement to stimulate learners’ engagement
Develops as children develop an intrinsic desire to learn
A hierarchy of needs where the components act as motives of human endeavours that are contingent on meeting those needs
Attribution Theory
Goal Orientation Theory
Implications for learning
Implications for motivation
Implications for learning
Implications for motivation
Implications for learning
Implications for motivation
Enhanced if students believe the outcome of what they do is a result of the effort they make
Improved when students associate success or failure with the effort they make as opposed to their ‘ability’
Improved when students see themselves as competent for the given task
Enhanced because the student values the experience or finds it important
Implications for learning
Implications for motivation
Enhanced because students feel capable
Improved when students are highly engaged with what they are being taught
Improved when students want to understand the material
Enhanced when the value of understanding material presented is linked to students’ personal objectives or values
The Limbic System
This central part of the brain harbours our memories & processes our full range of emotions
Connects the lower regions of the brain responsible for motor and automatic functions
Motivates & directs us to behave in particular ways
Rewards rely on the decisions of others
The focus becomes the reward & not the learning experience
Rewards seem to improve performance only at extremely simple & quantifiable tasks
Hinder motivation given the inherent difficulties that arise when someone never receives a reward
Learned helplessnees
Good Stress & Bad Stress
Individual
It is not the same for each person
Stress is not always negative
Relative
Vary in their physiological impact
Depend on the individual & the mechanisms individuals have in place to help them cope with any situation
Absolute
Evoke the greatest physiological response in the body
More rare
Eustress
Powerful empathetic, motivational & creative forces allowing individuals to achieve success in a variety of demonstrable ways
Distress
Can be problematic given how it engages the body’s physiology
Overloads the brain with powerful hormones
Ignites an evolutionary response enhancing fight or flight mechanisms
If previous learning experiences have contributed to low self-esteem then a student will believe that no amount of effort will lead to success
What a person thinks plays a determining role in their behaviour
Some aspects of ‘schooling’ & teaching can contribute to student stress
Provide strategies & ideas for students to succeed
Provide ongoing & informative feedback
Design learning experiences that are at an appropriate level of difficulty, challenging & specific
Providing scaffolding to ensure successful outcomes are within the grasp of the student
Walker-Tileston's Elements
Provide opportunities for students to self-reflect
Students articulate their own ideas & feelings about learning
Ensure that students feel accepted by the teacher & their peers
Ensure that students know what to expect and have some sense of predictability
A learning environment that is comfortable, orderly, safe and secure place
Control over their own learning