EDU 615: Motivational Theory and Classroom Management

Classroom Motivation Case Study

Classroom Motivation Case Study

Carrie Rohrer

University of New England

EDU 615: Motivational Theory and Classroom Management

Classroom Motivation Case Study

I.

Introduction

I have decided to focus on a current student that I am having a difficult

time understanding and inspiring. Steve is a nine-year-old 3rd grade
student at The American School of Tangier in Morocco. His class
consists of 24 students: 14 boys and 10 girls. He comes from a very
affluent Moroccan family and is well provided for, but does not have
the attention and support from his parents at home. He is the oldest of
four children and I frequently observe conflict and intervene when I see
him interacting with his kindergarten brother. His other two siblings are
both under 2 years old. I have only met his mother once and have not
had the opportunity to meet his father. In Morocco and especially at
AST, which is a private school, it is not uncommon for parents to be
hands-off at the school level and lack communication with the
teachers. Having experience at American public schools where parents
are consistently involved in their childrens education, this has been a
difficult adjustment for me and I have tried to create opportunities to
open communication with parents in my class. I have discovered that
the reasons behind this include a language barrier, a lack of
understanding of the need for home/school balance and collaboration,
or a separation of school and home life that has developed in Moroccan
culture, as well as the culture of the school. I feel that in his familys

EDU 615: Motivational Theory and Classroom Management

Classroom Motivation Case Study
case, it is the latter. Steves attitude at school is one of entitlement
and he clashes frequently with his peers. He does not have good
friends that he gravitates towards, but rather floats around between
his peers. He is a musical learner, and music is the area that he
strongly gravitates towards and focuses on. His favorite class is Music
and he has a special relationship with the music teacher. Steves yearto-date averages are 85% in English, 80% in Arabic, and 78% in math.

II.

Observations

Steve can be very unmotivated with certain tasks and only works hard
if he feels the task is interesting, that he will get a good grade, or that
it allows for the right amount of social time or for him to make his
own choice. His is a strong writer and is always pleased to show me his
work and share with his classmates. In math, he doesnt make an effort
and will always ask for help even when he doesnt need it. He can be
caught copying off of his peers and doesnt show remorse for cheating,
but rather scowls, mopes and blames his peers. I have observed Steve
having outburst over seemingly minor incidences and blaming no one
in particular, just creating a scene and riling up his peers. For example,
Steve recently lost his temper when coming in the classroom and
finding his water bottle on the floor. He also frequently complains
about students who cut in line, save seats for one another, or arent
playing fair at a recess game. But, if closely observed, I find Steve

EDU 615: Motivational Theory and Classroom Management

Classroom Motivation Case Study
exhibiting the same behaviors that he accuses his peers of. A very
positive experience I have had with Steve was when he performed a
solo for our schools Winter Show this past December. While the class
practiced and performed a group song, Steve worked to learn the lyrics
and practice a solo song to sing with the music teacher. He worked
practiced completely on his own and up until the last minute, he was
responsible for performing as he had planned with the music teacher
or backing down. It was all of his own accord, and I was hugely proud
of his effort and self-efficacy. I have grown to love and very much
adore Steve throughout the course of the year. We have grown close as
teacher and student and sometimes he will sit with me at lunch and
tell me all about Moroccan life and history. He is very proud of the King,
Tangier, the language, and being Muslim. Steve loves to explain
Morocco to me and answer my many questions, and he enjoys
teaching me a word a day in Moroccan Arabic.
The main reason I chose Steve for my case study subject is that
while his behaviors at first went unexplained, I care for him very much
and want to understand his motivations and inspire him to be a kind,
respectful, and fun-loving learner.

III.

Effective Strategies

I believe that Steve exhibits behaviors of Expectancy-Value Theory.

According to Anderman (2010), a students motivation to engage with

EDU 615: Motivational Theory and Classroom Management

Classroom Motivation Case Study
a task is determined by both how they expect success and how much
they value the task. I believe Steve looks at various tasks and
questions the importance, usefulness, and interest he has in the task.
If he does not think that the task is worth his time and cost, then he
disengages and does not put forth effort, even if he is capable of being
successful. At the same time, Steve is a musical learner and I know
that I can reach him by tying in any subject with music and rhythm.
Being able to incorporate song and dance for musical-rhythm
intelligence and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, along with
reading/writing for verbal-linguistic intelligence and tying in
mathematical reasoning for logical-mathematical intelligence, a
teacher could make any unit so diverse that they could intrigue and
appeal to all of their students. As Gardner points out, each person
does not have just one intelligence, but many, which vary depending
on the activity or subject. I find that capturing the attention of my
students is often the biggest hurdle I struggle with. Even though I am
able to form a close bond with my students and know how to work with
their strengths, subjects tend to stay inside of their box and become
labeled as is, whereas blending math and language arts is not
something I usually do. Math is math and language arts is language
arts, and students either love or hate art, music and P.E.
As Howard Gardner strongly stresses in his Washington Post
article Multiple Intelligences Are Not Learning Styles, intelligences do

EDU 615: Motivational Theory and Classroom Management

Classroom Motivation Case Study
not equal learning styles, but are merely a hypothesis and a jumping
off point. The most effective way to organize our teaching is to plan for
classroom activities that vary throughout the intelligences, as they will
differ for each student across most subject matter.
My hope is that I can use what I am learning about Socialcognitive Theory to inspire Steve. Through this theory, I hope to
motivate Steve to learn through not only observation of me, but
observing his peers and modeling their academic work and behavioral
choices. Giving positive reinforcement will also boost Steves selfefficacy and, as Albert Bandura points out, Constructive feedback is
as important in maintaining a sense of efficacy as it may help
overcome self-doubt. Also, if I am able to encourage him it will
diminish or control anxiety and may have a positive impact on selfefficacy beliefs. (Bandera, 1977)
In a recent conversation with the Music teacher, who has been at
the school a few years and has had a chance to see the students grow
and change year to year, he said that he has noticed a remarked
change in Steves behavior. His observations included that it is very
apparent that I care about Steves well being and give him generous
positive reinforcements, and that now that Steve has a teacher that
truly likes him, he is beginning to like himself and gain the confidence
needed to independently make good choices for himself.

EDU 615: Motivational Theory and Classroom Management

Classroom Motivation Case Study
IV. Conclusion
Based on the motivational strategies that I have evaluated that will
and will not work with Steve, I have concluded that he stands alone
with his developmental needs and that he, along with the rest of my
students, cannot be grouped together with the expectation that they
will all be motivated and progress in exactly the same way. So many
school curriculums and disciplinary models are written as a one-sizefits all, so we must reconnect with each student and understand them
individually. In the Module 4 Theory to Work assignment I also realized
that the American School of Tangiers Student-Parent Handbook is very
much a work in progress. The American School of Tangiers Handbook
states:
Disciplinary Committee
A Disciplinary Committee consisting of representatives of the administration and faculty may
be called to hear and to help process disciplinary situations for both the Upper and the
Lower
Schools, although most disciplinary situations will be handled by the Administrative Staff.
Specific Rules
While it is the hope of the Faculty of AST that students will respect the rules of the school,
common sense and experience indicate that this is not always the case. The following
section will clearly spell out what the rules are and how they will be adjudicated:
I. Category One Rules:
If a student is caught violating a Category One rule, he/she will be expelled from the school
immediately, with no appeal possible.
1. Possession of any knives, firearms, fireworks or other explosives, or any material
the intent of which is to harm someone. (Potential weapons)
2. Possession, use, or distribution of any drugs.
3. Theft of any sort, including the photographing of tests or other types of assessments.
4. Hacking, disrupting, tampering with, or any action temporarily inhibiting the use of AST
computer system, databases, communication or security systems and/or equipment in
any way.
II. Category Two Rules:
These rules are enforced by the Principal who may, if they feel the situation warrants it, call a
meeting of the AST Disciplinary Committee to discuss the matter. Decisions resulting in
expulsion may be appealed to the Head of School. (See Disciplinary Appeal procedures
below.)

EDU 615: Motivational Theory and Classroom Management

Classroom Motivation Case Study
1. Lying in any way to Faculty, Administration, or staff, including forging an absence note.
2. Violence against another, including fighting, bullying, sexual or verbal abuse.
3. Persistent misbehavior, such as the regular disruption of classes, that results in
accumulated concerns.
4. The use of offensive or obscene language.
5. The possession or distribution of pornographic materials, including the using of such
Internet sites.
6. Gambling.
7. Disrespect toward any faculty or staff member of the Academy.
8. The unauthorized use of alcohol at school or at school functions, or coming to
school having consumed alcohol.
9. Smoking on school property.
10. Vandalism, including graffiti, damaging computers, purposeful destruction of school
property, or other malicious acts against property.
11. Inappropriate use of such electronic media as Facebook, including falsifying pages
or comments, spreading unfounded rumors, or publishing anything with malicious intent.
Recording and/or posting media about someone without their permission is forbidden.
Cyber-bullying will not be tolerated in any way.
12. Inappropriate sexual behavior at school or at school functions.
III. Category Three Rules:
1. Occasional misbehavior in class resulting in an office visit.
2. Leaving school grounds without permission.
3. Skipping or cutting classes.
4. The use of personal music devices during class time.
5. Cell phone use during school hours. If seen or heard during class time, they will
be confiscated for one week, in addition to Category Three punishments being
imposed.
6. Littering

I strongly feel that it was not written with elementary school

students in mind, and while I am not as well versed in working with
secondary school students, I know that I will not closely follow the
handbooks guidelines and requirements when examining disciplinary
situations with students such as Steve. Each student must be worked
with carefully and gently, and such cut-and-dry rules are not
compatible with the way that I teach and mold. I teach and encourage
my students to make good choices, show respect, and solve their
problems in a way that is independent and positively reflects our
caring classroom community.

EDU 615: Motivational Theory and Classroom Management

Classroom Motivation Case Study

References
American School of Tangier (2015). Parent-Student Handbook.
Anderman, E.M., & Anderman, L.H. (2014). Classroom
Motivation, Second edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education,
Inc.
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of
behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-215.
Gardner, H. (n.d.). Howard Gardner: Multiple intelligences are
not learning styles. Retrieved April 20, 2016, from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answersheet/wp/2013/10/16/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences-are-notlearning-styles/

EDU 615: Motivational Theory and Classroom Management

Classroom Motivation Case Study