Motivational Theory: A Look at Five Students Sandra Tague 2013

I.

Student One- Elephant

Elephant is a thirteen year-old boy in seventh grade in an independent school. His social/emotional affect in class shows resistance: he chooses a seat in the back of the room, slides down in his seat and acts too cool to be there. He always wears a jacket with the collar turned up. He does not raise his hand or participate in discussions. When called on, he shrugs. He is from an affluent family and attends an independent K-12 school forty-five minutes from his home. He is a bright student whose grades have slipped because he either does not turn in assignments or he does them poorly. He has achieved athletic success in Hockey and Lacrosse. He is popular with the girls.

II.

Observable Behaviors

In English class we engage is whole group discussion about books or other literature we are reading, or we write. Elephant often does not have his book. When asked where his book is, he shrugs. He is given the teachers copy so he can read along with the class. He is called on and responds appropriately but tentatively. When writing in class, he has an annoyed look on his face and has a hard time getting started. When the teacher asks him questions to get his ideas flowing he appears to engage more. Eventually he starts the writing assignment.

III.

Theory Application

Self-Determination Theory combines intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. This student is competent and enjoys feeling successful. For two months he seems to have lost his drive to do well academically. When I started my internship, I was unaware that his grades have fallen and he is in a slump. I believe this student needs to feel competent in his tasks in order to be motivated to continue to work. Helping this student take ownership of his learning, to be supported in his efforts, and then to work autonomously would help strengthen his motivation. Elephant needs an adult in his life to belief in his abilities as a student and to see him a valuable contributor. Changing instructional practice to praise and reward his abilities should help influence his goals and important motivational outcomes, (Anderman & Anderman, p. 7).

I.

Student Two - Duck

Duck is a thirteen year-old seventh grade girl in an independent school. Her social/emotional affect in class reflects low self-confidence; she distracts peers about unrelated topics, or is quiet and sullen. She has an assigned seat in the front of the classroom to help her focus. Her parents are divorced and she has a somewhat dysfunctional family. In activities outside the classroom she is more animated. Her mother is a teacher and is concerned about her lackluster performance in school. Duck needs explicit one-on-one instruction to understand assignments. She rarely participates in class discussion. She has never been tested for a learning disability since she has always attended an independent school. Her mother is not in favor of

having her tested. A recent team meeting, including the student, parent, and all her teachers revealed her self-degrading beliefs. II. Observable Behaviors

Duck stares off into space when her peers are busy formulating an essay based on student-created thesis statements. She asks for and gets help from myself and the lead teacher numerous times, but still cannot formulate a thesis statement. She is frustrated that she is not told what to write. Her lack of participation during class discussions indicates she has not faithfully read the book which is at the heart of the essay. She relies on other students for notes. During student presentations, Duck cleaned out her binder, got up and crossed in front of the speakers to put papers in the recycling bin. This shows disrespect for others and inappropriate behavior.

III.

Theory Application

Social Cognitive Theory Duck needs to believe in her personal abilities, to feel like she has some control of her environment and her behaviors. Bandura demonstrated that individuals often learn and subsequently engage in new behaviors that are observed by others (Anderman & Anderman, 2014, 2010, p. 7). Ducks self-efficacy needs to be strengthened and she needs to realize that she is as good as her peers. Her mother reports that Duck feels dumb and incompetent compared to her classmates in all of her subjects. She will need to see small successes to show her that she is capable of successfully completing assignments. Once she believes in herself and in her ability to produce acceptable work, she will change her behaviors and intrinsic

motivation will drive her. She needs to find the motivation to put in the time necessary to produce quality work.

I.

Student Narrative Three- Turtle

Turtle is an eleven year-old boy in the sixth grade in an independent school. He has a serious expression and needs frequent reassurance that he is doing it right. He acts kindly toward others and is respectful. He is an only child from a middle-class family. His mother is a fourth grade public school teacher. He plays hockey in the winter months. Turtle is a visual learner who benefits from seeing how things work. He struggles with assignments that have multiple steps, such as a math word problem or identifying the parts of speech and functions of word in sentences. He participates in group discussions and gets along with his classmates.

II.

Observable Behaviors

When the teacher tells students to take out their grammar books or that the class is going to engage in a writing activity, Turtle drops his head to his desk and lets out a sigh. His eyes look glazed over and he has disengaged from the lesson before it starts. He sits at his desk and stares at the blank piece of paper in front of him. The teacher speaks to him, but he is non-responsive and has tears welling up in his eyes. On another day, Turtle needs frequent reassurances from the teacher that the images he will use in a research presentation are good enough. He has been eagerly working on researching and note-taking with respect to self-chosen research topic from the ancient world curriculum.

III.

Theory Application

The underlying principles of Expectancy-Value Theory state that the motivation to engage in a task is determined by ones own expectancies for success (Anderman & Anderman, 2014, 2010), as well as the value placed on the task by the individual. Since Turtle seems to question the importance and value of teacher directed topics, it will be necessary to help him make connections to these learning objectives. He must see the value in engaging in tasks in order to devote the necessary time to complete them. If Turtle cannot get his classwork done in school, he might have to complete it at home, cutting into his free time. He might then see the value of working on the assignment in class. This student thrives on teacher praise and needs to develop intrinsic satisfaction that he is capable and then must see the value in the task. In addition, this student would benefit from altering his behavior. When Turtle feels slightly challenged by academic work, he shuts down, which then allows him to avoid it. The teacher leaves him alone and works with him after school. By shaping instructional experiences to facilitate his success, (Lynch, 2007, p.4), Turtle may reach his achievement goals. This student needs the work to be broken down into small increments which will not overwhelm him. Eventually he will be able to handle larger pieces of the tasks expected of him.

I.

Student Narrative Four Puck

Puck is a twelve year-old boy in sixth grade in an independent school. Puck is the youngest of four children, all of whom are at least ten years older than he. His family is financially successful. His father values his sons athletic abilities and is very much involved with his sports activities. Puck plays hockey and lacrosse year-round. He is a visual learner but slow to process new information. Psychological testing confirms this in addition to having ADHD for which he takes medication. His standardized test scores (ERB) vary widely from just below average to the 30th percentile for quantitative reasoning. It is possible that the days he tested were not good days for Puck.

II.

Observable Behaviors

Puck is permitted to use his laptop computer to take notes. There are no assigned seats in this class and Puck chooses the seat in the back of the classroom. He takes minimal notes and interrupts whenever he has something to say. He is very private about his notes and does not like to have them reviewed by the teachers, which happens anyway. After a few minutes he opens something on his computer that is not related to school. He is told to lower his screen during the lesson. When called on, Puck takes a pass. He does not volunteer to read aloud as all his peers are doing.

III.

Theory Application Goal Orientation Theory would be the best theory to apply to help Puck

increase his motivation. Pucks academic achievement measures vary widely. Many days he is disengaged from learning and others he is fully present. Puck seems to be

driven by performance goals to demonstrate his ability in a task. He is more interested in how he is being judged and evaluated by others (Anderman & Anderman, p. 7). I believe that both mastery- and performance-approach goals, rather than avoidance behavior would benefit this student.

I.

Student Narrative Five Frog

Frog is a thirteen year-old boy in seventh grade at an independent school. His affect reveals a poor self-image and low self-esteem. His hair nearly covers his eyes and his clothes are a little too big for his small frame. He feels that he does not measure up to his peers academically, socially, or athletically. Frog is the youngest sibling in his middle-class family. His learning style is not really clear. He has shown that he can express himself in writing but his writing mechanics are poor. He can learn visually. He does not come to extra help during study hall periods or after school.

II.

Observable Behaviors

Frog sits in the front of the classroom and does not like group work. When in a group, he is quiet and only participates when the teacher comes over to his group and asks questions to engage him. He rarely contributes to class discussions which are much of the focus in our English class. When Frog speaks, his voice is soft and he makes eye contact with the teacher. He takes as much time as possible to complete in class writing assignments. When graded work is returned he looks at it with resistance. (His academic performance has been lacking.)

III.

Theory Application Attribution Theory states that the individual wants to determine why something

occurred, (Anderman & Anderman, 2014, 2010, p. 5.) If the student does poorly on written work, he will determine the reason is his lack of ability and will be less motivated in the future to put out effort to succeed on future writing assignments. This student often internalizes his failures and does not learn from them. The stability, locus and control factors of the attribution theory seem to apply to Frog. I would like to take his self-defacing defense mechanisms and use them to motivate him in a positive way. This student has responded to rewards, but the effect is short-lived. Students should be rewarded for cognitive and affective qualities such as taking on challenges, extra effort, and unique problem solving, (Lynch, D.J., 2007). Using rewards for specific achievement goals could build his self-confidence and lead to improved motivation.

References:

Anderman, E.M. & Anderman, L.H. (2014, 2010). Classroom Motivation (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

Lynch, D., (2007). Comments about behavioral principles and application. University of New England

Lynch, D.J., (2007). Research-based issues to consider in using extrinsic rewards to motivate students. University of New England.