Motivation in the classroom
Content
Motivation
basic needs
Structure, order and safety
Relation
Competence – Learning goals
The zone of proximal development
Meaning through context and challenge
Feedback
Success experiences
peer feedback
The Pygmalion Effect and High Expectations
Autonomy
Puberty and adolescence
Self-image and identity
Freedom of choice and differentiation
Motivation
A powerful learning environment motivates (Stevens, 1997). Motivation can be divided into two dimensions: controlled motivation, also known as motivation, and autonomous motivation. Controlled motivation can be further subdivided into external regulation, which comes about through punishment and reward, and internal obligation, which comes about through shame and pride (Streutker, n.d.). For example, a teacher can motivate a student to pay attention during class by setting penal rules against it. The teacher can also motivate the student by means of testing. After all, a pupil does not want to get a bad grade on a test because this would cause the pupil shame towards his classmates (Van Der Wal & De Wilde, 2017, p66). Autonomous motivation can be broken down into personal interest and intrinsically regulated. In this way, the teacher can also motivate a student by connecting it to the students’ world so that they will see the subject matter as important, interesting and useful. However, a teacher cannot get to the intrinsic motivation of a student, as this rests entirely with the student. In order to guarantee a powerful learning environment, at least three basic needs of students must be met: relationship, competence and autonomy (Ryan & Deci, 2000a; Ryan & Deci, 2000b).
Basic needs
First and foremost, the school provides a safe and orderly environment for the students. Maslow developed the theory of human motivation and was thus one of the founders of humanistic psychology (Geerts & Van Kralingen, 2017, p220; Maslow, 1943; Teitler, 2017, p38). The theory states that basic needs and basic safety must first be met before the student can proceed to self-development. These basic needs and safety include: physical needs, order and safety, social needs, and need for appreciation and recognition.
The physical needs translate into enough fresh air and a pleasant temperature in the room. It is also important that the students have eaten and drunk enough. This could partly explain why students often display more restless behavior in class just before or after a break. It is also important that the students have been to the toilet. When you’re about to snap, it’s hard to take in the material.
Structure, order and safety
Peter Teitler argues that we regularly overestimate students. He indicates that they simply cannot do many things yet and therefore need structure (Teitler, 2017, p34). Fortunately, we as teachers can offer a lot of structure in both (subject) didactic area and pedagogical area. For example, we can apply online arranging within digital didactics (Surma & Kirscher, 2019). The teacher can also structure his didactics by using the teaching model: Direct instruction (Geerts & Van Kralingen, 2017, p108). According to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the teaching model is: Direct instruction, a cheap, strongly scientifically substantiated way to eliminate learning disadvantages (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, n.d.). Furthermore, we can introduce pedagogical structure, among other things, by means of punishments via an escalation ladder (Geerts & Van Kralingen, 2017, p159).
Relation
Humans are social animals. This is because natural selection rewarded our ancestors for cooperating and making connections with each other (Cacioppo et al, 2006). As hunters and gatherers, we lived in groups of 50 to 150 people (Dunbar & Sosic, 2018). The world has changed a lot in the meantime, but our bodies and brains are still much the same as those of humans 50,000 years ago. Collaboration and making connections is therefore still just as important today as it was then.
The relationship with the teacher is also very important in the classroom. Roorda et al (2011) concluded from a meta-analysis of more than 99 studies and additional research that there is a positive association between teacher-student relationship, and student engagement and achievement. The most important qualities of the teachers for strengthening the connection are: being open to the student, respecting the student, taking the student seriously and showing genuine interest (Inspectorate of Education, 2017; Roorda et al, 2011) . Students’ internal motivation is also enhanced through effective social rewards (Ames, 1992; Evertson & Emmer, 2009, p155).
It is important for teachers to realize that their behavior influences the behavior of the students. The American psychologist Leary (1957) has illustrated the different behaviors in a pie chart that is known today as the Rose of Leary. When a teacher shows “above” behavior, the teacher shows that he/she is in charge, and the student will generally unconsciously show “below” behavior, and thus obey. However, when a teacher exhibits “left-wing” behavior; also called “against” behaviour, then the students will do the same. It is therefore generally better for teachers to show right-wing, cooperative behavior. To ensure a positive relationship, teachers can experiment with student gaze, distance from students, facial expression, posture and gestures, and use of voice (Geerts & Van Kralingen, 2017). Although undesirable behavior can often be prevented through a good relationship through Positive Behavior Support (PBS), a teacher will occasionally also have to punish in order to create a safe working and learning climate in the classroom (Teitler, 2017, p117). In order to avoid negative relationship patterns, the teacher should try to punish only on the basis of the relationship with the student (Teitler, 2017, p128, p270).
Students are taught in groups. As a teacher it is easy to transfer knowledge to students in a group with high cohesion and positive norms (ALBLAS, Heinstra & Van de Sande, 2010). To ensure this, a teacher can influence the group formation process. The quality of the teacher is much more decisive than the size of the group (Frederiks et al, 2004). The American psychologist Tuckman describes the group formation process in five stages: forming, storming, norming, preforming, adjourning (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977). In the first three stages, the teacher can lay a foundation for the social norm and apply it consistently (Geerts & Van Kralingen, 2017, p221-223). The individual students together will form the final group. The basic needs of these students are: security through belonging, influence, and personal contact (Fiddelaers-Jaspers & Ruigrok, 1997). The teacher will therefore have to keep a close eye on individual students to prevent them from getting stuck. The teacher can also pay specific attention to social skills by having the students work together in groups (Geerts & Van Kralingen, 2017, p221-223). Key concepts for collaborative learning are: positive interdependence, individual approachability, direct interaction, social skills and a reflection on content and learning process (Ebbens & Ettekoven, 2015, p127). This could partly explain why students often display more restless behavior in class just before or after a break. It is also important that the students have been to the toilet. When you’re about to snap, it’s hard to take in the material.
Competence – Learning goals
The Education Inspectorate (2017) has determined on the basis of literature research that learning objectives have a motivating effect. Stephen Covey describes seven traits of highly effective people in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. The second quality is loud: begin with the end in mind; in other words, start with the end in mind (Covey, 2003). He thereby emphasizes that it is important to start every day, task or project with a clear picture of the desired direction and destination. If you don’t know where you are going, you will never reach your goal. Tony Robins (2020) also describes the importance of learning objectives in his success formula: know what you want, know why you want it, take major action, know what it will yield you, and adjust (Robbins, 2020).
Learning objectives make it clear to both the teacher and the students what the outcome of the lesson should be (Geerts & Van Kralingen, 2017, p85). In general, teachers know better what the students need to know and are able to do for the final exam than the students themselves. Lesson objectives ensure the necessary coordination with the core objectives for the final exam and the derived core objectives for the lower secondary education (Geerts & Van Kralingen, 2017, p85). On the basis of these lesson objectives, teachers can determine how they can fill in lessons in order to achieve the highest possible learning outcome. On the other hand, learning goals also make the learning process more transparent for the learner. Because of the learning objectives, the students know what they must meet in order to achieve the intended end result. The students can also indicate to what extent they already master a learning goal and what they need to do to achieve complete mastery of the learning goal (Neut, 2015). The clarity and transparency provide the order that students need to achieve self-development.
The zone of proximal development
Research has shown that one-on-one tutoring is the most effective form of education (Anania, 1982, 1983; Burke, 1984). Benjamin Bloom (1984) then explored what makes one-on-one tutoring so effective, and how he can apply this to classroom teaching as we see it in virtually all schools today. Bloom discovered, among other things, that subject matter had to be offered at the right level. Vygotsky describes three zones of development: the zone of actual development, the zone of proximal development, and the panic zone (Kozulin et al, 2003). If students are in the zone of actual development, this does not challenge the students enough, causing them to lose motivation. However, if the subject matter is too complicated, the student drowns in it and ends up in the panic zone, which means that the student may give up. In the zone of proximal development, the students are able to achieve success experiences which in turn increase the motivation of the students (Inspectie van het Onderwijs, 2017).
Stimulating students to higher-order learning goals
Bloom describes six different thinking levels of students, which can be represented in a Taxonomy that now bears his name (Krathwohl, 2002). A distinction can be made between higher-order and lower-order thinking levels, whereby the students become motivated when, in addition to lower-order thinking levels, they are also stimulated to use higher-order thinking levels (Inspectorate of Education, 2017). The higher-order levels of thinking are: Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating.
Meaning through context and challenge
There is a positive relationship between the extent to which students find the material meaningful and useful and the level of motivation of the student (Ebbens & Ettekoven, p22-23, 2015; OECD, 2016, p121). Therefore, the motivation level of students increases when they are stimulated to solve problems from everyday life or situations that mimic everyday life (Slavin & Davis, 2006, p280). The Education Inspectorate (2017) indicates that students are most motivated when the teacher uses challenging lessons. Teachers can best use interactive assignments that motivate students (Brown & Lee, 1994).
Feedback
Constant feedback is the power of computer games (Velde, n.d.). The feedback can be either positive or negative. For example, flashing words may appear in the image; players can get new items for beating a boss, and players can advance to the next level when they complete a certain task. However, it can also appear that it is defeated when it jumps into an abyss without looking closely. The feedback makes it clear to a player what he can and cannot do well.
Success experiences
Feedback in computer games is mostly positive and can activate the brain’s dopamine reward system, motivating gamers to continue and becoming addicted (Han et al, 2007). Rewards and success experiences can also have a motivating effect in the classroom (Ebbens & Ettekoven, 2015, p24; Inspectorate of Education, 2017). Peter Teitler (2017) describes four types of rewards: social rewards, material rewards, activity rewards, and barter rewards. For example, the teacher can give a student a compliment, a candy, and continue working on the next paragraph when a student has completed a previous paragraph. Feedback is most effective when it is concrete, specific, and given constantly/directly (Ebbens & Ettekoven, 2017, p114; Evertson & Emmer, 2009, p155; Geerts & Van Kralingen, 2017, p114; Teitler, 2017, p129) .
However, giving rewards is not always effective. For example, a material reward can be experienced by students as controlling and that has a negative impact on both the intrinsic motivation of the student and the extent to which they feel they have a free choice. This effect can be counteracted by distributing rewards for participating in a given task when the teacher actually wants to encourage desired behavior (Deci et al, 2001).
Peer-Feedback
A class consists of young people of approximately the same age and level, which can also be called the peer group. Adolescents increasingly use the peer group as a frame of reference for their own actions (Van Der Wal & De Wilde, 2017, p107). The teacher can give responsibility to students by letting them give each other feedback. This is also known as peer feedback. Peer feedback has the advantage that students learn to collaborate, they are more stimulated, they feel more responsibility for the learning process of themselves and others, they get to know the assessment requirements better, and they learn to assess each other and give feedback (Geerts & Van Kralingen, 2017, p180). While some studies show that peer feedback could replace teacher feedback entirely, other studies show that there may be problems with the depth, accuracy, and credibility of peer feedback. It may therefore be useful to combine peer feedback and feedback from teachers (Gielen et al, 2010). An example of such a variation method is: Ask 3 Before Me, in which students first have to look critically at the material themselves and then have to ask two others before going to the teacher (Teachthought, n.d.).
The Pygmalion Effect and High Expectations
Research by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) in line with the self-fulfilling prophecy, coined by Robert Merton (1968), shows that teacher expectations are important for student outcomes. This effect is also known as the Pygmalion effect. Pygmalion was a king of Greek myth who made a statue of his ideal woman out of ivory. The king liked the statue so much that he fell madly in love with it. Later the statue was brought to life by Aphrodite (Goddess of love). From this we can conclude that high expectations of the teacher have a positive influence on the motivation of students (Inspectie van het Onderwijs, 2017). It is of course not the intention to saddle the students with high expectations, but to encourage them to enter the zone of proximal development.
Autonomy
Quote: “Human beings can be proactive and engaged or, alternatively, passive and alienated” – (Ryan & Deci, 2000a). Teachers naturally prefer that students are involved in the lesson and actively participate in the lesson. Students do this best when they can direct their own learning and feel the freedom to make their own choices. This is also referred to as autonomy (Geerts & Van Kralingen, 2017, p40; Ryan & Deci, 2000a).
Puberty and adolescence
High school students go through a period in their lives called adolescence. Adolescence is the stage of development of man from child to adult. During puberty there is an imbalance between the emotional and rational control system in the brains of the students (Van Der Wal & De Wilde, 2017, p39). Adolescence can in some cases be described as a period of emotional lability, tension and turmoil during which all kinds of changes take place in both a biological and socio-cultural field (Van Der Wal & De Wilde, 2017, p29).
Self-image and identity
Because of the enormous changes in both the bodies and the minds of students during adolescence, it can be difficult to answer questions related to self-image and identity. According to Van Der Wal & De Wilde (2017), developmental psychologist Erik Erikson therefore found that acquiring a sense of identity is the most important task for adolescents. Erikson (1983) describes four aspects from which the sense of identity arises: continuity, recognition and acknowledgment, inner freedom in dependence, and the realization of a meaningful future. The future perspective is OECD (2016, p121) a form of instrumental motivation; also known as controlled motivation. As we know, extrinsic motivation can make intrinsic motivation disappear (Peetsma & Van der Veen, 2008). It is therefore important for teachers to clarify the future perspective, but not to force it too much.
Freedom of choice and differentiation
To stimulate the formation of identity and autonomy, teachers will have to be able to deal with differences and differentiate. Dealing with differences means taking into account the differences between students in a specific situation, and differentiating is the prepared, didactic elaboration of dealing with differences (Breben & Van Teeseling, 2018, p14). This can be done in various ways. For example, one can differentiate in: instruction, processing, collaboration and learning time (Breben & Van Teeseling, 2018, p5).
When teachers maintain the teaching model: direct instruction, they can divide the class into three groups. The teacher can then put the independent students to work after the explanation while they practice under supervision with the other two groups. After a number of assignments, a new section of the students can work independently while continuing to practice under supervision of the instruction-dependent students (Breben & Van Teeseling, 2018, p47).
All students are different. Once the teacher has clearly defined the goals, the teacher can give the students a choice in how they want to demonstrate the learning goal (Breben & Van Teeseling, 2018, p66). The students can, for example: make a PowerPoint, work out a practical, but also simply make exercises from the workbook, as is regularly done in regular education.
The teacher can not only give students a choice in instruction or processing, but also in collaboration. As described earlier, students are taught in groups. When students are given the choice with whom they can work, this can contribute positively to social skills, which is especially important for young adolescents. The students can also give each other peer feedback in this way.
Not all students learn at the same rate. Within the lesson, teachers have only a limited amount of lesson time, which is also referred to as the effective lesson time. Not all students get the work done during class and will therefore have to do it outside as homework. Teachers can therefore differentiate in the amount of homework (Breben & Van Teeseling, 2018, p87). This can also be combined with tempo differentiation using the BHV model. When students have completed the basic material, a practice test can be used to test whether the students have mastered the material. If the students still do not have sufficient mastery of the material, the students can receive repetition material; the basic material that is offered in a different way. However, if the students have sufficient mastery of the material, they can receive enrichment material; material they have not yet had but which is related to the subject (Breben & Van Teeseling, 2018, p84). The intrinsic motivation of the students who work with enriching material can be further strengthened if they are allowed to determine the learning objectives and the material themselves (Dweck & Leggett, 1988).
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