In their book Inspiring Reading Success (2008), Fink and Samuels state that within the field of reading and literacy, a tremendous amount of energy has been dedicated to the how of reading. In other words, we focus on the mechanics of reading-- word strategies, fluency, expression – but we often do this at the expense of the why.
In fact, motivation has proven to be a tremendously important indicator of how well a student does in school (Hulme 2015) . For one reason, motivation and self regulation seem to be closely related. Students who are willing to make an investment in their academic activities exert more energy to monitor and correct their own learning plans. Additionally, they are able to sustain setbacks and difficulties without becoming defeated and disengaged. According to Alderman (2008) the positive effects of motivation have been documented in primary school students, secondary school students, students with special needs, and at the post secondary level (166).
On a rational level, I understand all of this. However, I also find myself frequently saying, “If I could only get students to do the work.” Too often however, this is an indication that students are disengaged from the learning process. Research in motivation indicates that in general teachers are not well-versed in multiple approaches for students, they often misread or misunderstand a student’s level of engagement or motivation, they tend to choose less powerful approaches to maximizing or developing motivation, and sometimes teacher choices actually undermine motivation (Alderman 21).
Here are some ways to improve motivation.
Limit or avoid competition. Too often, teachers try to make a lesson more interesting or fun by introducing the element of competition. Things have only become more driven by competition as new technologies make this increasingly easier to do (e.g. Kahoot or SmartBoard Jeopardy). On occasion, these activities can be fun and they might even energize a class. However, they tend to lose their impact when they become a regular feature within the classroom, especially as students (who might typically struggle), meet with disappointment and defeat on a regular basis. Schools are already hyper-competitive spaces. Changing the emphasis to community building over competition is a good first step.
Check your assumptions. I make this mistake all of the time. I assume that a student is just simply lazy and is refusing to do the work because they just do not want to. However, I have learned that what I generally interpret as lazy might be something entirely different. While their non-verbals (and even verbal responses) seem to tell me that they do not care, a deeper examination will sometimes show me that there are probably other reasons for their disengagement. They might be processing things a little more slowly. They might struggle with executive functioning and be confused about where to begin or how to organize themselves. They might be overwhelmed. They might be distracted. Or the activity might simply be tedious. Sometimes, I apply a solution to a motivation problem that does not exist. In other words, I place the emphasis on getting them to care, when the real problem is elsewhere.
What is missing? Sometimes when I assign a reading, or we watch a video, I ask students to focus on big picture versus little picture items. The typical route for teachers is to assign them a packet or study guide to go along with the reading or video. However, one way to build motivation is to ask the simple question, “What is missing?” It is an intriguing question that can work for virtually anything that you assign, and it forces students to be invested in the activity in a different way. Answering the question of what is missing actually involves a much more deeper reading of those texts. And typically, the discussions afterward are much richer than normal.
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