How Much Autonomy is Best for Optimizing Students’ Motivation?

1. “An autonomy supportive teacher should: ask students what they want to do, have the ability to listen to their students’ suggestions of how to improve class time or an assignment, How Much Autonomy is Best for Optimizing Students’ Motivation? Brian Nash, Jake Heard, Jen Lilly, Kelly Benge, Mark Golden Introduction Methods and Participation Profile Analysis Process We allowed participants to use Survey Monkey to answer our survey. The following graphs show the make-up of our participants: Self-Determination Theory states that people have three basic psychological needs: competence, relatedness, and autonomy. It also states that having choices and making decisions are intrinsically motivating. To narrow down this topic, we looked at the autonomy aspect of the Self-Determination Theory. Autonomy is defined as the need for independence and the ability to alter the environment when necessary. Like the Self-Determination Theory, it is a source for intrinsic motivation. The question we composed is: how much autonomy is best for optimizing students’ motivation, especially intrinsic motivation, in the classroom? We choose to place special emphasis on establishing class rules and standards in the beginning of the school year. So what makes this question so important that it deserves specific research and analysis? Knowing what level of autonomy maximizes students’ motivation is crucial. There needs to be enough autonomy so student’s feel they have control over their environment and have enough freedom that they do not feel that they have no say in their education. However, it is equally important that there is not too much autonomy that classroom management becomes an issue. This study will hopefully help us identify what level of autonomy achieves the perfect balance of maintaining an orderly classroom while encouraging students’ internal motivation. To analyze the results we received on Survey Monkey, we read through all the response and identified recurring themes and trends in responses. After these were identified, we reread them and recorded how many times that a response that fit into one of those categories appeared. This was done for the short answer response of our survey. For the rest of results, we were able to use more traditional methods, such as recording the average response and number of each response, because participants answered questions on a scale of one to five. Each other, be a mentor, know about the student, express adaptability, lead discussions not lectures, have trust.” We used boys and girls who are Freshmen in college and seniors in high school to take our survey. We felt it was important to survey freshmen since they are new out of high school and can look back on the teachers they had in high school and the teachers they currently have. Conclusion Data • Students favored classroom environments that allowed them to participate as equals with the teacher. This also gave the students the opportunity to show the teachers respect. This management style can provide a class with a high degree of success. When respect is present, the punishing of students was rare because students desired to learn and show their classmates and teacher respect. Finally, giving the students a little freedom with group work helped students guide themselves. Respecting the students in their quest to learn also provided more opportunities for self-guided learning. Students want some guidance and parameters within the class, but they also want respect and a forum to open communication lines between the teacher and their educational experiences. • Teachers must be willing to allow some freedom within the classroom. Students, no matter the age, desire respect from their teachers and are willing to give the same respect in return. Some suggestions for allowing freedom in the classroom are: • Create a positive environment for students to be a part of the learning process. • Establish rules and a plan for enforcement. • Hold students accountable for their actions, but do not treat them as children who do not know how to behave. Giving the respect that students yearn for is imperative for a successful learning environment for the students. • Create an open door policy where students feel comfortable discussing issues with you. While they may not come to you about every detail of their lives, they should feel comfortable coming to you with concerns about their learning. • Continually evaluate your performance in the classroom and honestly observe how you interact with students. Successful learning will take place in a classroom of mutual respect and stimulating discussion. Favorite Teacher Least Favorite Teacher Research Research shows that increased levels of student autonomy can lead to an increase in a student’s classroom engagement, creativity, and academic achievement (Reeve, & Jang, 2006). Studies also suggest a positive correlation between perception of autonomy and motivation (Reeve, & Jang, 2006). As students enter middle school, they often show lower levels of engagement and increased dissatisfaction with their studies, often induced from a sense of boredom while in class (Skinner et al., 2008). Such a trend demands that teachers focus on methods that increase student engagement, such as the promotion of autonomy. Students that believe they have some degree of input in the classroom often show higher levels of achievement and self-esteem (Barrett, 2003). If a teacher is to promote high levels of achievement in the classroom, then clearly attention must be paid to the development of student autonomy. There are a variety of general suggestions researchers provide to increase student autonomy, as well as warnings against what does not work. Generally speaking, trying to induce student involvement through controlling, extrinsic motivation is likely to result in challenge avoidance and less persistence towards class assignments (Reeve et al., 2002). Instead, teachers should focus on listening to students’ concerns and allowing them to adapt instructional materials and lessons to support their needs and interests (Stefanou et al., 2004). The overarching task in promoting student autonomy is to give students a greater degree of control and providing guidance in mastering their own educations (Stefanou et al., 2003). Give options for projects instead of one set option, allow students to feel comfortable speaking out in class, be open- Classroom Management Characteristics Fair/Respect/ Treated as Equals Strong Discipline Change in activities Group work Strict Structured routine Classroom Management Characteristics 1. Not understanding 2. Played favorites 3. Treated students like kids 4. Did not listen 5. Strict 6. Embarrassed students Minded and accept their students no matter what, give them the freedom of learning in their own specific ways, create a comfortable environment, be a friend, let students help