Motivation Theories to Help Teachers Engage Students in Learning Activities

1. Motivation Theories toHelp Teachers Engage Students in Learning Activities Johnmarshall Reeve University of Iowa

2. Extent of Engagement During a Learning Activity

3. Engagement • Behavior • Attention • Effort • Persistence

4. Extent of Engagement During a Learning Activity • Behavior • Attention • Effort • Persistence • Positive • Emotion • Interest • Enjoyment • Cognition • Investment • Preference for • Challenge • Voice • Participation • Expressing • Preferences

5. Motivation’s Core Concept

6. Intention An intention to act. Motivation’s Core Concept

7. Intention An intention to act. A planned action. A determination to engage in a particular behavior. Motivation’s Core Concept

8. Creating in students an intention to act Teacher’s Core Concern

9. Creating in students an intention to act How do I get students to ask questions? How do I get students to complete their homework? How can I get students to do X? Teacher’s Core Concern

10. Any > No Intention Intention

11. Any > No Intention Intention But, types of intentions exist. Some intentions produce more positive functioning than do other intentions.

12. Autonomous > Controlled Intention Intention > > No Intention

13. Because of my interest, > Because of the test, I plan to read the book. I plan to read the book. > > I don’t plan to read the book.

14. Autonomy Supportive > Controlling Motivating Style Motivating Style > > Neglect, Permissiveness

15. Creativity Long-term persistence Conceptual understanding (high-quality learning) Well being Social development Undermines intrinsic motivation Interferes with quality of learning Stalls development of autonomous self-regulation Why Autonomous Intentions > Controlled Intentions Hidden Benefitsof Autonomy Hidden Costsof Control

16. Social Cognitive Social Cognitive Social Learning Social Transmission Self-Regulation Goal Setting Cognitive Apprenticeship Autonomy Supportive Self-determination theory Flow theory Engagement model Two General Approaches to Motivating Others

17. Social Cognitive Socially engineer intentions that students currently do not posses. Autonomy Supportive Provide the conditions under which people can motivate themselves. Logic Underlying the TwoApproaches to Motivating Others

18. Provide High Structure Provide High Autonomy Support Two General Approaches to Motivating Others

19. Social-CognitiveEmphasis: Create in others an intention to act. Autonomy-SupportiveEmphasis: Cultivate a personally-endorsed (autonomous) intention to act. Common Focus:Promoting an “intention to act.”

20. From Where Do Intentions to Act Come? • Social Cognitive Interactions with Other People Forethought for Effective Functioning Observe, Emulate, and Internalize Expert Model’s Productive Intentions Intention to Act

21. From Where Do Intentions to Act Come? • Autonomy Supportive Inner MotivationalResources(psychological needs, interests, preferences, etc.) Intentions to Act

22. How Practitioners React to Two Different Views on Students’ Intentions to Act • Social Cognitive • Autonomy Supportive Intention to act is non-existent or counterproductive in some way Provision ofHigh Structure Intention to act exists at some level of autonomy vs. control Provision ofHigh Autonomy Support

23. How Self-Regulation Researchers Create Intentions to Act in Others • Observation: Observe Expert’s Intention to Act • Emulation: Observer Copies Expert’s Intention • Internalization: Social Transmission of Intention • Self-Regulation: Ownership of Intention to Act

24. How Goal-Setting Researchers Create Intentions to Act in Others • Expert specifies the objective to be accomplished • Expert defines goal difficulty • Expert defines goal specificity • Expert and novice discuss strategies for goal attainment • Expert tries to facilitate novice’s goal acceptance

25. How Self-Efficacy Researchers Create Intentions to Act in Others • Expert identifies needed coping skills. • Expert models each needed skill. • Novice imitates each skill. • Novice integrates skills into simulated performance. • Novices practice in cooperative (vicarious) groups. • Expert provides and corrective feedback and additional modeling until novice can cope singly.

26. How Self-Determination Researchers Cultivate Autonomous Intentions to Act in Others • Identify others’ inner motivational resources • Nurture those inner motivational resources through autonomy-supportive behaviors Identify Others’ Interests, Needs, Preferences, CompetenciesValues, etc. Support Others’ Autonomy* Listen* Be Responsive * Offer Encouragements then

27. How Flow Researchers Cultivate Autonomous Intentions to Act in Others . Flow State:* Concentration* Involvement* Enjoyment Anxiety Worry Level ofTask Challenge, Difficulty, Complexity Boredom Apathy Level of Skill, Competence

28. Our Research Questions • What is autonomy?

29. Our Research Questions • What is autonomy? • What is autonomy support?

30. Our Research Questions • What is autonomy? • What is autonomy support? • What do autonomy-supportive teachers say and do during instruction?

31. Our Research Questions • What is autonomy? • What is autonomy support? • What do autonomy-supportive teachers say and do during instruction? • Do students benefit when teachers support their autonomy (in terms of engagement)?

32. Our Research Questions • What is autonomy? • What is autonomy support? • What do autonomy-supportive teachers say and do during instruction? • Do students benefit when teachers support their autonomy (in terms of engagement)? • Can teachers learn to be more autonomy supportive?

33. Autonomy Support: 4 Dimensions(w/ correlation with students’ autonomy) • Nurtures inner motivational resources (r = .57) • Relies on informational language (r = .50) • Promotes valuing (r = .50) • Acknowledges and accepts negative affect as valid reaction to constraints (r = .60)

34. What Autonomy-Supportive Teachers Say and Do:Nurture Inner Motivational Resources Motivational Problem: Initiating students’ classroom engagement. versus Build instructional activities around students… • Interests • Enjoyment • Sense of Being Challenged • Preferences • Choice-Making Rely on external regulators, such as… • Incentives • Consequences (Rewards) • Directives • Assignments • Compliance Requests

35. What Autonomy-Supportive Teachers Say and Do:Rely on Informational Language Motivational Problem: Respond to motivational problems (e.g., poor performance). versus Communicate classroom requirements and opportunities through messages that are… • Noncontrolling • Informational • Flexible Communicate classroom requirements and opportunities through messages that are… • Pressuring • Critical • Rigid

36. What Autonomy-Supportive Teachers Say and Do: Promote Valuing Motivational Problem: Motivating students on uninteresting (but important) lessons. When asking students to engage in a requested activity, lesson, behavior, or procedure… versus Provide rationales to explain the lesson’s… • Use (utility of) • Importance • Value • Meaning • Hidden Value Neglect to communicate what it is about this lesson that makes it worthwhile—that justifies students’ investment of effort.

37. What Autonomy-Supportive Teachers Say and Do:Acknowledge and Accept Expressions of Negative Affect Motivational Problem: Inevitable conflict between what teachers what students to do and what students want students to do. versus Acknowledge and accept such feelings and resistance as a valid reaction to the teacher’s constraints, demands, and imposed structures. Counter students’ negative affect, arguing that such “attitude” is unacceptable—something that needs to be changed, fixed, or reversed into a more acceptance attitude.

38. What social-cognitive motivation theories can learn from autonomy-supportive theories: The structure you provide (to create intentions) is best delivered in an autonomy-supportive, not in a controlling, way. Conclusions(Part 1) What autonomy-supportive motivation theories can learn from social-cognitive theories: • Autonomous intentions can flourish in highly structured learning environments.

39. How Structure and Autonomy Support Contribute Additive, Independent Effects on Students’ Engagement . • Provision of Structure • Pre-Lesson Plan, Expectations • In-Lessons Scaffolding • Post-Lesson Feedback .25 • Extent of Engagement • Attention • Effort • Persistence • Positive Emotion • Verbal Participation • Voice • Provision of Autonomy Support • Nurture Inner Motivational Resources • Informational Language • Promote Valuing • Acknowledge & Accept Negative Affect .56

40. What SDT Researchers Can Learn fromSocial-Cognitive Practitioners • Adding high structure to complement high autonomy support. Four studies that have successfully done this… • 1. Rules: Informational limits (Koestner et al., 1984) • 2. Instructional Set: Noncontrolling directed instruction (Grolnick & Ryan, 1987) • 3. Goals: Autonomy-supportive directed instruction (Jang, 2002). • 4. Freedom within Limits (Rogers, 1969)

41. We know what autonomy and autonomy support are. We know what autonomy-supportive teachers say and do during instruction. Teachers can learn to expand their motivating styles to be more autonomy-supportive toward their students. 3. When teachers motivate students in more autonomy-supportive ways, their students show a strong, immediate, and positive engagement effect. Conclusions(part 2)