Enhancing Science Motivation in Students: Insights and Strategies

1. Motivation in science Objectives • To discuss some ideas related to the task element in motivation • To understand some recent research on motivation in, and attitudes to, science • To understand what a science teacher can do to enhance motivation for learning science • To consider pupils’ views

2. Motivation • Performance = ability * motivation • Is it just about rewards? Extrinsic / Intrinsic • Motivation = task element + personal element • Motivation may not be easy to change

3. The task element

4. STARTERS are important because: • they influence early levels of engagement andmotivation; • they help to inject a sense of pace and challenge; • they are an alternative to commencing with a whole-class question-and-answer routine; • they create an expectation that pupils will think and participate in the lesson.

5. Starters

6. Task element • Find eye catching experiments • And videos

7. Task element • Keep newspaper files and science websites • http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/science/geology.html • http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/science/mineralogy.html • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHnh6SWq1fE

8. The personal element

9. Maslow’s Theory of Motivation Self actualisation Reaching for goals Competence, recognition Self esteem Affiliation, affection Love & Belonging Physical, psychological Safety Physiological Food, drink warmth PLUS cognitive needs to acquire, systematise & analyse knowledge in and attempt to understand the world

10. Other useful notions • Goal value • Expectation of success M=(Goal value) x (Expectation) • Attribution – ability, luck, effort, task difficulty • Needs / Drive reduction / Curiosity

11. BEFORE ACTIONACTIONAFTER ACTION Reasons for action Needs + values Decisions to act Sustained effort Achieve previously set goal [ATTRIBUTION] Sense of agency Cognitions + beliefs feedback goals rewards Dynamic model of motivation Seddon 2004 After Williams and Burden 1997 and Dweck 2000

12. Flow • You always know what you are doing and why • You receive immediate feedback, first external (from others) then internal (self assessment) • Challenges and skills must be in dynamic balance • Concentration is essential; distractions are to be avoided. • Control must be made possible by taking responsibility for learning. • Pleasure in learning occurs and learning is seen not an instrument but as an end in itself. • Flow can result in the loss of a sense of time

13. Zusho et al 2003 Skill & Will: the role of motivation and cognition in the learning of college chemistry IJSE 25(9) • It is not enough to consider cold conceptual change. • We have, also, to attend to motivation and affect.

14. Self efficacy over time High achievers Mid achievers Low achievers T1 T2 T3

16. Zusho • What can we do to develop self efficacy • Communicate the role of effort and strategies • Model specific strategies as the teacher • Encourage students to explore their own strategies

17. Mastery Learning Define topic - 10 lessons? Define core objectives 50% Assess prior learning Teach whole class Core Objectives met? No Yes 50% Enrichment Remediation Summative assessment

18. Zusho • Task value • Relevance and utility of chemistry to everyday life

19. Osborne et al Attitudes to Science IJSE 25(9) • Gender? • Class? • Curriculum? • Perceived difficulty • Culture • Classroom factors

20. Classroom Factors • Clear goals • Communicate these goals to pupils • Preview and review lesson content • Link work to students’ experiences • Facilitate some pupil input to goals and agendas • Promote expectations of success • Establish a supportive social context • Allow for different cognitive styles • Modify pace etc to pupils • Summarise to promote effort-based attributions

21. Pupils’ views – Design of Study • Conduct individual and group interviews with a sample of students aged 11-18, to provide initial insights into students’ thinking about effective teaching and learning • Assemble key ideas from this set of interviews into a questionnaire which was then completed by all students in one Year 11 year group

22. Interview questions • What makes you want to learn? • What, in the world around you, makes it difficult for you to learn? • What, within yourself, makes it difficult for you to learn? • What kinds of things do teachers do that help you to want to learn? • What kinds of activities help you to learn best?

23. Overview of interviews • ….there was substantial agreement ‘across all the years (7-13) and, as far as it is possible to judge, abilities’.

24. Detailed interview findings • ‘make the lesson fun’ • M = a task element + personal element • Students were helped when there was a match between the work and their own abilities • They wanted teachers to see them as individuals and to know where they had got to in their learning • Many students said that it was important that the teacher knew their work well. • M = Expectation of success*Value of goal • importance of praise and encouragement • Maslow’s need for esteem

25. Most students noted the importance of regular marking of work • Optimal experience theory (Csikszentmihalyi) – importance of feedback • Most students stressed the demotivating effect of ‘tatty classrooms’. • Possibly related to Maslow’s aesthetic needs • Many students were critical of those of their peers who disrupted lessons. • Several students were also clear about the broader influence that a traumatic home situation could have • Students wanted to feel able to ask questions and make mistakes without fear of the consequences • Related to Maslow’s need for psychological safety

26. Seeking limited generalisation Questionnaire for all Yr 11 pupils

28. Factors • Factor 1: I conform to the work and social norms of the classroom • Factor 2: I am analytical about my learning • Factor 3: I communicate with my teachers about my learning • Factor 4: I prepare myself for learning • Factor 5: I organise my work • Factor 6: I accept that I can influence my learning • Factor 7: I make sure I have enough to eat