Motivation Thinking About Motivation Motivation l Motivation DEFINITION

Motivation Thinking About Motivation

Motivation l Motivation: DEFINITION: From the Latin verb movere (to move). l l Motivation is the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained. Why do students set and sustain goals?

One Part of the Answer: l The Ideal Self l Goals are about where we want to be. l which goals we set l which goals we value l and which goals we keep working at. l Goals are related to who we WANT TO BE.

The other part: The Actual Self l l l Who students think they are affects what they want. Self-Efficacy (whether or not they are capable of achieving a goal) Things that effect self-efficacy: l Mastery experiences l Vicarious experience (models) l Verbal persuasion Albert Bandura

Moving From the Actual to the Ideal l l For many students there is a discrepancy between who they are and who they want to become… …it can be motivating l if students think they can change. l if they can make connections between the present and the future. …or devastating l if students don’t think they can change l if they are too focused on the present.

Connecting Present to Future l Future time perspective (FTP) is the degree to which and the way in which the chronological future is integrated into the present life-space of an individual through motivational goal-setting processes. l Perceived instrumentality is an individual’s understanding of the instrumental value of a present behavior future goals (Van Calster, Lens, & Nuttin, 1987).

Why do students think they can or can’t change? Beliefs about Ability! l l l Incremental = Your ability changes over time Entity = Your ability is set at birth Beliefs about Ability lead to goal orientations. l l l Incremental = Mastery Entity = Performance

Mastery vs. Performance l Mastery goal orientation (Good) l l l Students are mostly concerned with mastering the task at hand Failure suggests areas for improvement – can be motivating. Performance goal orientation (Bad) l l Students are mostly concerned with doing better than others Student fears that failure indicates something about their ABILITY to do the task.

Why would someone want to master the task? l Mastery is INTRINSICALLY motivating l Intrinsic motivation: wanting to do something just because it is—in and of itself—enjoyable! l Why are things enjoyable? l Interest Competence l Curiosity l Relatedness Autonomy l l

What Hurts Intrinsic Motivation? l l l Controlling rewards Threats and deadlines Evaluation and surveillance Rule of thumb: If someone else made you – it’s not intrinsic motivation – it’s EXTRINSIC motivation.

What’s wrong with Extrinsic Motivation? It’s EXTRINSIC

How do I support student motivation through writing? l Application Essay l l l Students need to make connections to their own lives. Students need to make those connections themselves. Group Essays l l Tuesday – lecture (1. 5 hrs): Students write essay questions concerning the weeks set of readings. Thursday—Groupwork (1. 5 hrs): l l Students assigned to 4 -5 person groups, work together each week. I take students’ questions from Tuesday and construct 5 questions for Thursday group assignment. Each group completes an essay (of their choice), in collaboration. The essay AND collaborations are evaluated.