Where does motivation to learn come from Motivation

Where does motivation to learn come from? • Motivation comes from the individual’s needs, goals, interests, emotions, beliefs, and attributions in interaction with the tasks set, autonomy and recognition provided, grouping structures, evaluation procedures, and time allowed. Phew! What does that mean? This basically means that everybody is motivated completely differently and there is not one way that will motivate all students.

TARGET approach Because there is so much diversity in the classroom, teachers – • Design Tasks • Support autonomy • Recognize accomplishments • Group • Make evaluations • Manage time • Example – Latino girl wrote better when she wrote about topics that fit her cultural context.

- 4 Basic conditions must be met before students can be motivated – 1. An organized and interruption-free room 2. Teacher must be patient, supportive… never embarrassing anybody for mistakes 3. Work must be challenging, but reasonable 4. Tasks must be authentic- this is influenced by the culture of the students Once these needs are met, the students then decide whether or not they can succeed, if they want to succeed, what they need to succeed, and if they belong.

To motivate students that they can do it - Stress self-comparison, NOT comparison with others. To motivate students that learning is valuable - Tie class activities to student interests (intrinsic) - Explain connections – “You’re at a parents meeting – you want a good education for your child – and you are the one who must speak up – that’s why it’s important to learn public speaking skills. ” To motivate students to stay focused on the task - Give students frequent opportunities to respond To motivate students and show them that they belong -create learning communities