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
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Motivation
• Performance = ability * motivation
• Is it just about rewards?
Extrinsic / Intrinsic
• Motivation = task element + personal element
• Motivation may not be easy to change
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The task element
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STARTERS are important because:
• they influence early levels of engagement and
motivation;
• 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.
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Starters
Task element
• Find eye catching
experiments
• And videos
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Task element
• Keep newspaper files and science
websites
• http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/science/geol
ogy.html
• http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/MPF/science/mine
ralogy.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHnh6S
Wq1fE
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The personal element
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Maslow’s Theory of Motivation
Self
actualisation
Reaching for goals
Self esteem
Competence, recognition
Love & Belonging
Affiliation, affection
Safety
Physical,
psychological
Physiological
Food, drink
warmth
PLUS cognitive needs to acquire, systematise & analyse
knowledge in and attempt to understand the world
Other useful notions
• Goal value
• Expectation of success
M=(Goal value) x (Expectation)
• Attribution – ability, luck, effort, task difficulty
• Needs / Drive reduction / Curiosity
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Dynamic model of motivation
BEFORE ACTION
Reasons for action
Needs + values
ACTION
AFTER ACTION
goals
Decisions to act Sustained effort Achieve previously set goal [ATTRIBUTION]
Sense of agency
Cognitions + beliefs
rewards
feedback
Seddon 2004
After Williams and Burden 1997 and Dweck 2000
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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
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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.
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Self efficacy over time
High achievers
Mid achievers
Low achievers
T1
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T2
T3
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3
Prior ach
SAT maths
Motivation
Self efficacy
.32
Task value
Mastery goals
Performance goals
.22
.21
.44
.14
-.13
-.06
.40
.22
-.06
-.06
Cognitive strategies
Rehearsal
Organization
.13
-.12
Elaboration
Metacognition
-.09
-.06
R2
.10
.29
.31
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
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Mastery Learning
Define topic - 10 lessons?
Define core objectives
50%
Assess prior learning
Teach whole class
Yes
50%
Core
Objectives
met?
Enrichment
Remediation
Summative assessment
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No
Zusho
• Task value
– Relevance and utility of chemistry to everyday
life
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Osborne et al
Attitudes to Science IJSE 25(9)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Gender?
Class?
Curriculum?
Perceived difficulty
Culture
Classroom factors
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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
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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
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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?
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Overview of interviews
• ….there was substantial agreement
‘across all the years (7-13) and, as far as it
is possible to judge, abilities’.
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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
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• 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
Seeking limited generalisation
Questionnaire for all Yr 11 pupils
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Table 3 Rotated Factor Structure of Student Replies about Student Behaviours
FACTORS
Variable
F1
F2
F3
V1 I make sure I have enough sleep
F4
F5
F6
.67
V2 I make sure I have enough to eat
.72
V3 I make sure I’m appropriately dressed
.66
V4 I make sure I arrive on time
.61
V5 I make sure I have the necessary equipment
.66
V6 I will do as asked
.58
.51
V7 I use my homework diary to plan for deadlines
.73
V8 I use my homework diary to spread work
.62
V9 I recognise my successes
.71
V10 I recognise my mistakes
.71
V11 I see that learning is for my benefit
V12 When my work is good I ask teachers what was good
.71
V13 When my work is bad I ask teachers what was bad
.72
V14 I see that getting stuck is OK
V15 To keep trying with difficult work ics OK
.64
V16 I see that increased effort improves learning
.56
V17 I ask about revision methods
V18 I try hard at things I don’t like
.54
.63
V19 I accept responsibility for good atmosphere in class
V20 I am sensitive to others
.60
V21 I listen to others
.70
V22 I ask teachers when something is difficult
V23 I am polite to teachers
.53
.70
V24 I told my teachers what I enjoyed
V25 I attend lessons regularly
V26 I share worries with my teachers
F7
.67
.67
.52
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
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