THE JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE – LEARNING TOGETHER RESOURCE
Learning Together: Motivating
Learners
Achieving success for all learners
Journey to Excellence
Professional development pack topics have been chosen to help you plan a
journey through popular staff development themes. They provide “guided tours”
through some of the resources on The Journey to Excellence website as a
window onto excellent practice. Engaging with the associated activities will help
you to reflect on and develop your practice purposefully.
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Motivating learners
Update April 2010
THE JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE – LEARNING TOGETHER RESOURCE
This resource will be updated to reflect new and innovative
approaches as Curriculum for Excellence is developed. Please
email or comment in the box below any feedback on the
resource or suggestions for improvement to help keep the
resource up to date.
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THE JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE – LEARNING TOGETHER RESOURCE
Purpose of this activity
This activity is designed to help you consider what motivates both you and the learners
you work with each day. The movies will introduce you to current thinking on
motivation, and illustrate how some schools are working to provide motivating
experiences for all their learners. The activity is designed to help you understand what
motivates the learners you work with, and to consider the extent to which the learning
opportunities you help to create and deliver motivate them all. For this to happen you
need to really get to know your learners.
This programme of study also encourages you to reflect on how increased motivation
may help learners to achieve the purposes and aims of the curriculum 3–18
Learning outcomes
This programme will provide you with the opportunity to:
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reflect on the nature of motivation
listen to the perspectives of educators working in the field of motivation
observe practice drawn from schools representing all sectors in Scotland
plan and evaluate motivational strategies for your own children and young
people
plan next steps and/or further study.
Who is this for?
This programme is for all who work with learners in all sectors. It has particular
relevance for those who design and deliver learning experiences in the classroom, both
teachers and support staff.
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THE JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE – LEARNING TOGETHER RESOURCE
What will I/we need to work through this programme?
You will need enthusiasm, energy and imagination!
In addition you will need access to the on-line resource which supports The Journey to
Excellence.
Is this an individual activity or do I need to work with others?
The core activities enable you to work individually at a time and place of your choice.
However there are opportunities to work with colleagues and to discuss and reflect on
how learners may be motivated. Towards the end of the activity, you will also be asked
to consider how engagement with this programme has changed and improved your
classroom practice. You may wish to work reciprocally with a colleague to observe
practice and offer mutually helpful feedback and advice.
The programme of study may be adapted at stage, department or whole school levels
to allow larger groups of staff to work through it collaboratively.
How long will it take?
The programme is designed to be open ended, to enable you to find out more and to
reflect on your current and future practice. However the core activities should take
around two hours to work through.
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THE JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE – LEARNING TOGETHER RESOURCE
Self reflection
Take five minutes to note down your responses to the following
Questions.
What do I understand by the word “motivation”?
Note down ten descriptive words that I would associate with motivated learners.
Which of the words are positive and which are negative?
In general, which of the words would I apply to most of the learners I see each
day?
View the introductory movie for key area of excellence: Culture and
ethos.
To what extent does your day-to-day work reflect the key features of
this broad area of excellence?
How do you know?
Prepare a grid or a mind-map and note the points that you consider
significant for your practice from each of these movies below.
The perspectives provided by Ian Smith and Stephen Heppell are
helpful in placing motivation in the contexts of Assessment is for
Learning, Curriculum for Excellence and the use of ICT in learning.
Use them to elaborate your table or mind map.
About Motivation
What is motivation?
Three As of motivation
Affiliation / Alienation
Some learners may be
motivated in negative and
counterproductive ways.
Agency / Apathy
Autonomy / Anxiety
Motivational Drivers
Engagement
Structure
Curriculum
Feedback
The Motivating Teacher
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Motivating learners
What makes a motivating
teacher?
Update April 2010
THE JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE – LEARNING TOGETHER RESOURCE
You may also wish to find out what is said about motivation on other
websites, for example The Motivated School website, which
presents ideas developed by Alan McLean and others.
Elaborate your table or mind map with these perspectives
Highlight where Ian Smith, Brian Boyd, Stephen Heppell and Dylan
Williams affirm what Alan McLean has said about motivation.
Motivating Learners (Ian Smith)
A Learning Classroom (Brian Boyd)
ICT and Learning (Stephen Heppell)
Feedback on Learning (Dylan Williams)
Identify a small group of your learners who may not be fully engaged or
motivated by their learning experiences.
From your table or mind map select five aspects of motivation that
you feel would improve their motivation
You may find it interesting to consider your chosen learners as you watch how
some of these schools have applied the principles of motivation to improve
outcomes for their own learners.
Digital Learning: The potential of ICT (Queensferry PS)
Guiding Change in a Special School (Oakbank School)
Achievement for All Learners (St Andrew’s Secondary School)
Overcoming barriers to learning: Cathkin High School
Think about how you could incorporate your chosen five key aspects of
motivation into the learning experiences of your own group of learners over a
four-week period.
Consider maintaining a diary or blog noting your actions and any changes in your
learners’ levels of motivation. There is no need for this to be a secret. Why not
involve your learners, and ask them to keep a record, and discuss their views about
their learning with you?
After four weeks reflect on what has been achieved and plan your next steps.
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