Dr Kate Exley
Queen’s University Belfast

What is Motivation?
“Motivation is a means to achieve
“I can motivate anyone who a goal, not an end in its own right” wants to be motivated”
“Nothing is more motivating than success”

Outline Programme
 The Teaching and Learning Context
 What is learning and how do students do it?
 What Motivates learners to learn?
 Encouraging greater Independent learning
 Case studies
 The impact of assessment

The Context
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 Increase in student numbers
Research demands
Greater variation in student background
Greater emphasis on development of ‘ life skills ’
Clarification of professional and academic skills
?
?
(What other factors are having an impact?)

What do your students understand by ‘Learning’?
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A quantitative increase in knowledge
Storing information that can be reproduced
Acquiring facts, skills and methods for use
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Making sense or abstracting meaning relating things to each other and the real world
Interpreting and understanding reality in different ways
(comprehending & re-interpreting knowledge)

Useful Models about Learning
 Deep and Surface
 Hierarchy of cognition
 Learning cycles and experiential learning
 Learning Styles and Approaches
 Constructivism

Approach to learning
Marton and Saljo (1976)
 Deep
 Surface
 Strategic

Approach to learning
Marton and Saljo (1976)
 Deep
 Motivated by the challenge of mastering a complex and difficult subject.
 Surface
 Strategic

Approach to learning
Marton and Saljo (1976)
 Deep
 Motivated by the challenge of mastering a complex and difficult subject.
 Surface
 Motivated by the fear of failure
 Strategic

Approach to learning
Marton and Saljo (1976)
 Deep
 Motivated by the challenge of mastering a complex and difficult subject.
 Surface
 Motivated by the fear of failure
 Strategic
 Motivated by rewards and recognition

The Process of Learning
Kolb’s learning cycle
Do
Plan Review
In
Context

Preferences in Learning e.g. Honey and Mumford
Activist
Pragmatist
Reflector
Theorist

Internal mechanisms of learning
Constructivism, Dewey (1933 - 1998)
 Learner must actively build their own knowledge and understanding.
 The learner ’ s processing of stimuli and the resulting cognitive structures produces learning

Two branches
 Cognitive Constructivists
….the learner selects and transforms information - builds cognitive structures ” e.g Bruner (1990)
Piaget (1972)
 Social Constructivists
….Social interaction plays a fundamental role in learning ” e.g.
Vygotsky (1978)

What do you think motivates learning?
 Please think about
 Yourself as a learner
 Your friends and colleagues
 Your students

Research tells us –
(McCombs,B. 1991)
To achieve optimal motivation learners must –
 See education as relevant to their interests & goals.
 Believe they have the competencies to achieve goals.
 Take responsibility to define and accomplish own goals.
 Understand the higher level thinking and self-regulation skills that lead to goal attainment.
 Develop processes to encode, process, & recall info.
 Control emotions that affect learning and motivation.
 Achieve outcomes that signal success.

What motivates students on your course?
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‘ Real life ’
Links to future goals / careers
Assessment (sticks and carrots)
Presenting work to others (sticks and carrots)
Being able to see progress
Ability to choose
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(Please add two more motivators)

Motivation
Where is it coming from?
 Extrinsic
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‘Have to’
 Intrinsic
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‘Want to’

Relationships between Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation ?
 Edward Deci had two groups of students play with a puzzle called Soma. One group were paid for each puzzle they solved; the other wasn’t.
 The paid group stopped solving puzzles as soon as the experiment —and the payment—ended.
 The unpaid group kept solving the puzzles even after the experiment was over. They found the puzzles intrinsically interesting.
 Source: Ken Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do , Harvard
University Press, 2004, pages 32-33

Don’t forget you are a‘role-model’
- Enthusiasm is infectious!
 Display your enthusiasm and motivation
 Share your passion for the subject
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Make reference to your own research
Make the course personal – why are you interested?
 Show how you overcome hurdles and solve problems
 Share examples from your own experience

Motivating interest in your subject
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Novelty “I haven’t seen anything quite like this.”
Utility “This is something you will use all the time.”
Applicability “We will be applying this in the lab. later”
Anticipation “So what is the next step.”
Surprise “I bet this isn’t what you were expecting”
Challenge “This is quite difficult but worth the effort.”
Feedback “Try this, you’ll find out if you really get it.”
DeLong & Winter, 2002 Learning to Teaching and Teaching to Learn Maths.

Task
How might you foster motivation in …
 A large group, lecture styled, teaching session?
 A small group, seminar styled, teaching session?
 In the supervision of your project student?
 An on-line learning forum?

Summary of useful strategies
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Define course goals and support learners to identify their own personal goals
Use students’ background knowledge and interests
 Show how topics and materials are relevant
 Provide opportunities for active engagment
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Give frequent and constructive feedback
Support independent learning ….

Towards independence in learning
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Building skills
Building confidence
Building peer support
How are these ‘built’ through a Programme?

Two case studies
 Tutor-less Tutorials
Law undergraduates,
University of Southampton
 Course Assignment Triads
Education Masters students
University of Bristol

Case study 1.
Tutorless Tutorials
Tutorial
Tutorless
Tutorial
Week 1.
Tutorial
Week 2.

Case study 2.
Course Assignment support
 For each written assignment on the MEd (TEFL) course the work in a group of three.
 They meet three times during the development of an assignment :
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Preliminary dialogue – working with the title;
Dialogue 2 – After writing 1st draft (2 weeks later);
Dialogue 3 – After receiving marks from the tutor.

The 3 triad meetings - 1.
Role
Preliminary 1.
“Working with the ti tle”
Presenter
Talk about plans for the assignment
Enabler
Help the presenter to think clearly and focus
Observer
Observe the dialogue & feedback on the process

The 3 triad meetings - 2.
Role
Dialogue 2.
“After the first draft has been produced”
Presenter
Talk about what you wanted to achieve & any problems you had.
Enabler
Help the presenter to think about how far they have achieved what they set out to do.
Observer
Observe the dialogue & note to what extent the presenter has focussed on resolving issues and completing tasks.

The 3 triad meetings - 3.
Role
Dialogue 3.
“After receiving marks from the tutor”
Presenter
Talk about what you have learnt from the assignment & its assessment
Enabler
Listen and try to get the presenter to consider what they might to in future assignments
Observer
Record the presenter ’s feeling about the work & what they have learnt.

Considering Assessment
 What impact does assessment have on motivation?
 Please consider,
 The timing of assessment
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The assessment methods used
The value and credit rating of assessment
The feedback given from assessment

Further sources
 Student Motivations and Attitudes, NAGT
 A website that provides rich links to a number of research papers that support general guidance http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/motiv ation.html
 Motivation to Learn : An Overview
 Huitt, W. (2011). Motivation to learn: An overview.
Educational Psychology Interactive . Valdosta, GA:
Valdosta State
University.
http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/moti vation/motivate.html

Further resources
 17 Tips To Motivate Adult Learners http://elearningindustry.com/17-tips-to-motivateadult-learners
 Motivating Students, Center for Teaching,
Vanderbilt University http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-subpages/motivating-students/