Workshop 3

As teachers guide learning without controlling and engage

meaningfully.
o When engaged, activities seem effortless and time
stands still, the more absorbed/engaged the more
students get out of it.
Attribution Theory = understand why stuff happened,
external/internal.
o Internal controllable, due to things we can change, can
improve
o External uncontrollable, out of hand, causes learned
helplessness
Work Avoidance

hurried

completion,

perfectionism,

excuses, apathy, openness to distractions and defiance all

designed to do less/no work.
Emotional
&
Physiological

reaction

anxiety:

unease/doubt/tension.
o Hard to concentrate/think clearly, fear of failure, lack
enjoyment
Extrinsic Motivation Behavioural approached championed
by skinner.
o Motivation occurs externally (reward/punish) to reinforce
o Consistent response will cause behaviours to become
habit
Intrinsic Motivation determined by own thoughts/feelings,
the activities become the motivator e.g. mastery, pride or
sense of achievement.
o Task Value worth doing? Based on real situations?
Meaningful?
o Interests personal and situational, always try to
incorporate both
o Goals Mastery and performance, mastery much
preferred but blend usually used specific, realistic,
moderate difficulty & clear
o Hierarchy of Needs, self-efficacy and self-regulation, safe
social learning environment and positive relationships.
Humanist Approach Maslows hierarchy of needs before
can teach successfully, tackle lower bases of pyramid focus
human worth/needs.
Self-efficacy reassurance + understanding which lead to
resilience. Teach strategies for success and relaxation exercise
for failure.

 Self-regulation = Autonomy; show limits, plan tasks & hold

accountable.
Safe social

learning

environment

guidelines

for

expected behaviour, develops self regulation to focus on task.

Guide with steps to success. 4-6.
Positive relationships = less anxiety more happiness so
less disruption.
TARGET conceived by Carol Ames, good checklist of key
aspects;
o Task Utility value, intrinsic value and attainment value
o Autonomy give students control, show value and
encourage
o Recognition

enhances

student

involvement,

acknowledges effort
o Grouping motivation enhanced if students feel like
they belong
o Evaluation emphasise mastery, learn for own sake, not
for test
o Time organise to limit interruptions, give enough for
satisfaction

Motivation is a critical area, and like all these reflections, Im

noticing that it dovetails into the other content we have already
disseminated! To successfully motivate Ill need to communicate
successfully, reflect constantly, manage my classroom well and, as
always, be ethical in everything I do. Importantly, we can never lose
sight of the fact that assessment has, and always will be, part of
mainstream educational endeavour (Churchill, et al. 2013). This
means that I will have to be careful to avoid memorization for
improved test results over actual deeper learning (Churchill, et al.
2013). Emphasis on how students are doing can derail engaging
with what they are doing. This is especially significant in the
mathematics area and increasing use of calculators. Am I training
monkeys to punch keys or demonstrating calculators as a tool to
allow more accuracy?
Theres no single right way to design experiences or environments
to foster motivation but two words to always keep in mind when
trying to motivate are 'currency' and 'relevancy' because each
student is an individual - there is no all-purpose method that will
motivate all students (Churchill, et al. 2013). I like to think of myself
as pretty technology savvy, but my competence pales compared to
what an average student would consider normal. Linking these
modern ideas and pedagogies to one of the oldest branches of
learning will present challenges, but I know there is lots of help out
there. The workshop really stressed to me that the path to success
is

paved

with

failures.

We

must

always

offer

praise

and

encouragement for the effort, not just the successes, because

motivation is intrinsically linked to feedback. As the teacher I need
to provide constant positive feedback and diverse and novel lessons
to keep the students engaged. Once those things happen, time will
seem to stand still as the learning unfolds.
What the work by Buell (2004) as cited in Churchill, et al. (2013)
does say conclusively is that homework will be of differing value to
every individual student. It is not necessarily a foregone conclusion
that more, or even any, homework will result in academic
improvement. This means to me, especially in my specialist area of

mathematics, that I need to set the correct amount of homework. I

was schooled at a time when endless sets of questions where the
norm, which did very little to enhance my learning or understanding.
I will resolve not to subject my students to such a cookie cutter
approach, those who need not do it will and those who really need
to, likely wont. I have an ambitious plan of tiered homework, so that
rather than doing the same number of questions, each child will
spend about the same amount of time working.