Emily Hallett

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Motivation to Learn

Motivation to Learn- Analysis of Five Students

Emily Hallett
University of New England

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Motivation to Learn

I have chosen to focus on the following five students. These students have
exhibited motivational challenges in my time working with them.
My first student, who I will call Dave, is a 9-year-old boy. Dave repeated first
grade, he is an older second grader. He received reading support at the beginning of the
year. He is no longer pulled from the class for support of any kind. He is an only child
from an average income family. Dave is only motivated when the task at hand appeals to
him and he thinks its worthy. Dave constantly raises his hand to either contradict the
teacher or ask to do a task he knows is not appropriate for the assignment.
In class I observe Dave either distracted by his peers or staring off into space. I
believe Daves motivational theory is self-determination theory. Dave only does the bare
minimum of work. When writing a poem last week he wrote 3 lines about the same topic,
Mine Craft, and says he is finished all with-in 5 minutes of the assignment being given.
He immediately comes to me for re-assurance that he has completed the work correctly
and that he can move on. He constantly feels the need to be accepted by his peers and
races to be the one that knows what he is doing.
According to Anderman, Self-Determination Theory states that humans have
three basic needs: the need for autonomy, the need for competence, and the need for
relatedness (p.5). Dave is motivated with relatedness; he wants to be accepted by his
peers. I believe that a way to help motivate Dave would be to know when he can work in
groups. This way he can socialize and feel connected with his peers instead of calling out
during a lesson. This will start to help him become motivated to listen and accomplish the
task at hand.

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My second student, who I will call James, is also a 9 year-old-boy. James also
repeated the first grade. James comes from a family with a below average income. His
parents are not very involved. Both of his parents are deaf and James knows sign
language. He is capable of accomplishing many assignments if he is focused. James
comes to school everyday with homework incomplete and no motivation. James is on an
IEP, he is pulled for reading everyday. He constantly says things like I hate school and
I hate teachers when he is asked to be on task. James is a behavior problem in class. He
constantly disrupts the class with jokes, inappropriate comments, falling out of his chair,
or running around the classroom.
James is a unique student; in class he continually distracts others as well as being
distracted himself. For example he calls across the room to talk with his friends. When
he is asked to return to the task he is rude and disrespectful to the adult. He doesnt
understand that what he is doing is inappropriate. He always vocalizes that everyone is
after him and that no one understands him. We try our best to work with him and give
him reasons as to why we ask him to follow the directions and rules of the classroom. I
believe that Jamess motivational theory is Attribution Theory.
James always questions Why. He does not like to be told to do anything and
always wants a reason as to why he needs to do what is asked. Anderman et al 2014,
states that Attribution Theory is a way individuals explain to themselves the reasons for
certain occurrences in their lives (Graham &Weiner,1996) (p.5). I find that James has
both internal attribution and external attribution. According to University of Twente,
and an article by Heider a person can make two attributions 1) internal attribution, the
inference that a person is behaving in a certain way because of something about the

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person, such as attitude, character or personality. 2) external attribution, the inference that
a person is behaving a certain way because of something about the situation he or she is
in ("Attribution theory," ). James makes inferences about every persons actions and
reactions, and reacts to what he believes is the correct response, he also reacts to each
situation that is placed upon him. James has little control over what happens at home and
at school. I believe if he has constant re-assurance with the reason for doing a task he will
have better success.
My third student, who I will call Ally, is an 8-year-old girl. Ally comes from an
average income family. Ally has a loving extended family that interacts with her
constantly. She talks about them all the time. Ally is an above average second grade
student. She is reading at about a 5th grade level and her use of vocabulary is outstanding.
Ally is an out of the box thinker but still requires re-assurance when she completes an
assignment. Ally is motivated to learn as much as she can.
Allys motivation is constant. I have never observed her when she was not trying
her hardest in class. Ally always sits at her seat and finishes all of the work that is asked
of her. She even goes above and beyond when she can. Ally sets a goal for herself to
complete her work and comprehend it. I believe Allys motivational theory is Goal
orientated.
Ally wants to master each concept she is introduced to. According to Anderman,
Goal Orientation Theory is between mastery goals and performance goals. Ally works
toward motivation with mastery goals; she is involved with the task to truly master the
material that is being learned (Anderman & Anderman, 2014, p.7). I believe that having

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Ally set a goal for herself during the assignment will motivate her to learn more and
enjoy the process.
My fourth student, who I will call Bella, is an 8 year-old girl. Bella is on an IEP,
she receives support for speech on a weekly basis. Bella is an extremely hard worker and
a high level reader. Her comprehension skills are phenomenal. She comes from an
average income family; her father is a high school teacher. Bella is friendly with her
classmates and creative. The writing she produces is funny and thorough. Bella is able to
be placed with any student in the class to help motivate them.
I observe Bella working constantly with other students in class. She enjoys
helping other students learn the concept or even help them understand the directions. She
also tries her hardest to mimic the assignment as best she can. Bella is loved by all her
classmates. I believe Bellas Motivation is Social Cognitive.
Bella has great self-efficacy, and is motivated by others. According to Anderman,
Social Cognitive Theory is a number of theoretical frameworks. Anderman at al 2014
shares that Albert Bandura argues that human behavior involves triadic reciprocity
among individuals personal attributes, environmental characteristics and behaviors
(Bandura, 1986) (p.6). Bella uses her social clues and environmental clues to know how
to act in social situations. I believe if I can have Bella focus on using her confidence and
self-efficacy to help model for her peers she will become better motivated in her studies.
My fifth and final student, who I will call Will, is a young 8 year-old boy. He
comes from an average income family that is very involved in his upbringing. He
becomes emotional during a task that is difficult or in a social situation that he is
uncomfortable in. Will receives no out of class support. He struggles in ELA with

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spelling, he spells phonetically. He is a creative thinker and writes well. He loves to draw.
Will is a hard worker when he believes the task at hand is relevant.
I observe Will struggle with simple tasks. He has a difficult time connecting with
assignments that do not interest him. He will sit there and read his book instead of
following the directions. I see him with his head down on the table when he is confused
or frustrated. He becomes visibly upset when he is redirected from the task he is doing to
the task that he is being asked to complete. He may start to cry or completely shut down
all together. Will has low self-efficacy when it comes to understanding difficult concepts.
I believe Wills motivation is Expectancy-Value.
Expectancy-Value theory is students beliefs about their abilities to succeed with
tasks(p.6). I believe that Will needs to have confidence in his abilities. I think having
Will see small task that he can accomplish can help motivate him. A small task could be
to write 2 sentences in his ELA journal then he can draw a picture. This way he is writing
and he gets to do something he likes so that task is meaningful to him. This can help build
his self-efficacy and motivate him to accomplish many tasks.
I believe that, in theory, all these applications would hopefully be successful.
Each student is different and theory may not always work. I hope to put my new
knowledge to use, to help these students succeed.

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References
Anderman, E., & Anderman, L. (2014). Classroom Motivation. : Pearson.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive
theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Heider, F. (1958). The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. New York: Wiley.
Attribution theory. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory clusters/Public Relations,
Advertising, Marketing and Consumer Behavior/attribution_theory/