Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Kelly Burkhead
National University
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Running Head-Literature Review: Motivating Students to Engage in Learning
Abstract
Following is a review of an article which discusses the MUSIC model in academic motivation.
The article is written by an educational psychologist who teaches and performs research in the
areas of motivation, teaching, and learning. Research and theory support this five part model.
The model’s purpose is to better engage students in learning by directing teachers to make
purposeful decisions while planning course design. Aspects including each part, background and
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Running Head-Literature Review: Motivating Students to Engage in Learning
“Academic motivation is not important in and of itself, but rather it is important because
motivated students tend to engage in activities that help them to learn and achieve highly in
academic settings” (“Motivating Students to Engage in Learning: The Music Model of Academic
Motivation", 2018, pg. 273). This motivation is a key element in students achieving academic
success. The MUSIC model’s five components include empowerment, usefulness, success,
The “M” in MUSIC is from “Empowerment” and refers to the control that students
believe they hold over their learning. Educators should ensure that students have a sense that
they are governing some piece of their learning. Research shows that the range of control from
teacher can vary from preferring full control to permitting more control on the student’s end.
Data suggests that students who are allowed to have more control over their learning result in
The “U” represents usefulness in content presented. Some subject areas will require a
deeper and more explicit explanation for the practical knowledge of content taught. Studies
show that the more tightly that goals are related to relevance of coursework, the result is
increased motivation.
Students must be provided with the tools for success in a class. Students must feel that
the effort applied results in good grades. Teachers also need to clearly communicate what needs
to be done in order to accomplish academic success. Therefore, “S” signifies success and is
directly related to feelings of capability. Competence is what all students strive for and research
indicates that there is a high correlation between competence and success. When competence is
high, students are more likely to continue to take part and actually find the subject or activity
enjoyable.
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Running Head-Literature Review: Motivating Students to Engage in Learning
represents “interesting” and encompasses the notion of educators making topics interesting in a
long-term sense. Areas of study that students find briefly captivating are of little impact in the
communicate that they care about student learning as it demonstrates a concern for students’
well-being. Without this aspect, students perceive a lack of support, which may hinder success.
“Caring relationships with instructors have been shown to be related to intrinsic motivation,
positive coping, relative autonomy, engagement in school, expectancies, values, effort, cognitive
Teachers may implement the MUSIC model into many techniques. It is suggested to
begin by thinking how this model may be incorporated. Upon initial teaching of new lessons, it
is wise to consider the sections that are most important over considering all areas. Notes should
be kept regarding successful and unsuccessful aspects so that adaptations may be made. Lastly,
a great source of successful implementation may stem from peers and colleagues who can attest
This article was both practical and helpful for a new teacher, such as this candidate. The
idea that a model is an acronym which is made up of typically used concepts within teaching
makes it easy to remember. When an idea is easy to recall, it is more likely to be put into
practice. This is definitely a strategy that will be kept in mind for further trial.
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Running Head-Literature Review: Motivating Students to Engage in Learning
References