Taking Motivation to the Next Level

Defining Motivation

the general desire or willingness of someone to do something

Research confirms that student motivation is a key factor in successful reading. However, in order to effectively support reading motivation in the classroom, it is helpful to consider the research on reading motivation and engagement. (Gambrell & Marinak, 2009)

Objectives

Understand the 4 types of motivation and be able to identify the type that is the most beneficial. Understand the role incentive plays in motivating students. List generalizations about gender that may impact students motivation. Respond to 2 scenarios about motivating students. List the 5 keys to motivation.

4 Types of Motivation

Controlled Motivation
External Regulation -extrinsic, children read to get rewarded or avoid punishment Introjected Regulation -internal demands, come with feelings like guilt or

Autonomous Motivation

Intrinsic motivation -engaging in an activity for its own enjoyment Identified Regulation -individuals see the value of th activity.

4 Types of Motivation

Research shows that autonomous motivation is associated with positive outcomes greater long-term persistence with reading more self-regulated learning enhanced conceptual understanding better psychological well-being

Incentive and Motivation

Its OK to use incentives sometimes! Start with verbal or written praise

o o

Make sure its scaffolded and provides direction Be honest! Research shows tangible incentives tend to decrease reading motivation

What about prizes?

o

BUT...

Incentive and Motivation

BOOKS!!!!
Studies show that students who receive a book as a reward are more motivated. Added bonus: this gets another text in the hands of students and encourages them to read it, too!

Gendered Reading Motivation: Boys vs. Girls

(a.k.a. Hello, Generalizations!)
Facts from Senn article: Effective Approaches to Motivate and Engage Reluctant Boys in Literacy

between 70-80% of students who demonstrate a lack of motivation in school are boys girls outperform boys on all types of standardized tests in reading three times as many boys are placed into learning disability

Boys vs. Girls

Boys
male brain doesnt develop at same rate or in the same sequence as the female brain

Girls
female brain matures sooner

spatial ability, measurement, and map reading develop more quickly and to a greater extent in males than in females

development of language areas of a 5-yearold boys brain would be on par with the language areas of a 3.5 year old girl

reading is an activity associated with females - bad stereotype!

males have a higher metabolism and energy level, movement is

there is an emphasis on expressive,

Motivation and Engagement from Kissau and

Salas

Teachers should: provide students with a clear overview of short- and long-term goals to work towards in lessons and courses

variety of teaching strategies so that students are always coming back wanting more
variety of instructional approaches to maintain interest of their male students strong student-teacher relationship need the purpose - what are they working toward? and if they are making progress

(Kissau and Salas, )

Appeal to Students Interests!

Boys typically like: texts that can be collected, have visual interest, are succinct, relate to their own lives, and are funny or rebellious themes: sports, comics, action, horror, humor help engage brains with increased dose of sensory or physical stimulation motivated by lessons that involve competition and collaboration

Appeal to Students Interests!

Make literacy Relevant o authentic purpose - meaningful real-life connections o clear audience o life skill o personal relevance Give them a choice
o one of the best ways to improve the reading and writing of both boys and girls is to give students greater freedom to explore literacy through a wide variety of topics and formats and for multiple purposes (Senn)

Gendered Reading Motivation: Boys vs. Girls

(a.k.a. Hello, Generalizations!)
**There were many generalizations in articles about gender and motivation while a lot of this information is applicable to our classrooms it is ultimately important to KNOW YOUR STUDENTS when it comes to their interest and motivation.

General Reading Interests

Grades 3 and 4:
Nature Animals Adventure Familiar Experiences

General Reading Interests

Grades 5 and 6:
Boys: Travel War Mystery Non-fiction Girls: Realistic Fiction Animal Stories Westerns Fairy Tale Themes

Scenario One:
Ratiibu Ssemata is a new student in your 4th grade class. He recently immigrated to the United States from Uganda. He picks out the same books as his friends when we go to the library but when it comes to small group reading and contributing in class, he is rarely engaged. What could you do to motivate Ratiibu?

Teacher Practices that Impact Reading Motivation By: Angela McRae & John T. Guthrie Focuses on 5 key motivations that should be widely found in the classroom to foster achievement .
- Interest -Ownership - Self-Efficacy - Social Interaction - Mastery

Interest-Intrinsic Motivation
-Make reading material that is relevant for students. -Reading material should be linked to real life experiences students have had. -Activate students background knowledge of all cultures before, during and after books that you are reading to the class. - Eliminate disengagement by making texts relevant, connect to students lives, background knowledge Example: have discussions about a real life experience on a topic with the class before reading a text on that specific topic. (Find out what students interest and experiences are.) - If doing non-fiction, you can make social studies or science unit that is relevant to the text you are about to read.

Ownership
Often times teachers create an environment in the classroom that emphasizes the teachers authority and ownership of the space, the materials, the curriculum, and by extension, the actual learning that takes place. Students cant see the value in reading this way. - Let students choose texts, choose activities that help them through the story that is relevant to their learning then that will give them a sense of in charge feeling. - Make a more Student-Centered classroom - De-motivation occurs when teachers talk constantly, give detailed directions, asked controlling questions, give deadlines, criticized answers and gave answers before students were finished. Let students choose texts relevant to their life.
-

Make sure students choices are Meaningful, Relevant and Appropriate.

Self-Efficacy
*Students who believe they can read well are going to read often*
For challenge, teachers should identify students ability to decode, comprehend and write then build tasks among their abilities. Little by little as a student increases in proficiency the teacher then makes the task more challenging. - Allowing frequent failure undermines self-efficacy: Dont give them books that they do not know how to read fluently. - Group students that are similar when creating activities to promote self-efficacy

*Less focus on completion of content related activities*

- Most frequent reasons students dont read is because they believe that they cant.

Social Interaction
*Sharing reading is a social experience. Arranging for collaboration fosters social motivation. *

-This is true in all phases of learning in the classroom. They can also learn about their peers background experiences and expand their ZPD. (Students are more likely to engage in discussion with peers than with teacher.) Almansi-1995

-It has been proven that African American students benefit much more when working collaboratively. Students working individual can higher the chances of students acquiring bad habits.

-Make sure the whole class isnt reading the same level of text. Some students arent ready for tougher texts or topics. Teacher should model, facilitate and scaffold groups.

Mastery
-Teachers who provide concepts that are complex, and persist over an extended period of time, are supporting deep contextual knowledge for students that want to grow. - Teachers should help students connect concepts and form deeper understanding about key information through bulletin boards, charts, concept maps & webs, integration. -Concepts in reading lessons should last weeks so students can feel like they have a solid understanding. Possibly a culminating project at the end of the unit. - short units, facts, disjointed topics and busy work assignments undermine mastery motivation.

Scenario Two:
Sarah reads at the 4th grade level. She loves science class and was recently very involved in the natural disasters unit. She participates in some subject area classes. Although she is a fluent reader and her comprehension scores are high, you rarely see her reading independently or discussing books in small groups. What would you do to motivate Sarah?

iPad Apps
- Bookboard: Readers of all levels and ages are given specially selected literature to read. The more kids read, the more books are unlocked.

- Snap Reading: More than 150 leveled, interactive e-books are paired with fully scripted lesson plans, related activities and more.

- GeoWalk 3D World Factbook: Some kids resist non-fiction readingunless, of course, it's all wrapped up in a fun app with a spinning globe that spits out fascinating facts at random.

- Story Builder: With a library of sound recordings and the ability to record their own voice, this app will get the creativity flowing in any aspiring storyteller or fictionista.

Works Cited - APA

Applegate, A. J., & Applegate, M. (2010). A study of thoughtful literacy and the motivation to read. Reading Teacher, 64(4), 226-234. doi:10.1598/RT.64.4.1 De Naeghel, J., Van Keer, H., Vansteenkiste, M., & Rosseel, Y. (2012). The relation between elementary students' recreational and academic reading motivation, reading frequency, engagement, and comprehension: A self-determination theory perspective. Journal Of Educational Psychology, 104(4), 1006-1021. doi:10.1037/a0027800 Gambrell, L. B. (2011). Seven rules of engagement: what's most important to know about motivation to read. Reading Teacher, 65(3), 172-178. doi:10.1002/TRTR.01024 Gambrell, L., & Marinak, B., http://www.readingrockets.org/article/29624 Kissau, S., & Salas, S. (2013). Motivating male language learners: The need for more than just good teaching. The Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics. 16(1), 88-11. Macpherson, E. (2013, June 26). We Are Teachers. 16 Apps That Motivate Kids to Read. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.weareteachers.com/community/blogs/weareteachersblog/blog-wat/2013/06/26/16-apps-that-motivate-kidsto-read McRae, A., & Guthrie, J. T. (2012). Launching Young Readers!. Teaching Practices that Impact Reading Motivation, 35746, 10. Senn, N. (2012). Effective approaches to motivate and engage reluctant boys in literacy. The Reading Teacher, 66(3), 211-220.