CHAPTER 13

Motivation, Teaching, and

Learning

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Learning Goals
1. Define motivation and compare the
behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, and social
perspectives on motivation.
2. Discuss the important processes in
motivation to achieve.
3. Explain how relationships and sociocultural
contexts can support or undercut motivation.
4. Recommend how to help students with
achievement problems.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Motivation, Teaching, and
Learning

Exploring
Motivation

What Is Perspectives on
Motivation? Motivation

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Motivation

involves the processes

that energize, direct, and
sustain behavior.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Perspectives on Motivation

The behavioral perspective

emphasizes external rewards and
punishments as keys in
determining student motivation.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Perspectives on Motivation

The humanistic
perspective
stresses students’
capacity for personal
growth, freedom to
choose their own
destinies, and positive
qualities.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Perspectives on Motivation

The cognitive perspective

focuses on students’ competence
motivation, their internal motivation
to achieve, their attributions, and their
beliefs that they can effectively control
their environment.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Perspectives on Motivation

The social perspective

stresses the need for affiliation
or relatedness that involves
establishing, maintaining,
and restoring warm, close,
personal relationships.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Motivation, Teaching, and
Learning

Achievement
Processes

Extrinsic and
Intrinsic Expectations
Motivation

Goal-Setting,
Attribution Planning, and
Self-Monitoring

Mastery
Self-Efficacy
Motivation

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation

Extrinsically Intrinsically
Motivated Students Motivated Students
• Do something to obtain • Demonstrate self-
something else. determination by
• Are influenced by doing something for its
rewards and own sake.
punishments. • Increase motivation
when they are given
some personal
choice.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Optimal Experiences & Flow

Flow occurs:
• When students develop a sense of mastery and are
absorbed in a state of concentration while they engage in
an activity.
• When students are challenged and perceive that they
have a high degree of skill.
© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
 Attribution Theory
Bernard Weiner

Attribution theory: In their effort to make sense of

their own behavior or performance, individuals are
motivated to discover its underlying causes.
Locus: Students who perceive their success as being
due to internal factors (i.e., effort) are more likely to
have higher self-esteem.
Stability: If a student attributes a positive outcome to a
stable cause, there is an expectation of future success.
Controllability: Failure due to external factors causes
anger. Failure due to internal factors may cause guilt.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Attribution Theory

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Weiner’s Attribution Theory
Theory into Practice

James believes he did well on a test because he

was lucky.

Q.1: Describe James’ attribution along Weiner’s dimensions.

Steve believes he did poorly on a test because he

is stupid.

Q.2: Describe Steve's attribution along Weiner’s dimensions.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Weiner’s Attribution Theory
Theory into Practice

Sally believes she did poorly on a test because she

didn’t study enough for this test.

Q.3: Describe Sally’s attribution along Weiner’s

dimensions.

Sandra believes she did poorly in a class because

the teacher doesn’t like her.

Q.4: Describe Sandra's attribution along Weiner’s

dimensions.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Achievement Goal Orientation
Mastery Orientation
• Students focus on the task rather than their
ability
• Generate solution-oriented strategies

Helpless Orientation
• Students focus on their personal inadequacies

Performance Orientation
• Students are concerned with the outcome rather
than the process

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Goal Theory (Mastery Motivation)
Theory into Practice

Susan struggles with math. She often tells her

teacher that she can’t do the assigned homework.
During class, she often just stares out of the
window. Not surprisingly, she does not do well.

Q: What goal orientation is Susan demonstrating?

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Goal Theory (Mastery Motivation)
Theory into Practice

Shana struggles with math. She tries very hard,

however, asking for help when she needs it,
completing her homework to the best of her ability,
and studying hard for tests. When she does better
than her usual score, she is very happy.

Q: What goal orientation is Shana demonstrating?

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Goal Theory (Mastery Motivation)
Theory into Practice

Sally does well in math. She aces most tests and

competes with Steve, who also does well, to see
who will get the highest score. She excitedly pumps
her fist in the air and whoops with pleasure each
time she earns the highest score in the class.

Q: What goal orientation is Sally demonstrating?

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Goal Theory (Mastery Motivation)
Theory into Practice

Steve does well in math. He aces most tests. He

often works on things that are beyond what his
classmates are doing, because he enjoys the
challenge and wants to learn more. When he does
not understand a concept, he tries to work it out and
asks for help if he needs it. He shakes his head
when Sally does her fist-pumping routine.

Q: What goal orientation is Steve demonstrating?

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Self-Efficacy
Teach specific
strategies Make sure students
are not overly
Help students
aroused or anxious
develop short- and
long-term goals

Provide students
with support from
positive adult and
peer models

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Self-Regulation
Encourage and help students …
 Set both short- and long-term challenging
goals
 Manage time effectively, set priorities, and
be organized
 Monitor progress toward goals

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Enter the Debate
Should teachers help students who struggle by
giving them assignments they can easily
accomplish?
YES NO

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Motivation, Teaching, and
Learning

Motivation, Relationships,
and Sociocultural
Contexts

Social Sociocultural
Motives Contexts

Social
Relationships

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Social Relationships

Motivation
Parents to Achieve
Teachers
should provide optimize
the right achievement
amount of when they provide
challenge in a Peers challenging
positive tasks in a
with high
environment supportive
achievement
and model environment.
standards will
achievement
support student
behavior.
achievement in
others.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Sociocultural Contexts

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Sociocultural Contexts
Ethnicity There is DIVERSITY in
achievement motivation within
ethnic minority groups.

Socioeconomic When ethnicity and

socioeconomic status (SES)
Status (SES) are investigated in the same
study, SES is often the better
predictor of achievement.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Motivation and Gender
Males Females

 Have higher  Have higher

competence beliefs in competence beliefs for
math and sports English, reading,
and social activities
 Are more
rambunctious
 Often experience
conflicts between
 Receive more teacher gender roles and
attention, yet receive achievement
lower grades  Are more compliant, get
 List more career less teacher attention,
options by middle school have
lower self-esteem

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Motivation, Teaching, and
Learning

Students with
Achievement Problems

Students Who Are Low- Students Who Are

Achieving and Have Low Uninterested or Alienated
Expectations for Success

Students Who Protect

Students Who Are
Their Self-Worth by
Perfectionists
Avoiding Failure

Students Who Students with High

Procrastinate Anxiety

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Students with Achievement
Problems
Protection
Low Achievers of Self-Worth
with Low by Avoiding
Expectations Failure
Provide Guide setting of
reassurance and realistic goals,
cognitive High strengthen link
retraining, and between effort and
Anxiety
reward effort and self-worth, and
Modify
progress toward encourage
negative
realistic goals positive self-
thoughts by
engaging perceptions
students in
more positive,
task-focused
thoughts
© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Students with Achievement
Problems

Procrastinators Perfectionists
Encourage Identify
acknowledgement cost/benefits,
of problem, assist in decrease self-
time management criticism, set
and task analysis, realistic goals and
and teach time limits, and
behavioral and encourage
cognitive strategies acceptance of
for dealing with criticism
problem

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Hard-to-Reach,
Low-Achieving Students

1. Develop positive
teacher-student
relationships
2. Make school more
interesting
3. Teach strategies to
make learning
enjoyable
4. Consider including a
mentor
© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
 Crack the Case
The Reading Incentive Program

1. What are the issues in this case?

2. Analyze the case from the
perspective of extrinsic and intrinsic
motivation.
3. Analyze the case from a goal
orientation perspective.

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

 Crack the Case
The Reading Incentive Program

4. Why do you think Sami went from

receiving 1 star the first month to receiving
30 stars the next? Why does she no
longer read in her free time at school?
5. What are the problems with this type of
incentive program? How might an
incentive program be developed that does
not undermine students’ motivation to
read?

© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Reflection & Observation
Reflection:
How have teachers used games to help
you learn?
How have they affected your motivation
to learn?

Observation:
How is the competition differentially
affecting students? Explain from a
motivational perspective.
What are some ways to make learning
fun with the problems you observed
in this game?
© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.