In schools all over the nation, there are children who suffer from a lack of motivation. Some children, who were once eager learners, have lost the desire to learn as the years have passed. Why is this? What could cause a straight "A" student's grades to slip and continue to stay in a slump until the end of high school? Why do other activities become more important than that of learning?
"Motivation focuses on the intention to learn" and can be general or specific (Yount 1996, 278). General motivation incorporates a broad attitude to learn a variety of subjects. "It resides in the learner rather than the teacher or class" (Yount 1996, 279). On the other hand, specific motivation "energizes a student toward a particular class or topic. It is more unstable, changing from class to class and topic to topic. It resides primarily in the teacher and the particular content to be learned" (Yount 1996, 279).
Motivation can also be either extrinsic or intrinsic. "Extrinsic motivation is impersonal and is based on rewards that originate from outside the learner. Students achieve in order to win parents' approval, or to gain the praise of their teacher, or to earn high grades" (Yount 1996, 279). These learners are passive, and when the rewards stop, the good academic behavior does also.
"Intrinsic motivation is based on the personal satisfaction derived from achieving learning goals. Students achieve because of their own personal desire to learn […] and master their subjects" (Yount 1996, 279). These learners are active in the learning process.
Motivation is the key to learning. It is a "value and a desire for learning" in the broadest sense (Jaynes 1990, 6). "Virtually all children are born with motivation to learn. It is a characteristic of the human species. Children are naturally curious explorers" (Jaynes 1990, 7). This helps young children discover the world around them. They are fascinated and mesmerized by their findings. But then they arrive at school and the motivation to learn fades as the years pass. "Reminders to study seem to replace the frequent spontaneous applause that accompanied the learning conquests of early childhood" (Jaynes 1990, 7). Learning becomes a tense subject in the home.
"Currently, approximately 27 percent of all children in the United States drop out of public school before high school graduation. This troublesome percentage is approaching nearly one out of two students among our ethnic poor" (Jaynes 1990, xi). Most students are capable of learning beyond what their ability seems to be, and their poor grades tend to invoke badgering and threats from their parents who are really only worried about their child being educated in a difficult business-oriented world. The parents then view their efforts to have an intelligent child as a failure. (Jaynes 1990, xi-xii).
Some people are obviously more interested in learning than others. Evidence of this can be seen not only in the lives of scientists and scholars, but also in the lives of sports fanatics, reading addicts, health nuts, and trivia buffs. These people are crazy about learning. "The problem is making learning a constant in educational institutions" (Jaynes 1990, 1). The topics just mentioned are interesting to the people studying them. However, when it comes to academic education, the majority of students are not motivated to actively pursue the required knowledge in order to excel in school. What does this say about the topics covered in the classroom? Is the way a topic is taught important in the determination of whether or not it will be interesting to the students?
According to Raymond Wlodkowski and Judith Jaynes, the decline of motivation to learn can be summed up in three reasons.
1. "Learning in school occurs in groups with a formalized curriculum and a constantly applied grading system" (Jaynes 1990, 7). Children do not have as much individual attention as they used to, especially since an average class size is about 30 students, each student needing some form of unique focus. Additionally, poor marks reflect failure on the student, as they are an outward expression of what the child has learned. "Grading does little to sustain a deeply felt desire for learning for the sake of learning" (Jaynes 1990, 8).
1. "Learning in school occurs in groups with a formalized curriculum and a constantly applied grading system" (Jaynes 1990, 7). Children do not have as much individual attention as they used to, especially since an average class size is about 30 students, each student needing some form of unique focus. Additionally, poor marks reflect failure on the student, as they are an outward expression of what the child has learned. "Grading does little to sustain a deeply felt desire for learning for the sake of learning" (Jaynes 1990, 8).
2. "The acquisition of advanced knowledge and skill is complex, demanding, and time-consuming, especially for the less talented" (Jaynes 1990, 8). Sometimes more time spent on a subject does not equal more knowledge gained. "For many learners, their journey into the advanced areas of greater knowledge reaches a point of diminishing returns" (Jaynes 1990, 9).
3. "Motivation, in general, is a limited supply of energy that must be judiciously dispensed among ourselves and our world" (Jaynes 1990, 9). In order to focus one's attention on one subject, something else must be pushed aside. A motivation to learn stands alone against all the other distractions within a student's day, and some students choose to focus on other time-consuming projects.
Many people have a low level of efficiency until they gain an enthusiasm and commitment to whatever they are doing. For Christians, the Holy Spirit can motivate and energize them to learn. Motivation "may be defined as overcoming of basic resistance from our Adamic human frailties, by surfacing a need and stimulating a desire for right action in the student through the work of the Holy Spirit […] it does not involve getting things done by exploiting others" (Fortosis 1986, 2).
Teachers (especially Christian ones) also play a big role in motivating students to learn. "He or she must be able, in the Spirit, to draw the students' attention and assist them in surfacing needs, real needs, and to find those needs resolved in the Lord's total curriculum" (Fortosis 1986, 13). Teachers can motivate students by stimulating responsibility, giving encouragement, recognizing and voicing a student's worth, leading through personal example, and by having a personal and contagious enthusiasm. (Fortosis 1986, 35-45)
Someone must show students the way of gaining motivation in a classroom. "Motivated readers and writers initiate and sustain literacy activities, and they choose to read and write for pleasure and for information" (Morrow 2004, 6). There are a few suggestions given to teachers by Lesley Mandel Morrow that can help to spark a student's motivation. "Create literacy-rich environments in your classroom, set up a literacy center, provide time for choice and collaboration, read to your students, use relevant reading and writing, and have high expectations for student success" (Morrow 2004, 6). Sara Quay and Russell Quaglia reinforce this idea. If a student doesn't feel comfortable in a classroom, he is "less likely to attend or participate in the course, less willing to seek out extra help, and less apt to rise to intellectual challenges" (Quay and Quaglia 2004, 1). Students need to feel that they are an important part of the classroom and their creativity will then develop, as well as their participation.
Students have two dimensions of motivation for learning: personal-social and task. The personal dimension deals directly with a person's inner attitude towards learning. The task dimension correlates with some sort of incentive to learn, as with a reward or punishment. (Hawley 1979, 5)
A learner's performance is influenced by his home situation, as well as how he is feeling, and what his day has been like for him. Also, students who feel poorly about themselves are less likely to invest energy and time into a project because of self-doubts. A teacher can help these students by building up the learner's self-concept and by being sensitive to the needs of her students. "When all students feel included and supported and are actively collaborating in the activities of the class, the teacher must [still] be alert to be sure that each student's needs continue to be met" (Hawley 1979, 11). This is the social dimension of motivation. (Hawley 1979, 6, 11)
The task dimension "refers to the specific learning to be accomplished" and is reinforced by either a reward or punishment (Hawley 1979, 12). However, the information learned is only useful if it holds personal value for the students. What is taught also has to be more than simply information. "Without some spark to jump the gas, these laundry lists of information are distant and worthless […] If we teachers can gain a clearer notion of what gives personal meaning to a fact, a concept, or an event, then perhaps we can help our students towards their own personal discoveries of meaning" (Hawley 1979, 12, 13).
A positive classroom environment can be achieved through various activities. If students get to know each other, it will help them be more comfortable with one another in the classroom. Students can do this by asking other students questions, as well as spending time with them. (Hawley 1979, 34)
Teachers can also restructure the classroom so it is more student-friendly. Students should be encouraged to help move desks around and shape their own learning environment. Additionally, the classroom can be improved if students bring an item from home into school until other items can be put up like student-made work, posters, and drawings. (Hawley 1979, 35)
Some other ideas for classroom climate improvement include a few minutes of announcement time for the students at the beginning of class, fact cards (each student writes down a random fact which is shared in class over a period of a few weeks; names of submissions are kept anonymous), and synchronizing the group by asking everyone in the class to do the same thing at the same time (clapping, cheering, laughing, etc.). These activities can help students feel more comfortable to be themselves, as well as cause them to be at ease with their peers and their teacher. School will become a place children do not dread. (Hawley 1979, 36)
The Christian teacher can do much to motivate her students. As she emulates Jesus Christ, she will run into success. Jesus used rewards and questions, was able to gain and maintain attention, and emphasized the positive. Compassion will go a long way in a classroom and students will mirror their teacher's attitude towards students, fellow teachers, and also schoolwork. It just takes time, patience, and the strength of the Father. (Yount 1996, 292-293)
The ultimate goal of teaching in the realm of motivation is that the learners "attribute success to effort" (Yount 1996, 291). As students work hard, their efforts will pay off. Teachers can help students get motivated by creating a comfortable classroom environment, recognizing and attending to the needs of the students, being passionate about the subject she is teaching, and making the given information fun and interesting. What is taught must also be relevant to the student's life. A student (as well as anyone) will find no value in something he or she cannot use. Each assignment should have a specific purpose, but also be fun. If the principles discussed in this paper are adhered to successfully, students will be much more motivated to learn and will become better academic achievers, not because of a reward to be gained, but because of an inner desire to learn. This attitude toward learning can then last for the rest of their lives.
Bibliography
Anderman, Lynley H. 2004. Student Motivation Across Subject-Area Domains. Journal of Educational Research 97, (6): 283. Academic Search Premier, via EbscoHost, http://www.search.epnet.com
Fortosis, Anthony C. 1986. And Gladly Motivate. Whittier: Association of Christian Schools International.
Hawley, Robert C. and Isabel L. 1979. Building Motivation in the Classroom. Amherst: Education Research Associates Press.
Jaynes, Judith H. and Raymond J. Wlodkowski. 1990. Eager to Learn: Helping Children Become Motivated and Love Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Maslow, Phyllis and Marianne Frostig. 1973. Learning Problems in the Classroom. New York: Grune and Stratton.
Morrow, Lesley Mandel. 2004. Motivation: The forgotten factor. Reading Today 21, (5): 6. Academic Search Premier, via EbscoHost, http://www.search.epnet.com
Quay, Sara E. and Russell J. Quaglia. 2004. Creating a Classroom Culture that Inspires Student Learning. The Teaching Professor 18, (2): 1. Academic Search Premier, via EbscoHost, http://www.search.epnet.com
Yount, William R. 1996. Created to Learn. Nahville: Broadman and Holman Publishers.
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