 Students who are motivated are more dedicated and

committed to their studies compared to the students who are

not motivated.

 Students who are motivated are also those who take an

interest in learning, they will listen and give full attention to the
lesson, are active both inside and outside the classroom and
are ready to receive instructions from their teachers. They
may be self-reliant and prefer to give their views and opinions
in the classroom. Such students have the drive within them to
excel academically and in life overall.

 On the other hand, some students are completely demotivated

during the teaching process in classrooms and hence have no
interest in schoolwork at all.
 These students become easily bored and are not attentive to
the teacher. Sometimes it is an uphill task to get these
students involved in learning and to maintain their interest in
the matters being studied.

 No matter how difficult it may be to motivate your students,..

 Motivation is very important, and it is up to you to encourage

and motivate your students so that their learning can be more
effective and enjoyable.
 The term motivation comes from the word “movers” which
means “to move”.

 Motivation drives a person to do something to achieve or to

obtain success. It determines the direction and effectiveness
of learning.

 In teaching and learning, motivation is regarded as a critical

component that enables students to be actively involved,
while making the learning process meaningful, beneficial and
enjoyable.

 Theories of Motivation;

 A) Behaviourist Theory
 B) Cognitivist Theory
 C) Humanistic Theory
 Behaviourist Theory; focuses on the positive and negative
reinforcements used by teachers.

 If the student receives positive reinforcement, he is most

likely to repeat the behaviour in the future.

 Positive reinforcement is able to motivate students to provide

good work. Teachers also need to be sincere in providing
any positive reinforcement.

 Slavin (2009) believes that this theory cannot totally explain

human behaviour because human motivation is complex and
influenced by the personal nature of the situation and the
individual. For example, if you are hungry and there is a bowl
of rice in front of you, you can choose not to eat the rice
because you prefer fried noodles.
 Motivation requires strong incentives and or motives that will
lead to changes in behaviour to achieve desired goals.

 Incentives are positive or negative stimuli that motivate

behaviour. Incentive is an extrinsic stimulus that makes a
person act. Salary or wages provides a strong incentive for
an employee to work hard. Students work hard because that
are interested in the prize that will be awarded. Getting high
marks is also an incentive for students to work hard.

 Motive on the other hand comes from natural impulse or

interest that is able to affect thoughts, emotions and
behaviour.

 Motive drives certain actions. What does this mean? First

motive is something that causes a person to act in a certain
way or do a certain thing.
 A student’s motive for studying hard would be to get good
grades.

 Second, motive acts as a behaviour to select the activity that

interests the student. For example, Hamid likes to visit the
library to find new resources for his homework, but Chok Kan
likes to visit the library because he gets to use the computers
there to surf the Internet.

 Cognitivist Theory; from the cognitive theorists’ perspective,

a student who shows excellence in academic performance is
driven by internal factors such as to experience success or to
feel useful. A student’s perception and opinion about an
activity or event affects his behaviour.
 Students with high achievement motivation tend to be
independent and are responsible for their own success and
failure in learning; they take moderate risks, plan for the
future and do not like wasting time. Students with high
achievement motivation tend to approach goals and have a
tendency to avoid failure.

 Atkinson suggests that teachers design tasks based on

student achievement motivation. A variety of tasks is
necessary to conform to the level of achievement motivation.

 Weiner’s attribution theory (1992) explains that motivation has

a goal of understanding why things happen. The theory is the
beliefs about the factors that lead to success or failure.

 People usually attribute the factors of success or failure to

their ability, effort, luck and hard work.
 Some people link the success they have to their abilities.
Some consider their failure due to the lack of effort. Some
are successful because they believe in good luck while
others believe that they failed because their abilities are
lacking.

 Students who believe that their success is due to their

ability, and their failure is due to the lack of effort, usually
have high achievement motivation.

 Students who depend on their luck and believe that their

failure is caused by the weakness of their capabilities are
those who have low achievement motivation.
 Weiner (1992) showed that students are most likely to feel
satisfied when they reach goals they have set themselves,
rather than when they reach goals set by others.

 Weiner believes that teachers who know how to place

students’ attribution of success or failures are able to assist
the students’ performance

 Example; Devi believes that she passed her physics

examination because she studied very hard for it. On the
other hand, Kassim believes he failed because his teacher
was unfair in the marking. Therefore, teachers can help
change perceptions of students towards success. Teachers
can help students recognise the relationship between effort
and ability as ability develops before effort.
 Humanistic Theory; this theory holds the believe that
students are born with the desire to strive and to fulfil the
potential that lies within themselves.

 The concept of “self-efficacy” by Bandura (1994) is that an

individual believes that he or she is in control of a situation
and is able to produce something positive. This basic theory
can help teachers shape their students’ perception of their
own abilities.

 According to Bandura each individual can be encouraged

towards self-confidence and a high perception of his ability
through “verbal persuasion”- that is, a teacher can use verbal
persuasion to encourage students.

If an individual has succeeded in the same task in the past, he

is more likely to believe he will succeed in the tasks in the
present and the future and vice versa.
 People seek others with whom to compare their abilities,
opinions and emotions. This is called affiliation (or a
connection with).

 Affiliation can also result in reducing anxiety because people

feel that others accept them. However, these motivators can
also lead to conformity, competition and other behaviours
that may seem as negative.

 Teachers need to encourage students sense of competence,

self-esteem, autonomy and self-fulfilment.
 Maslow (1968) describes his theory of motivation through the
hierarchy of needs. It shows the different priority needs to be
fulfilled to achieve a balanced state of equilibrium for a
person to be comfortable or to feel safe.

 Self-Actualisation; personal growth and fulfilment.

 Esteem Needs; achievement, status, responsibility,
reputation.
 Belongingness and Love Needs; family, affection,
relationships, work group, etc.
 Safety Needs; Protection, security, order, law, stability etc.
 Biological and Physiological Needs; Basic life needs, air,
food, water, shelter, warmth, sleep etc.
 Love/ belonging includes being loved by parents or accepted
by students’ peers in the group.

 Esteem includes being praised when successful in the

examinations, given gifts during birthdays or praised if
dressed well.

 Self-actualisation means someone wants to meet his/her

maximum potential in life.
 General Principles of Motivation

 Create a conducive environment; Teachers need to create a

warm and accepting learning environment to encourage effort
and good attitudes towards learning. Interesting visual aids,
such as booklets, posters or practice equipment are able to
motivate students by capturing their attention and curiosity.

 Incentives motivate learning; incentives include privileges

and receiving praise from the teacher. The teacher decides
what kinds of incentive that is likely o motivate a student at a
particular time. Students must find satisfaction in learning
because they know that learning will give them an
understanding of a particular material or concept.
 In addition they must also obtain enjoyment when exploring
new things.
Seven factors in incentives to motivate learning;
Self-motivation is longer lasting than external motivation, which

must be continuously reinforced by praise or physical rewards;

some students need to be guided and reinforced by praise
because they lack self-motivation.

Learningis most affective when the student is ready to learn;

sometimes students’ readiness to learn comes with time, and a
teacher must be there to encourage them.

Motivation is enhanced when the teacher is well prepared and

lessons are well conducted; teaching materials need to be
meaningful to the students. One instructional method is to relate
new tasks to those that the students already know. To identify
realistic goals, teachers must be skilled in assessing a student’s
progress and readiness for reaching those goals.
 Because learning requires changes in beliefs and behaviour, it
normally produces a mild level of anxiety (or stress);this is
useful in motivating a student. However severe anxiety is not
good. Teachers must be able to identify anxiety and
understand its effect of learning. They must also have a
responsibility to avoid causing severe anxiety in students
when they set unclear or unrealistically high goals for them.

 It is important to help each student set goals and to provide

informative feedback regarding progress towards their goals;
setting a goal demonstrates an intention to achieve and
activates learning from one day to the next. It also directs the
student’s activities towards the goal and offers an opportunity
to experience success.
 Affiliation is a strong motivator; students seek peers with
whom to compare their abilities, opinions and emotions.
Affiliation can also result in less anxiety because of social
acceptance.

 Many behaviours result from a combination of motives;

motivation is necessary for learning. Therefore strategies
should be planned to allow continuous motivational factors
into teaching and learning.

 The following are some suggestions for the design of teaching

that are found in motivational write-ups and be used together
with the general principles of motivation (Pintrich, 2003);

 Provide clear and accurate feedback regarding competence

and self-efficacy focusing on the development of competence,
expertise and skills.
 Design tasks that offer opportunities to be successful but also
challenge students;
 Provide feedback that stresses the natural processes of
learning, including the importance of effort, strategies and
potential self-control of learning;
 Build supportive and caring personal relationships in the
community of learners in the classroom;
 Provide content materials and tasks that are personally
meaningful and interesting to students;
 Display and model interest and involvement in the content and
activities;
 Use cooperative and collaborative groups that allow for
opportunities to attain both social and academic goals;
 Classroom discourse should focus on the mastery, learning
and understanding of the course and lesson content.
 The Roles of Motivation in Teaching and Learning

 The fundamental aspect of motivation is to help the students

to start; The first step to success is simply to start.
Unfortunately, the first step is the hardest to take. The student
might be just lazy, or they will feel like there are many
obstacles that they need to overcome. Whatever it is, students
need the teacher as a catalyst (facilitator) and need to be
motivated. They will start at their own will when they are highly
motivated.

 The progressive section of motivation is to help the students

move on in difficult times; once the students starts, their
journey begins. They will face problems and difficulties along
the way. Teachers need to continuously motivate them when
they face difficult time and to encourage them in their learning.
 The interesting part of motivation is to help the students finish their job
accordingly; some students face a situation whereby they are trying to
achieve something important, but suddenly they feel like stopping. Many
factors can cause students to feel this way; some of the reasons may be;
 They are afraid because they do not know the outcome of their success
or failure and
 They are afraid of the amount of work needed. The amount of work that
increases with their success could discourage them.

 Therefore, teachers can greatly encourage and motivate them. Students

who are motivated do not fear work or will not become easily discouraged.
 Strategies to motivate learning;

 Integrate teaching and learning activities to motivate students

 Create lessons that motivate students

 Use tests, marks and grades to motivate students

 Give feedback during lessons in order to motivate students

 Implement tips from motivational theories.

 Integrating teaching and learning activities to motivate
students.
Teaching and Learning Activity Description
1. Maintain a high but realistic standard • Research has shown that students expectations
can be affected by the teachers behaviour.
• Students are more likely to be involved eagerly
in classroom activities if the teacher behaves as
though he wants them to succeed. Therefor
have realistic hopes for students when you are
preparing your lessons and activities and when
grading them. You need to give early chances
for success so that your students are
encouraged to achieve more.
2. Guide students to build their own achievable • The student will feel like giving up when they do
targets. not succeed in reaching an unrealistic goal.
Have your students pay attention to their self-
improvement and not to score on a classroom
test.
• Encourage your students to check their tasks to
keep them on track of their improvement. For
example consider having students to submit self
evaluation forms with one or two assignments.
3. Inform students what is expected of them • Students need to know what is expected of
them or else they will be aimless. If they do not
understand something they should ask.
 Teaching and Learning Activity Description

4. Reinforce students to self-motivate. • Avoid instructions that encourage extrinsic

rewards.
• Instead of saying “ I require”, “You must” or “You
should” say “ I think you will find….” or “I will be
interested in your reaction”, etc.

5. Avoid creating too much competition among • Competition produces stress, which can disturb
students. student learning.
• Try to reduce students tendency to compare
themselves to one another in any assignments
given by the teacher. Students are more
attentive, display better comprehension and
produce more work when they work cooperatively
in groups rather than compete with one another.
• Teachers mut not criticise students performance
in front of their friends.

6. Be excited about your subject. • If you become bored with the subject, your
students will be bored too. Challenge yourself to
design the most exciting way to present the
subject material.
  Teachers need to create lessons that motivate students

Strategies Description

1. Prepare to interest students • The teacher should find out how they feel about
the subject matter, and what they expect from
their students. Then try to devise examples, case
studies, or homework or assignments that relate
the contents to students interests and
experiences.

2. When possible let students have some say in • Sometimes, let students decide their own
choosing what they will be studying. learning. For example, let them select which
topics to explore in greater depth.

3. Increase the difficulty of the material as you go • Teachers should give students opportunities to
along. succeed at the beginning of the school term.
Once students feel they can succeed, the teacher
can slowly increase the difficulty level.

4. Vary your teaching methods. • You can break your teaching routine by using a
variety of teaching activities such as role-playing,
debates, brainstorming. Discussion,
demonstrations, case studies, audio-visual
presentations, guest speakers or small group
work.
  Tests, marks and grades to motivate students

Factors Description

1. Design tests that encourage the kind of learning • If you always test on memorising details, your
you want students to achieve. students will focus on memorising facts. If your
tests ask them to synthesise and evaluate the
information they have acquired, students will
practise those skills when they study.

2. Avoid using grades as threats • The fear of low grades may get some students to
work hard, but other students may be worried
about grades that they cheat and give excuses
for late work.
  Teachers need to give feedback during lessons to
motivate students
Factors Description
1. Give students feedback as quickly as possible. • Teacher must return tests as soon as possible.
The teacher must also give feedback about how
well students have done or how to improve.
Rewards can be as simple as saying “Good work”
or mentioning the names of the students.
2. Reward success. • Both positive and negative comments influence
motivation, but students are more encouraged by
positive feedback and success.
• Praise helps students self-confidence,
competence and self-esteem. If a students
performance is poor, let the student know that
you believe he or she can improve and succeed
over time.
3. Be specific when giving negative feedback. • If you identify a student’s mistake, make it clear
that your comments are about the task or
performance, not to the students as a person.
Avoid discouraging comments.

4. Assist students with their homework problems. • By working the problem with the students, they
will experience a sense of achievement and
confidence that will help increase their motivation
to learn.
 Educational implications of motivational theories;

 It is necessary to know that for any learning to happen, motivational strategies should
be included in your overall teaching and learning plan. However, specific motivational
strategies may have to be included at the beginning of learning, during learning and at
the end of learning.

 There are two key motivational factors involved at the beginning of learning; attitudes
and needs. Attitude is about students feeling about themselves (confidence, esteem)
their school, their teachers and their subject. Teachers need to identify what is exactly
causing students positive or negative attitudes.

 Teachers need to be concerned about students needs such as hunger, feeling

safe, reducing fears and anxiety.
 The key motivational factor during learning is stimulation. Teachers must ask themselves
if their teaching and teaching materials contain elements that attract (or detract)
students. Are the materials stimulating enough to motivate the students towards
achievement?

 The key motivational factors involved at the end of the learning are competence and
reinforcement. A teacher should help students achieve competence by making sure that
they have the skills necessary to achieve their learning goals.

 Remember to use reinforcement as soon as possible. Teachers can also reinforce while
students are still learning. Reinforce with small amounts rather than large amounts.
Reinforcers such as praise, rewards, points, etc can be used, but be careful that
reinforcers do not become meaningless to the students.