Information about Chapter 3 of Smart Teaching created by Gordon Eddie

1. How Learning Works
Chapter 3
What Factors Motivate Students
to Learn?

2. What Factors Motivate Students to
Learn?
•
“Students’ motivation generates, directs,
and sustains what they do to learn”
(p.69).
– If students are not interested in the
course content, they will zone out or see
no value in understanding
– If students don’t think they will be
successful, they probably wont do to a
self-fulfilling prophecy

3. What Factors Motivate Students to
Learn?
•
Two important concepts that are critical
in motivating a students ability to learn:
– Subjective value of their overall goal
– Expectations for obtaining a specific goal

4. What Factors Motivate Students to
Learn?
•
Goals
– Performance goals: protecting a desired
image
• Performance-approach goal: focus on
attaining competence by meeting
standard
• Performance-avoidant goal: avoiding
incompetence by meeting standards
– Learning goal: trying to learn what is taught
– Work-avoidant goal: showing little interest
– Affective goal: engaged in stimulating activity
– Social goal: making friends

5. What Factors Motivate Students to
Learn?
•
Values
– Attainment value
– Intrinsic value
– Instrumental value

6. What Factors Motivate Students to
Learn?
•
Expectancies
– Outcome expectancies
– Efficacy expectancies

7. What Factors Motivate Students to
Learn?
•
Strategies to Established Value
– Connect the material to students’ interest
– Provide authentic, real-world tasks
– Show relevance to students current
academic lives
– Demonstrate the relevance of higher level
skills to students’ future professional lives
– Identify and reward what you value
– Show your own passion and enthusiasm
for the discipline

8. What Factors Motivate Students to
Learn?
•
Strategies that help students build positive
expectancies
– Provide flexibility and control
– Identify an appropriate level of challenge
– Describe effective study strategies
– Provide early success opportunities
– Provide rubrics
– Be fair

9. What Factors Motivate Students to
Learn?
•
Summary
– There are many different variables that
influence a students ability to be
motivated
– If possible, try to have multiple and
diverse goals that may not match with
yours

10. What Factors Motivate Students to
Learn?
•
Summary
– There are many different variables that
influence a students ability to be
motivated
– If possible, try to have multiple and
diverse goals that may not match with
yours