Motivation

I think that the social cognitive theory is one of the most important theories related to motivation  in the classroom. Everyone enjoys doing things that result in some sort of reward, whether it is intrinsic or extrinsic. Also, children are around one another all day, so they are going to notice what the person next to them is doing. If something they do something or observe their neighbor doing something that results in a reward, they will be more motivated to do the same thing in the future.

Some of the most important aspects of motivation, in my opinion, are interests, competence, affect, and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In order to motivate students, teachers need to capture the students' attention. That can be done by introducing material that the students are genuinely interested in or by changing the environment to increase interest. For example, some kids really enjoy reading, so if the teacher tells them to read x amount of books a semester, they are probably going to go above and beyond that amount. Other children may not like to read as much. In this instance, the teacher could let the children know that if they read x amount of books a semester they will be allowed to attend an ice cream party. Not every child is going to be personally interested in every topic, so it's the teachers job to increase that interest whenever possible. This goes hand-in-hand with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Some children like to read because it makes them happy (intrinsic), but the ice cream party (extrinsic) helps motivate the children who do not like to read as much. Competence is also important when it comes to motivation. I know, personally, that if I  try to do too many things at once I get overwhelmed and lose every ounce of motivation that I started with. It is important for teachers to know what their students are capable of doing so the students feel like they can be successful. If the students think that a task is impossible they are not going to be motivated to try because they will see it as a lost cause. Affect is also important and relates back to interest and competence. If engagement in a certain activity makes the student happy they are more likely to do it. If they think that the activity will make them sad, angry, or confused they will not be as motivated to engage in the activity.

I found a great article from the National Association of School Psychologists. It is written for parents, but the ideas can be very helpful and effective in the classroom. It talks about the characteristics of motivation in young children, how motivation is developed, and it also gives tips for how to enhance motivation in children. My favorite tip is "do not give children excessive rewards." It's so easy to just say, "If you do ________, you will get________," but is that really helping children in the long run, or is it detrimental to their self worth and intrinsic motivation?