Motivating Middle

School Students

CAN it be done? YES!!!!!!!!!!

Break-out Questions:
Working with the teachers at your table, discuss
your answers to these questions.

 What do you believe to be the most important things

in the lives of the middle school students that you
teach?
 What have you observed as being motivational to
middle school students?
Discussion:
Did you group come up with answers
like these?
 What’s important?  What motivates?
 Friends  Fun activities
 Competition
 Lunch
 Being with friends
 Socializing
 If the subject is
 Sports interesting
 How they look in  If the topic is relevant

front of their peers  Getting good grades

 Extracurricular
activities
 Humans are a unique creation.
Each student has a mind that
can think, learn, reason, and
solve problems.
 Cognitive theory, currently the
primary perspective used to
describe and explain human
learning, recognizes the
importance of the processes
used by the brain to learn.
Assumptions of Cognitive Theory

 Some learning processes are unique to humans.

 Individuals are actively involved in the learning
process by controlling their learning.
 Learning involves an internal, mental change.
 Knowledge is organized by association and
interconnectedness.
 New knowledge is related to previously learned
information.
 Inferences about mental processes can be drawn
by observing student behavior.
Implications of Cognitive Theory

 Learning is a function of how information is

processed.
 Therefore, we as educators should be concerned with
students’ cognitive processes. We need to be aware not
only of what students are learning, but how students are
learning.
 Piaget and Vygotsky determined that kids develop
more complex reasoning processes over time.
 Therefore, when planning units of study and methods of
instruction, we must consider the students’ current
cognitive level of functioning.
Implications of Cognitive Theory,
continued

 As people learn, they mentally organize new

information.
 Therefore, it is important to present material in an
organized fashion.
 Learning is more likely to occur when people associate
new material with previously learned material.
 Therefore, we must help students relate new information to
old information.
 Students control their own learning by being mentally
involved in the classroom.
 Therefore, we need to monitor students to ensure they are
paying attention, thinking, and processing.
Why do you…
 work out?
 go shopping?
 get involved in a book
study?
 read a novel?
 watch a movie?
 cook dinner for your
family?
 modify your lesson
plans?
 What motivates people
to engage in an activity?
 People engage in activities because
they are enjoyable and/or rewarding.
 People might engage in an activity
because it results in something
rewarding.
*think of something you do—what do
YOU GET OUT OF IT???
 How many things do you do that
aren’t fun or that aren’t beneficial?
WHY??
Definition of Motivation

 Motivation is an internal state that

 arouses us to action
 pushes us in particular directions
 keeps us engaged in certain activities

 Motivation determines to what extent

a student will actually learn.
 Importance of Motivation

 Students will
always be
motivated by
something.
 It is our
responsibility to
determine
WHAT motivates
students.
 Discussion Question:

If a student walks into your

classroom motivated to
learn, what behaviors
does that child exhibit?
If a student is motivated to
learn, he will…
 engage in an activity with greater
energy and activity.
 set goals for himself.

 increase time on task by initiating

work and by persisting despite
difficulty and interruptions.
 be cognitively engaged, i.e. actually
thinking about what’s being taught.
Extrinsic & Intrinsic Motivation
 Extrinsic motivation  Group work:
occurs when the source
for motivation comes from With the people
outside the person and
task. ( desire for rewards, fear of
sitting at your
punishment, need for positive
recognition, etc)
table, make a list
 Intrinsic motivation of both extrinsic
occurs when the source of
motivation comes from
and intrinsic
within the individual and motivation that
task. The individual sees
the task as enjoyable and
occurs in school.
worthwhile.
Both can be effective, but…
Intrinsic motivation is more beneficial
than extrinsic motivation
to promote learning.
Students who are intrinsically motivated are more
likely to:
 Begin a task on their own

 Pay attention

 Learn material in a meaningful way

 Show creativity

 Be persistent despite failures

 Enjoy the activity

 Evaluate their own progress

 Achieve at high levels

The bad news for middle
school teachers…
Although most
students start
school with a high
level of intrinsic
motivation to learn,
they tend to lose
this motivation as
they get older.
So how can we promote
intrinsic motivation?
 Relate units of study to the students’ lives.
 “How are the effects of the tsunami in December similar to the destruction
caused by Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.?”
 “How would you have reacted if your mother embarrassed you in front of
your peers like this character did?”
 Talk about intrinsic motives.
 “You must be proud of yourself for getting a B on that quiz.”
 “I’m glad you enjoy doing this simulation.”
 “It’s important you understand how to reduce fractions. You use this when
you…..”
 Pursue and discuss your own individual interests.
 “I really enjoying watching the Mavericks; it makes me want to get there and
play basketball!”
**talk with your table—what ARE they interested in???
Group Work
with your department
 Working with your department, come up
with a list of ways to promote intrinsic
motivation among your students. Make
your methods specific to your subject
matter.
 Again, the 3 ways to encourage this are:
 Relate subject to students’ lives
 Talk about intrinsic motives
 Pursue and discuss your own interests
Group Work
with your team
 Now that you have come up with some
ways to encourage intrinsic motivation
within your subject matter, you are going to
be working with your team.
 Make a list of ways to intrinsically
encourage students to excel. Since
everyone on your team teaches the same
students, you may want to think of specific
methods for individual students who might
need more encouragement than others.
Discussion:

 What do you feel is the most

important need for middle school
students?
Theorists have studied several
humans needs which have
implications for the classroom:
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
 Need for Competence and Self-worth

 Need for Relatedness

 Need for Affiliation

 Need for Approval

 Need for Achievement

 1. Implications for
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
 Safety: Students need to be aware
of classroom expectations and to
have routines established.
Self-actualization  Love and belongingness: Students
need to feel as though they are part
Esteem of a group. This can be manifested
Love and by a M.S. student conforming their
belongingness dress, speech, and actions to be like
other students.
Safety
 Esteem: In order to be respected, a
Physiological M.S. student may act in ways that
will bolster his image in front of
peers. Conversely, some students
exhibit low self-esteem.
2. Need for Competence
and Self-worth
 Robert White (1959) suggested that humans have a basic need for
competence, “a belief that they can deal effectively with their
environment.” (Ormrod,2004)
 Martin Covington (1992) suggested that self-worth (defending one’s
competency) is a primary need for humans. This can be done by
 Consistently succeeding
 Avoiding failure
• Setting low expectations
• Refusing to participate in an activity or to complete an assignment
• Making excuses
• Cheating
• Procrastinating
We see these behaviors on a daily basis, don’t we?
Addressing the
needs described by Maslow &
the need for competence & self-worth
 Allow students to take
restroom breaks.
 Allow students to drink
water in the classroom.
 Refer sick or troubled
students to the nurse or
counselor.
 Change classroom
activities frequently.
 Encourage students to
ask questions.
 Acknowledge students’
achievements.
 Have an orderly
classroom.
 Have students follow
procedures for daily
tasks.
 Be consistent in dealing
with students.
 Clearly define
expectations.
Group Activity
 Brainstorm with the
people at your table.
Can you come up
with 10 ways to meet
students’ basic
needs, as well as
their needs for
competence and self-
worth? Be as
specific as possible.
3. Need for Relatedness
 Middle school students want to be connected
socially to others. They feel this leads to love
and respect. It might be manifested in the
following ways:
 Prioritizing socializing over working on
school
 Trying to look popular, smart, foolish,
athletic, etc.
 Showing concern and helping others
4. Need for Affiliation
 Need for affiliation describes students who desire
friendly relationships. Some students have a high
need for affiliation, whereas others have a low
need.
 Students with a high need for affiliation might:
 Be nervous when watched by others
 Communicate frequently
 Be affected by peer pressure
 Be more interested in relationships than tasks
 Earn lower grades than their peers
 Thrive in a classroom with a nurturing teacher
5. Need for Approval
 Some students have a strong desire
to look good in front of others.
 How this might be observed:
 Seeking teacher recognition/approval
 Seeking peer recognition/approval

Which of these 2 do we see more in

the middle school?
Note: Students with a high need for approval tend to be less popular
than their peers.
6. Need for Achievement
 Some students have an intrinsic desire to achieve excellence. These
students might be persistent, be realistic about tasks, and set high
standards.
 Can you think of a student this describes?
 Covington and Omelich (1991) have proposed that learners can be divided into
four groups:
 Over-strivers
 Optimists
 Failure avoiders
 Failure accepters

Can you think of a student who could fit into each of these categories?

*The need for achievement might be influenced more by

specific tasks and subjects rather than true for all areas.
Addressing the needs for
relatedness, affiliation,
approval, and achievement
 Foster healthy teacher-
student relationships
 Take a student to lunch.
 Get involved in the
mentoring program.
 Attend extra-curricular
events.
 Show interest in their lives.
 Ask about a student’s day –
and then listen.
 Give students birthday
cards.
 Give small gifts to the
class.
 Acknowledge them
 Encourage students.
 Allow students to communicate
with their peers.
 Discussion with a partner
 Cooperative learning
 Skits
 Peer-evaluation
 Inform students what material will
be evaluated on a test; i.e. tell
them specifically what to learn.
 Challenge students.
Q: Which of these do we
already do successfully?
Group Activity
 Brainstorm with the
people at your table.
List ways you could
meet students’
needs for
relatedness,
affiliation, approval,
and achievement.
Be as specific as
possible.
Homework Assignment

 Individually, make a list of 5 ways you think you could help to

ensure your students’ needs are being addressed.
 Set a goal: How many techniques can you commit to
implementing over the next couple of weeks?
(Don’t over do it, though!)
 Team Leaders: In an upcoming team meeting, set aside 10
minutes for your team to share their experiences.
Resource

Ormrod, J. (2004). Human learning.

4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Merrill Prentice Hall.