Reflection For Students: Student Expectations And Motivation

Student expectations and motivation are two areas that teachers focus on daily. Keeping a room full of active children engaged and learning is sometimes a juggling act so it is imperative that we as teachers understand what motivates our students. Several theories have been introduced that deals with student motivation. Each one focuses on different factors but they all have the same underlying message and that is that every student wants to succeed. For instance the self-determination theory theorizes that students need competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Students want to master and feel competent in what they are learning, but they also want to feel in control of the learning. According to Pintrich (2003) everyone has these same

Many of my cohorts are 20-plus year teachers and have not changed with the times. Many of them still believe that all children learn the same or that they will adapt and do things the way they expect them to. I, however, believe that these motivators do in fact play a role in student learning and it is important that we as teachers embrace this and teach them in a way that ensures success. Our mission statement for this year is focused on student success and I feel as though teachers need to embrace that mission. One way I feel that I can make an immediate impact is to create solid lesson plans that I can share with my team. I can also offer to model the lesson for a teacher as a way for them to see the plan in action. Another option is to propose to our principal that teachers take a professional development course focusing on student motivation. I think teachers get so focused on test scores that they forget how to motivate students to do better and to take ownership for their learning. At the end of the day it is our job to help them reach graduation successfully, but first we must understand what their motivation is for getting