“A good teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary” (Thomas Carruthers). Before we can consider ourselves professional teachers or even an expert teacher, we must first understand the way in which our students learn, how they are motivated to learn and what kind of environment would support their best learning. These questions have long been pondered by psychologists and teachers alike. As a pre-service teachers, I believe it is important for us to also begin considering these questions and take them into account for our future teaching practices. Moreover, in order for meaningful learning to occur and remain relevant for our students, we need to create a safe and inclusive learning environment. I believe this environment of safe and inclusive education is created through three key areas. These areas consist of the different facets of a child’s motivation and the idea of scaffolding particularly in regards to information processing.
To a certain extent it can be said that without a sense of motivation, whether it be intrinsic or extrinsic, a child’s ability to learn and reach their potential is greatly lessened. Motivation is best described as an internal state that not only arouses and directs behaviour but also helps to maintain it (Woolfolk & Margetts, 2013). Motivation not only plays a large role in a child’s learning ability, it also shapes a student’s interests and enjoyment of school and study (Martin, 2003). For both pre-service teachers and expert teachers it is easy to see that if a student possesses high motivation to learn, their behaviour towards their school work is more positive and in turn leads to higher academic success, whereas a student with little to no motivation will exhibit negative behavi...
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...llors, teachers, and parents (3rd ed.pp. 471). Alexandria, VA: American counselling association.
Linnenbrink, E. A. & Pintrich, P. R. (2002). Motivation as an enabler for success. School Psychology Review, 31 (3), 313-327
Martin, A. J. (2003). Boys and motivation. The Australian Educational Researcher, 30 (3), 43.
Puntambekar, S. & Hubscher. R. (2005). Tools for scaffolding students in a complex learning environment: What have we gained and what have we missed? Educational Psychologist, 40, 1-12.
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Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher mental process. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Woolfolk, A. & Margetts, K. (2013). Educational Psychology (3rd ed). NSW: Pearson.
Vallerand R., Fortier M. & Guay F. (2000) School motivation for teens. Journal of Education Today, December 2000
The social contexts created within a classroom influence not only academic motivation and achievement, but also the individual development and well-being of students. There are many situations throughout a school day where students must interact with each other, and are shaped by the attitudes and behaviors of others. Research has found that students’ perceptions of positive relationships with their teachers were correlated with their pursuit of pro-social classroom goals such as getting along with others and being socially responsible, and were more strongly linked to student motivation in school (Urdan & Schoenfelder, 2006). Students care about their relationships with their teachers and respond with greater engagement and effort when they believe that their teachers care about them and are supportive. Scaffolding is a great instructional strategy to engage students in the
Many researches have been conducted to investigate what motivates students for better academic performance and whether it has a correlation with achievement motivation.
Van Der Stuyf. R.R. (2010). Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy. Adolescent Learning and Development. Section 0500A, November, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.sandi.net/20451072011455933/lib/20451072011455933/RTI/Scaffolding%20as%20a%20Teaching%20Strategy.pdf
Psychologists Bob Brooks and Sam Goldstein explain that research by Edward Deci and others shows that most children, by nature are motivated to learn. “External motivators may be effective and well intended.” says Goldstein, ”but they clearly work against the continued development of a child’s intrinsic motivation.. It doesn’t really teach kids the reward of learning for learning’s sake.” In other words. Kids start to lose interest in the material they are studying.
It is my strong belief that each child is entitled to a safe, secure, stimulating and caring learning environment. I always believed that each child is a unique individual with much curiosity and many academic, social and emotional needs. Children need our support in order to mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially. As a teacher, one should aim to help students in fulfilling their dreams to become successful and educated individuals. We must provide them with a safe learning environment for their learning to succeed.
When put in practice, the differentiated learning classroom may appear as chaos but in reality it is a workshop like atmosphere. The teacher becomes more of a facilitator as they travel from group to group, participating with and mentoring students through the activities. The goals of differentiated instruction are to develop challenging and engaging tasks for each learner (from low-end learner to high-end learner). The low-end learner or lower functioning learner needs different strategies and modifications then the average or high-end learner. For example, the low-end learner may need to have the content modified so that it is simplified to meet students’ needs at that level. Low-end learners may not be able to attain grade-level appropriate curriculum objectives; however, all learners need the opportunity to be successful at their individual instructional levels. Average learners are typically able to attain grade-level appropriate curriculum objectives, but may need adaptations in content such as more time to complete tasks and hands on experiences to reach their full potential. High-end learners may be above the grade-level curriculum objectives and need to be provide...
Motivation starts at such an early age, that schools slowly start taking that away from them because they aren’t truly allowed to think outside the box. Each student is expected to learn what is being taught in front of the classroom and memorize it for the next couple of years. Each kid is born with a unique gift, but many aren’t able to show them in a classroom because there are rules to be follow and cannot be broken. There isn’t a single person in this planet that has the same brain as any other human being in this planet. Each student requires different attention compared to others.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society: The development of higher mental processes, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
All children can learn when their environment is safe, welcoming, and conducive to obtaining knowledge. To create this positive learning environment requires educators to utilize high expectations for all, strong classroom management, effective communication, acceptance of change, academic rigor, parental involvement, collaboration and collegiality, and accountability. As an instructional leader, it is crucial for me to work with teachers and support staff members to align curriculum and instruction for all grades. Most importantly, as a leader, I must have faith in myself as a professional and know with my experience and preparation, I will be able to recognize teachable moments and guide students and community members as they investigate different ideas and methods to solving problems.
Statistics show that students are motivated in education throughout two basic orientations, namely ego/performance and task/mastery. Motivating students in the academic curriculum has been an effective strategy that enhances students’ knowledge when learning and engaging in the classroom curriculum. Appealing learners in education expresses the concepts and opinions of students' support in four-component conceptualization: attainment value, an achievement that is attained; intrinsic value, the belonging to something by its nature; utility value, an expected return and risk; and cost, the price of something. In the present paper, motivating students in education is investigated validating that students are motivated in education, and the activities that teachers formulate in their classroom to confirm this statement. It is hypothesized that stu...
Motivation plays a huge role in an adolescents academic achievement as well as hugely influencing the learning of the adolescent. Adolescence is a time of growth, change and preparation into adulthood. Motivation is essential to allow students to achieve their academic best through school, as this can have significant implications on future employment and career opportunities.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind In Society:the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press.
Student motivation can be affected by several factors. These elements include parent involvement, teacher enthusiasm, rewards, peers, the learner’s environment, personal experiences, personal interests of the student, and self-esteem and self-image.
Motivation is really important tool in a learning environment. Also motivation effects student learning and their behavior as well. It directs behavior towards particular targets. Also it effect the decision which students takes. In motivation mainly we have two types which is intrinsically and extrinsically being motivated. For example: when a student is intrinsically motivated they just do it for themselves not because of the reward that they will get back. It’s just because they have their own interest and they enjoy doing that. On the other side, when a student is extrinsically motivated they just do it for the reward that they will get. That’s why in learning process it’s important that each student should