From the classes that I have previously had experience in I saw the benefits of extrinsic motivation and goal oriented theories. In one Kindergarten class that I was in, the children would receive stickers on their work if it was the 'star work' of the day. The children were motivated to do their best work so they could get that sticker and have their work hung up on the board. It got to the point that the students did their best work without asking about the stickers even though we still did them. We also had a jar of marbles in the classroom that the children were able to put a marble into if they received good marks in their encore classes. The children had a goal of filling the jar to have a celebration. Both of these motivational factors worked in this classroom. Depending on what grade I end up teaching, I will use extrinsic motivation sparingly because I feel this provides the best results. I am personally motivated by grades, and I was also motivated by the social cognitive theory as I was going through grade school. My parents were not too harsh on me, but the consequences of not making good grades motivated me to do well in school. Everyone is motivated by different things, but a little motivation can go a long way.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Motivation
Consider the theories of motivation that we discussed in class. Which theories of motivation are most helpful and instructive for you? How can they enhance motivation and affect your students?
From the classes that I have previously had experience in I saw the benefits of extrinsic motivation and goal oriented theories. In one Kindergarten class that I was in, the children would receive stickers on their work if it was the 'star work' of the day. The children were motivated to do their best work so they could get that sticker and have their work hung up on the board. It got to the point that the students did their best work without asking about the stickers even though we still did them. We also had a jar of marbles in the classroom that the children were able to put a marble into if they received good marks in their encore classes. The children had a goal of filling the jar to have a celebration. Both of these motivational factors worked in this classroom. Depending on what grade I end up teaching, I will use extrinsic motivation sparingly because I feel this provides the best results. I am personally motivated by grades, and I was also motivated by the social cognitive theory as I was going through grade school. My parents were not too harsh on me, but the consequences of not making good grades motivated me to do well in school. Everyone is motivated by different things, but a little motivation can go a long way.
From the classes that I have previously had experience in I saw the benefits of extrinsic motivation and goal oriented theories. In one Kindergarten class that I was in, the children would receive stickers on their work if it was the 'star work' of the day. The children were motivated to do their best work so they could get that sticker and have their work hung up on the board. It got to the point that the students did their best work without asking about the stickers even though we still did them. We also had a jar of marbles in the classroom that the children were able to put a marble into if they received good marks in their encore classes. The children had a goal of filling the jar to have a celebration. Both of these motivational factors worked in this classroom. Depending on what grade I end up teaching, I will use extrinsic motivation sparingly because I feel this provides the best results. I am personally motivated by grades, and I was also motivated by the social cognitive theory as I was going through grade school. My parents were not too harsh on me, but the consequences of not making good grades motivated me to do well in school. Everyone is motivated by different things, but a little motivation can go a long way.
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What a great article! Contracting is also something that works. Consider what you shared here as you think about your classroom environment for your CSEL paper.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what intrinsic motivators you think might work with your age group?
I really liked the article you posted. It was very informative. I would like to use the same motivation theories in my classroom. I think that is important to give out rewards as long as they are random.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you brought your personal experiences with students in to the post. You are obviously not just guessing what you think will work but know from your own experience what has worked with certain age groups. You will definitely have a head-start on other new teachers!
ReplyDeleteThe marble jar is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ali in the advantage of having experience with the motivation. The treat boxes at my work range from stickers to toys and the children can get them for things anywhere from being the biggest helper while cleaning up all centers or for our potty-training two's, for using the big girl/boy potty. It greatly improves the success but also as you said, we give them out unexpectedly so they will hopefully get a sense of what the right thing is without having to be rewarded. It really does come in handy but as we saw in the case studies in class, it can be over-used, and I think that is the main thing everyone will have to focus on once we start using it in our own classrooms!
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