# data[].attributes.headline
Helping Students with Disabilities in Online Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Helping Students with Disabilities in Online Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Teachers Can Help Students With Special Needs Navigate Distance Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Kids with disabilities are often shortchanged by pandemic classroom conditions. Here are three tips for educators to boost their engagement and connection.

# data[].attributes.headline
Challenges for students with Disabilities

# data[].attributes.subject
Challenges for students with Disabilities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Noah, a pseudonym for a middle school child with autism, had been doing well in his public education program until school buildings closed in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unable to understand why his routine was disrupted, he sometimes displayed aggressive behavior with his mother when she encouraged him to participate in distance learning. Once, he headbutted her so hard that she blacked out.

Despite these hardships, Noah's mother was unsuccessful in getting in-person services for her son, Leslie Margolis, managing attorney of Disability Rights Maryland, told state lawmakers during a briefing Friday on students with disabilities and virtual learning. Instead, Noah's Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, which helps create a plan with specialized services for students with disabilities, told his mother they could only provide those services virtually.

Similarly, Eduardo, a pseudonym for a 6-year-old boy with autism, has not been able to engage with people on a screen and his mother does not speak English. As a result, he has gotten no educational services from March to August and his IEP team did not recommend in-person services because "it's not the policy of the school system to do that," Margolis said.

These are the realities of families with special needs students - who make up 12% of the Maryland student body.

"Our clients face huge barriers and they're often not successful in obtaining the appropriate services for their children, despite the guidance coming from [the Maryland State Department of Education], despite the PowerPoints, the reality for families looks very different from the ground," Margolis said.

The main challenges facing students with disabilities during distance learning include the need for additional assistive technology that goes beyond having reliable internet connection and a laptop - such as customized keyboards and audiobooks, Rachel London, executive director of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council, said. It has also been difficult when students with disabilities cannot return to school buildings for small group in-person learning because they are immunocompromised.

The state Department of Education has given guidance to local school systems to enforce IEPs as best as possible during distance learning, but there is a huge variance among the 24 districts, Margolis said.

Del. April Rose (R-Carroll) asked how the state will push counties that currently have no plans for any in-person services for students with disabilities to do so. She noted Harford County Public Schools, which is all-virtual through the first semester, as an example.

Schools that had originally planned to stay online until the second semester are looking for ways to bring small groups of students for in-person instruction in the fall, Carol Williamson, Deputy State Superintendent of MSDE, said. In late August, State Superintendent Karen B. Salmon and Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) strongly urged schools to do this by the first quarter of the school year, which is in November.

While there are special education liaisons in five regions of the state who are trained to coach and support IEP teams and local school systems in instruction during distance learning, "the best for this response is that our children re-enter schoolhouses in a safe environment," Marcella Franczkowski, assistant state superintendent of MSDE, said.

Like many teacher unions, local school systems and state officials, Margolis expressed disappointment in the "lack of leadership" from MSDE.

There's a difference between the state creating a framework for local school systems to choose from and delegating local school systems to develop a framework almost entirely on their own, she said.

The result has been a "complete patchwork collection of approaches that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, not necessarily based on the needs of the jurisdiction or the children within that jurisdiction, but seemingly based on whim," Margolis said.

Local school systems must offer other options for students who are unable to participate in distance learning, whether it means bringing small groups of students into school buildings or contracting with private providers, Margolis said. Schools cannot simply default to all-virtual learning, she said.

"We will monitor, there's no question," Franczkowski of MSDE said. "Monitoring is not for an 'I gotcha' monitoring, it is for a support of technical assistance and need so that we can see where there are gaps and provide feedback to support."

However, some experts do not think that schools should open solely for students with disabilities, but should be more nuanced in how they select students to return for face-to-face learning.

"If schools are going to open, they can't just open for students with disabilities," London said. "Not only are there other students in need of critical supports, there is a variety of reasons students with and without disabilities may need to return or may not need to return...it is based on an individual assessment."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Distance learning especially challenging for students with disabilities | WTOP

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Noah, a pseudonym for a middle school child with autism, had been doing well in his public education program until school buildings closed in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unable to understand why his routine was disrupted, he sometimes displayed aggressive behavior with his mother when she encouraged him to participate in distance learning.

# data[].attributes.headline
Strategies for supporting students with LD Online

# data[].attributes.subject
Strategies for supporting students with LD Online

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
With most schools' doors closed for the remainder of the year, many educators and families fear that students with disabilities will be at a disadvantage. While there are challenges to supporting students with disabilities in online learning, students can certainly thrive with intentional instructional decisions, a willingness to adapt curriculum, and an enthusiasm to explore some new tools. As a special educator, I work hard to differentiate my instruction to meet the needs of my students in a distance-learning setting. Here are some strategies I use to support my students with disabilities:

1. Create Differentiated, Personalized Learning Opportunities

In a traditional classroom, it can be hard to provide differentiated instruction to all students, all the time. Distance learning, however, can make some of the challenges easier to overcome. Try the following:

1. Assign different work to different students. The social stigma of receiving a different task is erased in a virtual setting. Consider having students self-assess to determine what they need to practice and then creating individual assignments with Google Classroom or Seesaw.

2. Personalize instruction to topics that interest students differently. While we may worry that students with disabilities will fall behind, it's exciting to imagine students doing more learning during this time because they get to pursue topics that interest them. Consider using choice boards or hyperdocs to allow students to choose the work they want to do.

3. Provide texts at differentiated reading levels. Tools such as ReWordify can be really helpful for this. Consider a strategy that uses Newsela, a resource that offers texts at different reading levels.

2. Create Predictable Learning Routines

Many students with disabilities benefit from predictable routines. Establish a schedule of communication with students and a routine for how and when you will assign students work. Consider the following examples:

1. Create a layered systems approach: Establish routines for social-emotional check-ins and community building activities, a process for students to set goals for the week, and a predictable way for you to assign work and offer support to students.

2. Create individualized schedules for students: Consult example daily schedules from Khan Academy or WideOpen Schools for ideas about how to create daily schedules for students with disabilities.

Finding the time to provide individual support to all students with disabilities is often a huge challenge in a traditional setting. Use distance learning as a chance to provide the 1:1 support that many students with disabilities need.

1. Help students schedule 1:1 conferences: Teach students how to schedule 1:1 conferences with teachers with tools like Calendly or a Google Form.

2. Monitor progress toward students' goals: Use 1:1 conferences to help students review their data and track their progress toward their IEP goals.

3. Reteach misconceptions via video: Teachers can meet with students over video conference (for example, Zoom or Google Hangout) to re-teach key material, and record that meeting. Students can then watch that video as many times as they need to master the material.

4. Use Tech Tools to Provide Common Accommodations

Digital tools make providing many common accommodations easy. Consider the following examples:

1. Provide step by step directions: Try Screencastify or Loom, both of which allow you to make short explanatory videos to accompany what viewers see on their screens.

2. Schedule synchronous read alouds With tools like ShowMe or VoiceThread, you can record yourself reading a text for students. Students could also use Natural Readers or Read&Write for Google to listen to a computer-generated recording.

3. Assign graphic organizers to specific students: Use Google Classroom and Google Docs to tag certain graphic organizers to certain students.

4. Provide visuals and videos: Try Sutori, which makes it easy to link images and videos to a students' learning path.

5. Make content accessible: Google has great accessibility features, such as a screen-reader and a screen-magnifier.

5. Be a Resource to Families

More than anything, we have to remember that this is a stressful time for families. As much as we can, we want to be a resource for families who are now acting as caregivers, teachers, therapists, and advocates for their child with special needs. Consider making videos for families where you model how you work with a student and consider sharing some of the resources below:

1. For families with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, many organizations are offering free curriculum during school closures, such as The Asperger/Autism Network and Stages Learning Materials.

2. For families with children with emotional regulation disabilities, teachers can suggest curriculum and workshops like Emotional Labs that support students in regulating their emotions.

3. For families with children with learning disabilities or ADHD, Eye to Eye National has specific resources to support students.

As hard as this time period is for us as teachers, we must remember that it is that much harder for our students, especially our students with disabilities and their families. As much as we can, we must strive to support students with disabilities and their families with resources, modifications, and differentiation during distance or online learning. Hopefully, by personalizing instruction and providing direct support, we can help our students make strides in their learning this spring.
Caitlin is a literacy specialist in Winooski, Vermont, where she works largely with refugee students. Previously, she worked in Boston and Juneau Public Schools as an ESOL, Special Education, and history teacher. Caitlin strives to be an anti-racist educator and has a passion for supporting all students to develop as engaged and active global citizens.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Distance Learning: Supporting Students with Disabilities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
With most schools' doors closed for the remainder of the year, many educators and families fear that students with disabilities will be at a disadvantage. While there are challenges to supporting students with disabilities in online learning, students can certainly thrive with intentional instructional decisions, a willingness to adapt curriculum, and an enthusiasm to explore some new tools.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Education Technology Insights | Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Engaging students during distance learning may be complex, but it is possible with advanced technologies.
FREMONT, CA: School looks different during the pandemic. While some students are thriving with this means of learning, several students don't seem to be engaging in that process. Some students may not be present, others may be in attendance, but they aren't doing more than the bare minimum. Students who are genuinely engaged persevere despite problems. Engaged students are attentive and curious. They find meaning in what they are learning, whether their classroom is brick-and-mortar or virtual. Here are some possible barriers to student engagement during distance learning and ways educators can help.

Students may not have an internet connection or a device to use. Some students will not be available to meet at current times. Others may have a lot going on in the background they are trying to block out or even hide from the rest. In the classroom, when educators work with the students in person every day, students can get a sense of who may be going through something complex at home. Educators can privately check-in to see how things are going. It's complicated to have those one-on-one conversations during distance learning, specifically with students who are not engaged.

Stress and trauma can interrupt cognitive processing, mitigate students' executive functioning skills, and change emotional regulation. All of that makes it complex to learn, think, and engage meaningfully. Between anxiety about the coronavirus pandemic and uproar over racial injustice, many students are facing emotional challenges. And they may not have the assistance system or coping skills to handle them. Making sure that content is accessible can be a significant challenge. If students aren't comfortable with the system the educator is using, they might avoid it. It takes time to establish norms with a new system - especially when it involves technology. Many students depend on the structure and help of in-person school to help them stay on track with assignments. Distance learning means students require being more independent and responsible for their learning.
See Also: Top Education Technology Solution Companies Top Education Technology Consulting/Services Companies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Knowing the Barriers to Student Engagement During Distance Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Engaging students during distance learning may be complex, but it is possible with advanced technologies. FREMONT, CA: School looks different during the pandemic. While some students are thriving with this means of learning, several students don't seem to be engaging in that process.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When it comes to your instruction, we understand how difficult it can be to keep students attentive, engaged and focused-an issue only compounded by the recent shift to online learning due to COVID-19.

To help you make the most of your instruction, regardless of the format, we've compiled a list of five pitfalls that may be hindering student engagement. Read on to learn more.

What Do Students Think?

According to one poll, which asked students what kind of actions a great professor takes, they shared the following:

Question: What Traits Make a Professor Your Favorite?

The instructor is straightforward-making expectations clear

There is availability for help outside the classroom

Students are treated as people, not numbers

The instructor goes the extra mile to ensure students have what they need

Students receive detailed feedback on areas they struggle with

Question: What Advice Would You Give on How to Become a Student's Favorite Professor?

Show students that you value them as people

Be personal and relatable-share your story with students

Get feedback from students

Help struggling students

Keep communication open

Five Barriers to Student Engagement

1. Course Content Doesn't Relate to Students' Real-Life Experiences

Research has shown that teaching the relevance of course content helps students grow into engaged, motivated and self-disciplined learners. As an instructor, you've no doubt heard the classic, "when am I ever going to use this stuff?" from your students.

When students don't feel that coursework serves any other purpose than assessment fodder, it makes it hard to stay motivated and engaged. By demonstrating relevance to your students, you're adding a new source of inspiration to motivate students on a personal level.

"Show the relevance of the subject matter and make it fun and meaningful! My excitement for what I teach is obvious, and my students can see it and feel it. I believe in what I teach."

- Sandy Keeter, Computing Professor at Seminole State College

2. Instruction Doesn't Cater to Various Learning Styles

As you've no doubt experienced, in a packed lecture hall or classroom, it can be difficult to ensure every student has the ability to learn their way. But research suggests that catering to a specific learning style may limit students' ability to take in information in ways that differ from their "preferred" learning style.

By teaching students using a combination of visual, auditory, reading/writing and kinesthetic methods, you offer students the chance to learn their way while teaching them how to learn in ways they may find more challenging. The results? Well-rounded students capable of critical thinking in new ways.

3. Student Confidence May Be Declining

With COVID-19 forcing classes online, the higher education experience has drastically changed. For students, this change has been especially difficult. Many students look forward to the college experience as a whole-the social, athletic and cultural aspects-alongside academics.

Now, students are under an incredible amount of stress and with that stress comes significant strain on their confidence, a crucial element for success in higher education.

To help keep your students thriving, look for the students showing signs of low confidence and empower them with the outside help you'd typically reserve for office hours, recap sessions, etc. For tips on fostering student confidence, take a look at our checklist.

4. Outside Factors May Be Impacting Your Students

On top of the many academic stressors that can impact your students, many are worried about a number of external factors like finances, finding a job, living up to expectations, etc. Consider these students' experiences and how they may impact their ability to learn:

5. Students May Not Be Used to Online Learning

With 90% of institutions reporting transitioning some or all of their classes online, it's clear that many students are also adjusting to online learning as a result of the pandemic. A shift this massive can drastically affect engagement, motivation and outcomes.

In a previous article, we explored ten practical tips for teaching online that can help you help your students. At a glance, these tips include:

1. Being specific

2. Clarifying tone and communication styles

3. Continuously encouraging student engagement

4. Keeping things simple

5. Being responsive-but with limits

6. Establishing a routine

7. Creating a separate space for students

8. Leveraging group activities

9. Adding a personal touch to your lessons

Want Some Peer-Tested Engagement Exercises?

Take a look at our recent ebook, The Student Engagement Exercise Handbook for tips, tricks and exercises you can incorporate into your instruction to keep students engaged and learning.

New Course Model?

Prepare yourself with our professional development series for faculty.

Related articles:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Engaging Students Online: 5 Barriers to Avoid - Today's Learner - Cengage

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When it comes to your instruction, we understand how difficult it can be to keep students attentive, engaged and focused-an issue only compounded by the recent shift to online learning due to COVID-19. To help you make the most of your instruction, regardless of the format, we've compiled a list of five pitfalls that may be hindering student engagement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
by TeachThought Staff

The best lessons, books, and materials in the world won't get students excited about learning and willing to work hard if they're not motivated.

Motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic, is a key factor in the success of students at all stages of their education, and teachers can play a pivotal role in providing and encouraging that motivation in their students. Of course, that's easier said than done, as all students are motivated differently and it takes time and a lot of effort to learn to get a classroom full of kids enthusiastic about learning, working hard, and pushing themselves to excel.

Even the most well-intentioned and educated teachers sometimes can find it difficult to keep kids on track, so whether you're a new teacher or an experienced one, try using these methods to improve student motivation and to encourage them to live up to their true potential.

1. Give students a sense of control

While guidance from a teacher is important to keeping kids on task and motivated, allowing students to have some choice and control over what happens in the classroom is actually one of the best ways to keep them engaged. For example, allowing students to choose the type of assignment they do or which problems to work on can give them a sense of control that may just motivate them to do more.

2. Be clear about learning objectives

It can be very frustrating for students to complete an assignment or even to behave in class if there aren't clearly defined objectives. Students want and need to know what is expected of them in order to stay motivated to work. At the beginning of the year, lay out clear objectives, rules, and expectations of students so that there is no confusion and students have goals to work towards.

3. Create a threat-free environment

While students do need to understand that there are consequences to their actions, far more motivating for students than threats are positive reinforcements. When teachers create a safe, supportive environment for students, affirming their belief in a student's abilities rather than laying out the consequences of not doing things, students are much more likely to get and stay motivated to do their work.

At the end of the day, students will fulfill the expectations that the adults around them communicate, so focus on can, not can't.

See also 60 Non-Threatening Formative Assessment Techniques

4. Change your scenery

A classroom is a great place for learning, but sitting at a desk day in and day out can make school start to seem a bit dull for some students. To renew interest in the subject matter or just in learning in general, give your students a chance to get out of the classroom. Take field trips, bring in speakers, or even just head to the library for some research. The brain loves novelty and a new setting can be just what some students need to stay motivated to learn.

5. Offer varied experiences.

Not all students will respond to lessons in the same way. For some, hands-on experiences may be the best. Others may love to read books quietly or to work in groups. In order to keep all students motivated, mix up your lessons so that students with different preferences will each get time focused on the things they like best. Doing so will help students stay engaged and pay attention.

6. Use positive competition

Competition in the classroom isn't always a bad thing, and in some cases can motivate students to try harder and work to excel. Work to foster a friendly spirit of competition in your classroom, perhaps through group games related to the material or other opportunities for students to 'show off' their knowledge or skills.

7. Offer rewards

Everyone likes getting rewards, and offering your students the chance to earn them is an excellent source of motivation. Things like pizza parties, watching movies, or even something as simple as a sticker on a paper can make students work harder and really aim to achieve. Consider the personalities and needs of your students to determine appropriate rewards for your class.

8. Give students responsibility

Assigning students classroom jobs is a great way to build a community and to give students a sense of motivation. Most students will see classroom jobs as a privilege rather than a burden and will work hard to ensure that they, and other students, are meeting expectations. It can also be useful to allow students to take turns leading activities or helping out so that each feels important and valued.

9. Allow students to work together

While not all students will jump at the chance to work in groups, many will find it fun to try to solve problems, do experiments, and work on projects with other students. Social interaction can get them excited about things in the classroom and students can motivate one another to reach a goal. Teachers need to ensure that groups are balanced and fair, however, so that some students aren't doing more work than others.

10. Give praise when earned

There may be no other form of motivation that works quite as well as encouragement. Even as adults we crave recognition and praise, and students at any age are no exception. Teachers can give students a bounty of motivation by rewarding success publicly, giving praise for a job well done, and sharing exemplary work.

11. Encourage self-reflection

Most kids want to succeed, they just need help figuring out what they need to do in order to get there. One way to motivate your students is to get them to take a hard look at themselves and determine their own strengths and weaknesses. Students are often more motivated by creating these kinds of critiques of themselves than by having a teacher do it for them, as it makes them feel in charge of creating their own objectives and goals. See Metacognitive Prompts For Students To Reflect On Their Learning.

12. Model enthusiasm for learning!

One of the best ways to get your students motivated is to share your enthusiasm. When you're excited about teaching, they'll be much more excited about learning. It's that simple.

13. Know your students

Getting to know your students is about more than just memorizing their names. Students need to know that their teacher has a genuine interest in them and cares about them and their success. When students feel appreciated it creates a safe learning environment and motivates them to work harder, as they want to get praise and good feedback from someone they feel knows and respects them as individuals.

14. Harness student interests

Knowing your students also has some other benefits, namely that it allows you to relate classroom material to things that students are interested in or have experienced. Teachers can use these interests to make things more interesting and relatable to students, keeping students motivated for longer.

15. Help students find intrinsic motivation

It can be great to help students get motivated, but at the end of the day, they need to be able to generate their own motivation. Helping students find their own personal reasons for doing classwork and working hard, whether because they find material interesting, want to go to college, or just love to learn, is one of the most powerful gifts you can give them to improve student motivation.

16. Manage student anxiety

Some students find the prospect of not doing well so anxiety-inducing that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. For these students, teachers may find that they are most motivated by learning that struggling with a subject isn't the end of the world. Offer support no matter what the end result is and ensure that students don't feel so overwhelmed by expectations that they just give up.

17. Make goals high but attainable

If you're not pushing your students to do more than the bare minimum, most won't seek to push themselves on their own. Students like to be challenged and will work to achieve high expectations so long as they believe those goals to be within their reach, so don't be afraid to push students to get more out of them.

18. Give learning feedback and offer chances to improve

Students who struggle with classwork can sometimes feel frustrated and get down on themselves, draining motivation. In these situations, it's critical that teachers provide effective learning feedback to help students to learn exactly where they went wrong and how they can improve next time. Figuring out a method to get where students want to be can also help them to stay motivated to work hard.

19. Track progress

It can be hard for students to see just how far they've come, especially with subjects that are difficult for them. Tracking can come in handy in the classroom, not only for teachers but also for students. Teachers can use this as a way to improve student motivation, allowing them to see visually just how much they are learning and improving as the year goes on.

20. Make things fun

Not all classwork needs to be a game or a good time, but students who see school as a place where they can have fun will be more motivated to pay attention and do the work that's required of them than those who regard it as a chore. Adding fun activities into your school day can help students who struggle to stay engaged and make the classroom a much more friendly place for all students.

21. Provide opportunities for success

Students, even the best ones, can become frustrated and demotivated when they feel like they're struggling or not getting the recognition that other students are. Make sure that all students get a chance to play to their strengths and feel included and valued. It can make a world of difference and improve student motivation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
21 Simple Ideas To Improve Student Motivation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
While guidance from a teacher is important, allowing students to have choice and control is a useful strategy to improve student motivation.

# data[].attributes.headline
What are ways Teachers can motivate students

# data[].attributes.subject
What are ways Teachers can motivate students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Cite this guide: Yarborough, C. B., & Fedesco, H. N. (2020). Motivating students. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [todaysdate] from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu//cft/guides-sub-pages/motivating-students/.

Introduction

Fostering student motivation is a difficult but necessary aspect of teaching that instructors must consider. Many may have led classes where students are engaged, motivated, and excited to learn, but have also led classes where students are distracted, disinterested, and reluctant to engage-and, probably, have led classes that are a mix. What factors influence students' motivation? How can instructors promote students' engagement and motivation to learn? While there are nuances that change from student to student, there are also models of motivation that serve as tools for thinking through and enhancing motivation in our classrooms. This guide will look at three frameworks: the expectancy-value-cost model of motivation, the ARCS model of instructional design, and self-determination theory. These three models highlight some of the major factors that influence student motivation, often drawing from and demonstrating overlap among their frameworks. The aim of this guide is to explore some of the literature on motivation and offer practical solutions for understanding and enhancing student motivation.

Expectancy - Value - Cost Model

The purpose of the original expectancy-value model was to predict students' achievement behaviors within an educational context. The model has since been refined to include cost as one of the three major factors that influence student motivation. Below is a description of the three factors, according to the model, that influence motivation.

Expectancy refers to a student's expectation that they can actually succeed in the assigned task. It energizes students because they feel empowered to meet the learning objectives of the course.

Value involves a student's ability to perceive the importance of engaging in a particular task. This gives meaning to the assignment or activity because students are clear on why the task or behavior is valuable.

Cost points to the barriers that impede a student's ability to be successful on an assignment, activity and/or the course at large. Therefore, students might have success expectancies and perceive high task value, however, they might also be aware of obstacles to their engagement or a potential negative affect resulting in performance of the task, which could decrease their motivation.

Three important questions to consider from the student perspective:
1. Expectancy - Can I do the task?

2. Value - Do I want to do the task?

* Intrinsic or interest value: the inherent enjoyment that an individual experiences from engaging in the task for its own sake.

* Utility value: the usefulness of the task in helping achieve other short term or long-term goals.

* Attainment value: the task affirms a valued aspect of an individual's identity and meets a need that is important to the individual.

3. Cost - Am I free of barriers that prevent me from investing my time, energy, and resources into the activity?

It's important to note that expectancy, value and cost are not shaped only when a student enters your classroom. These have been shaped over time by both individual and contextual factors. Each of your students comes in with an initial response, however there are strategies for encouraging student success, clarifying subject meaning and finding ways to mitigate costs that will increase your students' motivation. Everyone may not end up at the same level of motivation, but if you can increase each student's motivation, it will help the overall atmosphere and productivity of the course that you are teaching.

Strategies to Enhance Expectancy, Value, and Cost

Hulleman et. al (2016) summarize research-based sources that positively impact students' expectancy beliefs, perceptions of task value, and perceptions of cost, which might point to useful strategies that instructors can employ.

Research-based sources of expectancy-related beliefs

Expectancy source

Definition

Research-based sources of value

Research-based sources of cost

Sources:

Barron K. E., & Hulleman, C. S. (2015). Expectancy-value-cost model of motivation. International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8, 503-509.

Hulleman, C. S., Barron, K. E., Kosovich, J. J., & Lazowski, R. A. (2016). Student motivation: Current theories, constructs, and interventions within an expectancy-value framework. In A. A. Lipnevich et al. (Eds.), Psychosocial Skills and School Systems in the 21st Century. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

ARCS Model of Instructional Design

The ARCS model of instructional design was created to improve the motivational appeal of instructional materials. The ARCS model is grounded in an expectancy-value framework, which assumes that people are motivated to engage in an activity if it's perceived to be linked to the satisfaction of personal needs and if there is a positive expectancy for success. The purpose of this model was to fill a gap in the motivation literature by providing a model that could more clearly allow instructors to identify strategies to help improve motivation levels within their students.

ARCS is an acronym that stands for four factors, according to the model, that influence student motivation: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction.

Attention refers to getting and sustaining student attention and directing attention to the appropriate stimuli.

Relevance involves making instruction applicable to present and future career opportunities, showing that learning in it of itself is enjoyable, and/or focusing on process over product by satisfying students' psychological needs (e.g., need for achievement, need for affiliation).

Confidence includes helping students believe that some level of success is possible if effort is exerted.

Satisfaction is attained by helping students feel good about their accomplishments and allowing them to exert some degree of control over the learning experience.

To use the ARCS instructional design model, these steps can be followed:

Define

Classify the problem

Analyze audience motivation

Prepare motivational objectives (i.e., identify which factor in the ARCS model to target based on the defined problem and audience analysis).

Design

Generate potential motivational strategies for each objective

Select strategies that a) don't take up too much instructional time; b) don't detract from instructional objectives; c) fall within time and money constraints; d) are acceptable to the audience; and e) are compatible with the instructor's personal style, preferences, and mode of instruction.

Develop

Prepare motivational elements

Integrate materials with instruction

Evaluate

Conduct a developmental try-out

Assess motivational outcomes

Strategies to Enhance Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction

Keller (1987) provides several suggestions for how instructors can positively impact students' attention, perceived relevance, confidence, and satisfaction.

Attention Strategies
Incongruity, Conflict

Introduce a fact that seems to contradict the learner's past experience.

Present an example that does not seem to exemplify a given concept.

Introduce two equally plausible facts or principles, only one of which can be true.

Play devil's advocate.

Concreteness Variability

In stand up delivery, vary the tone of your voice, and use body movement, pauses, and props.

Vary the format of instruction (information presentation, practice, testing, etc.) according to the attention span of the audience.

Vary the medium of instruction (platform delivery, film, video, print, etc.).

Break up print materials by use of white space, visuals, tables, different typefaces, etc.

Change the style of presentation (humorous-serious, fast-slow, loud-soft, active-passive, etc.).

Shift between student-instructor interaction and student-student interaction.

Humor Inquiry Participation
Use games, role plays, or simulations that require learner participation.

Relevance Strategies
Experience Present Worth
State explicitly the present intrinsic value of learning the content, as distinct from its value as a link to future goals.
Future Usefulness

State explicitly how the instruction relates to future activities of the learner.

Ask learners to relate the instruction to their own future goals (future wheel).

Need Matching Modeling Choice

Provide meaningful alternative methods for accomplishing a goal.

Provide personal choices for organizing one's work.

Confidence Strategies
Learning Requirements Difficulty
Organize materials on an increasing level of difficulty; that is, structure the learning material to provide a "conquerable" challenge.
Expectations Attributions

Attribute student success to effort rather than luck or ease of task when appropriate (i.e., when you know it's true!).

Encourage student efforts to verbalize appropriate attributions for both successes and failures.

Self-Confidence
Satisfaction Strategies
Natural Consequences Unexpected Rewards

Reward intrinsically interesting task performance with unexpected, non-contingent rewards.

Reward boring tasks with extrinsic, anticipated rewards.

Positive Outcomes

Give verbal praise for successful progress or accomplishment.

Give personal attention to students.

Provide informative, helpful feedback when it is immediately useful.

Provide motivating feedback (praise) immediately following task performance.

Negative Influences Scheduling
Source: Keller, J. M. (1987). Development and use of the ARCS model of instructional design. Journal of Instructional Development, 10, 2-10.

Self-Determination Theory

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro-theory of human motivation, emotion, and development that is concerned with the social conditions that facilitate or hinder human flourishing. While applicable to many domains, the theory has been commonly used to understand what moves students to act and persist in educational settings. SDT focuses on the factors that influence intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, which primarily involves the satisfaction of basic psychological needs.

Basic Psychological Needs

SDT posits that human motivation is guided by the need to fulfill basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Autonomy refers to having a choice in one's own individual behaviors and feeling that those behaviors stem from individual volition rather than from external pressure or control. In educational contexts, students feel autonomous when they are given options, within a structure, about how to perform or present their work.

Competence refers to perceiving one's own behaviors or actions as effective and efficient. Students feel competent when they are able to track their progress in developing skills or an understanding of course material. This is often fostered when students receive clear feedback regarding their progression in the class.

Relatedness refers to feeling a sense of belonging, closeness, and support from others. In educational settings, relatedness is fostered when students feel connected, both intellectually and emotionally, to their peers and instructors in the class. This can often be accomplished through interactions that allow members of the class to get to know each other on a deeper, more personal level.

Continuum of Self-Determination

SDT also posits that motivation exists on a continuum. When an environment provides enough support for the satisfaction of the psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness, an individual may experience self-determined forms of motivation: intrinsic motivation, integration, and identification. Self-determined motivation occurs when there is an internal perceived locus of causality (i.e., internal factors are the main driving force for the behavior). Integration and identification are also grouped as autonomous extrinsic motivation as the behavior is driven by internal and volitional choice.

Intrinsic motivation, which is the most self-determined type of motivation, occurs when individuals naturally and spontaneously perform behaviors as a result of genuine interest and enjoyment.

Integrated regulation is when individuals identify the importance of a behavior, integrate this behavior into their self-concept, and pursue activities that align with this self-concept.

Identified regulation is where people identify and recognize the value of a behavior, which then drives their action.

When an environment does not provide enough support for the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, an individual may experience non-self-determined forms of motivation: introjection and external regulation. Introjection and external regulation are grouped as controlled extrinsic motivation because people enact these behaviors due to external or internal pressures.

Introjected regulation occurs when individuals are controlled by internalized consequences administered by the individual themselves, such as pride, shame, or guilt.

External regulation is when people's behaviors are controlled exclusively by external factors, such as rewards or punishments.

Finally, at the bottom of the continuum is amotivation, which is lowest form of motivation.

Amotivation exists when there is a complete lack of intention to behave and there is no sense of achievement or purpose when the behavior is performed.

Below is a figure depicting the continuum of self-determination taken from Lonsdale, Hodge, and Rose (2009).

Although having intrinsically motivated students would be the ultimate goal, it may not be a practical one within educational settings. That's because there are several tasks that are required of students to meet particular learning objectives that may not be inherently interesting or enjoyable. Instead, instructors can employ various strategies to satisfy students' basic psychological needs, which should move their level of motivation along the continuum, and hopefully lead to more self-determined forms of motivation, thus yielding the greatest rewards in terms of student academic outcomes.

Below are suggestions for how instructors can positively impact students' perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Strategies to Enhance Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness

Autonomy Strategies

Have students choose paper topics

Have students choose the medium with which they will present their work

Co-create rubrics with students (e.g., participation rubrics, assignment rubrics)

Have students choose the topics you will cover in a particular unit

Drop the lowest assessment or two (e.g., quizzes, exams, homework)

Have students identify preferred assignment deadlines

Gather mid-semester feedback and make changes based on student suggestions

Provide meaningful rationales for learning activities

Acknowledge students' feelings about the learning process or learning activities throughout the course

Competence Strategies

Set high but achievable learning objectives

Communicate to students that you believe they can meet your high expectations

Communicate clear expectations for each assignment (e.g., use rubrics)

Include multiple low-stakes assessments

Give students practice with feedback before assessments

Provide lots of early feedback to students

Have students provide peer feedback

Scaffold assignments

Praise student effort and hard work

Provide a safe environment for students to fail and then learn from their mistakes

Relatedness Strategies

Share personal anecdotes

Get to know students via small talk before/after class and during breaks

Require students to come to office hours (individually or in small groups)

Have students complete a survey where they share information about themselves

Use students' names (perhaps with the help of name tents)

Have students incorporate personal interests into their assignments

Share a meal with students or bring food to class

Incorporate group activities during class, and allow students to work with a variety of peers

Arrange formal study groups

Convey warmth, caring, and respect to students

Sources:

Lonsdale, C., Hodge, K., & Rose, E. (2009). Athlete burnout in elite sport: A self-determination perspective. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27, 785-795.

Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7, 133-144.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York: Guilford.

Additional Strategies for Motivating Students

Below are some additional research-based strategies for motivating students to learn.

Become a role model for student interest. Deliver your presentations with energy and enthusiasm. As a display of your motivation, your passion motivates your students. Make the course personal, showing why you are interested in the material.

Get to know your students. You will be able to better tailor your instruction to the students' concerns and backgrounds, and your personal interest in them will inspire their personal loyalty to you. Display a strong interest in students' learning and a faith in their abilities.

Use examples freely. Many students want to be shown why a concept or technique is useful before they want to study it further. Inform students about how your course prepares students for future opportunities.

Use a variety of student-active teaching activities. These activities directly engage students in the material and give them opportunities to achieve a level of mastery.

Teach by discovery. Students find it satisfying to reason through a problem and discover the underlying principle on their own.

Cooperative learning activities are particularly effective as they also provide positive social pressure.

Set realistic performance goals and help students achieve them by encouraging them to set their own reasonable goals. Design assignments that are appropriately challenging in view of the experience and aptitude of the class.

Place appropriate emphasis on testing and grading. Tests should be a means of showing what students have mastered, not what they have not. Avoid grading on the curve and give everyone the opportunity to achieve the highest standard and grades.

Be free with praise and constructive in criticism. Negative comments should pertain to particular performances, not the performer. Offer nonjudgmental feedback on students' work, stress opportunities to improve, look for ways to stimulate advancement, and avoid dividing students into sheep and goats.

Give students as much control over their own education as possible. Let students choose paper and project topics that interest them. Assess them in a variety of ways (tests, papers, projects, presentations, etc.) to give students more control over how they show their understanding to you. Give students options for how these assignments are weighted.

Sources:

Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

DeLong, M., & Winter, D. (2002). Learning to teach and teaching to learn mathematics: Resources for professional development. Washington, D.C.: Mathematical Association of America.

Nilson, L. (2016). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass.

This teaching guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
by Chelsea Yarborough and Heather Fedesco Print Version Cite this guide: Yarborough, C. B., & Fedesco, H. N. (2020). Motivating students. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [todaysdate] from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu//cft/guides-sub-pages/motivating-students/. Introduction Expectancy - Value - Cost Model ARCS Model of Instructional Design Self-Determination Theory Additional Strategies for Motivating Students Introduction Fostering student...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Strategies, Ideas, and Recommendations from the faculty Development Literature
General Strategies

Motivation Theory
There are three general indices of motivation: choice, effort, and persistence. Recognize students' needs for self-determination and autonomy, and provide opportunities for choice and control. Understand that students may be intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to learn. While it may be ideal to have a room full of intrinsically motivated students, it is understandable that students are also driven by the desire for grades, approval and other rewards. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation exist not a single continuum, but on two separate ones, and students may often have multiple goals for the same course. Students usually direct their behavior toward activities that they value and in which they have some expectancy of success.

Capitalize on students' existing needs
Use student's interest and natural curiosity appeal aid in motivation. Students will be motivated to learn when the course is structured in a way that students learn best when incentives for learning in a classroom satisfy their own motives for enrolling in the course. Some of the needs your students may bring to the classroom are the need to learn something in order to complete a particular task or activity, the need to seek new experiences, the need to perfect skills, the need to overcome challenges, the need to become competent, the need to succeed and do well, the need to feel involved and to interact with other people. Satisfying such needs is rewarding in itself, and such rewards sustain learning more effectively than do grades. Design assignments, in-class activities, and discussion questions to address these kinds of needs.

Make students active participants in learning
Students learn by doing, making, writing, designing, creating, and solving. Passivity dampens students' motivation and curiosity. Pose questions. Encourage students to suggest approaches to a problem or to guess the results of an experiment. As Confucius said, "Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; but directly involve me, and I'll make it my own" (quoted in Kegan & Lahey, 2000, p. 10).

Ask students to analyze what makes their classes more or less "motivating."
One way to measure what motivates students is to ask them. Survey what type of lecture has been the most motivating and what type of class has been the least. Appeal to students' interests and curiosity. To build intrinsic motivation, we must build a climate of understanding and trust.

Incorporating Instructional Behaviors that Motivate Students

Hold high but realistic expectations for your students.*
Program students for success. While exams and assignments should still be challenging, they should also offer students a reasonable chance for success. When instructors expect the best work from their students, research has shown that students generally rise to the task.

Help students set achievable goals for themselves.
Failure to attain unrealistic goals can disappoint and frustrate students. Encourage students to focus on their continued improvement, not just on their grade on any one test or assignment. Help students evaluate their progress by encouraging them to critique their own work, analyze their strengths, and work on their weaknesses. For example, consider asking students to submit self-evaluation forms with one or two assignments.

Tell students what they need to do to succeed in your course.
Don't let your students struggle to figure out what is expected of them. Reassure students that they can do well in your course, and tell them exactly what thy must do to succeed. Say something to the effect that "If you can handle the examples on these problem sheets, you can pass the exam. People who have trouble with these examples can ask me for extra help." Or instead of saying "You're way behind," tell the student, "Here is one way you could go about learning the material. How can I help you?"

Strengthen students' self-motivation.
Avoid messages that reinforce your power as an instructor or that emphasize extrinsic rewards. Instead of saying "I require," "you must," or "you should," stress "I think you will find...," or "I will be interested in your reaction."

Avoid creating intense competition among students.
Bligh (1971) reports that students are more attentive, display better comprehension, produce more work, and are more favorable to the teaching method when they work cooperatively in groups rather than compete as individuals. Refrain from public criticisms of students' performance and from comments or activities that pit students against one another.

Be enthusiastic about your subject.
An instructor's enthusiasm is a crucial factor in student motivation. If you become bored or apathetic, students will too. Typically, an instructor's enthusiasm comes from confidence, excitement about the content, and genuine pleasure in teaching. If you find yourself uninterested in the material, think back to what attracted you to the field and bring those aspects of the subject matter to life for your students. Or challenge yourself to devise the most exciting way to present the material, however dull the material itself may seem to you.

Structuring the Course to Motivate Students

Work from students' interests.*
An instructor should be sure not the focus on what they want to teach or on what they are required to teach, but concentrate more on teaching what the students might find interesting. What do the students find intrinsically motivating? What are their wants or needs? By avoiding work in which students will be criticized or punished, the students' intrinsic motivation will be ignited.

When possible, let students have some say in choosing what will be studied.
Give students options on term papers or other assignments (but not on tests). Let students decide between two locations for the field trip, or have them select which topics to explore in greater depth. If possible, include optional or alternative units in the course.

Get to know your students.
Whenever possible, share something about yourself with your students. Look for opportunities to let them know who you are and what you stand for.

Vary your teaching methods.*
Instructors who teach in a variety of ways are able to meet the diverse learning of all of their students. Variety reawakens students' involvement in the course and their motivation. Break the routine by incorporating a variety of teaching activities and methods in your course: role playing, debates, brainstorming, discussion, demonstrations, case studies, audiovisual presentations, guest speakers, or small group work.

De-emphasizing Grades

Emphasize mastery and learning rather than grades
Ames and Ames (1990) report on two secondary school math teachers. One teacher graded every homework assignment and counted homework as 30 percent of a student's final grade. The second teacher told students to spend a fixed amount of time on their homework (thirty minutes a night) and to bring questions to class about problems they could not complete. This teacher graded homework as satisfactory or unsatisfactory, gave students the opportunity to redo their assignments, and counted homework as 10 percent of their final grade. Although homework was a smaller part of the course grade, this second teacher was more successful in motivating students to turn in their homework. In the first class, some students gave up rather than risk low evaluations of their abilities. In the second class, students were not risking their self-worth each time they did their homework but rather were attempting to learn. Mistakes were viewed as acceptable and something to learn from.
Researchers recommend de-emphasizing grading by eliminating systems of credit points; they also advise against trying to use grades to control nonacademic behavior (for example, lowering grades for missed classes). Instead, assign ungraded written work, stress the personal satisfaction of doing assignments, and help students measure their progress.

Design tests that encourage the kind of learning you want students to achieve.
Many students will learn whatever is necessary to get the grades they desire. If you base your tests on memorizing details, students will focus on memorizing facts. If your tests stress the synthesis and evaluation of information, students will be motivated to practice those skills when they study.

Avoid using grades as threats.
As McKeachie (1986) points out, the threat of low grades may prompt some students to work hard, but other students resort to academic dishonesty, excuses for late work, and other counterproductive behavior.

Motivating Students by Responding to Their Work

Give students feedback as quickly as possible.
Return tests and papers promptly, and reward success publicly and immediately. Give students some indication of how well they have done and how to improve. Rewards can be as simple as saying a student's response was good, with an indication of why it was good, or mention the names of contributors.

Reward success.
Both positive and negative comments influence motivation, but research consistently indicates that students are more affected by positive feedback and success. Praise builds students' self-confidence, competence, and self-esteem. Recognize sincere efforts even if the product is less than stellar. If a student's performance is weak, let the student know that you believe he or she can improve and succeed over time.

Give students specific information about how their work will be graded. *
Give rubrics with specific information about how their work will be graded. Let them know what should be included in work of the highest quality. If possible, give examples on the good work of other students from past years. If students know what is expected of their work and have in mind what high quality work looks like, they will be more motivated to try their best.

Be specific when giving negative feedback.
Negative feedback is very powerful and can lead to a negative class atmosphere. Whenever you identify a student's weakness, make it clear that your comments relate to a particular task or performance, not to the student as a person. Don't make negative comments nebulous. Try to cushion negative comments with a compliment about the aspects of the task in which the student succeeded.

Avoid demeaning comments.
Many students in your class may be anxious about their performance and abilities. Be sensitive to how you phrase your comments and avoid offhand remarks that might prick their feelings of inadequacy.

Avoid giving in to students' pleas for "the answer" to homework problems.
When you simply give struggling students the solution, you rob them of the chance to think for themselves. Use a more productive approach (adapted from Fiore, 1985).

Ask the students for one possible approach to the problem.

Gently brush aside students' anxiety about not getting the answer by refocusing their attention on the problem at hand.

Ask the students to build on what they do know about the problem.

Resist answering the question "Is this right?" Suggest to the students a way to check the answer for themselves.

Praise the students for small, independent steps.

If you follow these steps, your students will learn that it is all right not to have an instant answer. They will also learn to develop greater patience and to work at their own pace. And by working through the problem, students will experience a sense of achievement and confidence that will increase their motivation to learn.

Motivating Students to Do the Reading

Assign the reading at least two sessions before it will be discussed.
Give students ample time to prepare and try to pique their curiosity about the reading: "This article is one of my favorites, and I'll be interested to see what you think about it."

Assign study questions.
Hand out study questions that alert students to the key points of the reading assignment. To provide extra incentive for students, tell them you will base exam questions on the study questions.

Ask nonthreatening questions about reading.
Initially pose general questions that do not create tension or feelings of resistance: "Can you give me one or two items from the chapter that seem important?" "What section of the reading do you think we should review?" "What item in the reading surprised you?" "What topics in the chapter can you apply to your own experience?"

Prepare an exam question on undiscussed readings.
If students have not done the reading, tell them that there will be at least one question taken directly from what they were to have read. The next time the reading is discussed, remind about what happened last time and that if they come to class prepared, there won't be any surprises on the exam.

Sources
The Strategies, Ideas and Recommendations Here Come Primarily From:

Gross Davis, B. Tools for Teaching. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1993.
And These Additional Sources...
Hansen, A. J. "Establishing a Teaching/Learning Contract."

In C. R. Christensen, D. A. Garvin, and A. Sweet (eds.), Education for Judgment: The Artistry of Discussion Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business School, 1991.

McMillan, J. H. and Forsyth, D. R. "What Theories of Motivation Say About Why Learners Learn."

In R. J. Menges and M. D. Svinicki (eds.), College Teaching: From Theory to Practice, New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no.45. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.

Tiberius, R. G. Small Group Teaching: A Trouble-Shooting Guide. Toronto:

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Press, 1990.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Strategies, Ideas, and Recommendations from the faculty Development Literature General Strategies Motivation Theory There are three general indices of motivation: choice, effort, and persistence. Recognize students' needs for self-determination and autonomy, and provide opportunities for choice and control. Understand that students may be intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to learn.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
September 1995 | Volume 53 | Number 1
Strengthening Student Engagement Pages 8-12

(and what really motivates them)?

Richard Strong, Harvey F. Silver and Amy Robinson

How, then, would we define engagement? Perhaps the best definition comes from the work of Phil Schlecty (1994), who says students who are engaged exhibit three characteristics: (1) they are attracted to their work, (2) they persist in their work despite challenges and obstacles, and (3) they take visible delight in accomplishing their work.

Most teachers have seen these signs of engagement during a project, presentation, or lively class discussion. They have caught glimpses of the inspired inner world of a child, and hoped to sustain this wonder, enthusiasm, and perseverance every day. At the same time, they may have felt stymied by traditions of reward and punishment. Our challenge is to transcend these very real difficulties and provide a practical model for understanding what our students want and need.

Goals and Needs: The SCORE

As the responses to our questions showed, people who are engaged in their work are driven by four essential goals, each of which satisfies a particular human need:

Success (the need for mastery),

Curiosity (the need for understanding),

Originality (the need for self-expression),

Relationships (the need for involvement with others).

These four goals form the acronym for our model of student engagement- SCORE. Under the right classroom conditions and at the right level for each student, they can build the motivation and Energy (to complete our acronym) that is essential for a complete and productive life. These goals can provide students with the energy to deal constructively with the complexity, confusion, repetition, and ambiguities of life (the drive toward completion).

Rethinking Motivation

The concept of "score" is a metaphor about performance, but one that also suggests a work or art, as in a musical score. By aiming to combine achievement and artistry, the SCORE model can reach beyond strict dichotomies of right/wrong and pass/fail, and even bypass the controversy about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, on which theories of educational motivation have long been based.

Extrinsic motivation-a motivator that is external to the student or the task at hand-has long been perceived as the bad boy of motivational theory. In Punished by Rewards, Alfie Kohn (1995) lays out the prevailing arguments against extrinsic rewards, such as grades and gold stars. He maintains that reliance on factors external to the task and to the individual consistently fails to produce any deep and long-lasting commitment to learning.

Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, comes from within, and is generally considered more durable and self-enhancing (Kohn 1993). Still, although intrinsic motivation gets much better press, it, too, has its weaknesses. As Kohn argues, because intrinsic motivation "is a concept that exists only in the context of the individual," the prescriptions its proponents offer teachers, are often too radically individualized, or too bland and abstract, to be applied in classroom settings (See "Punished by Rewards? A Conversation with Alfie Kohn," p. 13).

Perhaps it is the tradition of separating extrinsic and intrinsic motivation that is flawed. Robert Sternberg and Todd Lubart recently addressed this possibility in Defying the Crowd (1995). They assert that any in-depth examination of the work of highly creative people reveals a blend of both types of motivation.

Knowing the SCORE

After taking into consideration the needs and drives we've mentioned, our model poses four important questions that teachers must ask themselves in order to score the level of engagement in their classrooms.

1. Under what conditions are students most likely to feel that they can be successful?

2. When are students most likely to become curious?

3. How can we help students satisfy their natural drive toward self-expression?

4. How can we motivate students to learn by using their natural desire to create and foster good peer relationships?

Much of what we will discuss is already taking place in classrooms across the country. The point of our SCORE model of engagement is first to help teachers discover what they are already doing right and then to encourage the cultivation of everyday classroom conditions that foster student motivation and success.

Convincing Kids They Can Succeed

Students want and need work that enables them to demonstrate and improve their sense of themselves as competent and successful human beings. This is the drive toward mastery. But success, while highly valued in our society, can be more or less motivational. People who are highly creative, for example, actually experience failure far more often than success.

Before we can use success to motivate our students to produce high-quality work, we must meet three conditions:

1. We must clearly articulate the criteria for success and provide clear, immediate, and constructive feedback.

2. We must show students that the skills they need to be successful are within their grasp by clearly and systematically modeling these skills.

3. We must help them see success as a valuable aspect of their personalities.

All this seems obvious enough, but it is remarkable how often we fail to meet these conditions for our students. Take skills. Can you remember any crucial skills that you felt you did not successfully master because they were not clearly taught? Was it finding themes in literature? Reading and interpreting primary texts? Thinking through nonroutine math problems? Typically, skills like these are routinely assigned or assumed, rather than systematically modeled or practiced by teachers.

So how can we help students master such skills? When teaching your students to find themes, for example, deliberately model interpretation. Ask your students to give you a poem you have never seen, and then interpret it both for and with them. If they are reading primary texts, use what we call the "main idea" strategy. Teach them how to find the topic (usually a noun or noun phrase), the main idea (a sentence that states the text's position on the topic), and reasons or evidence to support the main idea. If students are concerned about writer's block, remember that perhaps the most difficult task of a teacher is to teach how to think creatively. Model the process of brainstorming, demonstrating that no idea is unworthy of consideration.

These are not revolutionary ideas. They simply illustrate how easily classroom practices can be improved, thus increasing the chance that your students will succeed.

But what of the criteria for success? Teachers define success in many ways. We must not only broaden our definition, but also make sure the definition is clear to everyone. In this way, students will know when they have done a good job, and they will know how to improve their work.

To achieve this clarity, we can present examples of work that illustrate high, average, and low levels of achievement. Such exemplars can significantly motivate students, as well as increase their understanding of their own ability to achieve.

Arousing Curiosity

Students want and need work that stimulates their curiosity and awakens their desire for deep understanding. People are naturally curious about a variety of things. Einstein wondered his whole life about the relationships among gravity, space, and electromagnetic radiation. Deborah Tannen, the prominent linguistic psychologist, has spent years pondering the obstacles that prevent men and women from conversing meaningfully.

How can we ensure that our curriculum arouses intense curiosity? By making sure it features two defining characteristics: the information about a topic is fragmentary or contradictory, and the topic relates to students' personal lives.

It is precisely the lack of organization of a body of information that compels us to understand it further. This may explain why textbooks, which are highly organized, rarely arouse student interest. We have stimulated students' curiosity by using a strategy called "mystery." We confront the class with a problem-for example, "What killed off the dinosaurs?"-and with the actual clues that scientists or historians have used to try to answer that question and others. Clues might include:

Mammals survived the changes that killed the dinosaurs.

Chickens under stress lay eggs with thinner shells than do chickens not under stress.

While flowering plants evolved, dinosaurs increased in population and in number of species.

Some flowering plants contain alkaloids.

Students then work together in groups, retracing the steps scientists took in weighing the available evidence to arrive at an explanation. We have seen students work diligently for several days dealing with false hypotheses and red herrings, taking great delight when the solutions begin to emerge.

As for topics that relate to students' lives, the connection here cannot be superficial; it must involve an issue or idea that is both manageable and unresolved. We must ask, With what issues are adolescents wrestling? How can we connect them to our curriculum? Figure 1 illustrates some possibilities for adolescents.

Encouraging Originality

Students want and need work that permits them to express their autonomy and originality, enabling them to discover who they are and who they want to be. Unfortunately, the ways schools traditionally focus on creativity actually thwart the drive toward self-expression. There are several reasons for this.

First, schools frequently design whole programs (art, for example) around projects that teach technique rather than self-expression. Second, very often only students who display the most talent have access to audiences, thus cutting off all other students from feedback and a sense of purpose. Finally, and perhaps most destructive, schools frequently view creativity as a form of play, and thus fail to maintain the high standards and sense of seriousness that make creative work meaningful.

How, then, should self-expression be encouraged? There are several ways.

Connect creative projects to students' personal ideas and concerns. One of our favorite teachers begins her study of ceramics by having students examine objects found in the homes of a variety of ancient civilizations. She then asks the class to design a ceramic object that expresses their feeling about their home.

Expand what counts as an audience. One of the most successful creative projects we have seen involved an audience of one. Each student in a middle school class was linked to an older member of the community and asked to write that person's "autobiography."

Consider giving students more choice. The medium of expression, for example, is often as important to an artist as the expression itself. What would have happened to the great tradition of American blues if the early musicians were forced to adhere to traditions of European music? This is one more argument for instructional methods that emphasize learning styles, multiple intelligences, and cultural diversity.

Use the "abstracting" strategy to help students fully understand a genre and to maintain high standards (Marzano et al. 1992). Too often, students prefer video art to a book because they perceive it as less demanding or requiring less commitment. Teaching students to abstract the essence of a genre will change their perceptions.

Begin by studying examples of high-quality work within a genre (the science-fiction story, poster art, sonnets, frontier diaries, television news programs, and so on). Examine the structure of the works and the standards by which they are judged. Then, ask students to produce their own work in that genre that expresses their own concerns, attempting to meet the high standards embodied in the original work. Finally, have the students ask themselves four questions about their work: How good is my technique? Does my work truly express my own concerns? Does it demonstrate my understanding of the genre in which I am working? Does it successfully relate to its audience?

Some people worry that the stringency of this model might actually block self-expression, but our experience is precisely the opposite. Students' drive toward self-expression is ultimately a drive to produce work that is of value to others. Lower standards work to repress, not to enhance, the creation of high-quality work.

Fostering Peer Relations

Students want and need work that will enhance their relationships with people they care about. This drive toward interpersonal involvement is pervasive in all our lives. Further, most of us work hardest on those relationships that are reciprocal-what you have to offer is of value to me, and what I have to offer is of some value to you. In general, unbalanced, nonreciprocal relationships prove transient and fail to generate much energy or interest.

How does this insight apply to life in the classroom? Consider a student's perception of homework. The only relationship that can be advanced through the typical homework assignment is the one between student and teacher. And this relationship is essentially unbalanced. Students do not feel that the teacher needs their knowledge, and the teacher, with possibly 145 students a day, probably isn't seeking a deep relationship either.

But suppose student work is complementary: one student's job is to learn about tortoises, another's is to learn about snakes, and a third student is boning up on lizards. After they do their research, they jointly develop a poster comparing and contrasting these three reptile types. The students actually need one another's knowledge.

Annemarie Palincsar Brown has applied this "jigsaw" strategy to inner-city students using in-classroom computer networks (Brown et al. 1993). She found that it significantly improved their motivation, reading, and writing. Elizabeth Cohen (1994) builds reciprocal groups by asking students with different talents and abilities to work on one project that requires all of their gifts.

Orchestrating Classroom Performance

As teachers, the first thing we should try to "score" is our own performance. Different people value the four goals we have discussed to different degrees in different situations. Which ones are particularly important to you? How does this preference affect the way you run your classroom? By observing and understanding how classroom conditions can create or repress student engagement, we can gradually move toward a more successful, curious, creative, and reciprocal school system.

All students, to some extent, seek mastery, understanding, self-expression, and positive interpersonal relationships. But they are all different as well. Imagine what could happen if we engaged our students in a discussion of these four types of motivation. What might they tell us about themselves and their classrooms? Could we actually teach them to design their own work in ways that match their own unique potential for engagement?

Last, we can score the change process itself. What professional conditions block teachers' motivation? We can redesign staff development to promote understanding and respect among school staff members.

By seeking to break down boundaries between teacher and teacher, teacher and student, student and the learning process, we will learn what students want and need. As a result, more and more teachers may go to bed at night remembering the images of wonder, enthusiasm, and perseverance on the faces of their students.

References

Brown, A., D. Ash, M. Rutherford, K. Nakagawa, A. Gordon, and J. Campione. (1993). "Distributed Expertise in the Classroom." In Distributed Cognitions: Psychological and Educational Considerations, edited by G. Salomon. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Cohen, E. G. (1994). Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom. 2nd Edition. New York: Teachers College Press.

Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Marzano, R., D. Pickering, D. Arredondo, G. Blackburn, R. Brandt, and C. Moffett. (1992). Dimensions of Learning. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Schlecty, P. (January 1994). "Increasing Student Engagement." Missouri Leadership Academy.

Sternberg, R. J., and T. I. Lubart. (1995). Defying the Crowd: Cultivating Creativity in a Culture of Conformity. New York: The Free Press.

Richard Strong is Vice President and Director of Curriculum Development, Harvey F. Silver is Vice President and Director of Program Development, and Amy Robinson is Director of Research and Publishing, Hanson Silver Strong and Associates Inc., 34 Washington Rd., Princeton Junction, NJ 08550.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Strengthening Student Engagement: What Do Students Want

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
September 1995 | Volume 53 | Number 1 Strengthening Student Engagement Pages 8-12 (and what really motivates them)? Richard Strong, Harvey F. Silver and Amy Robinson How, then, would we define engagement?