Guiding Principles of the Modern Red SchoolHouse Design:
Research-Based Solutions for 21^st Century Schools (continued)
By Sally B. Kilgore, Ph.D.

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How should students be motivated to learn?

Learning is ultimately a voluntary act. Listening, observing, and thinking are private acts that are essential activities in learning that no one can force upon another person. One can look attentive, for instance, yet not hear a word spoken. One must somehow be motivated to learn in order for these critical acts of learning to occur. Among educators, the question typically is framed as follows: To what degree should teachers rely upon intrinsic versus extrinsic rewards to encourage student learning?

Early in the 20^th Century, behavioral researchers focused on extrinsic rewards educators could use. Public schools were often organized to provide rewards to learners - grades, graduation requirements, and recognition ceremonies. Eligibility requirements for sports exist because of the assumption that students need some reward - or extrinsic motivation - to learn. While these practices may have had a powerful effect on many students in earlier generations, they have seldom engaged a significant portion of the population of low-achieving students from disadvantaged circumstances.

Progressives in education, most often associated with the work of John Dewey, approached motivation differently. They argue that learning occurs best when students are motivated intrinsically - that is, a child’s natural curiosity should direct his or her learning. The intrinsic interest in the subject or the pleasure that arises from mastery will, they argue, enable learning to occur. In fact, when people of any age are intrinsically motivated to learn, they do listen and read more carefully, work longer and harder to understand something, and if they experience the emotional excitement of learning - an important attribute of intrinsic motivation - then they will remember what they’ve learned for a long time.

While learning that is led by a student’s current interest is certainly a powerful experience that in many cases provides a learner with deep understandings, students must have sufficient prior knowledge to understand complex principles. Unfortunately, a learner’s natural curiosity can take many unpredictable directions that may or may not allow him or her to have the necessary prior knowledge to master essential principles of science before, say, completing twelve years of formal schooling. Gaps in knowledge can and do occur, and the ability of teachers to build upon children’s prior knowledge is especially challenging when each student arrives with a unique “package” of prior knowledge.

Research evidence from the 1980s suggests that relying on intrinsic motivation has limitations in general practice. In the late 1970s, high school students had a broad range of courses from which they could choose to enroll. Academic requirements were at a minimum. By 1979, 42 percent of the high school students were enrolled in a general track

If one accepts that a standards-driven system is the preferred method of determining what should be taught and acknowledges the power of intrinsic motivation in the learning process, then one must accept that educators have an essential role in cultivating such an interest.

with few required courses, and it neither prepared them for entry into the work force nor to complete college (A Nation at Risk, 1983). Many disadvantaged students don’t have information about the importance of academic learning to their future options. Ruby Payne (1998) argues that our most disadvantaged youth often enter schools from a world of seemingly random events that can limit one’s curiosity about how things happen or change. Moreover, adolescents from all walks of life are often more concerned about the more immediate pleasures of clothes and cars than their long-term opportunities as adults (Grant, 1988; Powell, Farrar, & Cohen, 1985; Cusick, 1983; Coleman, Hoffer, Kilgore, 1982). Thus the dilemma: If one accepts that a standards-driven system is the preferred method of determining what should be taught and acknowledges the power of intrinsic motivation in the learning process, then one must accept that educators have an essential role in cultivating such an interest.

If one doesn’t insist upon drawing the boundaries between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation with too fine a line, teachers can, in fact, affect the degree to which a student becomes intrinsically motivated to learn. The oldest research tradition on student motivation shows time and again that teachers who are passionate about the subjects they teach have a contagious effect on their students. Passion, however, is quite like charisma—it is hard to train people to become “passionate.” Unlike charisma, which, by definition, is visible to other people, passion about learning can be invisible in, say, some otherwise shy teachers. It is unrealistic to expect all teachers to be able to demonstrate passion with overt enthusiasm, so other strategies must be considered.

First and foremost, all teachers can cultivate a passion for learning by the beliefs they bring to the classroom.

Cultivating a passion for learning begins with the beliefs that students and educators bring to the classroom.

Shepard (2001) reports that motivational research finds that students who believe that academic achievement is determined by fixed ability are more likely to work toward “performance goals,” that is, for grades, to please the teacher and to appear competent. “Performance-oriented students tend to pick easy tasks and are less likely to persist once they encounter difficulty” (Stipek, 1996). Students who attribute academic success to their own efforts are more likely to adopt learning goals, which means they are motivated by an increasing sense of mastery and by the desire to become competent. Not surprisingly, “students with a learning orientation are more engaged in school work…and develop deeper understanding of subject matter (Wittrock, 1986).” Teachers cultivate a learning orientation when they express confidence in the role of effort in mastery of complex concepts.

Consider the aerobics instructor who has students with wide ranges in proficiency. Those with

The confidence that the instructor exhibits actually creates a commitment among those with lower levels of proficiency to persist and make the extra effort.

low levels of proficiency are encouraged to understand that people have different levels of experience with athletic challenges, and that, with extra effort, they can demonstrate an adequate level of proficiency. The confidence that the instructor exhibits actually creates a commitment among those with lower levels of proficiency to persist and make the extra effort. Progress toward that goal is praised just as often as exceeding it.

Second, motivation is better when educators treat mistakes as a normal part of learning, and their feedback reflects an absolute goal rather than some accomplishment relative to other students (Shepard, 2001; Stipek, 1996). Simple words—“oh, that often happens the first time someone tries this,” or “it’s not unusual for someone to make that mistake”—allow a student to see his or her mistake clearly, and, yet, sustain a willingness to try again. Without such support, students lacking a strong history of success in school may be especially inclined to abandon making an effort. Just a few comments from a teacher can sustain and direct a student’s effort when he or she might otherwise quit trying.

Finding ways to link what needs to be learned with students’ existing interests is another obvious way to cultivate a student’s intrinsic interest in learning. To make those linkages, an educator must be fluent in the social history and culture in which his or her students live. Elementary school teachers in Harlem teaching about the European Renaissance can integrate the history of the Harlem Renaissance—thereby stimulating increased student interest and understanding. Similarly, the pop culture of students—from SpongeBob SquarePants^® to Power Puff Girls^®—holds numerous resources for motivating students in their academic learning. A cautionary tale, though, must be that teachers cannot assume that they know those interests, but rather work from evidence given by the students themselves.

An important implication of this motivational challenge is that schooling must be organized in ways that give teachers sufficient

Schooling must be organized in ways that give teachers sufficient freedom to construct learning experiences that include links to children's interests and cultural background.

freedom to construct learning experiences that include links to children’s interests and cultural background. Districts and schools that limit instruction to scripted programs developed for the average student fail to provide that freedom.

Finally, assessment strategies can also cultivate motivation. Learning that leads to a public performance (Sizer, 1984) or a product that will be appreciated in the community, such as a newspaper (Wigginton, 1986), can be especially motivating. Publishing a paper or magazine provides a wealth of opportunity for instruction, and it also results in an activity or product that can excite otherwise indifferent students. Designing and planning a community garden can be rich with opportunities in science and mathematics. With proper guidance, community volunteers can bring plans into reality. Such strategies are especially effective for students who have come to ignore traditional incentives, such as grades. Learning opportunities in these situations, however, must be carefully planned to ensure that students extract general principles and acquire competencies that allow them to meet academic standards—a problem discussed earlier. Each student must be able to demonstrate that they’ve mastered the essential concepts.

Motivation, then, becomes an important responsibility in a standards-driven environment, and teachers have a variety of strategies—from the convictions they demonstrate to the links they can make with a student’s interests and cultural background as well as the types of activities they construct for learning. The challenge is to integrate these opportunities into the routines of teaching and learning.

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