A little success can go a long way in avoiding a huge failure. Every now and then it is nice to hear someone say, "you did a good job" or to be rewarded for a solid effort on a task. The beauty of Achievement Motivation is that it can be intrinsically or extrinsically focused; different people are motivated in different ways. Harry might want to succeed because he wants to be the best at ping pong, while Ben might just want to impress Sally with his table tennis prowess.
I think that in my future classroom this could be implemented easily. I will strive to challenge myself and my students each and everyday as I progress throughout a school year. An example would be a project on a historical event. I could have my students pick a moment in history that they would need to act out or present to the class. Some would be motivated to get a good grade, others would be motivated to show their acting ability, others would be motivated not to look silly, and some would be motivated to be the best. All of those are goals and set achievements that are motivating my potential students.
Here is an excerpt from an outside source that I used in my Teaching Project the other day:
Achievement emotions are defined as emotions tied directly to achievement activities or achievement outcomes. The definition presented here implies that emotions pertaining to achievement-related activities are also considered as achievement emotions. The enjoyment arising from learning, boredom experienced in classroom instruction, or frustration and anger when dealing with difficult tasks are but a few examples of activity-related achievement emotions. Two types of achievement emotions differing in object focus can thus be distinguished: activity emotions pertaining to ongoing achievement related activities, and outcome emotions pertaining to the outcomes of these activities
(Pekrun et al., 2002a; Pekrun, Elliot, & Maier, 2006a).
I agree that "in education there needs to be goals and checkpoints along the way." If teachers encourage their students to focus on short-term, concrete goals (what Omrod refers to as "proximal goals"), students will be less likely to feel overwhelmed and will hopefully feel more competent and more willing to work on the task at hand. Piling too much on a student at one time (giving them a 1500 piece puzzle to complete in 7 minutes) can be detrimental to their sense of competency, and they will not be motivated to complete the task.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea about having your students act out a moment in history. Sounds like a fun way to get the children engaged in the material. I am wondering, though, about the child who is motivated to simply not look silly. Do you think he or she might experience some anxiety at this task that may negatively affect their motivation or their performance?
Thanks for including an outside source. One of the things a focus on achievement emotions allows is ignoring the split between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: does it matter if someone is intrinsically or extrinsically motivated? One could argue that what matters is the emotions people feel in relation to the things they do.
ReplyDeleteI really like your thoughts on achievement motivation. I wholeheartedly agree that it is an important factor in the classroom. I'm a firm believer as well that complimenting a student on a job well done is a great motivator. I like how you gave multiple examples of how students can be motivated because we tend to only see motivation as being something tangible. Good insights!
ReplyDeleteI think its very interesting the amount of motivation factors that come into play in not just the classroom, but in life. I liked your ping pong example (not just because I like ping pong) but also because it shows these various motivations. I love to play ping pong and take it seriously. I'm motivated to always improve. But if a girl I liked was to walk in, would I not try even harder? There are so many factors beyond simple motivation there, but motivation is perhaps at the center. Motivation is far from a simple "I do this because..." and I'm glad this class is shedding some light on it.
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