Part One
Motivation and Engagement in the Mathematics Classroom
One of the struggles of teaching high school mathematics is the lack of motivation and engagement teachers feel and observe from their students. Students seem content to simply copy down examples, seem hesitant to ask or answer questions, and appear to be more concerned with completing work instead of building real working knowledge with the mathematical concepts being studied. It can be frustrating to see lack of results in our students, when we see what we think is lack of engagement and motivation.
Motivation and engagement are important structures for teachers to understand as they are both key aspects in helping students interact with and learn the material they are tasked with teaching. Both of these constructs, motivation and engagement, are actually more complex than many people realize. An understanding of these constructs can help teachers to build better working relationships with their students, which in turn will help students become better learners in their classrooms.
Motivation: The truths and the misconceptions
Regardless of what teachers think they know or believe about their students, all students arrive to class motivated; it just might not be motivated to actively participate in the learning activities for the class. Richard Lavoie points out in his book, The Motivation Breakthrough: Six Secrets to Turning on the Tuned-Out Child, that most students often don’t come to class ready to immediately begin learning. It isn’t necessarily due to not liking or understanding the material, but is often due to still thinking about their last class, a social situation and most importantly the fear of failure.
To help students be more successful with their learning in the mathematics classroom, it is essential for teachers to understand and work to change their mindsets when it comes to student motivation. Lavoie (2007) describes five separate myths that have the power to impact how student interactions with their teachers and the material are shaped.
Myth #1: Nothing motivates that kid
As mentioned above, all students are motivated. In fact, motivation drives most of the actions of students, and teachers alike. The students that seem to be unmotivated to participate in the classroom activities are likely motivated by other desires such as avoiding failure and preventing frustration. This type of motivation is called misdirected motivation, and students will need help to refocus their misdirected motivation onto the task at hand.
Myth #2: Motivated one day and not the next
Motivation within a person is always constant, whether this is a conscious choice or not. We are all motivated to either do the task or to not do the task. Motivation is the constant force with all actions and choices, but performance, productivity and progress are what actually vary within students on a daily basis. Variable levels of performance, productivity and progress show that a student’s ability to learn will be inconsistent and unpredictable.
Myth #3: Objects/Rewards will lead to motivation
As teachers, we want to help students build tools to become lifelong learners while simultaneously learning the content we are teaching them. Giving out candy, trinkets and bonus points for correct answers during an activity or even participating in said activity can seem like a motivating force. (Many of us do these things and they are not a bad move. They have their place.) These items actually just improve student behavior towards the task and not the motivation to participate. These types of rewards systems can actually reduce motivation over time as students might not see the rewards as a worthy incentive after their repeated use.
Myth #4: Competition is the greatest motivator
Competitive games and activities are often used in the classroom to practice and review material. (Again, many of us use these activities with the right class; and they can be really fun.) These tasks have been seen as a way to encourage students to do their best work, when in reality, the only students truly motivated by these activities are those who believe they will win. For those students who struggle with material or even learning as a whole, competitions have a negative impact as these students may feel they aren’t being given a chance to demonstrate what they can do. They shift their focus to what others are doing, even though we can’t control the actions of others.
In truth, students do their best and most meaningful work when they learn to compete against themselves. The focus needs to be on achieving a personal best, instead of being ‘the best’. Once students learn to believe in themselves and foster an internal drive to improve, they will be more motivated to complete the tasks at hand.
Myth #5: Punishment is an effective motivator
Losing recess privileges, not being allowed to talk during work time, being restricted from certain activities are some examples of things teachers might implement to help remotivate their students. These ideas can help to change behavior, but once they are removed, their effectiveness is not lasting. Motivation is not impacted by receiving or losing privileges or rewards. In fact, implementation of negative consequences related to academic work or behavior can often have an adverse effect on the teacher-student working relationship. A positive teacher-student working relationship is necessary for students to build motivation towards the class and its work.
Students who struggle with academics feel as if they are constantly on the receiving end of punishing outcomes, even if the teacher is not removing rewards. Failures are often considered punishment by students, especially when great amounts of effort were given to complete the task. Any type of repeated failures cause students to lose motivation to work in a class or on a task at hand. Their motivation turns to wanting to avoid these failures, and their performance in the class will be negatively impacted.
Lavoie, R. (2007) The motivation breakthrough: Six secrets to turning on the tuned out child. Simon & Schuster.
Musing of a Motivated Math Teacher 