Types of motivation and student achievement in grade eight science

Types ofMotivation 4Types ofMotivation and Student Achievement in Grade Eight Science Research ProblemMotivation to learn is an important concept in education.Motivation is relevant to learning because learning is an active process requiring conscious and deliberate activity (Stipek, 1998).As educators at the junior high school level, we face the daily struggle of generating intrinsic interest in the tasks that we assign our students.We have all been inspired by the student that arrives in our classroom with a genuine enthusiasm to learn and willingness to challenge and persist at the work that we present them.However, early adolescence sees a great number of students unwilling to participate in classroom activities, or only reluctantly so for expected marks and other tangible rewards.These unmotivated students can present management problems to their teachers and even become a destructive influence on the classroom environment.When examining the subject of adolescent motivation, several questions arise.What are the primary motivational styles of these junior secondary students and how are they related to achievement?If intrinsic motivation, as research suggests, is related to higher achievement, how can we move our extrinsically motivated students in this direction?Educators need to examine their teaching strategies and classroom environments for ways and means of enhancing intrinsic motivation. Literature ReviewWeiner (1979) explored these questions in his research on motivation.He identified three central dimensions of stability, locus, and control as being causally related to achievement in his attribution theory of motivation.In general, high achievement was connected to a more internal locus of control.Low achievement was often connected to Types ofMotivation 5 "learned helplessness" which is a belief that achievement is independent ofwhat a person does.A number of researchers have found a strong correlation between academic motivation and school achievement.Gottfried's (1985) research supports this view and suggests that academic intrinsic orientation is differentiated into school subject areas.She studied students in fourth and seventh grades and compared their achievement with scores on the Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory.Her research added support to the importance of intrinsic motivation and to the varying levels of motivation across different subject areas.Hom ( 1991) argues that the results of extrinsic motivation are temporary and disappear when the reward is taken away.As extrinsic motivation is not lasting Hom suggests that increasing intrinsic motivation in classrooms will achieve more long-term results.Anderman and Maehr ( 1994) review recent research developments on motivation during adolescence and how they may be applied to educational change in the middle grades.Their focus was on the social cognitive theories of motivation.Research identifies major motivational shifts and declines at the transition from elementary to junior secondary or middle school.One of the major findings is that changes in classroom environments during this transition are directly linked to the changes in student motivation and performance.Educators are implored to attend to these important social considerations as student investment in schooling during early adolescence can have long term effects on career and life choices.Cordova and Lepper ( 1996) conducted an experiment examining the effects of Types ofMotivation 6 contextualization, personalization, and choice on enhancing intrinsic motivation.Their research premise centered on the idea that the clearly documented decline in intrinsic motivation as students progress through grade school could be explained by the requirements to perform increasingly abstract concepts in seemingly irrelevant contexts and with little or no choice as to the activities they engaged in.Using a computer based instructional unit, the authors produced a convincing body of evidence that opportunities for choice and contexts that were personally relevant and had practical significance helped to foster intrinsic motivation in students.Anderson and Midgley (1998) summarized three currently prominent motivational theories that have both special relevance for young adolescent students and implications for teachers in the classroom.These include attribution theory r.yv einer, 1979) which emphasizes the students' perception of their experiences in school; goal theory (Maehr & Midgley, 1991) which stresses the reasons students perceive for attempting tasks and achieving; and self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) that suggest students have three categories of needs: relatedness, competence, and autonomy.Task oriented goals are driven by the need to feel personal improvement and gain understanding whereas ability oriented goals are driven by the need to demonstrate competence in comparison to others.Teachers need to be aware of what students believe about their abilities and must focus on task-oriented goals rather than ability-oriented goals.Teachers must also make attempts to provide choice and decision making power to students in order to foster a sense of autonomy.Deci and Ryan (2000) examined recent research stemming from their selfdetermination theory and their six sub-category motivational continuum.The research was primarily focussed on the study of different social and contextual environments.It led the ''""4''"""' , .,,... .,1....4 .... ,... ....

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