Consider your own motivation for learning. Is it typically intrinsic, extrinsic, a little of both? Why?
-I feel my motivation is honestly a little of both. I feel I am a hard worker who is determined to beat the past trends of my family's lifestyle. However, who doesn't enjoy praise from Professors?
My intrinsic motivation comes from the drive to prove to myself that I am capable of attending classes, always doing my best on my homework, and in the end feeling the great satisfaction that I passed the class (even if I had to take it more than once, which has happened) because I did my best.
My extrinsic motivation comes from receiving praise. After reading module 15 I can clearly see how this happened. I have come to rely, to a certain degree, on the comments of my teachers and peers. While commentary from my peers isn't nearly as important or impressive, commentary from my professors is something I crave. I know that sounds superficial, like I'm a suck-up. You asked for brutal honesty, though, so there it is. However, I don't feel I'm a suck up unless that involves being a hard worker and being dependable.
What do you think your future students' motivation will be like? How will you use praise and rewards to motivate your students to learn?
-Realistically, I think my future students will find motivation extrinsically. I know I had no idea how detrimental praise could be in helping/hindering ones motivation until I read this chapter. So, I think it's something teachers do without realizing their doing it.
I hope to use praise on a regular basis. However, that praise will only come when it is sincere and valid. I also hope to keep my praise individualized and not done in comparing way. I want my praise to be specific to each student and their growth, development, and determination.
I don't plan on using extrinsic rewards. I hope they will come to value to warm, fuzzy feeling they'll have once they've accomplished something hard. But! I also feel that an end of semester party or end of year party isn't hurtful to students motivation because it will be done, not to celebrate their success, but to celebrate the fact that they attended class and developed relationships with me and with one another. I don't know though - is that hurtful to their motivation? Now I'm second guessing my ideas.
Have you ever experienced flow in a classroom? What were you learning and/or how was the learning structured that induced flow? If you haven't experienced flow in a classroom, have you experienced it while engaging in a favorite activity? How might you induce flow in your future classroom?
-This is an interesting question because, yes I have experienced flow. I am a teacher at my church and I remember one Sunday I was teaching from the Bible about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I had activities planned, a worksheet to work together on, stories to tell, etc. I remember once the class ended, one of my 12 year old students came up to me and said, "That was fast! It feels like we just got in here!" Mind you, this was an hour long class with sixth grade aged boys and girls, at church. So, yes, during that class I genuinely feel the students and myself experienced flow. It was awesome.
I think one way to induce flow into a classroom is to use as much organized differentiation as possible. I'm not saying use every form of differentiation in your lesson, every lesson you give. No, the differentiation has to have purpose and alignment with the objectives of the lesson. I think if there's a smooth progression from one activity to another, within the lesson, then flow is more likely to be induced.
VOCABULARY
Motivation: Inducement, incentive (dictionary.com)
Extrinsic Motivation: Engaging in an activity to obtain an outcome that is distinct from the activity itself (pg 267)
Intrinsic Motivation: Engaging in an activity when the reward is the activity itself (pg 267)
Task-contingent rewards: rewards given for participating in an activity or for completing an activity (i.e a sticker for completing a set of math problems) (pg 269)
Performance-contingent rewards: rewards given for doing well or achieving a certain level of performance (i.e receiving a sticker for correctly completing all math problems) (pg 270)
Flow: A feeling of intrinsic enjoyment and absorption in a task that is challenging and rewarding making a person feel at one with the task (pg 273)
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