psychology of motivation slides

The Psychology of Motivation

Emmett O’LearyPh.D Student in Music

Education2013 AMEA Conference

What It’s All About

Self-Concept

Power

Agency

Motivation vs. Inspiration

Motivation: the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way

Inspiration: the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something

Funtivity

Funtivity

Take three things you do and assess your ability level at them?(should not be all things you're good at)

Funtivity

Take three things you do and assess your ability level at them?(should not be all things you're good at)

How do you determine your competency?

Funtivity

Take three things you do and assess your ability level at them?(should not be all things you're good at)

How do you determine your competency?

What have you done to build the level of competency you have?

Funtivity

Take three things you do and assess your ability level at them?(should not be all things you're good at)

How do you determine your competency?

What have you done to build the level of competency you have?

What could you do to get better?

Discussion

Can you improve?

Comparisons?

Who determines ability level?

Systems: How do we perceive ourselves?

Internal Systems

Conception of self

External Systems

Social - conception of self in relation to others (teachers, peers, siblings, parents)

Motivation vs. Inspiration

Motivation: the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way

Inspiration: the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something

Ability Conception

Fixed Ability Conception

Malleable Ability Conception

Self-System Actions Goal is to outperform others Goal is to learn

Challenge Avoidance Challenge seeking

Superficial learning strategies

Deep/active learning strategies

Compares own performance with others’

Seeks objective feedback/help

Maladaptive responses to failure

Adaptive responses to failure

Outcomes Lower Achievement Higher Achievement

From The Child As Musician, by Gary McPherson, pg. 219

Goals

Learning goals

related to learning, task-orientation, mastery

Performance goals

motivated to outperform others

motivated to not fail in comparison to others

Activity

How do common events, tasks, and processes in the music classroom relate to self-concept?

Brainstorm things you do in your classroom and ways you might determine student goal structures?

Possibilities

Knowledge of students

Examine reactions

Encourage reflection

Facilitate dialogue

In the Classroom

What types of goals are best?

Can only one be present?

Are your students setting goals and making plans?

Which is Better?

Which is Better?

Both can be present simultaneously!

Which is Better?

Both can be present simultaneously!

Can vary dramatically by activity, discipline, subject, etc...

Which is Better?

Both can be present simultaneously!

Can vary dramatically by activity, discipline, subject, etc...

Younger children tend to thrive more with learning goals.

Which is Better?

Both can be present simultaneously!

Can vary dramatically by activity, discipline, subject, etc...

Younger children tend to thrive more with learning goals.

Older children with appropriate self-concept can function well with performance goals.

Warnings

External motivators can detract from experience of intrinsically motivated students (Austin, 1988, 1991; Stamer, 2004)

Funtivity

Write down three things you wish you were good at.

Write down reasons you may not have had the level of success you desire. (make excuses)

Attribution

Attribution

Who/what is to blame for my failure?

Who/what is to credit for my success?

Parents’ Role in Motivation

Nature vs. Nurture

Parents can encourage or “poison the well”

Important to be supportive, but not demanding

Teachers’ Role in Motivation

Teachers’ Role in Motivation

Develop awareness of students’ perceived self-concept in music.

Teachers’ Role in Motivation

Develop awareness of students’ perceived self-concept in music.

Assess impact of learning activities and experiences in relation to self-concept.

Teachers’ Role in Motivation

Develop awareness of students’ perceived self-concept in music.

Assess impact of learning activities and experiences in relation to self-concept.

To what do students attribute their success of failure?

Behaviorism

Behaviorism

Is this ever used in the music classroom?

Behaviorism

Is this ever used in the music classroom?

Builds skills, but not necessarily self-concept

Stimulus limits creativity

Where is the power?

Agency

Agency

Acts to produce a certain result.

Agency

Acts to produce a certain result.

How do we know how we are doing?

Is there anything we can do to improve?

Are we capable of improving?

Who controls our success?

Who defines our success?

Ability Conception

Fixed Ability Conception

Malleable Ability Conception

Self-System Actions Goal is to outperform others Goal is to learn

Challenge Avoidance Challenge seeking

Superficial learning strategies

Deep/active learning strategies

Compares own performance with others’

Seeks objective feedback/help

Maladaptive responses to failure

Adaptive responses to failure

Outcomes Lower Achievement Higher Achievement

From The Child As Musician, by Gary McPherson, pg. 219

Developmentalists

Match learning activities to student abilities

Know what expectations are appropriate

Flow

Flow

Flow

Flow

Components

Intense and focused concentration

merging of action and awareness

sense of personal control or agency over situation

distortion of temporal experience

Assessing Flow

Knowledge of students

Awareness of role in the classroom

Where was the teacher represented in the flow components?

What does that look like in the music classroom?

Educator Skills

Knowledge of students

Facilitation of student awareness of self-concept

Lesson design

seek flow

challenge

create ownership and build self-concept in learning process

Educator Skills

Define your role

When do you have power?

When do the students have agency?

Examine your methodologies in relationship to student motivation

Assess motivation levels of your students

Summary

Self-Concept

Power

Agency

Emmett O’LearyPh.D Student in Music Education

eoleary@asu.eduTwitter: @emmettoleary

emmettoleary.com

Thank You!