Motivation in the Classroom

Jude Tan (3X)Nurul Ain Amylia Ahmad (3G)

Overview

• Definition of Motivation• Approaches in Motivation• Motivation: Theory into Practice• Comparing the approaches in the Australian

and Malaysian Primary School Classrooms • Should we make changes or go with the flow?• Conclusion

What is Motivation?

• Motivation is defined as an internal state that arouses, directs and maintains behaviour (Woolfolk, 2004).

• Motivation is thought to be responsible for "why people decide to do something, how long they are willing to sustain the activity and how hard they are going to pursue it" (Dörnyei, 2001).

• In own simple words, “To make students want to do what you want them to do –by giving them a MOTIVE to do so.”

Approaches

• Behaviourist Approach• Cognitivist Approach• Humanistic Approach

Behaviourist Approach

• Humans are motivated to perform or repeat certain behaviours if they are rewarded and de-motivated to do so if they are punished.

• Students know that good behaviours will be rewarded and there are consequences for misbehaviours.

• Positive reinforcements are more likely to be used.

Cognitivist Approach• Bandura’s Self-efficacy Theory• Self-efficacy can determine whether or

not student will engage in a learning task and whether or not the student will persist in his or her efforts to master the task.

• Influenced by:– Mastery experiences– Vicarious experiences– Social persuasion

Cognitivist Approach• Bandura’s Self-efficacy Theory• Self-efficacy can determine whether or

not student will engage in a learning task and whether or not the student will persist in his or her efforts to master the task.

• Influenced by:– Mastery experiences– Vicarious experiences– Social persuasion– Physiological and emotional arousal

Humanistic Approach

• Humans are motivated towards certain behaviours because of self-actualisation.

• The goal is to enable students to enhance their experiences of themselves so that they become less defensive and more open to learning from their experience.

• E.g: Teacher gives freedom to students so that they feel responsible for their own learning.

Comparing Australian and Malaysian Primary School

Classrooms Australian Classrooms Malaysian Classrooms

Most students like to go to school Most students dislike attending school

Students desire praise from the teacher Students fear the teacher’s punishment

Students are keen to contribute ideas Students are scared to make mistakes

Students learn because they are motivated Students learn because they fear worse if they do not learn

Students sees their teacher as a caring figure

Students respect their teacher because of the authority

Emphasises on REWARDS in teachingself-discipline.

Emphasises on FEAR in teaching discipline.

Is canning still a routine in Malaysian classrooms today?

Caning is revived in Malaysian Schools

• MoE brings corporal punishment back to school after 3 years it since was banned in 2006.

• Reason?– “We need to take such preventive measure because

students today are ‘too creative’ in breaking the rules,” Deputy Education Minister, Wee Ka Siong told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday (7th April 2009).

• The answer to parents?– “We will allow the headmaster or anyone who is

authorised to carry out the punishment, while parents will be informed and invited to witness the canning to avoid misunderstanding,” he added.

Is corporal punishment an effective solution?

• Effects of punishment are only temporary and produces aggression (Strassberg, Dodge, Pettit & Bates, 1994).

• Accumulated research supports the theory that corporal punishment is an ineffective discipline strategy with children of all ages and, furthermore, that it most often produces anger, resentment, and low self-esteem in the victim (Paintal, 2007).

• As a negative impact for the future, corporal punishment sends a message to the child that violence is a viable option for solving problems (Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980; Straus, Sugarman,& Giles-Sims, 1997).

Conclusion

• Motivation is a better way to teach self-discipline compared to corporal punishment.

• Corporal punishment has more long-term negative impacts on the student compared to the temporary effects.

• It is important that we reflect on the positive practices we observed and learnt from the Australian schools and bring changes to the Malaysian Education system.

• We can prove that corporal punishment is unnecessary in the education system, starting with our own class of students.

References• Agence France-Presse (AFP) (2009, April 7). Hukuman rotan diberlakukan lagi di sekolah

Malaysia. [Canning is revived in Malaysian Schools]. DetikNews. Retrieved May 20, 2009 from http://www.detiknews.com/read/2009/04/07/141024/1111707/10/hukuman-rotan-

diberlakukan-lagi-di-sekolah-malaysia• Dornyei, Zoltan. (2001). Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press. • Paintal, S. (2007). Banning corporal punishment of children. An ACEI Position Paper.

International Focus Issue 2007, p410-413.• Strassberg, Z., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E.(1994). Spanking in the home and

children’s subsequent aggression toward kindergarten peers. Development and Psychopathology, 6, p445-461.

• Straus, M. A., Sugarman, D. B., & Giles-Sims. (1997). Corporal punishment by parents and subsequent antisocial behavior of children. Archives of Pediatrics and AdolescentMedicine, 155, 761-767.

• Woolfolk, A. (2004). Educational psychology (9th ed.) Pearson A & B.