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RUNNING HEAD: MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS’ LEARNING 1
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS’ LEARNING
Alisa Celentano
Post University
Author Note
This paper was prepared for Capstone Project, EDU 699, taught by Dr. Ajtum-Roberts.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 2
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore and discover specific motivational teaching
strategies that improve students’ learning. It is essential that teachers present information to
students in an interesting way to help them become engaged, stay attentive, and excited to learn
about a topic, which is why studying motivational teaching strategies proves to be significant to
the field of education. The more a student is motivated and involved in his/her learning, the more
a child will progress in his/her knowledge and critical thinking skills. This capstone project used
both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to collect data at a preschool program that serves
over one thousand students in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Seventeen teachers in the preschool
program answered open-ended questions pertaining to how the teachers motivate students and
why they believe the strategies they use are beneficial to increase developmental progress as well
as rated nine research-based motivational teaching strategies. An outcome report was analyzed
to discover the teachers who met or exceeded the program’s scores for students in four
developmental areas. The results revealed that providing students with immediate feedback was
rated as the most important by the teachers who met or exceeded the program’s scores. In
addition, it was discovered that teachers who successfully improved students’ learning
implemented academic techniques. Professional development training was created to educate
teachers and educators on successful motivational instructional techniques.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 3
Summary
The capstone project conducted by an Education Specialist in a preschool program that serves
over one thousand students in Bridgeport, Connecticut researched how motivational strategies
that teachers use can positively impact students’ learning in preschool. Seventeen teachers in
the preschool program completed two surveys that asked questions pertaining to motivational
teaching strategies. Teachers were given the definition of motivation to ensure they have a clear
understanding of what the word means in relation to education. Motivation is defined as “the act
or process of giving someone a reason for doing something: the act or process of motivating
someone…the condition of being eager to act or work…a force or influence that causes someone
to do something” (Merriam-Webster, 2013, para. 1). There are variations of the definition of
motivation; however, this definition was chosen because it relates to how teachers should
motivate students to learn in the classroom. One survey asked demographic information relating
to the teacher’s education level and experience as well as questions pertaining to how they
motivate students and why they believe the strategies they use are beneficial to increase
developmental progress. A second survey asked teachers to rate specific motivational teaching
strategies.
Data was collected from using “The Creative Curriculum System for Preschool, a research-
based system…that offers comprehensive resources to help early childhood educators build
exceptional high-quality programs” (Teaching Strategies, 2011, para. 1). Data was gathered
from three Creative Curriculum checklists the teachers completed for each student in the 2012-
2013 school year that assessed progress in the areas of social emotional, cognitive, language, and
physical development. An outcome report was used to show the total percentages of
development for each of the four areas for every class and to discover the classes that have
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 4
shown the most developmental progress. The teaching strategies used in the classrooms that
have shown the highest rate of developmental growth in the reports were cited as strategies that
positively impact students’ learning. From the data collected, the Education Specialist has
demonstrated leadership by creating professional development training for over two hundred
teachers in her program to educate them on successful motivational instructional techniques, how
to implement the strategies in the classroom, and how the principles of cognitive science can be
applied to help improve teaching practices and students’ developmental learning outcomes. The
professional development training and consistent support that will be offered to the teaching staff
by the Education Specialist on motivational teaching strategies will work towards improving the
specific learning outcomes as outlined in the Creative Curriculum checklists.
Rationale
The capstone project conducted on how motivational teaching strategies can positively impact
students’ learning is important to research because there is a lack of studies conducted on
motivation and its’ impact on students at the preschool level. Specific motivational strategies
need to be discovered and explored for students in preschool because “learners’ motivation has
been consistently linked to successful learning” (Clayton, Blumberg, & Auld, 2010, p. 350). It is
essential that teachers present information to students in an interesting way to help them become
engaged, stay attentive, and excited to learn about a topic. The more a student is motivated and
involved in his/her learning, the more a child will progress in his/her knowledge and critical
thinking skills, which relates to cognitive science and how students’ learning can be positively
affected. This idea relates to Perkins’ (2009) principle of teaching to “make the game worth
playing” because motivation, especially “intrinsic motivation [has shown to predict] greater
achievement” with students (p.55). By “game”, Perkins (2009) is referring to what the students
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 5
are learning (p. 55). As a student becomes motivated in his/her learning, he/she is more apt to
want to continue learning about the topic/concept.
When a student loses interest in a topic, the teacher does not have the student’s undivided
attention because his/her mind is elsewhere. “When we withdraw attention from an event or
object, we lose consciousness of its attributes and properties” (Ahmadi, Gilakjani, & Ahmadi,
2011, p. 1366). Therefore, if a student is unmotivated, unengaged, and loses interest, he/she will
not learn the information and will be unable to use it for future reference. “The whole point of
education is to prepare people with skills and knowledge and understanding for use elsewhere,
often very elsewhere” (Perkins, 2009, p. 114). For these reasons, it is necessary for teachers to
ensure they are implementing motivational instructional strategies by providing engaging
activities that will motivate students to want to learn, which will help improve students’ learning
outcomes over time.
Literature Review
The research from the scholarly peer-reviewed articles reveals that instructional strategies
teachers implement in the classroom can have a direct impact on students’ learning. The
teaching techniques discussed in the literature review reveal teaching methods that have had a
positive influence on students’ learning in the classroom. The specific strategies that have
shown to improve students’ learning are choosing effective materials and classroom
arrangements, providing child-centered activities, integrating students’ interests, supporting
students’ intrinsic motivators, implementing activities that meet the learning preferences of the
students, being cognizant of students’ learning needs and abilities, challenging students based on
their capabilities, connecting classroom concepts to students’ experiences, and providing
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 6
students with immediate feedback (Acat & Dereli, 2012; Akhlaq, Chudhary, Malik, Saeed-ul
Hassan, & Mehmood, 2010; Boi Hoang, Sun Hee, & Yang, 2010; Clayton, Blumberg, & Auld,
2010; Collins, 2012; Goodman, et al., 2011; Hein, 2012; Little, 2012; Oche, 2012; Saleh, 2011;
Tella, 2007; & Yildirim, 2012).
The overall themes found throughout the research articles are implementing instructional
strategies that support students’ interests, intrinsic motivators, and providing students with
choices in the classroom. For example, Boi Hoang, Sun Hee, & Yang (2010) stated that the
materials that are implemented in the classroom motivate students when they are “fun…
unexpected…[and match] their interests and…daily life” (p. 348). In addition, Hein (2012)
stated that providing students with opportunities to become leaders in the classroom and make
their own choices helps teachers implement a “more open-ended and student-centered style
(productive style) where the teacher acts only as facilitator” (p. 14). Yildirim (2012) also
conducted a study that reinforced the importance of teachers supporting the students’ intrinsic
motivators (p.163). Similarly, Goodman et al. (2011) found that students’ intrinsic motivation
had a positive impact on academic achievement (p. 383). Acat & Dereli (2012) discovered in
their study that when “cognitive and lifelong learning goals motivation is very high, intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation is high and negative factors for learning motivation is low” (p. 2670).
Tella’s (2007) study helped to explain the two ways that students are motivated, either
intrinsically or extrinsically (p. 151). When students have an interest in what they are learning,
they will decide to continually want to learn about the topic, which will have a positive impact
on their academic performance in that area of interest. Teachers should understand that some
students are intrinsically motivated in the classroom on specific topics or while participating in
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 7
specific activities. These studies help to support the idea that instructional teaching strategies
impact the way students learn and can positively influence students’ developmental progress.
A different motivational instruction strategy researched by Little (2012) discussed adding
“challenge and meaningfulness in the curriculum as critical elements for promoting motivation in
gifted students” (p. 695). However, all teachers should ask themselves how they are making
learning challenging for every student in the classroom and plan instruction based on the
individual academic needs of the students. A strategy connected to this study was researched by
Oche (2012) who stated “instructional technique via prompt feedback generally improves
students’ achievement” (p. 377). Oche’s strategy connects to Little’s research study because
when teachers provide a student with consistent feedback and scaffold activities to challenge the
student, he/she is presented with activities that match his/her learning needs and, therefore, can
learn specific ways to improve in his/her learning.
All of the studies help to show that “there is a strong link between student motivation and
learning…[and] motivation plays a central role in the amount of time students will invest in their
learning” (Akhlaq, Chudhary, Malik, Saeed-ulHassan, & Mehmood, 2010, p. 41). When a
student is motivated in the classroom, he/she will want to learn what is being taught, pay
attention, participate and remain engaged with the classroom activities, and, therefore, be able to
later recall and apply the learned knowledge in future experiences because he/she would have
absorbed and retained the information. Therefore, it is important for teachers to recognize ways
to use motivation in the classroom to help students want to learn what is being taught.
Project Detail
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 8
The capstone project consists of discovering how motivational strategies teachers use can
positively impact students’ learning. A timeline was used by the Education Specialist to ensure
all components of the capstone project were completed as planned, which is noted in Appendix
A. In October of 2013, seventeen classroom lead teachers in a Bridgeport, CT preschool program
voluntarily completed two surveys that asked questions pertaining to motivational teaching
strategies, which helped the Education Specialist create and prepare a professional development
training on the topic for the program. The surveys are shown in Appendix B & C. The teachers
and classroom names have been kept confidential in the capstone project and professional
development training. The classrooms were given a fictitious name to keep the teachers and
classrooms’ identity confidential. The teachers were first given the definition of motivation to
ensure they had a clear understanding of what the word means in relation to education. One
survey asked teachers demographic information, such as how long they have been teaching and
their education level as well as how they motivate students, what specific strategies they use to
motivate students, which technique(s) they believe is the most beneficial for students to increase
their developmental progress, and why they think the specific strategy or strategies prove to be
the most beneficial. Teachers were also given a second survey that asked them to rate nine
specific motivational teaching strategies on a scale from one to nine, which came from the
strategies discussed in the literature review. Each strategy received a number one through nine;
each number was only used once. The number one was used for the teaching strategy that was
viewed as least important to implement in the classroom to motivate students and the number
nine was used to rate the teaching strategy that was viewed as highly important to implement in
the classroom to motivate students and improve students’ learning outcomes. The goal was to
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 9
discover which teaching strategy or strategies the teachers rate the highest and find to be the
most important to implement in the classroom.
The students were also participants in the study because the data collected came from the
teachers’ completed Creative Curriculum developmental checklists for each child in seventeen
classrooms. “The Creative Curriculum System for Preschool, [is] a research-based system…that
offers comprehensive resources to help early childhood educators build exceptional high-quality
programs” (Teaching Strategies, 2011, para. 1). The teachers completed the Creative Curriculum
checklists for each student by rating the child’s developmental benchmark in social emotional,
cognitive, language, and physical areas based on observations. The checklists were sent to a
specialist who totaled the scores to show the overall percentage for each classroom in each of the
four developmental areas. The child outcome reports that were used came from the 2012-2013
academic year due to time constraints. The class scores were evaluated to discover the
classrooms that have shown the highest developmental progress in May of 2013 in all four
developmental areas. There were two developmental outcome reports, which included one
report showing data for three year olds and one report showing data for four year olds. The two
reports were used to see the total percentages of development for each of the four areas for every
class and to discover the classes that have shown the most developmental progress. The reports
also included the average score for each developmental area as well as the data for Oct. 2012,
January 2013, and May of 2013. The data from May 2013 was analyzed for each developmental
area because this showed the developmental level of the students after being in the classroom for
an entire year. The program’s average score in each developmental area was compared to each
classroom’s score. If the class scored the same score or above the program’s average score in a
developmental area, the score was highlighted to track if a class met or exceeded the program’s
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 10
scores. If the class scored at or above average in all four developmental levels on both three and
four year old outcome reports, the classroom teacher was cited as implementing successful
teaching strategies. Therefore, the strategies these teachers stated in their surveys as important to
implement were cited as the most successful motivational strategies.
The Education Specialist evaluated the completed surveys that asked the teachers to rate nine
motivational teaching strategies on a scale from one to nine, which nine was rated as being the
most important strategy to implement. She evaluated the six surveys from the teachers whose
classrooms met or exceeded the program’s scores in the developmental reports. The Education
Specialist wrote down the strategy each teacher rated as number nine to see if there was one
strategy that was rated the most often as nine. Unfortunately, there were five different strategies
rated as number nine and only one strategy was rated as nine twice. Next, the Education
Specialist decided to see if there were any strategies rated similarly between the six teachers.
She wrote each number down, one through nine, and under each number she wrote the strategy
the teachers rated as that number. For example, she wrote down the number eight and listed all of
the strategies the teachers rated as a number eight, which would mean the teachers thought of the
strategy as second most important to implement. Unfortunately, there were very minimal
similarities of ratings for the nine ratings. Therefore, the Education Specialist decided to create
an Excel spreadsheet that would show the number each teacher gave for each strategy. She
labeled the strategies by giving them each a number, such as the first strategy mentioned on the
questionnaire was given a number one, which was used to identify the strategies. Under each
strategy, she wrote the number that the teacher wrote to rate the strategy and then added up all
the ratings under each strategy and the strategy that received the highest score was cited as the
most important strategy to implement, which was providing students with immediate feedback.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 11
To analyze the results from the open-ended questionnaires, the Education Specialist wrote
down all of the teachers’ responses for each of the four questions. This was completed
separately for the six teachers who were cited as using successful teaching strategies as well as
for all sixteen teachers who completed the questionnaire. The Education Specialist summarized
the responses from the six teachers for each of the four questions on the open-ended
questionnaire. When analyzing all sixteen responses in the questionnaire, she highlighted the
teachers’ responses whose scores met or exceeded the program’s scores to see if there were any
similarities and/or differences between how the teachers whose scores met or exceeded the
program’s scores to the teachers whose scores were below the program’s scores. Reading
through the responses, there were only a few similarities and differences. For example, the
teachers’ whose scores were below the program’s scores, the teachers mentioned the word “fun”
more often in their responses than the teachers whose scores met or exceeded the program’s
scores.
The Education Specialist then decided to write down key words from each teacher’s response
and tally how many teachers from each group mentioned the response. She made three groups
for each question: Similarities (both groups mentioned key word) and two groups for
differences- Group B (teachers whose scores were below the program’s scores) and Group S
(teachers whose scores met or exceeded the program’s scores). As the Education Specialist
reflected on this data that was organized, she found that it was still difficult to pinpoint
commonalities or differences between the two groups. However, as she was evaluating their key
words/responses, she discovered that the key words could be grouped into two categories,
academic and social emotional. Every key word could be cited as either a strategy that would be
considered an academic technique or a social emotional technique. For example, a key word
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 12
would be cited as an academic technique if it could motivate students through the use of
materials or techniques geared towards students’ academic abilities and/or needs. A key word
would be cited as a social emotional technique if it influenced the child’s feelings or utilized the
emotions of the teachers, such as presenting material enthusiastically. This concept relates to
“extrinsic motivation [because it] refers to external sources of influence on a students’
motivation and is subdivided into socialization (interactions with and support from parents,
teachers and friends) and rewards (tangible and intangible incentives)” (Goodman et al., 2011, p.
374). The Education Specialist then wrote either an A (Academic) or SE (Social Emotional)
next to each word in each group. For each group, she calculated the percentage of responses that
were cited as an academic response.
The data collected was used to create professional development training for all of the teaching
staff to educate them on successful motivational teaching techniques, which will be implemented
into the program on January 8, 2014. A PowerPoint presentation was developed and will be
presented at the training, as well as published on the Education Specialist’s website,
www.teachertechniques.com. The presentation will be used in a future training to highlight the
information and data gathered from the study. The capstone project will benefit students and
teachers in the Education Specialist’s preschool program as well as educators around the globe.
The teachers in the Bridgeport preschool will be trained and educated on motivational teaching
strategies that are successful in improving student outcomes and preschool students will,
therefore, benefit because they will be provided with an optimal learning environment where
they can learn to the best of their ability.
Results
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 13
After analyzing the project outcome reports, there were a total of six teachers out of seventeen
classrooms that either met or exceeded the program’s scores in all four developmental areas.
Therefore, the Education Specialist assessed these six teachers’ questionnaires that they
completed. Analyzing the demographic information collected by the six teachers, all of the
teachers have been teaching for at least four years, with an average of 13 years in the field of
early education. The responses from the open-ended questionnaires from the six teachers were
summarized for each of the four questions. A conclusion was developed based on all of the
responses from the four questions. Overall, teachers can motivate students by providing an
encouraging and positive developmentally appropriate, child-directed learning environment
where lessons are engaging, purposeful, and based on students’ interests and abilities. The
summary for each of the four questions as well as well as the conclusion is cited in Appendix D.
The Education Specialist listed the responses from all sixteen questionnaires that the teachers
completed for each of the four open-ended questions in an attempt to find differences and
similarities between the responses. Each teacher’s response is cited using key words that were
used in the teacher’s entire response. The numbers in parentheses next to a technique signifies
the number of teachers that mentioned the technique in their response. The responses were
categorized for each question in one of three groups, teachers who successfully met or exceeded
the program outcome scores in all four developmental areas, teachers whose developmental
outcome scores were below the program’s scores, or both groups cited the key word in their
responses. The percentage of academic techniques implemented was shown through percentages
for each group for each question. The results indicated that the teachers who met or exceeded
the program’s outcome scores used more academic techniques and less social emotional
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 14
techniques than the teachers who had scores below the program outcome scores. The data for
each question is cited in Appendix E.
The Education Specialist also cited each of the sixteen teacher’s responses to the four
questions as an academic technique, social emotional technique, or incorporating both academic
and social emotional techniques in his/her response. It was concluded that the teachers who met
or exceeded the program outcomes used more academic techniques to motivate students. The
teachers who scored below the program outcomes used more social emotional techniques to
motivate students. The data collected for each question is cited in Appendix F.
The six teachers who met or exceeded the program’s scores for all four developmental areas
in the outcome reports rated “providing students with immediate feedback” as the most
important strategy to implement in the classroom. The results of how each strategy was rated by
the six teachers as well as a bar graph visually displaying the results are noted in Appendix G.
Discussion
The results of this study indicate that providing students with immediate feedback as well as
implementing academic techniques have shown to improve students’ learning. In addition,
teachers can motivate students by providing an encouraging and positive developmentally
appropriate, child-directed learning environment where lessons are engaging, purposeful, and
based on students’ interests and abilities. These results are similar to the findings in previous
research conducted on successful motivational teaching strategies. Oche (2012) stated
“instructional technique via prompt feedback generally improves students’ achievement” (p.
377), which is consistent with the strategy that was rated as the most important to implement by
the six teachers who were shown to improve students’ learning in the present study. In addition,
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 15
Oche (2012) stated “prompt feedback strategy should always be used to arouse, sustain and
maintain interest of students” (p. 378). “Learners want engaging learning environments that
promote ‘direct interaction with… [teachers] and students’, ‘spontaneity’, ‘immediate
feedback’…” (Clayton, Blumberg, & Auld, 2010, p. 362). The Education Specialist supports the
findings from the present research study as well as the findings from previous research studies.
It is essential that teachers provide students with immediate feedback during activities based on
what they are doing to help the children progress in their learning. When students are given
immediate feedback, the students can alter or implement different strategies to complete a task.
Students can become more motivated when teachers are monitoring their progress because
teachers can provide positive reinforcement for their accomplishments and encouraging words to
engage in and complete challenging tasks.
The six teachers in the present study cited that it is beneficial to implement lessons that are
based on students’ interests, which is consistent with Boi Hoang, Sun Hee, & Yang (2010) who
stated that the materials that are implemented in the classroom motivate students when they are
“fun…unexpected…[and match] their interests and…daily life” (p. 348). Also, the six teachers
stated that students can become motivated through a child-directed learning environment. This
idea is similar to what Hein (2012) stated in his research, which is to provide students with
opportunities to become leaders in the classroom and make their own choices, which helps
teachers implement a “more open-ended and student-centered style (productive style) where the
teacher acts only as facilitator” (p. 14). The Education Specialist supports the findings from the
present study and previous research because when students are provided with activities that they
find interesting, students are more likely to become motivated to engage in activities in the
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 16
classroom. Therefore, the students will take a more active role in their learning and will be more
likely to remain engaged and interested in the activities and instruction.
In addition, the six teachers in the present study stated that lessons should be based on
students’ interests, which is similar to Yildirim’s (2012) findings that reinforced the importance
of teachers supporting the students’ intrinsic motivators (p.163). When a student is interested in
the concepts/ideas being taught, the students will become intrinsically motivated to further their
learning on the topic of study. Teachers should understand that some students are intrinsically
motivated in the classroom on specific topics or while participating in specific activities.
Goodman et al. (2011) found that students’ intrinsic motivation had a positive impact on
academic achievement (p. 383). Also, Acat & Dereli (2012) discovered in their study that when
“cognitive and lifelong learning goals motivation is very high, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
is high and negative factors for learning motivation is low” (p. 2670). This idea also relates to
Tella’s (2007) study, which helped to explain the two ways that students are motivated, either
intrinsically or extrinsically (p. 151).
Contribution to Education
This capstone project contributes to the Education Specialist’s educational context because it
has expanded on her knowledge of successful motivational strategies, which will be
implemented into preschool classrooms to improve students’ learning outcomes over time. She
has administered questionnaires to teachers in her Bridgeport preschool to discover which
specific motivational strategies are beneficial to students in the program, which will be taught to
teachers to implement program wide in the preschool. In turn, students will be provided with an
optimal learning environment when teachers implement the specific strategies found to improve
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 17
student achievement. Based on the findings from the project, professional development training
has been created and will be implemented to educate teachers in the Bridgeport preschool on the
specific strategies that have had a positive impact on students’ learning outcomes. Findings will
be discussed during the professional development training as well as posted on the Education
Specialist’s website, www.teachertechniques.com. The Education Specialist’s educational
context will be enhanced because when the teachers in her program implement the successful
motivational teaching strategies, the students’ learning outcomes will increase over time.
The capstone project will make a contribution to the education community at-large because
the specific successful motivational strategies will be shared with the teachers at the Bridgeport
preschool that has over one thousand preschool students enrolled as well as educators reading the
information online on her website. Teachers who are presented with the information on
successful motivational strategies will become knowledgeable of the specific techniques to
implement with preschool students to improve learning outcomes. Discovering motivational
strategies that can positively impact preschool students’ learning and citing the specific strategies
adds value to the field of education because there has been a lack of research conducted at the
preschool level. Educators will learn what they can implement and how they can implement the
techniques to improve their students’ academic abilities at the preschool level, which proves to
be a worthy and needed topic to be studied.
Contribution to Personal Skills
The capstone project has expanded on the Education Specialist’s professional skills because
she has learned from research and through surveys completed by preschool teachers what
specific motivational instructional strategies increase preschool students’ learning outcomes.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 18
This project expands on the Education Specialist’s previous knowledge of successful teaching
strategies and she will, therefore, be able to educate colleagues and teachers in early education
on the specific techniques that can improve students’ learning outcomes. Her leadership skills
have improved because the information learned from the project has been implemented in her
professional development training. She built upon her leadership skills through planning and
conducting training for over two hundred teachers in her program. She will help the teachers
become more knowledgeable of the techniques that should be implemented as well as how they
can be integrated into lessons. The Education Specialist has taken the initiative to lead her
program in the implementation of successful teaching strategies and ensuring teachers are
educated on teaching practices that will result in higher student learning outcomes. The
Education Specialist has, therefore, achieved professional growth by learning the specific
motivational strategies that positively impact students’ learning and better understanding how
and why they should be implemented with students in the classroom.
Project Outcomes
The main outcomes of the capstone project will be to educate early education teachers on the
motivational instructional strategies that increase students’ learning outcomes. The Education
Specialist in a Bridgeport, CT preschool program developed professional development training
by using the information and data collected from her project. She will demonstrate leadership
skills in her program by training and educating over two hundred early education teaching staff
on successful motivational teaching strategies where over one thousand students are enrolled.
The Education Specialist has cited specific motivational teaching strategies that have shown to
be effective in increasing students’ developmental learning outcomes in the preschool program.
She will use the data collected to educate the staff through a PowerPoint presentation that
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 19
discusses the teaching strategies that should be implemented as well as how the techniques can
be implemented in the classroom successfully. The teachers will also expand on their knowledge
of successful motivational teaching strategies and learn the importance of implementing the
strategies to positively impact students’ learning. When all of the teachers are trained and
educated on the specific motivational strategies, the teachers will implement the strategies in the
classroom, which will have a positive impact on all of the students in the program by creating an
optimal learning environment where the children’s developmental learning outcomes will be
positively affected.
In addition, the Education Specialist has published the information and data collected on her
website, www.teachertechniques.com. This information can be viewed by educators who can
also learn what motivational teaching strategies have shown to have a positive impact on
students’ learning. Educators from around the globe can learn from the capstone project’s
findings which strategies have shown to increase students’ developmental learning outcomes and
how they can be specifically implemented. Teachers can then apply what they learned to
implement the strategies in their own professional learning environment. The goal of the
capstone project is to provide educators with information regarding specific motivational
instructional strategies that have shown to increase students’ learning outcomes. When the
educators implement the strategies into their own classroom, students from around the world will
be provided with an optimal learning environment where they can learn to the best of their
ability.
Key M.Ed. Outcomes
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 20
The first key M. Ed. outcome that the Education Specialist has demonstrated she has met is to
“develop and demonstrate leadership thinking in critical areas of interest within [her] field” (Post
University, n.d., para. 3). The outcome was met because she created professional development
training for all of the teaching staff and will lead the teachers in implementing the motivational
teaching techniques into the classrooms that serve over one thousand students. The Education
Specialist has critically evaluated the data collected on motivation teaching strategies from the
surveys completed by the teachers in her program. She has evaluated the techniques to discover
the specific strategies that improve students’ learning.
In addition, prior to the professional development training, the Education Specialist reflected
on her program to decide what area needed improvement to enhance the preschool. The
Education Specialist discovered that the teaching strategies that the teachers implement can have
a direct impact on the way students learn which can also either positively or negatively impact
the students’ learning outcomes. The Education Specialist decided to become the leader of her
program to discover which teaching strategies can be shown as the most effective and increase
students’ developmental progress. In her program, she has taken the lead in transforming the
way instruction is implemented in the Bridgeport, CT preschool program by planning to train
staff on specific strategies that are essential to every classroom. When teachers implement the
strategies, they will be providing students with an optimal learning environment where students
can learn to the best of their ability.
In addition, the Education Specialist has published her findings regarding successful
motivational strategies on her website, www.teachertechniques.com, which demonstrates
leadership in the field of education because educators from around the globe can learn from the
research that she has conducted and implement the strategies in their own professional learning
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 21
environment. The Education Specialist can lead others from around the world in creating new
methods of instruction to improve students’ learning outcomes.
The second key M. Ed. outcome that the Education Specialist has demonstrated she has met is
“to apply the principles of cognitive science to teaching & learning to positively affect learning
and improve the practice of teaching” (Post University, n.d., para. 3). The outcome was met by
the Education Specialist because she researched motivational teaching strategies and discussed
how the strategies are essential for teachers to implement into the classroom in relation to
cognitive science. When the strategies are implemented they enhance students’ learning, which
involves students using critical thinking skills, such as logic and concepts to think about the
information being taught. Logic, rules, concepts, analogies, and images were discussed to
explain how cognitive science concepts relate to teaching strategies that improve students’
learning. These concepts were discussed in the capstone project as well as integrated into the
PowerPoint presentation that will be utilized during the professional development training for the
teachers in the Bridgeport preschool program and published on the Education Specialists’
website, www.teachertechniques.com. When educators are educated on the specific motivational
strategies that have shown to improve students’ learning, the practice of teaching will be
improved which will result in students’ learning and achievement to be positively affected.
The third key M. Ed. outcome that the Education Specialist has demonstrated she has met is
“to use selected advanced instructional strategies appropriate for specific learning outcomes”
(Post University, n.d., para. 4). The outcome was met by the Education Specialist because she
conducted research on motivational instructional strategies that have previously been
implemented and shown to have a positive impact on students’ learning. The Education
Specialist conducted her own study on motivational teaching strategies to discover specific
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 22
strategies that have shown to increase student achievement in a preschool program. The results
and findings from the study will be used to train and educate teachers on instructional strategies
that will have a positive influence on students’ developmental learning outcomes. The teachers
in her program will be trained on the specific strategies that should be implemented into the
program to increase student achievement. Also, the strategies were explained and published on
her website, www.teachertechniques.com, to educate teachers around the world on the specific
strategies that should be implemented to expand on educators’ knowledge of successful teaching
techniques as well as improve students’ learning when the techniques are implemented in the
classroom.
Technology
The technology that is within the scope of the project is a PowerPoint presentation that
describes the study that was conducted in the preschool program in Bridgeport, CT, the findings
from the study, the results, conclusions regarding motivational teaching strategies for students at
the preschool level, and integrates the principles of cognitive science and how they apply to
teaching and learning to positively affect learning and improve the practice of teaching. The
PowerPoint presentation will be utilized both in a professional development training for all of the
teachers in the preschool program in Bridgeport, CT as well as published online for educators
around the globe to view and learn from. The PowerPoint is published on the Education
Specialist’s website, www.teachertechniques.com, which was created from the knowledge
learned from Post University. The Education Specialist learned how to create an online
professional learning environment through using WordPress and Moodle. The website was
created through a culmination of the classes she has been enrolled in at Post University.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 23
However, the PowerPoint presentation published on the website was created by the Education
Specialist’s previous knowledge of the program.
Project Evaluation
The project has been evaluated by ensuring that all three of the program and concentration
outcomes were met upon the completion of the project, which was assessed by completing a
rubric. In addition, the professional development training will be evaluated through a pre and
post questionnaire filled out by the teachers in the Education Specialist’s program to ensure that
all of the objectives are met when the training has been completed, which is shown in Appendix
K. Also, at the end of the 2013-2014 school year, the outcome reports will be evaluated by the
Education Specialist to assess whether the classrooms have shown a higher increase in
developmental achievement as compared to last year’s scores based on the Creative Curriculum
developmental checklists the teachers complete three times a year. A rubric was created for the
program and concentration outcomes, professional development training, and ongoing evaluation
of staff’s implementation of the motivational teaching strategies and results from the
developmental outcome reports. A rubric was created to ensure that all of the outcomes from the
capstone project are met, which is cited in Appendix L. The Education Specialist knew that she
has met all of the outcomes through the completion of the rubric at the conclusion of the project.
In addition, the Education Specialist will know she met all of the outcomes when she collects
and evaluates the pre and post questionnaires for the professional development training and
assesses the students’ learning outcomes at the end of the 2013-2014 school year when all of the
developmental outcome reports are complete.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 24
An area of strength for this capstone project is that the findings from the current research
study conducted in the Education Specialist’s preschool program are consistent with the findings
from previous research conducted on successful motivational teaching strategies. The six
teachers who had students’ scores that met or exceeded the program’s scores in all four
developmental areas on the outcome reports used similar techniques to those who previously
researched successful strategies. The teachers cited specific techniques and the Education
Specialist was able to make connections between key words the teachers mentioned and the
strategies cited in the scholarly research studies.
In addition, the findings from this capstone project will lead the Education Specialist to
further explore the topic of motivational teaching strategies in her preschool program. She will
work with and support teachers on using specific motivational strategies and track the teacher’s
progress on the implementation of the techniques. Also, the Education Specialist will track the
students’ scores in the outcome reports to discover teachers who are consistently showing
students’ scores meeting or exceeding the program’s scores in all four developmental areas.
Therefore, this capstone project will help improve the teaching techniques that teachers
implement in the classroom, which will lead to students’ improved learning over time.
Conclusion
This research study helped to explore and discover specific motivational strategies that
improve students’ learning. There has been a lack of research studies conducted on motivational
teaching strategies, specifically at the preschool age level. “Clearly, motivational beliefs and
learning strategies influence academic outcomes. However, research addressing learners’
motivation and learning strategies in the selection of a particular learning environment remains
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 25
limited” (Clayton, Blumberg, & Auld, 2010, p. 351). The findings from this study discovered
that implementing immediate feedback and academic teaching strategies as well as providing an
encouraging and positive developmentally appropriate, child-directed learning environment
where lessons are engaging, purposeful, and based on students’ interests and abilities can
improve students’ learning. Therefore, this research study has added value to the field of
education because educators can learn specific motivational strategies that have shown to
enhance students’ learning. In addition, the research study was conducted in a preschool
program, which will help educators in this grade level learn what they can implement as well as
how they can implement the techniques to improve their students’ academic abilities.
To further research the topic of motivational teaching strategies, the Education Specialist will
continue to track the teachers’ use of motivational teaching techniques throughout the year. The
Education Specialist will use a form to track the motivational teaching strategies that the teachers
implement into the classroom, which is shown in Appendix H. The form will track the strategy
the teacher implemented, how the strategy was implemented, if the strategy was successful, and
ideas for improvements for each classroom teacher for each month of the school year. The
Education Specialist will use a tracking sheet for each month of the year as shown in Appendix I.
The form will track the assistance and support, follow-up, the date of follow-up and if the
follow-up has been completed for the month. In addition, the Education Specialist will use a
tracking sheet to organize and collect data for the results from the Developmental Outcome
Reports as shown in Appendix J. The form lists each classroom for each outcome report and
separates the scores for each of the four developmental areas, which are social emotional,
cognitive, language, and physical.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 26
In addition, based on the findings in the current study, the researcher can further research
motivational teaching strategies by analyzing whether students are motivated by intrinsic
motivation or extrinsic motivation. The current research study found that the teachers whose
students’ scores met or exceeded the program’s scores used more academic techniques rather
than social emotional techniques. It would be beneficial to discover whether the techniques that
were cited by the teachers could be cited as either intrinsic or extrinsic motivators. “Intrinsic
motivation is seen as internal reward, while extrinsic motivation is incentive or reward that a
person can enjoy after he finishes his work” (Tella, 2007, p. 151). For example, the teachers
mentioned prizes as a way to motivate students, which would be an example of extrinsic
motivation.
A limitation of the study was that the outcome reports that were analyzed were for one school
year. It would be beneficial to study the outcome reports for the preschool program for at least
three consecutive years to observe and analyze the students’ scores to track the classrooms that
consistently have students’ scores in all developmental areas that meet or exceed the program’s
scores. If there are specific classroom teachers that consistently improve students’ learning
outcomes, it would be beneficial to further study their specific motivational strategies that
improve students’ learning.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 27
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MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 31
Appendix A
Capstone Project Timeline
Week 1 & 2:
Administer two surveys to seventeen teachers in the preschool program in Bridgeport, CT.
Inform teachers the surveys are voluntary and will be used to collect data on motivational
teaching strategies implemented in the program, which will be used to create training for all
of the teachers.
Week 3:
Analyze and evaluate the data from the teaching surveys as well as the three outcome
reports from the 2012-2013 school year.
Specific motivational teaching strategies that were used in classrooms that showed the
highest developmental progress in the developmental outcome reports will be cited as
successful motivational teaching techniques.
Week 4:
Create conclusions from the findings from the capstone project and cite specific
motivational teaching strategies that have shown to have a positive impact on students’
learning in the preschool program.
Week 5 & 6:
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 32
Create a PowerPoint presentation that incorporates the research, findings, and conclusions
from the capstone project, which will be used for professional development training on
motivational teaching strategies for all of the teachers in the preschool program.
Week 7 & 8:
Write the capstone project and finalize all of the components to ensure the written
assignment is completed prior to the last day of class on EDU 699.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 33
Appendix B
Motivation QuestionnaireName: ________________________________________ Date: _________________________________
Site: __________________________________ Classroom: ____________________________
Years in the field of early education: ____________________
Highest degree earned: _______________________________
Subject area/Major degree earned in: _________________________
Year earned degree: __________________________________
Currently attending school? Yes ___________ No _____________ If yes, degree working towards is ___________________________________________
Definition of motivation as stated by Merriam-Webster (2013): "The act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something: the act or process of motivating someone…The condition of being eager to act or work…A force or influence that causes someone to do something" (para. 1).
Reference:Merriam-Webster. (2013). Merriam-Webster: Motivation . Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/motivation
How do you motivate students in the classroom?
What specific strategy or strategies do you use to motivate students?
What specific strategy/technique do you believe has the most positive impact on your students' learning outcomes and developmental progress?
Why do you think the specific strategy or strategies prove to be the most beneficial for your students?
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 34
Appendix C
Second Survey on Motivational Teaching Strategies
Please rate the following motivational teaching strategies on a scale from one to nine, using each number only once. Rating a strategy as a number one means the strategy is the least important to implement in the classroom.Rating a strategy as a number nine means the strategy is the most important to implement in the classroom.
__________ Choosing effective materials and classroom arrangements
__________ Providing child-centered activities
__________ Integrating students' interests
__________ Supporting students' intrinsic motivators
__________ Implementing activities that meet the learning preferences of the students
__________ Being aware of the students' learning needs and abilities
__________ Challenging students based on their capabilities
__________ Connecting classroom concepts to students' experiences
__________ Providing students with immediate feedback
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 35
Appendix D
Open-Ended Questionnaire Summary for Six Teachers with Successful Student Outcomes
How do you motivate students in the classroom?
By making learning: Fun, exciting, interesting, interactive, and child-friendly.
By providing: Encouragement, positive reinforcement, one-on-one support, praise, and age-
appropriate activities and materials based on abilities.
What specific strategy or strategies do you use to motivate students?
By being: Energized, enthusiastic, positive, engaging, and encouraging.
By implementing: Small group activities, one-on-one support, rhyming books, praise, and
feedback.
What specific strategy/technique do you believe has the most positive impact on your
students’ learning outcomes and developmental progress?
By implementing: Encouragement, positive learning environment with age-appropriate materials
and activities, specific feedback and praise, activities related to students’ interests, positive teacher
attitude, new concepts into instruction, interactive stories, and support to increase students’ self-
help skills.
Why do you think the specific strategy or strategies prove to be the most beneficial for your
students?
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 36
When topics are interesting, students are more likely to be engaged and learn. When students are
presented with choices and opportunities to make their own decisions, students are more likely to
be motivated. When strategies target a specific goal or developmental domain, it enhances the
children’s developmental skills. The strategies are meaningful and purposeful. Students’ ideas can
influence teaching. When teachers show they care about students, children recognize attitudes and
are motivated to learn.
Conclusion:
Overall, teachers can motivate students by providing an: Encouraging and positive
developmentally appropriate, child-directed learning environment where lessons are engaging,
purposeful, and based on students’ interests and abilities.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 37
Appendix E
Summary (Citing Differences and Similarities) of all 16 teacher responses in the open-ended
questionnaire (one teacher chose not to respond to the questions).
Each teacher’s response is cited using key words that were used in the teacher’s entire response.
Therefore, the techniques exceed the amount of responses. For example, one teacher cited 3 social
emotional techniques and one academic technique in her entire response. The three key words
were tallied as social emotional techniques and one academic technique.
The numbers in parenthesis next to a technique signifies the number of teachers that mentioned the
technique in their response.
SE: Social Emotional Technique
A: Academic Technique
(B): Teachers whose scores were below the program’s outcome scores.
(A): Teachers whose scores met or exceeded the program’s outcome scores in all four
developmental areas.
1. How do you motivate students in the classroom?
Differences:
Teachers who successfully met or exceeded the program outcome scores in all four
developmental areas:
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 38
A Match ability level
A Make the activity colorful
A Interactive activity
A Through literacy
A Child-friendly
A Materials are accessible
SE Enthusiasm
A Hands-on support
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: 7/8= .875= 88%
Teachers whose developmental outcome scores were below the program’s scores:
SE Nurture
SE Build positive relationships
A Keep students involved
SE Interests (3)
A Easy
A Challenge
SE Prizes (2)
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 39
SE Smiling
SE Feedback
A Music
SE Exciting (2)
SE Playing (2)
SE Toys (2)
SE Talk about family
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: 4/20= .20= 20%
Similarities:
(S): Teachers whose scores successfully met or exceeded program outcome scores
(B): Teachers whose scores were below program outcome scores
SE Encouragement 3 (B), 2 (S)
SE Praise 5 (B), 2 (S)
SE Fun 4 (B), 1 (S)
SE Interesting 1(B), 1 (S)
SE Positive reinforcement 1(B), 2 (S)
SE Talking to students 1 (B), 1 (S)
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 40
A Modeling 1 (B), 1 (S)
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: (B) 1/26= .038= .04= 4%
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: (A) 1/26= .038= .04= 4%
There were a total of 15 Social Emotional Techniques that group B used.
There were a total of 9 Social Emotional Techniques that group A used.
2. What specific strategy or strategies do you use to motivate students?
Differences:
Teachers who successfully met or exceeded the program outcome scores in all four
developmental areas:
SE Be energized
SE Enthusiastic
SE Talk to students
A One on one/small groups
A Literacy
SE Praise
A Provide feedback
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: 3/7= .428= 43%
Teachers whose developmental outcome scores were below the program’s scores:
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 41
SE Warm environment
SE Responsive environment
A Change the learning environment (2)
SE Make learning exciting
SE Social emotional teaching strategies/feelings (2)
SE Making learning fun (2)
A Music/songs (3)
A Puppets
A Variety of materials
A Fingers to count
A Start the activity
SE Interesting activities
SE Colorful activities
SE Students’ interests (2)
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: 9/22= .409= 41%
Similarities:
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 42
(S): Teachers whose scores successfully met or exceeded program outcome scores
(B): Teachers whose scores were below program outcome scores
SE Encourage 1(B), 4 (S)
SE Positive 1(B), 1 (S)
SE Engaging 1(B), 2 (S)
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: (B) 0%
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: (A) 0%
There were a total of 3 Social Emotional Techniques that group B used.
There were a total of 7 Social Emotional Techniques that group A used.
3. What specific strategy/technique do you believe has the most positive impact on your
students’ learning outcomes and developmental progress?
Differences:
Teachers who successfully met or exceeded the program outcome scores in all four
developmental areas:
SE Be energized
A Age-appropriate materials
A Learn new concepts
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 43
A Literacy
A Learn through play
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: 4/5= .80= 80%
Teachers whose developmental outcome scores were below the program’s scores:
A Consistency in the classroom
SE Positive feedback
SE Share information common with child
SE Patience/understanding
SE Students’ interests
A Sing songs
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: 4/8= .5= 50%
Similarities:
(S): Teachers whose scores successfully met or exceeded program outcome scores
(B): Teachers whose scores were below program outcome scores
SE Encouragement 1 (B), 1 (S)
SE Praise 2 (B), 2 (S)
SE Positive attitude/atmosphere 2 (B), 1 (S)
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 44
SE Interactions with children 1 (B), 1 (S)
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: (B) 0%
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: (A) 0%
There were a total of 6 Social Emotional Techniques that group B used.
There were a total of 5 Social Emotional Techniques that group A used.
4. Why do you think the specific strategy or strategies prove to be the most beneficial for
your students?
Differences:
Teachers who successfully met or exceeded the program outcome scores in all four
developmental areas:
A Concepts are motivating
SE Students sense their teachers’ hard work
A Strategies are meaningful and purposeful
A Learning specific goal that enhances developmental skills
A Limitless abilities
A Have choices/ make own decisions
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: 5/6= .83= 83%
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 45
Teachers whose developmental outcome scores were below the program’s scores:
SE Feel important and loved (2)
A Keep them involved
A Like changes
SE Mix work with fun
A Curious to learn more
A Chose effective materials
SE Motivated teacher
SE Attention
A Practice
SE Child is happy
A Music/songs
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: 7/13= .538= 54%
Similarities:
(S): Teachers whose scores successfully met or exceeded program outcome scores
(B): Teachers whose scores were below program outcome scores
SE Students’ interests 2(B), 2 (S)
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 46
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: (B) 0%
Percentage of academic techniques implemented: (A) 0%
There were a total of 2 Social Emotional Techniques that group B used.
There were a total of 2 Social Emotional Techniques that group A used.
Conclusion:
Overall, the teachers who met or exceeded the program’s outcome scores used more
academic techniques and less social emotional techniques than the teachers who had scores
below the program outcome scores.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 47
Appendix F
Summary of all Responses in Open-Ended Survey, 16 responses for each question (one
teacher chose not to respond to the questions)
Responses in bold are from the six teachers who had met or exceeded program scores in all
four developmental areas for three and four year olds in the developmental outcome reports.
SE: Social Emotional Technique
A: Academic Technique
(B): Teachers whose scores were below the program’s outcome scores.
(A): Teachers whose scores met or exceeded the program’s outcome scores in all four
developmental areas.
How do you motivate students in the classroom?
SE Encouragement, praise behavior, nurture, support their needs, build positive relationships
with every child in class
SE Keep them involved, find out their interests
SE Make it fun and easy for the children. Challenge the children all the time. Praise them all
the time- prizes every Friday.
SE Modeling, smiling, and discussing the fun that will come. Encouraging the child from start
to finish in an activity. By praising the child when done.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 48
SE/A Use frequent positive feedback to support students. The use of music in areas.
SE/A Making the lesson fun and exciting. Encouraging them to do their best. Doing
something at their level that is not so easy and not so difficult. Make the lesson interesting.
SE Making all activities fun and exciting.
SE/A Praising, sticker chart, singing songs, playing, prize box, toys.
A Making the activity colorful and interactive and through literacy.
SE Using positive reinforcement, showing them that if they do things well the teachers will
give praise and love.
SE Talking to students, giving toys they like, encouraging conversations and play time, finding
out what they enjoy doing, talk about family.
SE Motivational words, positive words, you can do it. Always use a positive tone. One on
one words work well when the child is having some difficulty.
SE/A Establish a child friendly environment, make all materials accessible, demonstrate
variety of the way materials can be used, present materials with enthusiasm.
SE/A Encouragement and praises, emphasize all efforts made by the students, provide
hands-on support to students.
SE Praising their behavior.
SE/A Sing songs that get them motivated. Do fun and interesting activities that the children are
interested in doing.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 49
Results for Techniques:
Academic: (B) 0, (S) 1
Social Emotional: (B) 7, (S)2
Academic & Social Emotional: (B) 3, (S) 3
The teachers who met or exceeded the program outcome scores used more academic
techniques than the teachers who scored below the program outcome scores.
The teachers who scored below the program outcome scores used more social emotional
techniques than the teachers who met or exceeded the program outcome scores.
Each group of teachers listed 3 techniques that were considered both academic and social
emotional techniques.
What specific strategy or strategies do you use to motivate students?
SE Providing a warm and responsive environment: changing the learning environment
frequently to keep children engaged, making learning exciting, using social emotional teaching
strategies, be able to identify feelings of self and others.
SE/A Making learning fun and using music and making up songs, using puppets.
A When teaching the children numbers, use their fingers to count. Use a variety of materials,
change the materials according to the theme of the month.
SE/A Start the activity so the child can join in, encourage the child to join the teacher, make the
activities interesting, colorful and fun.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 50
SE Create an open and positive atmosphere.
SE Being energized, showing enthusiasm, and positive attitude while presenting the
lesson, and also engaging students.
SE Taking into account the students’ interests and make learning fun.
A Sing songs in the morning to really motivate students, it wakes them up and they feel good.
SE Encourage their strengths.
SE Ask students about feelings.
SE Cook, build, paint, color together with the students. Use different techniques that the child
enjoys doing, interact with the child.
SE/A Talk to the student, encourage them to try a project and finish a project. Use one on
one or small groups.
SE/A Story time/circle time, change voice tone to connect with characters, use rhyming
books, engage children in the story by inserting their names or reenact the story.
SE If a child has little confidence in completing a task, verbally encourage child to try the
activity. Once child has attempted, praise his/her effort.
SE/A Encourage children and provide feedback.
SE/A Sing songs and try to make the activities relate to the kids and grab their attention.
Results for Techniques:
Academic: (B)2, (S)0
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 51
Social Emotional: (B)5, (S) 3
Academic & Social Emotional: (B) 3, (S) 3
The teachers who scored below the program outcome scores used more academic techniques
than the teachers who met or exceeded the program outcome scores.
The teachers who scored below the program outcome scores used more social emotional
techniques than the teachers who met or exceeded the program outcome scores.
Each group of teachers listed 3 techniques that were considered both academic and social
emotional techniques.
What specific strategy/technique do you believe has the most positive impact on your
students’ learning outcomes and developmental progress?
SE/A Consistency in the classroom with routines, transitions, staff interactions with children and
providing positive feedback all the time. Share information about yourself in common with child.
SE When encouraging them and giving them praise. Having a positive attitude and
atmosphere.
SE/A Using different materials, choose the materials the children like and are interested in.
A Using open-ended questions for understanding how, what, when, why and but.
SE Keeping a positive atmosphere.
SE Student interest, teacher’s attitude, and encouragement.
SE/A Make learning fun and make sure all activities are age appropriate.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 52
SE Praise- everyone wants to know how good they are doing.
SE/A Positive learning environment that has age appropriate materials and activities.
SE Be patient, understanding the child.
SE Depends on the child-what he or she likes to do. Every child is different.
SE/A Children are happy and excited when they do and learn something new, not just
saying they did a good job and walk away, but praise their work.
A Reenacting a simple silly song or fingerplay, such as Jack be Nimble or the Three
Billy Goat Gruff. Teacher directed activities have to be age appropriate.
SE Assuring them every effort counts and is accepted.
SE/A Learn through play. Help them with self-help skills, describe what children can do to
progress their strengths.
A Singing songs has the most positive impact.
Results for Techniques:
Academic: (B)2, (S) 2
Social Emotional: (B) 5, (S) 2
Academic & Social Emotional: (B) 3, (S) 3
The teachers who scored below the program outcome scores used an equal amount of
academic techniques as the teachers who met or exceeded the program outcome scores.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 53
The teachers who scored below the program outcome scores used more social emotional
techniques than the teachers who met or exceeded the program outcome scores.
Each group of teachers listed 3 techniques that were considered both academic and social
emotional techniques.
Why do you think the specific strategy or strategies prove to be the most beneficial for your
students?
SE Children need to feel important and loved.
SE/A When you find out children’s’ interests and keep them involved, you will find out that
learning is more fun for them. You will feel good about what you are teaching to the children
when you see what you are doing works for your students.
SE/A Children like changes and they like to have more fun than working, it’s better to mix work
with fun.
A Children will learn from the process, become knowledgeable of the activity and become
curious to learn more.
SE/A Integrating students’ interests and choose effective materials.
SE Students are more likely to learn if the topic is interesting to them.
A See the students learning and comprehending for the strategies.
SE If a teacher is motivated, he/she brings the best out of his/her students.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 54
A When students concepts are a motivating influence.
SE/A Lots of love, attention, and practice.
SE Makes the child happy.
SE Students can sense the teacher cares about their hard work they have put in.
A Each strategy targets a specific goal or domain that enhances the child/children
developmental skills. Each strategy has to be meaningful and purposeful.
A Students don’t have a limit on the use of their own abilities.
SE/A When children do what they like to do, they do it well and also when they have
choices and make their own decisions.
A Children love music and songs because they are easy to remember, such as the ABC’s song
in which children learn their ABC’s from the song.
Results for Techniques:
Academic: (B) 3, (S) 3
Social Emotional: (B) 3, (S) 2
Academic & Social Emotional: (B) 4, (S) 1
The teachers who scored below the program outcome scores used an equal amount of
academic techniques as the teachers who met or exceeded the program outcome scores.
The teachers who scored below the program outcome scores used more social emotional
techniques than the teachers who met or exceeded the program outcome scores.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 55
The teachers who scored below the program outcome scores used four techniques that were
considered both academic and social emotional. The teachers who met or exceeded the
program outcome scores used one technique that was considered both academic and social
emotional.
Conclusion:
Overall, the teachers who met or exceeded the program outcome scores used more academic
techniques to motivate students.
The teachers who scored below the program outcome scores used more social emotional
techniques to motivate students.
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 56
Appendix G
Data for six teachers who met and/or exceeded program scores in developmental outcome report
Strategy Number1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Teacher 1 7 4 1 8 5 2 6 3 9Teacher 2 8 7 3 2 9 6 4 1 5Teacher 3 5 8 9 7 3 1 2 6 4Teacher 4 3 2 1 6 5 9 4 7 8Teacher 5 1 2 4 7 3 9 5 8 6Teacher 6 9 8 7 3 1 6 4 2 5Total for each strategy 33 31 25 33 26 33 25 27 37
Strategies Identified by Number_____1_____ Choosing effective materials and classroom arrangements
_____2_____ Providing child-centered activities
_____3_____ Integrating students' interests (Cited as least important to implement)
_____4_____ Supporting students' intrinsic motivators
_____5____ Implementing activities that meet the learning preferences of the students
_____6_____ Being aware of the students' learning needs and abilities
_____7_____ Challenging students based on their capabilities (Cited as least important to implement)
_____8_____ Connecting classroom concepts to students' experiences
_____9____ Providing students with immediate feedback (Cited as most important to implement)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 905
10152025303540
Total for each strategy
Total for each strategy
Appendix H
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 57
Motivational Teaching Strategies Implemented into ClassroomsMonth: JanuaryClassroom Strategy Implemented How was the strategy implemented? Has the strategy been successful? Ideas for improvements?
123456789
10
(This form will be completed for each month.)
Appendix I
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 58
Motivational Instructional StrategiesMonth: JanuaryClassroom Provided Assistance and Support Follow-Up Needed Date of Follow-Up Follow-Up Completed
123456789
10
(This form will be completed each month.)
Appendix J
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 59
Tracking Form for Results from Developmental Outcome ReportsProgram Year 2013-2014
Classroom 1st Outcome ReportSocial Emotional Cognitive Language Physical
123456789
10
Classroom 2nd Outcome ReportSocial Emotional Cognitive Language Physical
123456789
10
Classroom 3rd Outcome ReportSocial Emotional Cognitive Language Physical
123456789
10
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 60
Appendix K
(Questionnaire will be provided to teachers one week prior to professional development training
to assist with any additional information that should be included based on teachers’ prior
knowledge and what they would like to know about motivational teaching strategies.)
Name: _____________________________________
Pre Professional Development Questionnaire
What do you already know about motivational teaching strategies?
What does it mean to use motivational instructional strategies?
Can you name three ways cognitive skills can be applied to teaching and learning?
Can you list five motivational instructional strategies to implement in a preschool classroom?
Why is it important to implement motivational instructional strategies in the classroom?
What do you want to learn or know about motivational teaching strategies?
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 61
Name: _______________________________________________________
Post Professional Development Questionnaire
What have you learned about motivational teaching strategies?
What does it mean to use motivational instructional strategies?
Can you name three ways cognitive skills can be applied to teaching and learning?
Can you list five motivational instructional strategies to implement in a preschool classroom?
Why is it important to implement motivational instructional strategies in the classroom?
Name a motivational instructional strategy you can implement in your classroom and describe
how you will implement it.
Do you have any questions regarding motivational teaching strategies?
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 62
Appendix L
Rubric to assess if met all three program and concentration outcomes:
Did the education specialist “develop and demonstrate leadership thinking in critical areas of
interest within [her] field” (Post University, n.d., para. 3)?
Collected data through surveys from at least ten lead teachers in the Bridgeport, CT preschool
program on motivational teaching strategies used by the teachers. __X___yes _____no
Collected data through surveys from at least ten lead teachers in the Bridgeport, CT preschool
program on how teachers rate specific motivational strategies on a scale from one through nine.
_X____yes _____no
Evaluated and assessed each teacher’s feedback from the surveys and discovered which
motivational teaching strategies were cited as the most beneficial. _X____yes _____no
Assessed developmental outcome reports for the Bridgeport, CT preschool program for the year
2012-2013 to discover the classes with the highest developmental progress and cited the
classroom strategies as successful motivational strategies as stated in surveys.
_X____yes _____no
Created a professional development training based on the research the Education Specialist
conducted through journal articles, completed surveys, and developmental outcome reports.
_X____yes _____no
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 63
Created a questionnaire to be used before and after the professional development training to
assess if the teachers benefited from the training.
_X____yes _____np
Created an ongoing assessment tracking tool to use consistently with the teachers throughout the
year to ensure teachers are implementing motivational teaching strategies discussed in the
professional development training.
_X____yes _____no
Created an assistance and support tracking sheet to ensure teachers are provided with ongoing
feedback regarding the motivational strategies they are implementing.
_X____yes _____no
Did the Education Specialist “apply the principles of cognitive science to teaching & learning to
positively affect learning and improve the practice of teaching” (Post University, n.d., para. 3)?
Created professional development training for the teaching staff in the Bridgeport, CT preschool
that integrates the principles of cognitive science and applied them to teaching and learning to
positively affect learning and improve the practice of teaching. __X___yes _____no
In the rationale of the capstone project, explained how the principles of cognitive science relate
to teaching and learning and when applied will positively affect learning and improve the
practice of teaching. __X___yes _____no
MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING STRATEGIES THAT IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING 64
Did the Education Specialist “use selected advanced instructional strategies appropriate for
specific learning outcomes” (Post University, n.d., para. 4)?
Cited specific motivational instructional strategies in the professional development training
based on research, feedback from surveys completed by teachers, and data from outcome reports
in the Bridgeport, CT preschool. __X___yes _____no
Set a tentative date to train teaching staff in the Bridgeport, CT preschool on specific
motivational teaching strategies that have shown to positively impact students’ learning
outcomes.
_X____yes _____no
Published research, evaluation, and conclusions on specific motivational teaching strategies on
the Education Specialist’s website, www.teachertechniques.com.
_X___yes _____no
Reference:
Post University. (n.d). M.Ed. Program Outcomes.