Motivation for Achievement Possibilities for Teaching and Learning

This text is designed to help preservice and in-service teachers understand student and teacher motivation, and to provide the basis for strategies to foster motivation for students at all levels of performance. Its premise is that current research and theory about motivation offers hope and possibilities for educators to enhance motivation for achievement. Two roles teachers can play to support and cultivate motivation in the classroom are emphasized: (1) establishing a classroom structure and instructional methods that provide the environment for optimal motivation, engagement, and learning, and (2) helping students to develop the tools that will enable them to be self-regulated learners. The orientation is drawn primarily from social-cognitive perspectives that have generated much research that is relevant for classroom practice. Rather than presenting motivational concepts as either/or positions--for example, intrinsic or extrinsic motivation; teacher control or student control; learner-centered or teacher-centered classrooms--this text attempts to strike a balance between the extremes. In the complexities of classroom motivation and learning, there are few either/or decisions: the crucial decision is when to use what strategy. Topics include the cognitive theory of attribution; the role of perceptions of competence or ability as a motivational factor; goal setting; development and enhancement of student motivational capabilities; environmental factors that affect student motivation, including teacher efficacy and teacher expectations, the social context of classrooms, and three instructional practices (tasks, incentives, evaluation) that affect student engagement and motivation; guidelines for a problem-solving approach to implementing motivation strategies; and programs that offer possibilities for improving motivation and achievement. Helpful pedagogical features are built into the text: strategy boxes(guidelines and ideas for using the various concepts); exhibits(examples); and reflections(to stimulate readers' thinking about motivational issues and their own beliefs). This is an ideal text for any preservice or in-service course that is dedicated to or includes coverage of motivation and achievement.Alderman, M. Kay is the author of 'Motivation for Achievement Possibilities for Teaching and Learning', published 2003 under ISBN 9780805843095 and ISBN 0805843094.