FEEDBACK AND MOTIVATION

What types of feedback in the classroom increase motivation among early adolescents? Karen Klass University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Author Note Karen D. Klass, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois. Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Karen D. Klass, Undergraduate Department of Educational Psychology. Email: klass3@illinois.edu.

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Abstract Feedback plays a critical role in student motivation in classroom settings. Motivation in turn can play an important role on students self-efficacy and willingness to excel in school. The research conducted seeks to understand whether intrinsic or extrinsic forms of feedback better motivate early adolescents in a classroom. The participants include thirty eighth grade students at Franklin Middle School in Champaign, IL who engaged in self-report data to assess various forms of motivational factors. Survey responses indicate student preference for intrinsic or extrinsic motivation by indicating forms of feedback that stimulate learning and effort in school. Results of the survey show that students perform better in the short term with extrinsic motivation; however, long-term performance and dedication is enhanced with intrinsic motivators, which stimulate students self-efficacy. Therefore, bribery or other tactics that educators employ to try to coerce their students into behaving or performing in a certain way may work for a short time period in the classroom; however, in order to truly develop student motivation, work ethic, and love for learning, teachers should provide students with intrinsic feedback.

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What types of feedback in the classroom increase motivation among early adolescents? Positive reinforcement is often seen as and employed as a tool that teachers can use to increase their students performance in the classroom. By offering incentives, such as extra credit for exemplary work, or simply giving a student a piece of candy for participating in a class discussion, many teachers engage in offering their students positive reinforcement through extrinsic means. Likewise, many educators engage in positive reinforcement with words of appraisal either through positive commentary or feedback with comments on papers, assignments, or exams. These forms of positive reinforcement often seek to elevate intrinsic motivation by praising students talent, effort, achievement, or character. However, positive reinforcement may only be employed when a student succeeds or excels at a particular task or assignment. When a student fails to complete a task adequately or fails to meet standards of achievement, what is the best way for a teacher to respond? In a study completed by Steven J. Heine et al. (2001), research proved that self-enhancing or selfimproving motivation varies across cultures. North American students who failed an exam were less likely to persist and succeed on the subsequent exam as opposed to Japanese students. Likewise, North American students were more likely to work hard and succeed on subsequent assignments after receiving positive feedback, whereas Japanese students were more motivated to work hard and succeed following negative or critical feedback. While these differences relate to varied cultural practices in individualistic and collective cultures, the research also highlights that important distinctions exist in the ways in which individuals receive feedback and how it effects their motivation. While some see positive feedback as reinforcement for students to

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continue to work hard, others find critical feedback more motivating in an upward challenging strive to succeed. Feedback may come in various forms, either through verbal or written appraisal that directly relates to the content material, or feedback may also come in the form of extrinsic measures. Commonly in schools, intrinsic feedback relates to student ability and the quality of their work, often related to their effort and ability level. A study completed by Areepattaannil (2011) showed that intrinsic motivation for Indian students fostered greater academic achievement than extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic rewards relate to offering feedback or appraisal that is not directly related to the work that is completed, such as merely completion points for an assignment or other forms of physical rewards, such as candy for participation. Often times, people expect intrinsic feedback to directly relates to increased student motivation. By referring to their inner traits or qualities that may have served as the source of their failure or success, internal attributions about student success allow them to recognize that a great deal of the reasoning for their accomplishment stems from their own internal attributions, as opposed to situational factors. Internal attributions allow students to understand that their own effort and behavior produce a result as opposed to environmental causes being the source of reasoning for results. Within a classroom environment and in many settings, an important component of motivation lies within the level of a students self-efficacy. High self-efficacy indicates that individuals understand a high correlation exists between their choices and behaviors, and the final results. They believe that they are in control of their actions as opposed to situations merely happening to them. Therefore, high self-efficacy fosters high motivation because individuals find

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it worthwhile to input time and energy, because they believe that it will lead to a favorable result. According to Albert Bandura (1993), students perceived self-efficacy can increase their motivation and accomplishments by allowing them to regulate their own learning. Therefore, when students feel intrinsically motivated to do well, they feel that it is within their own abilities to succeed and consequently will be more motivated to work hard. Additionally, Bandura notes in his research that teachers personal efficacy in regards to their ability to motivate and engage their students relates to their students achievement. Teachers who believe that their influence is significant thus work harder to ensure that their students are constantly learning and challenged in the classroom, thus their students are more successful. Therefore, motivation appears to be a critical domain of research that has substantial influence on student achievement, especially during early adolescence. During adolescence, students are at a time of development both mentally and emotionally. This transition allows students to be malleable in their development of motivation and self-efficacy; thus, their school environment, directed by educators, plays a significant role in such development. Since early adolescents often struggle with lower self-esteem, motivation and self-efficacy may contend upon such emotions and vulnerabilities. Likewise, identity formation is a key attribute of early adolescents in which many middle school students struggle. Therefore, motivation may be highly impacted by a students self-identity or sense of self. If an early adolescent has not yet determine his or her place in the world, it may be difficult for this student to be motivated to work toward a goal, since that goal is ambiguous. Specific mechanisms that teachers use to evaluate students or motivate their learning likely play an important role in students motivation.

FEEDBACK AND MOTIVATION

This research seeks to investigate the many domains of motivation for early adolescents. Whether employing positive reinforcement or engaging in critical techniques, different strategies produce varied results. It is the goal of this research to determine which results are most effective in motivating students to gain high self-efficacy and motivation in their educational experience. I hypothesize that intrinsically rewarding students without external or unrelated will foster the greatest motivation. By understanding the root of such behavior, educators will likely know the moist effective way to structure their classroom and interact with their students.

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Method Participants The participants in the research study included eighth grade students at Franklin Middle School in Champaign, IL. There were 30 participants, with 17 being female and 13 being male. The mean age of the participants is fourteen years old. 18 of the participants are African American, 8 of the participants are Caucasian, and 4 of the participants are Hispanic or Latino. No participants withheld information about their ethnicity or cultural background. Research Design The study was conducted with self-report data in the form of a survey. The survey asked a series of hypothetical questions regarding students willingness to participate and put effort into outside assignments. The questions ranged from questions that ask about extrinsic motivators as opposed to intrinsic motivators, typically coming from the teacher. Therefore, the independent variable is the type of motivator, measuring the dependent variable, which is the level of motivation associated. Another independent variable may be the students gender associated with motivation. Likewise, ethnicity or cultural background may be a third independent variable. All of these variables seek to measure adolescents motivation in the classroom. Measures The results of the study are measured with self-report data in the form of a survey. The survey options are quantitative on a scale, thus easily measured. Half of the questions are measuring extrinsic motivation while the other half measure intrinsic motivation. The questions

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are scaled and coded to measure various motivational factors, thus these self-report data responses will compile measurable information that will be objective and uniform. Procedure The participants are those who are in my classroom setting in my Field Placement at Franklin Middle School. Their participation will take place individually through self-report data. Consent was obtained by asking my cooperating teacher who agreed that her students would be willing and able to participate in the research study. The students are merely asked to answer a ten-question survey. The questions do not inflict any harm or foster emotional discomfort in any way. The participants will be thanked for their participation as a form of compensation.

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Results The survey data was useful in terms of describing the types of motivation tools that helped stimulate student engagement, behavior, and willingness to put forth the effort to do well in class. The first five questions of the survey asked about extrinsic motivators: specifically, candy, stickers, homework pass, extra credit, and a free day with no work. The second five questions of the survey asked about intrinsic motivators: specifically, positive comments from a teacher, the teacher asking the student to present for the class, the teacher asking the student to help other students, the teacher asking the student to present his or her work to the school principal, and the teacher sending a student an email or letter praising the students work. The results were scaled on one through five, one meaning that a specific motivator was ineffective toward enhancing student motivation and five being a very effective motivator for students. The results for the extrinsic questions were as follows and are displayed in Table 2. The results for question one asked about the effectiveness of candy as a reward and the results were an average of 2.7, meaning that feel candy is a somewhat ineffective tool to motivate them. Question two asked about candy as a motivator, and had an average response value of 1.4, proving candy to be a highly ineffective motivator. Question three asked about a homework pass as a motivator and the result was a 4.5, showing very high effectiveness for a teacher giving a student a homework pass as a motivator for good work. Question four asked about extra credit and had an average response value of 3.7, showing extra credit to be a somewhat effective tool to motivate students. Finally, question five asked about offering students a free day in class, meaning a day without work or formal instruction and the average response value was a 4.7, proving to be an extremely effective motivator for students. Overall the average response value

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for these extrinsic motivators was a 3.4, proving to be somewhat effective in motivating students in regard to the one through five scale presented. This information about the overall average is available in Table 1. The second five questions, questions six through ten, deal with intrinsic motivators. The information about these responses is available in Table 2. Question six asks about the effectiveness of a teacher offering students positive comments for his or her work. The average response value is 4.6 indicating it to be a relatively high motivator for students. Question seven asked about the effectiveness of a teacher motivating students by asking them to present their work to the class and the average response value was a 4.7, indicating a high effectiveness. Question eight asked about the effectiveness of motivating students by a teacher asking students to help other students and the average response value was 4.2, a somewhat high motivator. Question nine asked about the effectiveness of motivating students by a teacher asking students to present their work to the school principal and the average response value was a 4.9, an extremely high motivator for students. Finally, question ten asked about motivating students by teachers sending students letters or emails praising their work and the average response value was a 4.6, also a relatively high motivator. Overall the average response value for these intrinsic motivators was a 4.6, proving to be effective tactics in motivating students in regard to the one through five scale presented. This information about the overall average is available in Table 1. The standard deviation of the average response values for all of the extrinsic values presented is a value of 1.3674. The standard deviation of the average response values for all of the intrinsic values presented is a value of 0.25495. This information is available in Table 1.

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Discussion The results of this study surrounding intrinsic and extrinsic motivation offer great insight into the understanding of what types of influences motivate adolescents. Often times, educators label adolescents to be immature or inconsiderate. However, results of their survey show that students overall prefer intrinsic motivators rather than extrinsic motivators in the school environment. Therefore, rather than receiving material rewards that are unrelated to the learning at hand, students generally expressed that they value feedback and motivation that is intrinsic, or directly related to their ability level or internal qualities that allow them to succeed. In early adolescence, this realization is extremely significant in the way that teachers treat their students and motivate them to do well. Realizing that adolescent students are more motivated with intrinsic measures offers insight into teaching styles, especially at the middle school level of early adolescence, according to the data. Likewise, the standard deviations of the average response value data enhance the understanding of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. The standard deviation between the questions surveying extrinsic motivators was 1.3674 while the standard deviation between the questions surveying intrinsic motivators was 0.25495. The lower standard deviation for the intrinsic motivators suggests the uniform effectiveness of these tactics in motivating early adolescents. With such a low value for intrinsic standard deviation, it is apparent that while the specific mechanisms that these motivators employed differs slightly, the overall effectiveness is consistently strong and intrinsic motivation is consistently an effective tool to motivate adolescent students in comparison to extrinsic motivation which had a higher value for standard deviation.

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Therefore, the research presented in the study offer insight into early adolescent development and developmentally appropriate practice with students during this age. Early adolescents respond alarmingly well to intrinsic motivators in instructional settings, and are more inclined to perform well with such motivational tools. Therefore, educators should employ such tactics in order to fully instill developmentally appropriate practice in the classroom. Offering candy as a reward for a good grade will motivate students to do well; however, candy will not motivate students to the same extent that praising their inner traits that allowed them to succeed in the first place will do. Focusing on internal attributions through intrinsic motivation allows people to form a connection between their performance and their inner qualities, an extremely motivational tool. This research is extremely critical in regard to early adolescents. As an age group that is often misunderstood or seen as disengaged because of the developmental challenges they are experiencing, such research findings offer counter results to many assumed theories circulating throughout American society. While the finding are in line with the hypothesis that intrinsic motivators are more effective tools at engaging and motivating students in the classroom, the proof that such a theory is accurate offers a great deal of information to individuals who often negate early adolescents as hopeless or disengaged. Such research offers hope for teachers who may be nervous about the inner emotions of their students by conveying that early adolescents thrive best when motivated internally, with rewards or encouragement that further stimulate and perpetuate their learning and growth and are directly related to their academic achievement and success.

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References Areepattamannil, S., Freeman, J., & Klinger, D. (2011). Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and academic achievement among Indian adolescents in Canada and India. Social Psychology Of Education, 14(3), 427-439. Bandura, A. (1993). Perceived Self-Efficacy in Cognitive Development and Functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28(2), 117. Heine, S. J., Kitayama, S., Lehman, D. R., Takata, T., Ide, E., Leung, C., & Matsumoto, H. (2001). Divergent consequences of success and failure in Japan and North America: An investigation of self-improving motivations and malleable selves. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(4), 599-615. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/00223514.81.4.599

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Survey Scale: Not effective 1 2 3 4 5 Very effective

1. How effective is earning candy as a reward for good work? 1 2 3 4 5

2. How effective is receiving a sticker as a reward for good work? 1 2 3 4 5

3. How effective is homework pass as a reward for good work? 1 2 3 4 5

4. How effective is extra credit points as a reward for good work? 1 2 3 4 5 5. How effective is earning a free day with no work as a reward for good work? 1 2 3 4 5

6. How effective is positive comments from a teacher in motivating you to do good work? 1 2 3 4 5

7. How effective is a teacher asking you to present to the class in motivating you to do good work? 1 2 3 4 5

8. How effective is a teacher asking you to help other students because of your skills in motivating you to do good work? 1 2 3 4 5

9. How effective is being asked to present to the principal as a reward for good work? 1 2 3 4 5

10. How effective is receiving an email or letter from your teacher praising your work in motivating you to do well? 1 2 3 4 5

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Type of Motivator on Level of Motivation in Adolescent Students

Table 1 Average Response Value (1-5) Standard Deviation

Extrinsic (Questions 1-5) Intrinsic (Questions 6-10)

3.4 4.6

1.3674 0.25495

Table 2 Average Response Value (1-5)

Question 1 (Extrinsic) Question 2 (Extrinsic) Question 3 (Extrinsic) Question 4 (Extrinsic) Question 5 (Extrinsic) Question 6 (Intrinsic) Question 7 (Intrinsic) Question 8 (Intrinsic) Question 9 (Intrinsic) Question 10 (Intrinsic)

2.7 1.4 4.5 3.7 4.7 4.6 4.7 4.2 4.9 4.6

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Table 3 Type of Motivator on Level of Motivation in Adolescent Students

Variable

Correlation

Extrinsic Motivators Intrinsic Motivators

0.68 0.92