The Importance of Motivation

Professional Development

Written by Catherine Rothans

 Question of the Day

What is the importance of motivation on learning?

 Key Terms
-Motivation: “a willingness to engage -Intrinsic: “involvement-oriented.”
in an activity and a willingness to
persist in that activity even, when it -Extrinsic: “competition-oriented.”
becomes difficult.” -Gamification: “digital games are
-Academic Motivation: ”the students’ used in an educational setting and as
desire or interest in engaging with an aid to learning.”
learning and their school experience.”

-Authentic Text: “newspapers,

magazines, TV programs, movies,
songs, literature, and internet.”
 Main Topics of Today

➔ Assessing Reading through Student Interests

➔ Ways to Improve Motivation

➔ Studies on Students’ Motivation

Assessing Reading through Student
Interests
Difference on Gender and Motivation
“Motivation to read is complicated not only by age but also by

gender...Research has suggested that boys prefer nonfiction reading

and girls prefer fiction” (Malloy et al., 2017, p. 309).

Student Surveys on Reading Motivation
“Designing effective and engaging instruction means considering the motivational needs

of students. The MPR-R is a tool that supports teachers in creating motivating classroom

contexts for literacy” (Malloy et al., 2013, p. 273).

Ways to Improve Motivation
 The Use of Gamification
“The results point to the potential

that meaningful gamification has in

motivating and helping students in

scaffolding reading material”

(Ling, 2018).
The Use of Authentic Text to increase Motivation
“This study has presented evidence on a strong

relationship between authentic texts and reading

comprehension of intermediate learners. Authentic

reading can increase not only students’

comprehension but also promote other aspects of

language learning such as motivation” (2015, p. 90).

Studies on Students’ Motivation
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
“Competition-oriented reading motivation was directly and

negatively related with reading comprehension”

(Stutz, Schaffner, & Schiefele, 2016, p. 101).

College Student Academic Motivation
“This study shows significantly positive effects of academic

motivation on academic engagement and achievement (i.e., GPA)

across four years in college...” (Wu, 2019, p. 99).

Classroom Implications
Teachers should….

➔ Use Technology
➔ Use Authentic Text
➔ Use Student Surveys
➔ Avoid competition based learning
Recommendations for further study
More research on how educators can help increase
motivatation for all students.
Thank you for attending my PD!
Evaluation Form

Learning Goals: Unmet Semi Met Met

The importance of 1 2 3
motivation was
expressed.

Ways to improve 1 2 3
motivation were
mentioned.

The key terms of this 1 2 3

presentation were
explained.

The information was 1 2 3

provided in a clear way.
 References
Ling, L. (2018). Meaningful gamification and students’ motivation: A strategy for scaffolding reading material. Online Learning, 22(2),
152. doi:10.24059/olj.v22i2.1167

Malloy, J. A., Ward Parsons, A., Marinak, B. A., Applegate, A., DeKonty Applegate, M., Ray Reutzel, D., … Gambrell, L. B. (2017).
Assessing (and Addressing!) Motivation to Read Fiction and Nonfiction. Reading Teacher, 71(3), 309. doi:10.1002/trtr.1633

Malloy, J. A., Marinak, B. A., Gambrell, L. B., & Mazzoni, S. A. (2013). Assessing Motivation to Read. The Reading Teacher, 67(4),
273, 275. doi:10.1002/trtr.1215

Marzban, A. (2015). The Effects of Authentic Texts on Motivation and Reading Comprehension of EFL Students at Intermediate Level
of Proficiency. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(1), 86, 90. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0501.11

Stutz, F., Schaffner, E., & Schiefele, U. (2016). Relations among reading motivation, reading amount, and reading comprehension in the
early elementary grades. Learning and Individual Differences, 45(1), 101. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2015.11.022

Wu, Z. (2019). Academic Motivation, Engagement, and Achievement Among College Students. College Student Journal, 53(1), 99.