MOTIVATION ASSESSMENT Strobridge 1

Motivation Assessment

Taylor D. Strobridge

Michigan State University

CEP 802
MOTIVATION ASSESSMENT Strobridge 2

Case Summary

Zara is a student in my 11th grade World History class. Since the beginning of the year we

have been virtual and students zoom into class for 50 minutes and then work asynchronously for

another 50 minutes off of zoom, for odd and even days, so I only see her two times a week. Zara

has been absent 10 times this semester and this really affects her academics. For first semester so

far she has a D with a lot of missing assignments. Students are not required to have their cameras Commented [TS1]: Wanted to give more background
information on where Zara is at academically in class.
on during zoom calls. This is the case for Zara. She never turns on her camera during class. In

her class there are 36 students. About 20 of the students have their cameras on so this is

something that is not unique to Zara but contributes to her lack of motivation and participation.

During class students are often collaborating during breakout rooms. When I check into the

rooms Zara is never responding or working with others. She rarely offers any suggestions to help

her group complete assignments. During larger class discussions Zara seems to be even more

withdrawn. She again has her camera turned off. When I call on her for participation she usually

responds with one word answers.

At a first pass, it seems as Zara is struggling with the online learning setting and this is

affecting their motivation and engagement. Internal/cognitive motivational factors and

environmental factors seem to be at play with this particular student. I have been diligently

watching and observing Zara during class. As this semester has gone on her participation has

been improving. The specific activity I purposefully observed involved a lesson on Judaism in

the World Religions unit. Students were conducting a jigsaw activity. They each had a prompt

that they had to design a JamBaord page about. Then they would share out their findings to the

class. “The jigsaw activity ensures active individual participation and group cooperation by

arranging tasks so that each group member possesses unique information and has a special role
MOTIVATION ASSESSMENT Strobridge 3

to play. The group product can’t be completed unless each member does his or her part”

(Wentzel & Brophy, 2014, pg. 203). This forces responsibility for Zara so she does not let the

other class members down and puts her in a more vulnerable situation. Which will allow for Commented [TS2]: Wanted to be specific about the
purpose of the Jigsaw activity and why I would want to use
and implement it with Zara.
independent and large group work and made my observation more authentic.

Observations of the Motivational Problem

I decided to observe Zara in our virtual classroom on a day that we engaged in many

different types of classroom situations. I wanted to see if she would turn on her camera, engage

with her classmates, and how effort she would put forth during the activity. During this class

students were learning about Judaism in our world religions unit for World History. Each student

was assigned a slide on JamBoard. They had to research information about that slide concerning

Judaism and design their slide to become an expert in that question/element of Judaism. This

allowed me to deliver the direct instruction to the entire class, but also focus specifically on Zara

and her behaviors, without her knowing I was only specifically focused on her.

The observation began at 9 over zoom. Zara came into class on time and had her screen

off, which is usually the case every day. Once I gave instructions students went into breakout

rooms to work on their JamBoard. During this I checked in on Zara and how she was progressing

through the assignment. At first she had only one word responses. Eventually as I started to talk

to her beyond our assignment it felt like she was getting more comfortable and she began to talk

to me. She turned her screen on and communicated different thoughts and ideas about the

assignment. After about 20 minutes students had completed their “expert” board. The remainder

of class was spent by students presenting their ideas that were on their board to the other students

in class. When it was Zara’s turn she turned her screen on the share and present her ideas. This

made me extremely happy. She used a virtual background for her Zoom profile but was able to
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show her face on camera to her classmates. Something that does not happen a lot. Zara presented

her information to the class and shared her ideas. The class as a whole responded well to her

information. However, when asked follow up questions she turned her screen off and responded

with only a couple word answers. We had not previously presented like this in front of the class

so I was pleased with Zara’s willingness to step up and present to those in our virtual classroom.

As I reflect on that experience I think she felt like she had a responsibility and watched others do

the same type of assignment, and wanted to make sure she was participating as well. Her self-

efficacy was reliant on other students participating but was able to use that motivation to

participate in the class assignment. Commented [TS3]: I wanted to be more specific about
my observations about Zara in this activity and some of the
factors I think contribute to her motivation.
Like a lot of students this year I believe that Zara is struggling with the online learning

setting and this is affecting their motivation and engagement. Students are quickly disconnecting

from this online learning format because it is easy to get distracted at home and there could be a

plethora of environmental factors that are contributing to this student’s motivation to engage in

the content and curriculum in the virtual classroom. As Wentzel and Brophy state, “it is

important to do this will all students, but especially with uninterested or alienated students who

don’t find much value in school learning” (p. 127). I am afraid that the virtual process is

alienating a lot of students and this is something especially I would like to focus on.

Motivational Analysis: Preconditions of Motivation To Learn

“Key features of classroom management, curriculum. Instruction, and teacher-student

relationships that create a social context that prepares the way for successful use of motivational

strategies” (Wentzel & Brophy, 2014, pg. 192). One of the factors of the classroom I pride

myself on is a supportive environment for students in the classroom. This has been difficult over

zoom but the relationships I form with my students are pivotal. I have been really trying to get to
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know Zara and who she is as a person so I can tailor a more interesting and motivating

curriculum for her in the classroom. The learning goals that are implemented are directly related

to the standards and curriculum developed by the department but I can do a better job making it

more relatable to Zara and her needs as well as other students. With not being directly in the

classroom it is important to utilize and ensure that student teacher relationships and the

classroom environment is still a priority. “Social support perspectives on teacher-student

relationships reflect the notion that teachers who are emotionally supportive can have a positive

impact on students’ adjustment to school. It also helps serve as a buffer from stress and anxiety”

(Wentzel & Brophy, 2014, pg. 193). Commented [TS4]: Evidence to back up my idea about
the importance of student teacher relationships in the
classroom.
Motivational Analysis: TARGET Model in Action:

T (ask) – In order to appropriately apply “task” in the opportunity to increase motivation

a task has to provide an optimal level of challenge and to emphasize activities that students find

interesting and intrinsically engaging. In the observation of Zara there were many types of

learning activities that took place. Using an expert and learner approach allowed for a specific

purpose of connecting to a student’s skill level and engaging the students individually and then

in an entire group situation. In order to task to be further addressed I need to be more focused on

connecting to the students’ interests. Relationship building has been very difficult over Zoom

and increasing these relationships will allow for the curriculum to be more intrinsically engaging.

A (uthority)- At the beginning for the semester the students developed a social contract

as a group that shares authority with the students and myself in the appropriate behaviors they

need for the learning environment. The students signed this document to show their agreement,

and the social contract was in the front of the classroom for all students (and teacher) to

reference and use as a reminder. In addition, during the jigsaw activity the students shared their
MOTIVATION ASSESSMENT Strobridge 6

thoughts, became the experts in class, and shared their thoughts and findings with the class while

I, the teacher, acted more as a facilitator. Authority and control was shared with all stakeholders

in this activity, not just the teacher. Moving forward to increase motivation, especially with Zara,

I want to put more of an emphasis on how students will be evaluated. This will allow for more

autonomy and drive to do better when you are creating the rubrics yourself.

R (ecognition) - Recognition was given to students as a whole as they completed the

activity. Recognition can be improved on in terms of the TARGET model. Praise was used when

students completed a problem, but feedback based on progress was rarely used. It is harder to

give recognition privately over zoom. I do think Zara would benefit from this so need to figure

out an effective way to engage in this practice.

G (roup) - For this specific activity students worked as an individual and then were

working together as an entire class to complete the activity. Normally students are grouped

randomly and students are placed in breakout rooms. In order to work on this aspect of TARGET

I will have groupings based off of interest in activities and interest in who you want to personally

work with.

E (valuation) - Evidence of students involved in self-evaluation was shown by students

using the “thumbs up, thumb in the middle, thumbs down” strategy over zoom. This is valuable

to show students that learning is a process and that we are seeking progress within the learning

goal. Students could also communicate in the chat to evaluate their progress. Evaluation was also

given once the students completed their “expert” part of the activity. In order to move on to

present their findings to the entire class I had to scan their findings to make sure they were

providing the correct information to the rest of the class. This aspect of the TARGET model will
MOTIVATION ASSESSMENT Strobridge 7

need alterations; expectations need to be discussed directly with Zara and purposeful feedback

will help Zara feel seen and recognized.

T (ime) – Time needs to be worked on a lot more in the TARGET model in my

classroom. I feel as though moving from 90 minute block scheduling to 50 minutes now on zoom

has caused a class schedule that is not as fluid as it used to be. This can cause Zara stress because

she is not used to the time constraints and could feel unmotivated to complete these assignments

in a short amount of time. More flexibility in the schedule would be beneficial to complete a

variety of tasks, incorporate choice, and individualized learning.

Proposed Motivational Intervention/Rationale

First being introduced to Zara, I believed she had a lot of internal/cognitive motivation

influences. “Cognitive interest is the type or aspect of interest that relates to valuing of content or

processes” (Wentzel & Brophy, 2014, pg. 100). I believe she still does have a hard time valuing

the content and as we continue with online school her interest is decreasing as well. Relying on

our relationship is helping, but along with her internal/cognitive issues I also think her

motivation issues lie within her self-efficacy perceptions and willingness to accept and conform

to this type of learning. “Self-efficacy is a belief in one’s capabilities or organize and execute the

courses of action required to produce given attainments. People who lack these positive

perceptions are unsure that they can succeed or even convinced that they cannot” (Wentzel &

Brophy, 2014, pg. 5). Zara does not believe she is able to perform these activities and doesn’t

believe she will be successful in the future. I believe a lot of home problems are contributing to

her struggles in school as well. Zara has great responses when she is completing her work but

avoids doing the tasks a majority of the time. I believe she is used to receiving positive

reinforcement in the classroom and this year without physically being in the classroom and
MOTIVATION ASSESSMENT Strobridge 8

participating in the classroom, she is missing out on that reinforcement that has helped her in the

past. I wanted to gather more information about Zara’s perceived progress through the class and

her own self-efficacy. I gave all students a survey before parent teacher conferences. The results

were as I expected. She answered not interested in many topics saw herself as not capable of

doing well on different tasks in class like writing, working with others, presentations, etc.

Zara’s beliefs about herself and her ability about her expectations and value are based on

an expectancy x value model of motivation. “This model of motivation hold that the effort that

people are willing to invest in an activity is the product of a) the degree to which they expect to

be able to perform the activity successfully if they apply themselves and b) the degree to which

they value those rewards as well as the opportunity to engage in the processes involved in

carrying out the activity itself” (Wentzel & Brophy, 2014, pg. 142). Zara has little motivation

and according to the survey she took, she is not confident in her abilities. “People do not

willingly invest effort in activities that they do not enjoy and that do not lead to valued outcomes,

even if they know that they can perform successfully. Nor do they willingly invest effort in even

highly valued activities if they believe that they cannot succeed no matter how hard they try”

(Wentzel & Brophy, 2014, pg. 142). In order to help her I need to ensure that both of these are

met in order for her to be successful in class.

TARGET Framework

In order to help with Zara’s self-efficacy problems I want to ensure that I set specific

goals for her to reach and provide feedback that helps her achieve success. In all types of

assignments that we complete in class and the progress that we need to make these specific

TARGET framework steps are necessary for her success.

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T (ask): I need to communicate with Zara about mine and her expectations for writing and or

completing whatever assignment we are doing in class to help her self-efficacy. This can be done

during our virtual office hours that I hold. I can preview with her what we are doing, how we are

doing it, and what my expectations are for how she is going to do it in class and what I expect

out of her. These conversations will help her know what she is expected to do so she can be

confident in her work.

A (uthority) – There needs to be an open line of communication with Zara and myself so her

self-efficacy is higher. She needs to have a say in what she wants to work on and how she is

going to work on it. If there is an increase in this transparency then there is an increase in self-

efficacy. When the goal is set for what expectations I have for Zara she needs to feel that she had

input in these expectations as well.

R (ecognition) – I previously stated that I think Zara is really missing out on positive

reinforcement and is unable to think positively about herself as a student. Her accomplishments

and progression need to be acknowledge. I need to have check-ins with her, positive emails

regarding her progress, positive messages in the zoom chats. She needs to be praised with the

steps she is making and taking. I need to be specific about her rewards though. The praise needs

to increase the value of her specific motivation area.

G (roup) – Previously I have grouped students based off ability level and placed different skills

levels in a group together. However, I know Zara responds better when she is placed in a group

of peers she is comfortable with and is more motivated by her peers she is comfortable with. I

will send out a survey that students will complete with people they want to work with. Then I

will form the groups for class that way. There will be expectations that are listed that need to be

upheld in order for the groups to stay and function properly. This will show Zara that her
MOTIVATION ASSESSMENT Strobridge 10

opinions matter and her expectations will be clear. Hopefully it will alleviate any stress or

unknowns about working in a group.

E (valuation) – Zara will be evaluated based off of previously desired goals and expectations.

She will know what needs to be done every week and we will be able to evaluate that based on

her progress. I want to heavily focus on her participation in class and see if they strategies we are

implementing are increasing her self- efficacy.

T (ime) – I have Zara all year in my class. I am hoping that creating this consistency will help

her self-efficacy and her motivation and belief in herself will increase. This will allow us to meet

certain goals. As she accomplishes small goals, we will move on to the next, and then she will be

able to see how far she is progressing and help her self-efficacy. I can show her a visual growth

in her ability to perform these tasks and academically she will be able to see it through and

upgrade in her grades.

Reflections & Conclusions

Through implementation of motivational intervention, I want Zara’s self-efficacy in his

academics and his motivation to participate in class be average to the rest of her peers. This

process will take all year and it needs to be done consistently to show Zara that there is growth

and development in her own self-efficacy. If she views herself as capable and successful in the

activities we do in class, she will have more of a “can do” attitude in the classroom.

Zara has the ability to fully engage in the curriculum and become a leader in the

classroom. There are some motivational factors holding her back. Zara is struggling with the

online learning format and home issues. When she knows the expectations of a task and has an

interest in these tasks, she is motivated to do better and increase her production in class. She

takes pride in getting her part of an assignment done and likes to receive recognition.
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References

Wentzel, K. R., & Brophy, J. (2014). Motivating students to learn (4th Ed.). New York:

Routledge.