Lesson 6- Motivating Students- Helping Students Want To Learn

 

Instructional Goals: 

      You will learn the four elements that must be present during learning to help your students want to learn.  The goal is for you to make plans for, and to apply, these elements to your lessons to help your students be successful and to enjoy learning.  An additional goal will be to encourage new students to join your class because of the positive feedback they receive from your students. 

Performance Objectives: 

      When you finish this lesson you should be able to: 

      1. List the 4 elements that are required to motivate students. 

      2. Give examples of how to obtain and maintain learner’s attention. 

      3. Describe some techniques to make lessons relevant. 

      4. Describe some techniques to increase student’s confidence. 

5. Describe how extrinsic and intrinsic rewards affect learner satisfaction. 

6. Identify the relationship between relevance and learner satisfaction.  

I. Keller’s Motivation Model 

      Keller (1987) delineated the elements that must be present during the learning process to encourage student motivation. This has become known as the ARCS model for motivation.  The essential elements are: 

A Attention.  You must get and maintain the learner’s attention.  

R Relevance. The information presented must be relevant to the learner. 

C Confidence.  The student must be confident that they can learn the material.

 

S Satisfaction.  The learner must gain satisfaction from learning the material. 

      We will look at each element in more detail.

 

II. Attention 

      A. Getting learner’s attention 

      Attention can be divided into two parts: gaining learners attention and keeping learners attention.   When we talk about getting learners attention, we need to do it in the first couple of minutes of the class.  Actually, we have two chances at this; one is when we first meet the students as they enter the classroom, and one when we actually start the lesson.

      When your students enter the classroom, we need to notice them individually.  We need to make them feel special, welcome, and loved.  Obviously, to do that we need to be present.  So, we need to arrive early for class.

       If you are teaching younger children, get down on their level so that they can look you in the eyes.  It makes you more approachable and less intimidating. 

Greet students by name if you are able to.  Smile. Act happy.  Your students will respond accordingly.

      When I teach the 4’s and 5’s class, I often bring in some props that I am going to use during the class to illustrate a point.  The presence of an unusual prop is a great attention-getter.  I remember the reaction I got one time when I walked into the class carrying a large plywood shield and a bag of nerf balls.  The kids couldn’t wait for the class to begin!      

      Your second chance at getting learners attention occurs when you actually start the lesson.  There are a number of techniques that you can use.  Basically, you are trying to do something unusual to start things off.

      One technique is to use an attention-getting statement.  This is a statement that is dramatic, thought provoking, funny, controversial, or out of context.  Imagine that you walked into a class and the teacher started the class out by saying something like “The God I serve is a miracle-working God.  I know because He has worked miracles for me”.  Would you be ready to listen?  I would!

      I once introduced a class on I, II, and III John by saying “We will begin our class with a reading from the Wall Street Journal”. This was out of context, and so it got their interest.  I then read an article from the past week dealing with how people view God after the 911 attacks and explained that John’s letters dealt with issues of how people view God.  This also got everyone’s attention by establishing the current relevance of the Scriptures.

      Recently, I taught a teen class about the Book of Revelation and the final judgment day.  I asked the students if faith in Christ was what got you into heaven.  When they answered yes, I then asked if they could do anything they wanted after they accepted Christ as Savior and it wouldn’t matter, since they were already saved.  This is an example of a controversial question or statement.

      Another way to get attention is by using a costume, props, or even an unusual voice to signal a change from the norm.  Just think about a drama presentation at a church service.  The moment someone walks onto the platform in a costume, everyone gets quiet and pays attention.     

      B.   Keeping learner’s attention 

      There are a number of elements necessary to keep learners attention.  First, we need to make sure we are teaching to our learner’s styles.  Failure to do so will turn our students off.

      Second, we need to keep things interesting.  Humor is one good way to do this.  Done correctly, learning can be fun! As people get comfortable with each other, humor should be a natural part of the interaction.  A class that doesn’t ever laugh together is in trouble! 

      Another way to keep things interesting is to vary our delivery technique.  Use lecture, then discussion, then directed play and so forth.  We should let our students participate as much as possible.  Don’t do all the talking.  Try to get your students talking. 

      This is very important when you are dealing with adults.  They will be much more interested in a class that taps into the depth of life experience that is in the class.  Younger kids will love to talk, but you will have to work hard to keep them on topic.

      With younger kids, attention span is a key issue.  The rule of thumb is that you can keep their attention for as many minutes as they are old.  So a class of five year olds should be given information in 5-minute bits.  Then use a different technique to present the material again.  So you might talk for 5 minutes, then ask them to respond, then do a related story, then try some directed play that applies the information. 

      Play can also work with adults.  Perhaps you could have a contest, or a Bible Jeopardy game etc.  Trivia quizzes might also work. 

III. Relevance 

      Relevance is important for all students, but it is most important for adults.  Younger children will tolerate a bit of learning for learning’s sake.  They are learning about the world, and just about everything is new and interesting.  This fades with age, and children seem to be losing interest at earlier ages than they used to.  However, if we can show a learner how something impacts their life right now, they will continue to stay engaged. 

      For adults, this is critical.  They have already built up their pool of general knowledge, and they have very little patience for learning something that isn’t applicable right now.  They are usually trying to learn to help them attain a specific goal or result.  This specific goal may be due to a particular life circumstance that they are facing, or it may be due to the particular interests that the learner has at this moment. We need to do our best to meet them where they are.  Relevance is also tied in to learner satisfaction, which will be discussed below.

 

IV. Confidence 

      Nothing will kill a learner’s motivation quicker than believing that they can’t master the material.  So we need to chock up some successes early on.  There are a number of ways to do this.  One way is to break the information into bits so small that anyone can master it.  Ask easy questions to test their understanding- questions that they can’t possibly get wrong.  Then, praise them and reward them for success.  People do what they are rewarded for.

      We can’t do this too much though, or it will seem like we are talking down to them.  But early on, this is a confidence builder.  When learners are struggling with more difficult material, we can point to these past successes to keep them encouraged. 

      It is important to praise a student’s progress.  Remember the lesson on learning thresholds?  As we push students to the edge of their abilities, they will feel more vulnerable.  Praise helps to make them feel stronger during this time of struggling.

      Another reason that a student’s confidence may falter is due to unrealistic expectations.  They are comparing themselves to their peers, but they are also comparing themselves to their teacher.  If they have unrealistically high expectations they are setting themselves up for reduced confidence and possible failure.

      The way a learner talks to himself or herself has a direct bearing on the result of a learning experience.  This is where you can play an important role as a teacher.  This is the learner’s first time in this territory.  As a teacher, you have probably been there before.  You need to make clear to your students what a realistic expectation is for a person in their place.  Tell them if they are mastering the material at an acceptable level for their age and experience or not.  They need to realize that they will probably not match the teacher’s competence level at this point.  That would not be a realistic expectation.  Managing student’s expectations is an important part of a teacher’s job.  

      For adult learners, providing a means for self-assessment can be very helpful.  If learners know clearly what an acceptable level of learning consists of, they can constantly compare their progress with the acceptable one.  What’s on a test should never be a big secret.   I often will publish the final test in the beginning of a class.  This lets the learner know what is important from the very beginning. The students can constantly compare their current knowledge with what is expected at the end of the course.  This gives them a sense of control over the learning process, which enhances their confidence.  

V. Satisfaction 

      Learners need to feel a sense of satisfaction from learning the material or they will lose interest.  There are two ways to help develop this sense of satisfaction.  One way is with extrinsic (external) rewards and another is with intrinsic (internal) rewards.

      Extrinsic rewards can be effective with all ages but work especially well with younger children.  Extrinsic rewards include praise, special privileges or responsibilities, or actual physical rewards like a piece of candy, a sum of money and the like.

      Intrinsic rewards are usually the most powerful, especially with older children and adults.  If we can tap into the intrinsic reward system of our learners, it will usually result in a very effective and satisfying learning experience.

      So what will tap into the intrinsic reward system of a person?  My experience is that anything that makes a person feel empowered, happy, strong, loved, capable, smart, valuable, more compassionate, wise, or more connected to God will result in feelings of satisfaction.  Also, any learning that helps them attain a specific goal that they have set for themselves will tend to produce satisfaction.

      The actual learning that is necessary will be different for each person and in each situation.   For example, if you were teaching a lesson about Spiritual Gifts, it would be satisfying for every student to know that they had at least one Spiritual Gift.  They might also enjoy learning about the misunderstandings that go with the different gifts, since this would allow them to feel wiser and more compassionate.  However, when examining the individual gifts, learners might only feel a sense of satisfaction when they learned about the specific gift that they possessed.

      As a teacher, you will have to play the role of psychologist to discern what each student finds satisfying.   What they need will often depend on the circumstances of their life. You will need to get to know them and what their goals are so you can point out how the learning applies to them. 

      As an example, an adult woman who has separated from their spouse due to spousal abuse would likely respond to learning or feedback that makes them feel more loved or more powerful.  A person financially successful might be looking for ways to be more compassionate.  A child from a troubled home might be looking for anything that helps them feel more in control.   This is another area where you should ask for the leading of the Holy Spirit.  One of the joyous and amazing things about teaching God’s Word is to see the way that God uses it to meet people where they are.

      Now that you know the components necessary to keep your students motivated, you can begin incorporating them into your class.  As a suggestion, make a conscious effort to incorporate the ARCS model into the lesson during the planning stages.  One additional benefit to having motivated students is that discipline issues tend to decrease as well.  Hope you  find this info helpful, and good luck applying it!

 

 

Knowledge Review: 

1. What are the four elements of the ARCS model that must be present in a learning experience to keep students motivated to learn?

   

      A ___________________________________ 

      R ___________________________________ 

      C ___________________________________ 

      S ___________________________________ 

2. List three things you might use to gain learner’s attention at the beginning of a presentation? 
 
 
 

3. List three things you might do during a presentation to maintain learner’s attention? 
 
 
 

4. How do adults and young children differ when it come to establishing the relevance of the class material? 
 
 
 
 
 

5. List three things you might do during a class to enhance learner confidence. 
 
 
 
 

6. Give three examples of both extrinsic rewards and intrinsic rewards that could be used to enhance learner satisfaction.

 

Discussion Questions: 

1. Do you think lesson relevance and learner satisfaction are connected?  If so, how? 
 
 
 
 
 

2. Have you ever been in a class that you just loved?  Think about a really interesting class you have attended and try to identify the things the teacher did to keep you motivated to learn.   

A. Can you see any elements of the ARCS model that were used in this class?  
 

      B. How did learning styles and Multiple-Intelligences play a part? 
 
 
 
 

3. Think about one of your favorite teachers.  What made them your favorite?  Did they use extrinsic rewards or intrinsic rewards to achieve this positive feeling? 
 
 
 

4. Think about one of the classes when you learned the most from the class.   

A.   Why did you learn the most in this class?   
 
 

B.   Did the teacher use extrinsic rewards or intrinsic rewards to achieve this positive result?  
 
 
 

C. Can you see the ARCS model or Multiple Intelligences at work in that class?  How? 
 

5. Is there a difference between a class with a favorite teacher and a class when you learned the most?  If so, what are the differences? 
 
 
 
 

6. As you think about these questions, how might this information affect the way you teach your classes? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

References 

Keller, John, (1987, Oct.). Strategies for stimulating the motivation to learn. Performance and Instruction, 26(8), 1-7.