Motivation

For once, the motivation in question isn't mine - it's my students'. Like many of you out there, I'm planning for the upcoming semester. Something that my evals at my current job have signaled out as a issue is motivating the students, so that's what I'm currently thinking about. As a good academic, I've ordered a book on the subject, and I'll report back on it once it's arrived and I've had a chance to get into it. But I thought I'd also see what teh internets has to say on the subject.

As I understand it, there are two kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. The carrot and the stick. The pull and the push. Intrinisic motivation comes from within - students want to learn because the material is important to them, personally. Extrinsic motivation is imposed by outside forces - students want to learn because if they don't, something bad will happen (generally, they will get bad grades. Or look stupid in front of their peers. That kind of thing).

I like to think that I'm fairly decent at the extrinsic motivation, the stick, the push. I structure my classes so that students have to do the work. I've done things like assign weekly papers, of which students have actually approved, saying that the papers made them keep up on the reading. Or I use WebCT as a means for students to post a response to the reading prior to class - again, something that requires them to do the readings. (And when they do the readings, we can have productive discussion.) I'm careful to construct tests that address the course material directly, reward students who've done the work, and don't reward those that don't. I make sure that we address the readings in class, not simply repeating what they've read, but making sure that the readings are connected to what we do in class, so that students feel that the readings are useful and relevant.

But I suspect that extrinsic motivation only goes so far, and not as far as intrinsic motivation. It's harder to know how to inspire intrinsic motivation (which is what I think students are more likely to think of when asked to rate how well the class motivated them), if it's not there already. I think that's partly because I teach something fairly esoteric, that doesn't have obvious and direct connections to the world today. Drugs and human behavior? Built-in interest and relevance. Medieval history? Less so. But to attribute motivation problems to that and to give up would be silly, because there are students out there who come to my classes passionately interested in the subject, and because there are also plenty of teachers of equally or more esoteric subjects who have no difficulty motivating students (a friend of mine who teaches Greek and Latin comes to mind).

As a historian, the issue of motivation can also be difficult because so often student interest in a subject, or evaluation of its importance, is based upon their assessment of its relevance. But that relevance is determined by what they believe is relevant to them, and one of my central goals as a historian is to get across the fact that different societies had different ideas of what was relevant, and what makes something relevant to my students was NOT necessarily what made it relevant to medieval people (if they thought it was relevant at all). I want my students NOT to use themselves as the measure of relevance.

So. How do I motivate students to learn about medieval history if one of my goals is, in essence, to point out its irrelevance to them? Well, I can talk a great deal about why history itself is relevant - it builds important critical thinking and writing skills, it helps us (in a global sense) understand where we've come from (in a global sense), learning about issues that matter to us today, in different contexts, can help us understand those issues better. Medieval history itself? I think it's relevant because it's at once so distant from us, and yet contributes so much to (ugh, I hate this term) western civilization. Or, how about western culture as a better term?

These are things I can, and will, discuss with my students, and I can make a greater effort to continue this discussion throughout the semester, rather than addressing it on the first day and then leaving it behind.

But there have got to be other intrinsic means of motivation, that aren't content-related (q.v. my friend the classicist above). How do the rest of you foster intrinsic motivation in your students?

Comments

[hilaire]

I teach in a discipline that tends to create its own motivation, so I don't have much advice on that front. Just wanted to say a wholehearted yes! on the question of trying to have students evaluate everything according to their own measure. I try desperately to do this; it's really hard to end up with something productive and not a relativist soup!

[Barb]

I also teach medieval and early modern history, so I sympathize, but I have to say that I do it from a different persepctive regarding relevance. I emphasize to my students that, while in many ways medieval people *thought* differently, in ways we cannot ever truly comprehend, they were still people like us, with similar emotions, needs, and goals. I also like to organize my courses around a theme that connects our time with the period we are studying. For example, when I teach a course on women's history (almost every semester), I ask students to think about current ideas and attitudes about women, about men, and about gender roles, and then we look for how those ideas have or have not changed over time. This makes the material more "relevant" to them in a way that does not distort the past (I hope!)

[yankee transferred]

Obviously, I cannot speak to this, not being a teacher/instructor/prof. All I can say is that this is beautifully written.

[Another Damned Medievalist]

Well, I think part of the problem is that relevance should not necessarily be the prime motivating factor. I'm really trying to talk about these things holistically. Sadly, I do point out that being a well-educated person often translates to better job opportunities, but that's not a bad thing. It's true. Being well-rounded helps you to connect with more people on more levels. That's good in life, and in many kinds of work, and it really does often mean a better paycheck. But I also tal about having widespread interests in general ...

[Rebecca]

Hey there, NK! Glad to see you're back.

And, a short comment. Sometimes I think that we professor-types are made to feel responsible (especially through the evaluation system) for every aspect of our students' educational experiences. I often wish students would be held responsible for motivating themselves...

[shrinkykitten]

Not to be dense - but I'm confused as to why motivation falls on you? Why are you expected to motivate them? Shouldn't they be motivating themselves. And indeed, I know they don't - and I have that issue too - it's more that I feel a little rankled that we have to motivate them. Why is there not more of an expectation that they will find ways to motivate themselves?

[Anastasia]

my first thought is the same as shrinky's: if they aren't internally motivated, that's their problem isn't it?

I do history but I'm in religion and we don't really have a hard time convincing them they should be interested but I do think it's a problem for historians in general. And I did have that problem in the seminary where people were resisting all this book learnin' stuff in favor of good old fashioned preachin' and I never did figure out how to deal with it.

One thing I do make room for discussions students can participate even if they aren't well-prepared. I could be accused of encouraging them to be unprepared, I guess, but really I think I'm just assuming some of them are going to be. I find it helps morale a bit if they can dive in and wing it from time to time.

Once they get into participating, they might get to enjoy it, which means they have a greater chance of actually getting interested, which may in turn encourage them to do the reading.

I also like to trot out weird things. They like weird things where I'm teaching right now. If it isn't relevant, let it be weird and then at lesat they will think it interesting. It also isn't bad for getting them to realize the historic and cultural distance between our world and the medieval one. Once they're talking about a decapitated head inside a reliquary, all you've got to do is convince them medieval people weren't nuts. But at least they're interested.

[New Kid on the Hallway]

YT, thank you! :-)

shrinky and Rebecca (hi, Rebecca! hope your semester is starting well!), I do agree with you. My preferred MO is to teach stuff that I'm interested in, and let the students decide for themselves how much they want to get out of it, and whether it's an interest/priority for them. Any of them who decide it is, get 110% from me. Those who decide it's not - that's their choice. Of course, I also have eval forms that rate me on how well I motivate my students, which I think is part of a culture where the students do expect me to play that role (and to some extent, I do think that I should).

Barb, thanks for your comment - that's helpful, and it makes a lot of sense. I do some of that, especially in my own women's history class (where I think motivation is less of an issue). Part of my question here comes from teaching also in a humanities course where I do a LOT of connecting to current issues, so I think I try to make a distinction between the two. I guess like Hilaire, I'm coping with how not to produce a relativist soup!

And ADM - I agree, relevance shouldn't be the primary motivating factor; but I think often that it is, whether we want it to be or not. I'm interested in other factors that motivate students intrinsically.

[New Kid on the Hallway]

Anastasia, we cross-posted. :-) I like your points - I do actually try to give students room to participate if they're not prepared (not all the time, but definitely some of the time), and I agree, if they get involved and enjoy it, that makes a difference. And yes, weirdness is good! (I like the point about the reliquary.)

[Dr. Crazy]

This is an interesting question, and I think how I address "internal motivation" has a lot to do with how I was "internally motivated" as a student. The classes in which i was most motivated to excel in tended to be those classes in which there was an instructor that I wanted to please/impress. This isn't the same thing as getting good grades, although i suppose it is linked. With certain instructors, I had a sense that they were very connected to what I was doing in the course, that they would be "disappointed" in me if I didn't meet their expectations, that they would be "proud" if I did. I suppose all of this is to say that whether I thought the material was relevant or not or whether I was particularly interested in the subject independently prior to taking the class was, in fact, irrelevant to how motivated I could become given the instructor's investment in the course and in me.

So, a couple of ways that I think work to communicate that kind of investment are things like: 1) inviting (or even requiring) students to come to office hours at least once during the semester 2) being sure to communicate in class that you appreciate their efforts on particularly challenging texts/assignments 3) presenting yourself in such a way that you seem really passionate and excited about the material.

And when all else fails, just do the subliminal message "I can tell that you're all really motivated to do well in this course, that the material is motivating you" crap throughout the semester. Because I'm sure you're doing a great job and this question of "motivation" really isn't something an evaluation can measure.

[What Now?]

I'm with Anastasia on the weirdness. I try to make material exciting in class by pointing out both relevance to today (when applicable) and freaky, funny, or completely unexpected things about the material. And somehow when students see that I enjoy the weirdness too, that creates something of a bond between us, that we're all in this and having a good time together. Of course, one wants to watch the line between this sort of thing and pandering to student interests.

Great post!

[CafeSiren]

This is a tough one. I'm also a medieval historian, and as an undergraduate, I had plenty of internal motivation in my medieval courses, but only because I came into them with an inexplicable interest in the subject. But I couldn't get "internally motivated" for my course on Pacific Northwest frontier communities. It was *all* external, and that lack of give-a-damn was reflected in the big, fat C I got in the class. And I'll confess, there are some things within my own field that I still just can't get excited about (Investiture Controversy, anyone?)

In my surveys, I handle the problem as best I can by interspersing the lectures that are hard to make the connection (e.g., Carolingians) with ones that may be easier (medieval marriage and sexuality). And I just figure that, while there will be some students who are internally motivated to learn about the one, there will be others who are fascinated by the other.

And yes, there will be a handful of students who just can't get internally motivated, no matter what. We really have no control over that. For that, I just practice acceptance, remembering my undergraduate self in that "frontier communities" course, and hope that one of my colleagues is inspiring this student in a way that my class cannot.

[CafeSiren]

One more thing: the very marginality of our subject (and this goes double for classics!) probably means that the students in our classes are *more* internally motivated than those in, say, a U.S. history survey or a Western Civ course. Those latter two might be a requirement, or a default, but it's hard to accidentally end up in a medieval course (and even harder to stumble in to second-year Greek).

[Jessica]

I actually like taking on the task of externally motivating students and I think, at least judging by my evals, that I've been pretty successful at it (but I've had my share of complete and total failure too, of course). I've also had teachers in the past that were just incredible at it - and in classes where the material was not necessarily relevant to everyday life. I think part of success in this matter is the generic "if you're interested, then you have a better chance of making them interested," and part is just actually being kind, inviting, and respectful to students (and NK, I would imagine that you're all of these things, but a lot of teachers just aren't). But I think most of the success I've had and seen comes from a two-fold strategy: 1) talking about the value of knowledge for knowledge's sake (especially when you're teaching history), and 2) making them not want to let you down.

The best advice I ever got from the best professor I ever had was "make them want your respect" and "praise them as intellectuals and they will rise to the occasion."

The first I try to accomplish with the way I treat students and, one specific example, by picking a student after every class to walk out of the building with and talk to about non-class stuff. The second is harder to pull off. But I've had students tell me before that I was the only person who ever referred to them as a scholar or intellectual and discussed their "intellectual progress" with them. Most of them do rise to the occasion because they like the sound of being smart, even if outside of the classroom they are too "cool" for it.

This professor (who, by the way took a 30 seat class and turned it into a 350 seat class after only three semesters because he was so popular) also told me that "everyone has to accomplish this a different way based on their unique personality, humor, and comfort level, but just use them as mottos and you'll find yourself naturally figuring out your own way to do it". (That's actually verbatim from an e-mail he sent me). And I think this is really true too because I use a lot of humor and sarcasm in the classroom, but I've seen people try it who just can't make it work and everyone ends up feeling awkward - just like I don't work well as a stern disciplinarian (although I do think they respect me).

Sure, this all sounds generic, cheesy and all touchy-feely (all this sort of advice does) but it also makes them not dread class, try harder with the material, and have nicer things to say about you at the end of the semester, a least sometimes.

[Jessica]

PS: sorry for the super-long comment!

[Tiruncula]

Coming from the literature side of things, I have to say I don't particularly strive for an alienation effect. My pedagogical schtick is all about how loopy and fun I find all this stuff - the less relevant the better! I figure some students will fall for both the schtick and the material and some won't.

That said, I like to try to create internal motivation through the structure of the class, by trying to give students "ownership" (horrible ed-biz buzz word alert) of an aspect of the course's work that they can follow through the whole term. I borrowed from a colleague at SCC the idea of making small groups responsible for each of several themes or threads that she wanted to follow through the whole course anyway. So, for example, whatever the text of the week, one group was going to be particularly focused on gender implications, one on formal issues, one on material culture - whatever. The idea is that those students know they're the indispensible experts on their thread, and they have an investment in their own expertise - which seems to me a good kind of motivation to be cultivating in students trying to succeed academically in fields with which they're not necessarily emotionally invested.

[Shelly]

When I teach the lit classes, one of the aspects that I focus on that I think really does interest the students is the way that history and humankind's experience is repetitive and that it is therefore relevant. I know what you mean, of course, about the differences in value systems, but ultimately texts come down to so many themes that are universal and lack temporality. (This is something I'm looking forward to in my themed Orientalism course.)

I look forward to your thoughts on the book.

And to some great responses here. I'm very interested in mulling over some of the suggestions of your commenters.

This is why you're so great! You start these wonderfully thoughtful threads that provoke discussion and sharing for the rest of us who are so lost! ;)

[Cats & Dogma]

Back with a bang!

I tend to think along the same lines as Tiruncula here, so while I spend perhaps less time than many making the material feel relevant, I do work very hard to make the work they are doing feel relevant: Having students responsible for following a specific theme (as Tiruncula notes), having small groups responsible for actually teaching all or most of a class, having a class project that actually oriduces (even in some small way) new knowledge: can they produce an online edition of an out-of-print text? Can they write a section of a highschool textbook?

If the work feels meaningful, and not merely an academic exercise, students often seem more motivated about the subject matter.

[New Kid on the Hallway]

Thanks for the continuing comments! A lot more to mull over.

CafeSiren, I have to laugh, b/c the Investiture Controversy is just NOT my bag either! And you're right - there are some students who are never going to find my class intrinsically motivating. And that's okay. Though the obscurity/intrinsic motivation level correlation is interesting - it's definitely true that one can't really stumble into 2nd-year Greek, but majors in my dept. have to take at least one early history class, so ironically, the non-majors in my courses are often the ones more interested than the majors (if the latter are only really interested in US but have to take something early). So that complicates things, of course.

Dr. Crazy, I love your subliminal message suggestion! I HAVE to start doing that kind of thing. Unfortunately I've been teaching long enough that I can do my traditional shtick on auto-pilot, and forget to say things like that - I need to make big notes to myself to do so!

Jessica - your comment isn't too long (or cheesy) at all! Thanks for sharing it! (You may have noticed I tend to the wordy myself...) Your point about getting them to want your respect is especially helpful.

Tiruncula, thank you for the idea about following through on themes throughout the semester. I'm not sure how well that's going to work this semester given my specific classes, but it's a great idea I'm going to keep in mind for future reference.

And Shelly, you're right about the universality of a lot of the pertinent themes. Again, this is something I really emphasize/hit hard in my non-history course, and it does work well there. I look forward to hearing about your Orientalism course.

Thanks also, Cats & Dogma, for the additional ideas. The book I have has indeed talked quite a bit about "ownership," which is jargon but also a useful concept, which fits with what you're saying.

Now if I can remember to think about this stuff throughout the semester, and figure out how to translate it into syllabus-ready activities/readings...

[Psych Grad]

Well...Self-detemination Theory, that deals with the issue of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation would argue that intrinsic motivation can be fostered by developing or supporting an individual's perceived autonomy and competence.

As a student, I definitely experience a sense of personal satisfaction when I feel capable and independent.

Unfortunately, extrinsic rewards (e.g., good grades) often undermine intrinsic motivation.

[StyleyGeek]

Wow, so many awesome comments!

I don't have much to add, except that one thing that bothers me in the question of motivation is the idea that students can only be intrinsically motivated if they can relate the material to themselves. Because, you know, it's all about them. And it's obviously not going to be as easy for (most of) them to do this in a class like medieval history as in a class on modern pop-culture.

Most of what motivated me about undergrad classes was not connecting the material to myself directly, but rather to other things I had learned. So classes that I was most motivated to do extra reading in and participate in most were ones that related threads of a whole lot of different areas together, or that addressed questions that I had been thinking about on my own already anyhow. I think that that is one reason why motivation tends to be higher in higher level classes -- the students have thought about the material a lot over the years and they have a lot of hooks to hang things on.

So what I am saying is that some of what you, New Kid, say you do as means of external motivation (making them do the readings and think about things themselves) can work to build intrinsic motivation too.

I think.

[New Kid on the Hallway]

StyleyGeek, I totally agree about the relation between motivations and higher-level courses. And again, I don't think that relevance to one's self is/should be the only motivation, but I think that it is one that's out there, and that often gets referred to.

And PsychGrad, thanks! The book I've been reading talks about autonomy and competence as well, so it's useful to see you bring that up. And it doesn't surprise me that extrinsic/intrinsic are often at odds with each other, sadly. Extrinsic stuff is so much easier to control...

[psycgirl]

I also get a lot of comments from students about motivating them. I tend to have a laid back style and the students who need a lot of fireworks don't relate to it. If you figure this out, let us know. (And how the book is)

[deeni]

Harder for me-- motivating students in a required western civ course. When (in a good semester)maybe 5 out of 40 are interested. A post and comments on this would be great.

[Paris]

I think Tiruncula brought up a good point that one way to promote intrinsic motivation is modeling. The teachers that are most memorable to me were those who suceeded in communicating their sheer enthusiasm for everything about their topic. Most of them accomplished this without ever touching on the extent to which the subject might be relevant. Sort of a "show me, don't tell me" approach.

But then, I'm inclined to agree with other comments that intrinsic motivation is ultimately the problem of the individual student; as a teacher I can offer extrinsic motivation to help them out, but the existential issues - I'm sympathetic but probably not so helpful.