Meeting 3 Basic Human Needs for Motivation

Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness are three basic Human needs for Motivation. Autonomy refers to the need for the child to feel that they have a choice in their learning or a sense of control. When this is fostered, the child will show growth in engagement as well as a display of motivation, making the student feel empowered and responsible for their own progress. Competence is where the student has a need to feel capable and effective. If the Educator can give constructive yet supportive feedback and give appropriate challenges or tasks to make the student see themselves as great learners, it will boost motivation for learning. If we can make these needs happen, the child may feel discouraged and give up easily.  Lastly, Relatedness is the need for the student to feel a connection with others. A classroom or home setting that is built on value, positive relationships, which makes the student feel safe, works well. If connections are not built, that may cause isolation, which will reduce engagement and motivation.

Sociocultural and Cognitive Influences on Motivation

Social and Cognitive Influences on Motivation

The child's culture, background, and cognitive development mold their engagement and their attitudes. Sociocultural factors are the students' language, traditions, cultural values, as well as experiences that they have experienced prior to dictate how they respond to motivational approaches and given classroom expectations. In order to address the sociocultural differences, educators can provide culturally responsive practices, acknowledge and celebrate diversity, get accustomed to students' backgrounds, and motivate multiple perspectives that will help the students feel included. Some Cognitive factors are based on the stages of development, like goal-setting, reflection, and self-regulation. Encouraging techniques must match the child's cognitive readiness, giving scaffolded choices, nurturing growth mindsets will support all stages for learners, and displaying metacognitive skills. A way to overcome cognitive barriers is to give assessments frequently,  changing instructions that will assist the student where they need support or extensions.

Teacher Attributes on Promoting and Hindering Motivation

Wya that can promote engagement and motivation are empathy and approachability, as well as high expectations paired with support. Showcasing a nice and genuine care in the student's lives and giving active listening while demonstrating understanding pushes the student to try harder. When an educator believes in the child's abilities and provides the scaffolding needed for success, this strengthens the classroom environment for motivation and engagement. Overly controlling behaviors can be attributes that will hinder motivation and engagement by trying to dictate each aspect of learning and causing discouragement towards student input. Having dismissive or negative approaches can also be an attribute that can hinder engagement and motivation, focusing on displaying bias, weaknesses, or giving a harsh response to mistakes that are made. 

Improving Student Motivation at Home and School

Some strategies the educators can use are motivating goal setting, offering choices, and facilitating strong communication. To encourage goal setting, the educator must lead the students to monitor, set, and celebrate their progress academically and their personal goals at home and school. Offering choice strategies can be incorporated with seating, in given assignments, and reading materials, which helps build autonomy with homework and in the classroom. Facilitating strong communication can improve student motivation at school and home by opening channels with families like Remind and ClassDojo, where positive feedback can be shared as well as classroom information. This can even be a channel for the parents to inform the teacher of new things that may be happening in the students' lives. This is a way that families can fully support interests outside of school, and given learning routines that were created by the teacher.