D. Robie Motivation Case Study

7/30/2019 D. Robie Motivation Case Study

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Running head: Deneen Robie EDU 615 MOTIVATIONAL CASE STUDY 1

Motivational Case Study

Deneen Robie

University of New England

EDU 615

12/17/11


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Deneen Robie EDU 615 MOTIVATIONAL CASE STUDY 2

According to many researchers it is more important now that students be successful in

school than ever before. However, more unmotivated students are in our classrooms.

This classroom motivation study will focus on just one student in a 7th grade social

studies class. This study will look at the academic and behavioral observations of the

student. It will outline the lessons that were planned with motivational strategies to

ascertain if they would work on our case study student. These lessons are summarized

and the motivational theory attached to them is explained along with observations

made about the case study. Conclusions are drawn from these observations about

what was most successful. Recommendations for future planning are made. In the

end, a reflection is written considering the transfer of strategies from this one case

study to all learners.

The case study student is an unmotivated thirteen-year-old seventh grader. This

student, who we will call Nate, has been chosen for academic and behavioral reasons.

He is not identified with a learning disability or as an English language learner. He has

been put into the lowest level classes, however seems to be more capable than this

suggests. In fact there are indications from his state testing that he is more capable

then he is showing. He is choosing to not participate in school; he has only completed

minimal work in school and nothing outside. All team teachers report the same lack of

engagement in most if not all academic tasks. His transcript shows that last year he

earned only a point or two above a passing mark for the end of the year averages. He

did fail math for the year last year. He earned a 62/D- in social studies. Behaviorally


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he has been a problem. There have been many attempts to contact home, however

there has not been any sign of home support.

Nate initially tries to please behaviorally but avoids any academic task. He would sit in

the back with his head down. When his attempts to go unnoticed failed, he became a

clown, acting out. This behavior created safety in failure of academics and gave him

some attention though negative as it was. This student has not made any connections

to school. He focuses on what he loves, skateboarding. He feels stupid and doesnt

want to look stupid so he acts out. Nate shows many signs that we consider precursors

to dropping out. As research states:

According to comprehensive studies in urban high-poverty schooldistricts, three key indicators predict student success: attendance,behavior, and course failure. Students in high-poverty environmentswhose performance is off track in even one of these indicators fromthe 6th to 9th grades typically have a 25 percent chance at best ofgraduating from high school.(Balfanz, 2011)

Because he is at risk he is a great choice for trying motivational strategies. Including

these motivational and differentiated strategies in planning, it is hypothesized, will

result in this student engaging more in the class.

To begin this case study, a unit on civilization, which has many choices and connections

to our lives, was written. The unit, among other lessons, included a lecture, group

work, written assessment and an independent project. These four parts of the unit

were formally noted. The lesson summaries along with the motivational strategies

connected to them and the observations of the student are shown below.


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The first lesson chosen for observation comes at the beginning

of a unit on civilizations. It will be a unit that will last approximately three weeks. An

introduction to the facts behind how agriculture led to civilizations has been discussed.

Prior knowledge has been determined. Starter, which is completed upon entering class,

is given asking the following question: What type of government do we have in the

United States? They share their thoughts with a partner or two and then share with the

class. Students then take notes on the five elements of civilization (organization,

technology, language, society, and economy). The notes are displayed on the LCD

overhead and they are chunked into manageable sections. Lecture and discussion

continues during note taking. Students are prompted at end of civilization notes to

think about this question: If you were to wake up and you could have a civilization

based on your favorite thing to do what would that be? End class with a thumb up,

down or sideways on the question: Would you be able to recall the five elements

without looking at your notes?

This lesson fit well with Self-Determination Theory. As

described by Anderman and Anderman in their 2010 book, Classroom Motivation, Self-

determination theorists argue that humans have three basic needs: the need for

autonomy, the need for competence, and the need for relatedness. This lesson uses

these three. The Starter helps them get started and to hook them into the lesson

each day. Each student has a starter journal, which they write in daily. I believe it is a

great motivational tool. They are asked to think and then write about the prompt for 3-

5 minutes. The starter journal is not graded for if the answers are right or wrong.

Students feel a competencewith this activity because they know that they can do it.


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They also feel relatednessbecause the starter is about making connections to what

they know. We have worked hard to make this a safe space to write what we think and

share. Notes also help students to feel competencebecause sometimes just reading

the information from the text isnt enough. The hook of the independent project,

autonomy, with choice of a themed civilization is a motivation strategy.

Nate was very involved. Many students in his class were

unable to come up with what type of government for the starter, however when the

pledge was suggested to help students in my foundations level class identify the word

for our government, they felt the answer was attainable and were all helping each other

with the words as was Nate. He does not have trouble writing so note taking was

something that he could also feel competence in. The class discussion surrounding the

notes, though it did not have him sharing, was a good back and forth between the class

and teacher and Nate was not disruptive during the activity. The most positive part of

this lesson, which has given me ideas for future lessons, was the connection to the

notes and the future application of the information for the students. Students are to

create a civilization based on something that they love to do. Nate immediately raised

his hand and was asking if a skateboarding theme was a possibility and then began

asking questions about the five elements of a civilization to begin planning how he

could set up he ultimate skateboarding landsuccess!

This lesson is about a week into the unit. Mostly whole class

instruction on the topics of how agriculture leads to civilizations, the five elements of

civilization, the river valley civilization expert groups picked, charts hand made for


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information, and a reminder on cooperative group practice such as picking groups,

creating rules and choosing group jobs.

Continuing on, this lesson will last three-days. The objective is that students work in

cooperative groups to create a chart of the five elements of civilization as they apply to

the four river valley civilizations previously studied. Cooperative groups will do a jigsaw

with student first working in expert groups mastering the five elements of one river

valley civilization and then working in a second teaching group where they will present

their expert information about their river valley to other students. Upon arrival,

students complete starter, which is worded as follows: choose one of the five elements

of civilization and write in starter journals what you know about this element in our

civilization. (U.S.) Students share what they know with a partner then with class.

Students move into groups. Students choose resources from 4 textbooks, 2 primary

source books, and a teacher created book on their civilization. If experts run into

wanting more information, they may use computer lab or library to seek additional

resources including discovery streaming videos saved in class folder to view. After

starter and group work, students are reminded of homework. Students are to create an

outline of their own creation of a civilization. Their civilization must have a theme that

interests them (i.e. Skateboarding, shopping, musician, etc.) Their outline must include

the five elements. Examples on homework website. Questions answered. Clean up,

and exit slip. Exit slip asks them to write down one element and the definition in their

own words.


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The starters were about giving choice and connection to their

lives. In the self-determination theory this relates to autonomy and relatedness. In

cooperative groups, students practice autonomy by choosing the resources they want

to use to become experts. This helps motivation because students feel capable,

competence, as the resources are at different reading levels. It helps to give all

learners access to the information. In their homework they are applying and practicing

what they have learned. Students are creating a rough draft of what will be a product

assessment project. They are creating a theme-based civilization, using their

geography skills and applying their knowledge of the five elements of civilization.

Students are very motivated overall because this project includes an interest of their

choice. The choice in this project is the best type of motivation because it requires

them to apply their learned information to an interest.

This unit was written with my unmotivated student in

mind. The project was the motivational hook and my unmotivated student seems to be

interested. The best class discussions, connections and excitement about what we are

learning have come from these starters. Nate has started to be a leader in these

starter discussions. Nate and another boy in his groups are sharing the job of leader

and their group has compiled eight pages of notes to become experts. He is really a

model student for this part of the unit. Homework was close to 100%. Nate did not

complete or even start but came up right at the beginning of class with a piece of paper

and wanted to try to get something down. I suggested after school and he promised to

stay, but did not. I then suggested he keep the paper next to him and as his group


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was working he could jot things down at appropriate in between times. He did this and

had turned in the homework after a couple of days. Behavior was excellent.

Students choose one of the five elements of civilization and

write in starter journals what they know about this element in our civilization. (U.S.)

Students share what they know with a partner then with class. Students have been

working in groups becoming experts on a river valley and have shared with their

secondary group about the information. They are now going to take a quiz on the five

elements and some key concepts of the River Valley Civilizations. This is an individual

quiz. Quiz expectations are reviewed and students take quiz. After taking the quiz

students are to brainstorm twenty-five names of items relating to the theme of their

civilization.

Students continue to connect with their lives and the subject

mater through the starter. The quiz is also going to help students feel more self-

efficacy, which will then bring more intrinsic motivation. Because there was motivated

to become experts in order that they may then create their own civilization, the quiz

does not seem like a negative thing more like a determination that they are ready to

move onto their creations. The after quiz activity was to keep them busy and

motivated while others finished the quiz.

Nate showed much confidence in his quiz and earned an

85, which is a solid B on our grading scale and one of the first passing grades I have for

him thus far this year. Success! Grades were good in general for all students. By end


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of class, all students are completed quiz, however Nate is a little over excited and has a

lot of out of seat behavior. No movement around room on a quiz day is difficult.

Individual project work. Student starter is to complete

brainstorm of twenty-five names of items having to do with their theme. Students then

share their theme if they want with the class. Requirements have been discussed in

last couple of weeks as the unit has progressed, but requirements sheet is passed out.

Students will begin with map. Substitute coverage will be necessary for days two and

three of this part of unit. Students have done a rough draft of map prior to teacher

being out. When map is complete students are to choose a product to explain the five

elements of their themed perfect civilization.

Starter of names tries to create a sense of competence and

connectedness and overall motivation. Project is broken into daily checklists to create a

sense of competence. Requirement sheet is written on board and given to students as

a reference. This also helps in the feeling of knowing what they are doing. Students

are making many choices in the project. They are choosing their theme, the location of

their civilization and their product (brochure, booklet, skit, etc) to explain the five

elements of their civilization.

Nate seems very motivated and even asks about the

geography part of the project, which brings in skills from earlier in the year that he did

not do well on and he wants to get it right. Substitute coverage is a step back. Nate

did not accomplish anything and upon return is not as motivated about project. It

takes a couple of days and breaking down goals to very small chunks of time for him to


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get back on track but he does. At this point map portion is finished and again Nate

earns a B+.

Self-determination theory was utilized in the case study. In choosing this theory it is

important to look at how it defines motivation. If a student is intrinsically motivated to

learn about a particular subject it is because they have an interest in that topic. It may

also be that they have in interest in a particular activity. In Classroom Motivation, the

writers also talk about three other reasons that have students being self-determined,

humans have three basic needs: the need for autonomy, the need for competence

and the need for relatedness.(Anderman, E.M. & Anderman, L.H.; 2010) Relatedness means

that students need to see a connection to the information. This connection is so

important for students to retain what they learn. Another major part of this theory is

that students need to feel that they have some control or autonomy over their

academic life. This is where differentiation and choice are real big motivators to

students. When students feel that a task may be challenging but that they will be ABLE

to get through it, they have a feeling of competence and are more likely to have the

motivation to attempt the task. It is important that we pre-assess students and then

have them learn from that point onward. (Anderman, E.M. & Anderman, L.H.; 2010)

Differentiation with scaffolding support in place for students who need it helps students

to feel capable and to consistently have success, which in turn will help them be more

motivated. Self-determination theory was chosen in planning this unit because the case


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study student needed the sense of autonomy, competence and relatedness that the

theory invokes.

During this unit while looking at different strategies to use, Marzanos, 2001, Classroom

Instruction That Workswas also used to plan the unit. Marzano writes of nine

categories in instructional planning, a few of which were determined useful in this

situation. Identifying similarities and differences is always a great practice when

teaching history to have the student connect the topic of study to their lives by

comparing the two. Students in this unit of study compare the five elements of

civilization and how they were in ancient river valleys and how they are for us today.

Summarizing and note taking is another of Marzanos suggested strategies and besides

reading about the five elements in their choice of texts we first took notes and

discussed them. Another suggested plan is cooperative learning. Students did a jigsaw

on the five elements of the four river valleys working in an expert group and a teaching

group. These are considered best practices and this case study did not prove

otherwise. (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001)

Differentiation was also a big part of planning this unit for the case study. When

thinking of this particular student, one quote from Tomlinson came to mind,

Engagement is a nonnegotiable of teaching and learning.(2001) She continues by

referring to statements from Bess and Brand, writing, Two powerful and related

motivators for engagement are student interest and student choice. (Tomlinson, 2001)

Differentiation and the idea of choice of content, process and product were utilized in

this planning.


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As the unit was applied, Nate responded well to most of the strategies. Nate is a young

man that does not feel capable except in his skateboarding and does not experience

positive reinforcement very much. He also does not have much consistency in his life

at home so does not have a positive safe base to start from. Connection to school and

his life was a first objective. It came out that he used to be a boy scout through

discussion about government, military and him knowing the pledge allegiance. The

hook for the unit was skateboarding which he adores and would be the theme of his

own perfect civilization. Positive reinforcement was made and as long as I was there

encouraging him and helping with proximal goals that as Anderman and Anderman

write, are readily attainable and fairly easy to reach,(2010) he was motivated.

A couple of reasons are concluded as to why this unit was successful with this student.

First, a connection was made between the topic and students interests. Boy Scouts

was a positive experience for him and he loves skateboarding and knows a lot about it.

Secondly, he was pleasing the teacher and was getting positive feedback on a regular

basis. This motivated the case study student. Unfortunately, there was a downfall

during the study also. Motivation did not carry outside this particular class or teacher.

In follow up with other teachers, they did not report any change in his work avoidance.

Also, homework was not something this student could complete outside of class.

Another issue was that in class without the class teacher Nate could not follow through.

During this time period a substitute was necessary for two days and Nate was not

productive. He has become more of a classroom leader, however during substitute


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coverage, he was a class disincentive in the class getting work done. So, it is

determined that connections need to be made outside this one particular class to see

the positive results that were seen during the observed times.

Recommendations for what will and will not work to motivate this particular student

seem clear. Choice of interest is a great motivating factor at this point. It really has

hooked Nate into a whole unit of study where he has been able to show mastery of the

topic easily. Another is consistency is really important, when there was routine and the

same teacher was there, Nate became comfortable and confident to show his ability.

One practice that has been determined that definitely does not work is a goal based on

grades at this point. Because Nate is a boy that has no motivation to get good grades,

though he doesnt want to fail, he feels comfortable with failing so it is not deterrent for

behavior or a motivator to work. This is why a mastery focus on class to show

improvement and effort based on the connection and his interests worked so well.

Many students are unable to see the effects of good grades for the future at the middle

school level and all of the motivators used in this unit are highly recommended for all

students of this age group.

CONCLUSION

The opportunity has been fulfilling in planning and implementing and observing the

effects of using best practices with differentiation and motivational strategies into a unit

of study. The learning applied in this unit was to look at what students will learn and

then weave in the opportunity for differentiation and motivation is key. Choice,

connection and competence are the particular strategies that have emerged to be


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valuable for classroom planning. Students at the middle level are unable to see the

effects of their success or failure after high school and beyond. They cannot see past

their experience today. So, it is important to bring what they are learning into a

perspective of how it connects to their life and that they are capable of attaining

learning at high levels.

The importances of these strategies were observed beyond this one case study student.

While focusing on Nate, it was observed that most students were more motivated.

Students left class talking about the subject at hand and entered class wanting to get to

work for the most part. It is inspirational to know that a little strategic motivational

planning instead of just the natural motivations of grades and connections with

students really made a difference with most. The past has been partly overwhelming

because it seems impossible to know what each student of 110 might need each and

everyday. That is why the importance of the strategic planning is key. To determine

what might fit well with the objective and what students may need. The case study

student beyond the formal written observations did not take additional planning time so

thinking of these strategies in motivation and differentiation should be made part of

every lesson planning session.


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Anderman, E. M., & Anderman, L. H. (2010). Classroom Motivation. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.

Balfanz, R. (2011). Back on Track to Graduate. Educational Leadership, 68(7), p54-p58.

Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom instructions that works: Research-

based strategies for increasing student achievement. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.

Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate in mixed-ability classrooms. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

D. Robie Motivation Case Study

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