Combining Technology Wth the 6 C's of Motivation
- 1. ED TECHNOLOGY TEACH-BACK COMBINING TECHNOLOGY WITH THE 6 “C’s” OF MOTIVATION BY: Eluene Roxanne Baza
- 2. THEORY OF THE 6 “C’s” OF MOTIVATION Utilizing, encouraging and enhancing a student's self-motivational drive is an effective method for teachers when trying to expose the students to self-propelled and open-ended learning. This theory allows the student to become more aware of his/her own capabilities by managing the lesson oriented with: student choice, a challenge for the student, student control and decisions, collaboration between students, constructing meaning for the student, and consequences that affect the student's outlook. By manipulating the lesson so that the student relies upon and is driven by the Six C's, the student's own motivation is better utilized.
- 3. Choice Malone and Lepper (1983) suggest that providing explicit choices among alternatives can enhance intrinsic motivation. Schiefele (1991) identified two components of interest: feeling-related and value-related valences. Feeling-related valences are feelings attached to a topic. Value-related valences relate to the importance of the topic to an individual. Value-related valences are associated with "constructing meaning" and are discussed later in this chapter. Feeling-related valences are the degree of enjoyment that an individual has toward a topic or object. If students are allowed to select a tasks that they personally enjoy doing, their motivation to learn increases.
- 4. Challenge Providing or operating tasks just beyond the skill level of the students is a good approach to challenge learners. In the motivation chapter, the Flow Theory is presented (Csikszentmihalyi, 1985). Students may experience flow if the challenge of assignments matches their skills. Work that is too difficult raises anxiety, whereas tasks that are too easy contribute to boredom; both situations decrease motivation toward learning. In order to ensure that goals remain challenging, teachers should continue giving students the opportunity to provide feedback. Helping students search for more information to improve and revise their tasks plays an integral part in the learning process.
- 5. Control If students are involved in the process of classroom control, they will be more responsible, independent, and self-regulated learners. To share the classroom control with students means involving them in the process of decision-making , organization of content, and choosing team members. However, too many choices may lead to increased anxiety, so providing assistance at appropriate times is essential when the teacher shares the classroom control with students.
- 6. Collaboration Vygotsky (1978) theorized that communication and collaborative group work can enhance individuals’ thinking and learning. Students can share learning strategies and perspectives with each other through social interaction. Collaboration seems to work best when students depend on each other to reach a desired goal, when there are rewards for group performance, and when students know how to work together effectively (Driscoll, 1994).
- 7. Constructing Meaning Value-related valences are associated with the construction of meaning. If students perceive the value of knowledge, their motivation to learn increases. Setting a meaningful goal for students is an important factor to promote motivation. Students should be given the opportunity to construct meaning in text as well as to build a rationale for the meaningfulness of literacy activities (Turner & Paris, 1995).
- 8. Consequences People enjoy having their work and learning achievement appreciated and recognized by others (Malone & Lepper, 1983). When students are provided channels to display their work, motivation increases. There are various strategies for displaying students’ work, such as hanging their posters on the wall, presenting their work at a science fair, publishing their work on web sites, and providing links to other students. There is no “correct” way to complete a project, and students can compare their creativity, integrating articles and presentation ability with other teams. This strategy creates a positive feeling about effort, ownership, achievement, and responsibility (Turner & Paris, 1995).
- 9. EXAMPLE OF USING TECHNOLOGY INTO THE 6 C’s OF MOTIVATION IN CREATING A NEWSLETTER Six C’s of Motivation SCENARIO: 6th grade computer class teacher needs to teach students how to use the newsletter program. Teaching programs out of context has not proved to be the most effective way of promoting retention learning and meaningful applications in the students. She decides to use the 6 C’s of motivation to give the students reasons to want to learn the program and to create value and meaning in this assignment for the students.
- 10. Continuation… Application: Choice – Students are allowed to choose what they want their newsletter to promote and who is the intended audience. Teacher gives suggestions for promoting activities happening around the school. Challenge – Students have never used this program before but are capable of figuring it out. Teacher offers suggestions for improvements as they proceed. Control – Students make all choices concerning their project but the teacher provides assistance if she sees the need for guidance. Collaboration – Students work together to review and develop their newsletters. Constructing Meaning – Teacher discusses alternate applications and uses for newsletter program; ways it could be used for personal or community events. Consequences – Finished products are hung in the halls and ones that deal with actual upcoming school events are copied and passed out to the other classes.
- 11. CONCLUSION The Six C’s of Motivation strategies have the potential to enhance students' motivation when applied to open-ended tasks (Turner & Paris, 1995). There is no single correct answer in the open-ended tasks, allowing students to make their own choices and goals. In the open-ended task context, teachers should guide students in selecting the most appropriate choices, setting up short- and long-term goals, planning and evaluating their projects, working collaboratively, constructing personal meaning through the task, and displaying their final projects. When integrating the six C’s of Motivation into curriculum design, it is important to be aware of the progress of each group and provide feedback based on that progress. When students engage in meaningful open-ended tasks, their motivation increases and the effect of learning is more powerful.
- 12. RESOURCES Shiang-Kwei Wang, Seungyeon Han. "Six C's of Motivation." From Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology October 3, 2007 1-6. November 26, 2007 <http://project.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Six_C's_of_motivation>. May, Debbie, "Learning Methods of PPT's." Six C's of Motivation 1-4. November 26, 2007 <debmay.myweb.uga.edu/6400lmppts.html>.