Date of Award
1990
Document Type
Practicum
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Center for the Advancement of Education
Advisor
Ann H. Flowers
Committee Member
Georgianna Lowen
Keywords
academic achievement, classroom environment, cooperative learning, high-risk students, intermediate grades, middle school, motivation techniques, self-esteem, staff development, student motivation, teacher effectiveness, teaching styles
Abstract
This practicum addresses the problem of low academic motivation in seventh-grade students. Many exerted little effort to achieve success in school, less than half completed homework, studied, or participated regularly in class activities. Only one-third of all seventh-grade students exhibited overall high academic motivation.
Motivation is an important factor in the process of learning. Therefore, the first goal of this practicum was that students in the seventh grade would improve their academic motivation. The second goal was that teachers of these students would have an increased knowledge base covering causes of motivational problems and teaching strategies for the prevention and intervention of these problems. In order to attain these goals, the writer created and implemented a series of staff development workshops designed to increase students' academic motivation through temporary teachers' knowledge of motivational problems, causes, and methods of instruction.
The results of the practicum were positive. All teachers demonstrated a significant increase in their knowledge of causes of low academic motivation and the application of instructional techniques needed to prevent or intervene in these situations. The teachers also improved their teaching style by becoming more conscious of their own use of motivational practices. As a result of improved motivational instruction, the level of student academic motivation increased significantly. The performance results proved that a staff-developed program that elements of motivation can improve the level in students and teachers as well.