Monday, April 4, 2011
Motivation
Respond to this scenario: You have completed a project for a teacher that has taken you almost a month to complete. It was handed in on time, and you have waited more than three weeks to receive a grade on it. You have inquired about the grade, but have not received a response. What role does feedback play in student motivation?
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I believe that feedback plays a vital role in a student's motivation. As a student of many years, I have been placed in this situation several times and it decreases motivation significantly. The thought comes to mind, "If they are not going to make the effort and time as a teacher to review my hard work, why would I put so much effort into the assignment"? Of course, maturity guides students to realize that the hard work is self-benefiting, but when one is a young student, he/she are not going to have this consideration. Also, students have a need for acceptance and reassurance. If a student puts great effort and pride in their work and it is not acknowledged, not only does that unmotivate the student academically, but their achievement going unnoticed is extremely disappointing. Prompt and effective feedback is a way of encouraging students and creating confidence in their work. It is an expectation of a teacher not only for encouragement and guidance, but also to model positive social etiquette.
ReplyDeleteFeedback plays a vital role in student motivation. For most students feedback and grades are a major extrinsic motivator. Students work hard with the hope that the pay off will be a good grade. However, when teachers don't take the time give the students feedback they aren't going to get the reward for their work. This could, for some students, mean they won't feel motivated to try as hard for other assignments. Students want to feel like the work they are doing is actually adding up to be worth something. Not everyone understands that all work is beneficial even if it doesn't get a grade on it. If students don't get feedback they may feel like all the effort they put into that one assignment wasn't worth the lack of teacher feedback.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I have been in this role a number of times. It is so frustrating when you work so hard on a project and then it takes weeks to get your grade back. It shows the student that their teacher doesn't care about your hard work and is taking their time to get their feedback back to you. Also, after a few weeks after an assignment is due it is normal for the student to forget what they were thinking while doing the project so the feedback doesn't mean as much. I agree with Adrianne's statement, This could, for some students, mean they won't feel motivated to try as hard for other assignments. I agree with this because I have been that student before. Unfortunately, once a student feels their teacher doesn't care, they won't care either.
ReplyDeleteI think that feedback plays a very large role in student motivation. If students aren't in a position where they feel that their hard work is appriciated, they're much less likely to work as hard the next time around. Students need to feel like they're doiing a good job, they need to know how/why they recieved fewer points on their assignment. Also, students need to know what the criteria are for their assignment, and they need to have feedback tailored specifically to them so that way they know what it is that they need to work on to get full credit for the next assignment.
ReplyDeleteI really like what Mae said about students having a need for acceptance and reassurance. In all of the classrooms that I have been in, it seems that the students are all working towards the goal of making not only themselves happy, but making their teachers and/or parents proud of them. I think that this in and of itself is a very good reason as to why we, as teachers, need to provide good, timely feedback to our students. They need to be reassured that they are on the right track in their education, that they are smart and can do things, and that they are given feedback that assists them with future tasks.
ReplyDeleteI didn't consider a factor amykbraun mentioned. I agree about the delay of feedback not being as beneficial because the student may not remember where their idea was going or other aspects of the project. When students are excited about their academia and have ideas developing, as teacher we wan to guide and enhance that learning experience. With a delay in feedback, the child may have to put their excitement and ideas on hold and possibly not gain back that excitement or idea. As teachers we are their to foster student learning, not delay or damper it.
ReplyDeleteAppropriate feedback is very important to student motivation. For me personally, if a teacher doesn't get projects back to me in a timely manner I usually think they don't care about it. If my teacher doesn't care about my work; why should I care about my own work? As a teacher, the last thing I want is for my students to think that I don't care about them. The teacher should be around to motivate students to learn every single day of school. Children need a reason to learn and getting appropriate feedback in a timely manner would help students to be excited about projects. The students want to know what they did good on a project and what they need to improve on in order to achieve more on the next project. The motivation of a teacher should have a direct correlation to the success of their students.
ReplyDeleteI believe that because the teacher isn't providing feedback for the student, then it is lowering the student's level of motivation. If I were the student, I know that I would not try as hard on the next project or care if I got it turned in on time. This is because the teacher is portraying to the students that they do not take the project seriously. Students need the feedback of either comments or grades to reassure them and to let them know where they stand in the class. The student has done everything they can to get feedback from the teacher, but the teacher is damaging their motivation by not responding.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Mae said. I believe that not getting any feedback not only damages their motivation, but it also damages the students' confidence in their work. As teachers, we want our students to be confident with the work that they present us and to take pride in what they do. The last thing you should want from your students is the lack of self-esteem and the lack of motivation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Amy when it takes teachers a long time to give feedback the feedback in often not as useful to the student. Often times I forget exactly what I was thinking when I was originally putting together the project. I also feel that when teachers don't return feedback in a timely manner I lose excitement for the work that i had turned in. When I lose that excitement I am more likely to feel poorly about my work when I finally receive my grade and feedback. If I had a great idea that didn't transfer too well in the project and the teacher questions it I am less likely to want to fight for what I know and what I did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mae. Students need to know that the teacher values their work just as much as the student does. It is important that students get appropriate feedback in a timely manner to convince the student that what they do in class is important and should be done well. If the teacher does not do a good job, why should the student?
ReplyDeleteI feel feedback plays a very vital role in student motivation. When a student does not recieve quick feedback they can feel as if it was not necessary. If they do not know how they did on that certain assingment they can believe if the teacher did not give me feedback, then it must not be important to remember or know how they did. As we get older we learn this is not the case, but in younger children they may not realize this yet. A student could feel their teacher does not care about their education or what they have learned from their assingments. This could be very discouraging to students.
ReplyDeleteI feel that feedback is something that students look forward to when receiing grades and critiques. I know I have experienced this scenerio many times throughout high school and in college. You work relly hard on something and then you don't hear the results of it till the class is almost finished with. When this happens I feel the teacher/intructor doesn't really care that much to take the time and grade things like he/she should. I put a lot of time and effort into what I believe was my best work and I want a complete overview of what I have created in a timely fashion. I feel if the teacher doesn't care about the classwork, then neither will the students. It is more or less just busy work than an actual assignment that means something and has value.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the first comment that Mae made with saying students have a need for acceptance and reassurance. I believe this to be completely true because I know I am the same way. I feel that sometimes I need to be reassurred because I want to do well. I feel that if I know I am doing okay in the class that I am going to be fine when something gets hard and I am having a difficult time.
ReplyDeleteI believe that feedback plays a crucial role in student motivation. I have had many classes where a large assignment or project has been turned in and I did not see a grade for weeks. It is very frustrating and also reduces motivation about that assignment and future assignments. If you work hard to get a project done you are anxious to see your grade for the next few days. After a week or two of not hearing anything about that grade, you begin to lose interest and not care as much about the grade you received on that project because by now you are on to something else and have other things to worry about. Also, when it comes time for your next project, you will not be as motivated to complete it because you know that you will not receive feedback and will not put forth as much effort as possible. So quick and quality feedback is important to students because it allows them to see how they did and also motivates them to do well on future assignments if they know that it will be graded quickly and quality feedback will be given.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Adrianne said about motivation and how when students do not receive immediate feedback for something they do, they lose motivation and will most likely will not try as hard on future assignments. It is also true that students, especially younger ones, do not understand the concept of all the work they do is for a reason. Most of them feel as though everything they do is for the sole purpose of getting a grade, and if they do not get a grade back for an assignment, they feel as though doing that assignment was a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Victoria said about losing motivation when you have to wait for your results. It is true that if it appears the teacher does not care about the classwork, then neither will the students.
ReplyDeleteThroughout college I have noticed the projects we are to complete are a lot more difficult and more time consuming. This will naturally prolong the grading period, but in most cases the professor will assign another similar assignment right after. I believe that if you are not given proper feedback, you cannot be prepared for the next assignment. Also, feedback will show you precisely what the teacher is looking for and expect from your learning.