Monday, November 7, 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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Feedback is so important in student motivation. If feedback from the teacher is helpful to the student by suggesting ways to improve, the student will be more motivated to make his or her work better. On the other hand, if the student feels that the feedback is only negative comments and lacks suggestions for improvement, the student may not be motivated to learn.
ReplyDeleteIn this instance, I would be especially frustrated that even after asking about the project I still do not receive an answer. Students deserve to know what is going on for their grades in a timely manner so they know immediately how and where improvement on their part is needed.
I agree with Libby that it can get frustrating when we wait forever for a project to get back. If it is a project with a lot to it, it may just take that long for the teacher to give the best feedback possible for each and every student in that long period of time. As a student I do get kind of frustrated when it takes a long time to get feedback, but I would want to get really good feedback after a while rather than not so good feedback right away.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to feedback, I believe that if a student gets good feedback on what they can improve on or what they did really well, this will motivate them to do well again or to do the suggestions to improve. If a student takes a lot of time working on a project and doesn't get feedback back for a ridiculously long amount of time, it might not motivate the student to get their assignment done in a short time either since the teacher isn't getting feedback back in an appropriate amount of time. But like I said, if it takes longer to give good feedback, I would choose that over barely any feedback. The more feedback a student gets, the more motivated they will be doing their assignments, because according to the teacher's feedback, the teacher took a lot of time to look at the students' projects.
ReplyDeleteFeedback is a very important component of motivation. If the feedback is received in a timely fashion there are many benefits. For example, it is easier for the students to improve their work if they can quickly see their scores. It wouldn't be beneficial for a student to get their feedback back at the end of a chapter or unit because then they would have no time to improve on the needed areas. Also, if feedback is returned quickly by teachers, I think it helps motivate the students because they see that the work is important to the teacher as well. If there is no feedback, students have no idea what they are doing right or wrong and it may even seem pointless to them to even do the work.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Libby that after asking about my grade and still not getting a response, I would be very frustrated. That would make me feel like the teacher doesn't care about me or my learning. If I didn't think the teacher cared about my work, I wouldn't care as much either. Therefore I think it is good for teachers to lead by example!
ReplyDeleteAfter turning this assignment in and getting nothing back, i would feel like i did all of this work and it was not fair. If the teacher expect me to be timely then the teacher should also be timely. Teachers can not give their students certain expectations without also being able to meet those expectations themselves. The more motivation the teacher has the more motivation the students will have because you are being a role model to them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Libby. The students have a right to know how they did on something so they can continue to improve on what they need to. However, the feedback needs to be done correctly. You can't only give negative feedback because this will bring less motivation to the student. It needs to be a good mix of positive feedback and things they need to work on so they aren't getting put down.
ReplyDeleteFeedback definitely plays a role in motivation. Teachers should give students some indication of how well they have done and how to improve. Students do not know what the teacher is looking for if there is not any feedback. The student will continue to do assignments wrong if they do not know what the teacher is expecting or do not know what they did wrong. Basically, feedback lets students know if their goals are being met. It also supports their beliefs that they can do well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jessica. Teachers should be a role model for motivation. If a child notices the teacher is not motivated to grade papers, then why should the student be motivated to do the assignments? It is similar to enthusiasm. If the teacher is not enthusiastic about his or her teaching, the students will not be enthusiastic about their learning. Teachers should do the "sandwich effect" when giving feedback. The teacher can start by saying a positive piece of feedback and then say the negative piece of feedback. The teacher should end it by saying another positive feedback. This will leave the student balanced and pleased.
ReplyDeleteFeeback is so important to student's motivation. I believe it is up to the teacher to foster motivation in the classroom. A student needs to be motivated to do their classwork, and needs to be motivated to get their work done. Another way teachers can get students motivated in the classroom is to sell their lesson or unit theme. If a student notices a teacher is not passionate about what they are teaching that student may not be motivate to learn about the topic.
ReplyDeleteWhen a teacher takes forever to grade a paper or project it can be very discouraging to students. Students may lose motivation to get their classwork done on time if the teacher does not give feedback within an efficient time slot.
Feedback is a key component for motivation. Without feedback students wouldn't really have a reason to get work done. Whether they want to know what grade they got on something, or they just want to know what the teacher thought about their work, students want feedback. A teacher's feedback helps the student know what they are doing well on and what they need to improve. Feedback is probably my number one motivation for getting schoolwork done, and nothing is more annoying then when a teacher makes you wait for weeks to find out how you did. The longer a teacher takes to give feedback, the longer a student has to wait to know if they need to work on anything, or what they need to work on. If a student goes a long time without receiving any feedback, then they will lose motivation to get things done. If it seems like the teacher isn't interested in the work students are doing, then why would students be interested in it. As a teacher, it will be my job to keep kids motivated and wanting to learn, and I plan on using feedback a lot to increase students' motivation.
ReplyDeleteIn the fourth grade classroom I am in the students seem very motivated to learn. They want to do better on timed multiplication tests, and they really want to understand the material. I think this is because they want to get that positive feedback from their teachers. The students know the scores of their tests right away, and they know where the teachers expect them to be at, so they know how much they need to work on.
If a teacher would not give her students feedback quickly, or feedback at all, the students wouldn't care as much. I know some things take a lot longer to look through or grade, but students want to know how they did and how to improve. Even for me in college classes, I always want to know my grade and comments from the teacher ASAP. I find I am more motivated to do well when I know the teacher will look through my work and give me a grade or advice to improve my work. Teachers are leaders, and as leaders they should set an example for the students.
ReplyDeleteI believe that feedback plays a huge role in student motivation. As a student, I can relate to this. I personally like to receive feedback on my homework assignments for two reasons. My first reason for why I like to receive feedback is for constructive comments. I am not a perfect student and I will not get everything right. It is really helpful when a teacher gives me some constructive comments because I am able to see where I need to improve on my work. The second reason I like feedback is so I can see the comments that compliment my work. As a student it is good to see nice comments on your work because if all you see is constructive comments, then how will you be able to tell what you are doing well in?
ReplyDeleteAmy, I agree with your comment. There is one part especially that I can relate to. You made a comment about how students can easily lose their motivation in getting their work done when the teacher takes too long to give feedback back to the students. I remember in a class I had last year, we had to create a literacy lesson every week. She didn't really explain what we needed to do and a lot of us students were relying on feedbacks to help us out. We waited for weeks to get our first lesson plan back and by then we had already created three lesson plans. If we would have gotten our first lesson plan back earlier, we would have been able to see what corrections we needed to make for our future lesson plans. It was really hard to keep working on our lesson plans when we weren't getting feedback earlier.
ReplyDeleteFeedback plays a huge roll in student motivation. Students may lose their motivation if a teacher takes a long time to respond and give feedback. Feedback can be especially important if the student is doing an important aspect of a lesson incorrectly. Without prompt feedback or advice, that student is probably going to continue to do their work incorrectly and it may become harder to steer them back onto the correct path. As for the scenario, next time the student may not be as motivated to work hard and get their project in on time. I know I would be beyond frustrated with the teacher and I would probably be less motivated to work as hard on the next project or assignment.
ReplyDeletePersonally for me, teacher feedback is not really motivation factor for me. But I can see how it could be for some people. If a teacher is not motivated to grade an assignment and return it in a certain amount of time, it would give the students the sense of "If my teacher doesn't care about my work, then I don't care about the work he/she gives me". Also, if a teacher does return work in a timely manner, it could give the students the clue that he/she truly cares about the student as a whole. The student could see that the teacher cares and then student would want to return the favor, therefor they would be motivated to get their work done. I agree with Amber and Jessica on the fact that the teacher should be the one proactive on motivation. Teachers should not let students figure out what motivates them, even though it is also the studetns responsiblity. If a teacher is not motivated, then it's not fair to expect the students to motivated.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Amy's comment, "If a student goes a long time without receiving any feedback, then they will lose motivation to get things done. If it seems like the teacher isn't interested in the work students are doing, then why would students be interested in it." I believe this is an extremely important thing to remember as future teachers. We have to remember that we are role models for our students and they look up to us. If we don't find something very interesting, they are probably less likely to as well, especially when it comes to schoolwork. When I am a teacher I will be sure to give students feedback quickly to keep them motivated. I also think feedback needs to be kept positive. This does not mean that you have to tell a student they did great even if they didn't, but instead keep the wording positive and constructive. Negative feedback is a sure thing to lose student motivation.
ReplyDeleteI think the role of feedback is largely dependent on a few factors: student interest, quality of feedback, and whether or not there is opportunity to improve. In my experience, feedback has always been important, as a student and a teacher. If there is feedback, as a student, I will always take that criticism into account. If I'm giving feedback, I make sure it is observant, relevant, and constructive. This is time-consuming, yes, but I think it is important to show students that the work they do is being fully-considered and absorbed, especially when it comes to their writing. I also think it is essential to give students an opportunity to improve. After feedback is received, the hope is that students will take it into account in order to further their learning. We can motivate their continued learning and better understanding by giving students a chance to re-test or to redo an assignment. I see nothing wrong with giving students chances to improve. If they have failed to do well, then clearly the concept is not understood and they shouldn't move on. Encourage them to work with that concept until it is fine-tuned.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in response to other comments, if and when feedback isn't received in a timely manner, a simple explanation from the teacher could alleviate tension. I imagine there will be times that I will get behind in grading and I would hope my students would be understanding with an explanation. A simple, "Hey, I'm working on correcting your papers and will have them done by ______. I've noticed you have done a great job at __________ as a class. However, I'm also noticing a pattern in errors with ________. With your next assignment, pay attention to this and if you have any questions, let me know." Giving them what feedback you can at the time will help to ease impatience with a very busy, very human teacher.
ReplyDeleteI can say that I am the most motivated when I am receiving feedback from my teacher. I feel like I have nowhere to go and can't learn anything if I am not getting anything from my teacher. The grade doesn't matter to me unless I know what I made mistakes on, or what I can do better in. I think it is very unprofessional of the teacher to not return the project grades/feedback until such a long time afterward.
ReplyDeleteBrienna made a good point in saying next time the child might not be motivated to do as well or work as hard. I didn't even think of that! It's so true, without feedback from the teacher, how can the student be motivated to do better? If the student doesn't know what to work on or be better at, there is nothing moving him/her forward to do so.
ReplyDeleteJill, I agree with your comment. I believe it is very crucial for teachers to give effective feedback. For feedback to be effective it needs to be given back in a reasonable amount of time and should provide comments for students to know what to improve. I do understand it is challenging for teachers to grade student's work, but the children need the feedback for motivation. Jill, I also relate to your comment. I find it very frustrating when a teacher takes longer than needed to grade work. I want and need the feedback. Without feeback I do not know how I am doing in class and I lose motivation to do my work.
ReplyDeleteFeedback is very important to student motivation. When you spend so much time on something, it becomes valuable to your learning. Receiving the grade on the assignment is one thing, but feedback about how you did is more important. It lets you know what you did right and what you should work on. The more time is takes to get a grade, the less important it becomes. Getting a grade and feedback helps the student reflect on their work. But, reflection should be done sooner so that it is more accurate. Having quick feedback is important to motivation because they will feel as though they are working toward something to be praised for or given helpful feedback. When you don't get that right away, you don't have much motivation to try hard on something that won't be acknowledged in due time.
ReplyDeleteThe project took the student quite a bit of time to work on, and I believe that it is your responsibility as a teacher to discuss the project in class to provide whole-class feedback, but then mention the importance and that it is taking longer to grade in order to provide adequate feedback. The students are going to lack in motivation to achieve good work due to the teacher not placing emphasis on grading the project efficiently. I agree with KenzG and that the grade is important, but the feedback received will help you out more for future projects and class work.
ReplyDeleteFeedback is so important to give to students; especially on a large assignment that took a lot of time and effort. This past semester I had this same scenario happen to me and as a student I found it very frustrating. I did not know how I did, so therefore, I did not know how I did in the other assignments. With feedback, the students can adapt their ideas and ways they operate in the classroom and they will get a better understanding about where they stand in the class. Feedback will also motivate them to accomplish activities and projects with more effort and put more care into it.
ReplyDeleteFeedback is important to give a student because it motivates the student to do better or feel satisfied. I believe that feedback is essential to motivation because it helps the students learn from their mistake or their success and how to keep up with their progress or to improve. I believe that feedback should be given for the majority of projects and assignments.
ReplyDelete