We all want new technological tools to be used to enhance productivity and promote creativity at work and school. However, the tools themselves cannot do the job; students, employees, pedagogues have to be motivated to use these tools properly. Motivation is a main aspect to achieving a successful outcome at school and or work. The best teaching methods will not succeed if the student is not motivated to learn, but if his only goal is to pass the test, and at work, the unmotivated employee will only do the job required without putting any additional thought into projects.
Keller’s ARCS model points out important points such as the need to grab a student’s attention, to develop relevance to matters with which the student is familiar, to help students build confidence through encouragement and setting attainable goals during the learning process. Moreover, satisfaction is achieved through positive feedback and rewards for students and employees.
An example is my class where students are currently working through the service learning program on developing a website for one of the local chapters for the TSA organization. To achieve the desired outcome, students have to be wholly motivated and understand the importance of the project. Following Keller's ARCS Model helps in generating interest by the students which inspires motivation. For attention, curiosity was stimulated toward the project. Students work collaboratively and build on each other's strengths. Moreover, through brainstorming and generating ideas, their confidence in their abilities grow. Students understand the relevance of the project to their professional development. The project is relevant because the students build on their previous knowledge, use creativity, learn through researching and developing new skills which they share in their groups and outside their group with other class members. As the semester is coming to conclusion, so is the project. The confidence has been developed in the students through the project because they controlled the process and the final outcome is result of their work. I know that students are motivated, because at the end of the each class, they continue to work and do not run out.
Reference:
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Keller, J. M. (2006, June 20). Motivation Design. Retrieved January 26, 2010, from : http://www.arcsmodel.com/home.htm
Hello Orit,
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned that your students were sharing within their groups and outside of their groups, it reminded me of a powerful classroom strategy that I witnessed recently. This was a five-year project with 96% Latino 9th graders taking A-G Biology. Their CST scores doubled in the proficient and advanced proficient categories each year. All classroom work was collborative and to be successful, all students in each group had to pull their own weight. There is a lot to be said about building confidence and self-efficacy when students are assisted and encouraged by their peers (peer tutoring was another one of their strategies). As a high school teacher, I have experienced students with abundant abilities, but when motivation was lacking, there was no learning. Motivation is a key and Keller's ARCS model captures the fundamentals of the students' needs in helping them to be successful.
Orit- Having students wanting to stay in your classroom even after their "required" time is finished is a reward for you. You should feel honored because the students are respecting not only your class, but also you in showing their enthusiasm and excitement in your classroom and your activities. Excellent!
ReplyDeleteKassidy
Kassidy and Marlene,
ReplyDeleteToday is the grand finale! My class will be presenting their websites to the TSA association who will choose the website which will be used (I hope) by their chapters. During the six week semester, the students have accomplished more than I expected they will. Not only did they create a full site, but I also had to teach them new material.
This is the time when I think the connectivist theory works! If I had to rely only on the time allotted for my face-to-face-class, it's hard to imagine whether I could have achieved as much.