Student Academic Behaviour

Influence on Student Academic Behaviour through Motivation & Confidence

Every year it’s a challenge for me when I have to take new classes. It is always about trying to build a positive relationship with students. It’s usually a battle for the first few weeks trying to gain their confidence and motivate them to do their best. It is also about trying to make them have confidence and trust in me as a teacher.

This year I am given the task to teach graduating classes, 4E and 5NA. In my 5N2 class, there is a group of students who are from the non through train and sat for N level last year. I noticed that these students need time to digest information and slow to response compare to their counter parts previously from the 4N2 & 4N3 classes. They get frustrated and give up easily when they cannot follow with the lessons. This made me wonder if the students are of low self esteem.

Self-Esteem Comes First

We have long known that when students feel good about themselves, they are much more likely to perform better in the classroom. Thus, I need to raise the non through train students’ confidence by giving them opportunity to experience small success and provide positive feedback along with frequent praise. Just like myself, I feel better about the task at hand and the ability to do it if I feel more confident. When students are feeling good about themselves, it's much easier to motivate them to become academically proficient.

Students who are of low self esteem tend to focus on the negative. Statements such as “I am not good at this” or “I am so stupid”. These indicate that they need to like themselves more and see their strength. As teachers we have to put emphasis on the positive. Give the students encouragement and motivation. Another thing that I learn from experience is to avoid criticism. Children would want to feel valued, appreciated, accepted, loved and having a good sense of self worth. Hence, we teachers must be sensitive with what we said and do.

Experience Success

Next, expectation must be realistic. This is important in getting the students feel succeed. The types of tasks in terms of assignment given must match the student’s strength and ability levels. Instructional and assessment practice can be different to ensure that learning takes place. This is where differentiated instruction and assessment comes in. However, it is easier to say than to carry out. The questions in the worksheet are set according to level of difficulty. The questions are set based on knowledge with understanding and handling of information. It would be good if the questions are tagged by level. This will give students a better understanding on where they are in their learning. On the other hand I feel that the task given should not be too easy and hardly any challenge as this is more likely to reduce motivation.

Another is learning through mistakes. Turn mistakes inside out and focus on what was or will be learned from the mistake. This helps a student focus on the positive, not the negative. Remind students that everyone makes mistakes but it's how those mistakes are handled that makes the difference. We need to see them as learning opportunities. Powerful learning can often be the result of a mistake made.

Motivation

There are two types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is the tendency to engage in tasks because student finds them interesting and enjoyable. Students with more intrinsic motivation tend to persist at difficult problems and learn from their mistakes. In addition, intrinsic motivation is central for the integration process through which elements of one’s existing internal knowledge is integrated with new knowledge. Extrinsic motivation is the tendency to engage in tasks because of task-unrelated factors such as the expectation of reward or punishment, for example, to pass the exam or get a good grade. Definitely intrinsic motivation will influence student behaviour in a positive way. Students who are intrinsically motivated to perform a task will usually be more self-regulated, they can work concentrated over time and use a list of strategies to manage challenges. But can students be intrinsically motivated if we remove extrinsic rewards.

There are two ways on how students approach learning: surface and deep learning. Students applying a deep approach try to integrate new information with existing knowledge; the focus is on understanding what they are studying. In the surface approach, the student is driven more by an extrinsic motivation, with the aim of mainly passing examinations. A student deploying a surface approach typically tries to memorize details without trying to construct an integrated knowledge base.

On their other, instead of asking how we can motivate students we should also be asking ourselves, “How teachers can be deterred from diminishing or even destroying student motivation and morale through our actions?” Sometime I’m guilty of this. We tend to say out of frustration and anger. But in reality we kill students’ interest and passion for learning.

Motivation and confidence are important component to almost everything children. Not only will they help with academic performance, they support social skills, making easier for children to have and keep friends. Children are better equipped to cope with mistakes, disappointment and failure and more ready to face the ever challenging world.

Reference: Influence on Student Academic Behaviour through Motivation, Self-Efficacy and Value- Expectation: An Action Research Project to Improve Learning Hallgeir Nilsen University of Agder, Department of Information Systems, Kristiansand, Norway