Student Motivation

The arrival of the fall season often corresponds to a drop in motivation for students. The novelty of the beginning of the year and the euphoria of the newness give way to a more challenging period as the days get shorter.

So, what actions can we take to support motivation in our students?

First, we must know that to be motivated; one must have a clear goal. Then comes the will to reach that goal, despite all the efforts needed to get there.

Doing things out of choice and interest is in itself a great source of motivation. General education is not an extensive buffet where you can choose whatever you like and leave the rest behind!

Nevertheless, it is possible to put in place actions that allow students to give meaning to learning. A positive attitude combined with passion for a subject is a good example.

To avoid student overload, segmenting learning sequences into more precise and attainable objectives can be an exciting strategy. There is nothing more overwhelming than a 300-page workbook! The principle of small bites greatly facilitates commitment and action.

Taking the time to analyze the workbook, present the expectations and prepare an action plan are ways to help students see the journey ahead as a series of small paths rather than as a substantial impassable mountain. After all, an elephant is eaten one bite at a time!

Believing that you can improve and succeed is an excellent source of motivation. In a learning process, this is called the Dynamic Mindset.
According to Jason S. Moser et al. (2011), when students with a dynamic mindset pay more attention to their mistakes, they activate their brain to understand and to correct them, making them more likely to improve than the students with a view of the brain as something they cannot influence.

To develop the idea that students have power over their learning process, it is essential to talk to them about the brain’s neuroplasticity. Explain to the students that their brains change when they learn. Every learning experience, no matter how small, leads to the creation of new neurons which fire up new pathways where they reorganize themselves and thereby improve the efficiency of their communication network.

Feedback is a powerful ally of the dynamic mindset. It is indeed the feedback that accompanies mistakes that ensures a rapid progression of learning. Good feedback should not be attributed solely to effort or talent, but should remind students that success is a process that involves generating action using the right strategies.

Based on artificial intelligence, research by Wilson et al. (2019) highlighted the Optimal Error Rate. They created software to learn to classify binary (e.g., distinguish apples from other fruits, thus apple or non-apple). Concretely, the software had to organize the requested item and then receive feedback related to its performance. In analyzing the learning and development of the software, they found that when the rate of correct answers was too high, the software improved less than when the rate of correct answers was lower. On the other hand, when the failure rate was higher, i.e. the rate of wrong answers, was too high, the software did not improve because it was too far from the expected result and had nothing to base its thinking on.

This research has established the optimal error rate at 15.87 %. An error rate around 16 % (or at an accuracy rate of 84 %, it depends 😉) allows us to experience enough successes to analyze our mistakes and correct them.

Since this study is based on a learning algorithm, it is impossible to draw scientific conclusions for learning in humans. Still, it nevertheless supports the idea of respecting the learner’s zone of proximal development. Thus, a task that is too difficult and leads to a high error rate can lead to demotivation and significantly affect the learner’s sense of self-efficacy. In contrast, a task that is too simple will lead to very few errors, which will prevent the learner from progressing and improving. Therefore, it is essential to keep in mind that the student must succeed more than he fails and that feedback on their mistakes will ensure rapid progress.

Video games are a good example. Each level offers us a challenge that leads us to progress, improve, and take on the big final challenge. Feedback is frequent and immediate. If the first board gives us too much trouble, we can bet that the player will quickly lose interest in the game and move on to another game.

In conclusion, successes lead to motivation, so allow students to experience them as often as possible. Don’t hesitate to remind them that correcting something incorrectly is an achievement in itself!

Suggestions de L’Équipe-choc des services éducatifs complémentaires

• http://www.preca.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/infographie_cerveau_fev2021_v4.pdf
• Moser, J. S., Schroder, H. S., Heeter, C., Moran, T. P., & Lee, Y.-H. (2011, Octobre 31). Mind your errors: Evidence for a neural mechanism linking growth mind-set to adaptative posterror adjustments. Psychological Science, 22. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0956797611419520
• Wilson, R. C., Shenhav, A., Straccia, M., & Cohen, J. D. (2019, novembre 5). The Eighty Five Percent Rule for optimal learning. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12552-4
• Masson, S. (2021, Février 15). Comprendre le cerveau pour favoriser la motivation [Webinaire du PRÉCA dans le cadre des journées de la persévérance scolaire 2021]. www.preca.ca. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRDBA5XAc9o