The Motivational Responses of High, Average, and Low Achievers To Simple and Complex Language Arts Assignments: Classroom Implications

Abstract

Motivation to learn declines as students progress through elementary grades and drops precipitously as they enter middle school. A variety of reasons have been given for this decline from both developmental and environmental researchers. What has not been closely examined is the potential influence of different types of classroom assignments on the student motivation decline. In order to examine the decline, the influence of simple and complex language arts assignments on high, average, and low ability groups in middle school was measured by student interview. A randomly selected sample of 18 students from 3 sixth grade classrooms were interviewed using understanding, expectancy, and value questions with different types of assignments. Although the sample was small, 71 interviews were conducted to obtain 93 observations, giving a wider analytical base. Data were coded both quantitatively and qualitatively and analyzed for motivational focus (intrinsic, extrinsic, work-avoidant, or their combination) at both the group and individual/eve[. Results showed that students liked or were interested in most assignments and had motivational focus that was related to the assignment's complexity and creativity levels. As assignments progressed from simple to complex, students at all achievement levels progressed towards an intrinsicmastery focus. Further, the motivational foci formed cluster patterns by assignment type: discrepancies were on assignments that limited creativity. The implications for teacher planning and instruction are discussed.

Enhancing Elementary Students' Motivation to Read and Write: A Classroom Intervention Study

“…In the present study, we extend findings from several earlier studies whose authors evaluated how various reading 286 JUDITH L. MEECE University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and language arts assignments influence upper elementarygrade students' motivation (Hooper & Miller, 1991;Miller, Adkins, & Hooper, 1993;Miller & Meece, 1991. Their findings indicated that the students were more intrinsically motivated to complete assignments when they wrote multiple paragraphs over several days while collaborating with peers than when they simply underlined answers or wrote single words or phrases while working alone.…”