The document discusses five variables that influence student motivation - interest, success, level of concern, feeling tone, and knowledge of results - and provides techniques teachers can use to enhance each one, such as using visual aids to build interest, ensuring assignments are at appropriate difficulty levels to promote success, and providing timely feedback to give knowledge of results. It emphasizes the importance of creating a positive feeling tone in the classroom and using extrinsic motivators strategically to help students develop intrinsic motivation.

1. The Magic of …….
MOTIVATING
STUDENTS
Created by Nita Hoelscher

2. How do you motivate your
students?
There are five variables in motivation theory:
I-Interest
S-Success
C-Level of Concern
F-Feeling Tone
K-Knowledge of Results (feedback)
Pneumonic: I Sure Can Fire-Up Kids!

3. Motivation Means:
• Maintaining focus on a
task………..
Motivation does not mean:
“I like this class”

4. There are two forms of motivation
• Intrinsic-the task is its own reward; “I do this for
the joy of……..” Successful people know this
information and I will be a successful person.
• Extrinsic-something that impels us to achieve a
goal; it changes with out environment.
Examples: candy, bonus points on grades, pat
points

5. Thought:
• Sometimes we have to motivate
students through extrinsic
motivation to get them through to
intrinsic motivation……………

6. Variable I: Interest
Characteristics:
*Vivid
*Novel
*Related to students’ past experiences.

7. Interest is only limited to
your own creativity!

8. Techniques Used for Interest
*Diagram *Pictures
*Graphs *Humor
*Stories *Guest
*Colored Chalk speakers
*Maps *Movie Clips
*Music
*Role Plays

9. Closure on Interest
• Think about a way you have
used interest in motivating your
students this semester.
Include that reflection in this
motivation reflection section.
*reminder: close on small
segments of learning.

10. Variable 2: Success
• Remember a class you took
that was challenging. How
did you feel when you failed
a test?

11. Ways to Promote Success
1. Choose the objective at the
correct level of difficulty
2. Teach to the objective
3. Check progress and give
feedback.
4. Recognize success

12. Teacher Actions that Promote
Success
• Repeat answers
• Come back to students
• Allow students to use notes
• Partner discussions before questions
• Bellwork
• Wait time
• Dignify part of an answer

13. Closure on Success
• Think back to the class you
had difficulty with. How did
your teacher make you feel
when you struggled? Did that
person help you through? How
will your students remember
you?

14. Variable 3: Level of Concern
• What if I told you that you have
to have all your lesson plans in
for the year by next week?

15. THEN…………..
I told you I would probably
never look at them……..

16. Level of Concern is
• The degree of expectancy
that someone is feeling. It
can produce a relaxed
atmosphere……..

17. OR
It can produce a great
deal of ANXIETY……

18. Ways to Manipulate Level of
Concern
*Time (5 minutes vs. 45
minutes)
*Amount and Complexity of
content
*Teacher proximity
*Pacing (Brisk)

19. Think about……..
• What happens when you give
your students too much time to
work on an assignment?
• What happens when you put
them on the timer?
• When you give a test that is too
long?

20. Are you using level of
concern wisely?

21. Variable 4: Feeling Tone
• Think back to a teacher you
remember well who really
taught you something. This is
not necessarily your “favorite
teacher,” but maybe your best
teacher. What was the
atmosphere in his/her room
like?

22. Feeling Tone is……
The feeling in the environment
encountered by the learner.
There are three types:
*pleasant
*unpleasant
*neutral

23. Which one is the least effective?
The correct answer is neutral. Certainly,
a teacher should not remain in the
unpleasant tone for long, but
sometimes it is necessary.

24. When using unpleasant tone….
The teacher should deal with the
situation (Fred Jones would call
this “meaning business”) and then
move back to a pleasant tone as
quickly as possible.

25. Remember
Kids don’t care what you know
until they know you care!!

26. Important to Remember!
Feeling tone is not the teacher’s
mood on a particular day……it
is the classroom environment!
The teacher may not even be
feeling well, but the students
still know there is care and
concern in the room!

27. Intermittent Closure
Remember, it is always good to stop when
covering a large amount of material and
review…….can you list the four variables
in motivation we have covered so far?
What are the two types of motivation?
Out of those four, at which are you best?

28. Last Variable: Knowledge of
Results…….(feedback)
Critical attributes:
*Immediate
*Specific

29. Think about………..
• A time you might have given
homework and the kids just “didn’t get
it.” Sometimes we give homework
without giving our students the proper
feedback to accomplish a task. With
so many of our students “on their
own” at home, we really need to
teach everything they need to know…

30. Homework should
really only be
practice!!!!!!!!

31. Let’s review the variables of
motivation:
• Interest
• Success
• Level of Concern
• Feeling Tone
• Knowledge of Results
I Sure Can Fire-Up Kids!!!!!

32. REFLECTIONS
• Assess where you are in using
motivation techniques. In which
areas are you strong? Where
do you need to work? Were any
motivational techniques used
in this slide show? Which ones,
if any? Are you magically
motivating your students?