Motivation in School: Helping Students with LD

1. Motivation in School: Helping Students with LD

2. What is Motivation? A desire to do something Intrinsic Motivation Internalized Motivation Extrinsic Motivation (Sideridis, 2009)

3. Why do we motivate students? To engage in learning opportunities To improve academic achievement To decrease problem behaviour To increase social skills To learn self-regulation skills To become more self-determined To discover their strengths & passions To understand rules and learning strategies

4. How do we motivate students with LD?

5. Contributors to Low Motivation in LD Low social status Limited access to help Negative self-talk Fear of failure Frustration with inconsistent performance Lack of understanding of work Emotional problems / anger Teacher response (West, 2002) (http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/support/816-motivating-kids-learning-attention-problems.gs)

6. Typical Thoughts of a Student with LD: Task Sequence

7. Motivation & Learning Disabilities: Factors Affecting Motivation

8. Attributions (Teacher Response to LD) n=97 teachers; K-6; 8 vignettes of boys Results: less anger; more pity to LD follow test failure Expectations of future failure; see LD as uncontrollable, stable, internal Unwilling to punish LD to preserve self-esteem Message to student: pity, more failure, rewards less competent  lower self-esteem; lower expectations for future success Teacher reinforcing student w/LD beliefs: I am less competent Limitation: not random selection; hypothetical vignettes/survey (Clark, 1997)

9. Attributions of students with LD Problem Solution Students with LD attribute successes to luck & failures to ability /effort “I can’t read b/c I have dyslexia.” “Everyone in my family does terrible in math.” “I’ll never get a good grade b/c the teacher hates me.” Attribution Retraining (Effort Retraining) Be expert “kidwatcher” Change mindset: intelligence not fixed Performance based on effort Poor scores=NOT failurebut info for improvement (Fulk, 1996)

10. To Reward or Not to Reward? Mack-3rd grade LD (case study) multiple baseline Purpose: Will token reinforcement decrease 3 problem behaviours? (ie. out of seat, talking out, poor posture) Rewards (ie. computer, leisure, games)for absence of problem behaviour Results: Decrease in problem behaviour Limitation: too much time to implement; train in self-monitoring/self-reward (Higgins et al., 2001) Research: Inconclusive (mostly non-LD) Expected Tangible rewards…can lower intrinsic motivation (ie. task completion) Don’t reward high interest task Are rewards perceived as informational or controlling? Verbal Praise (effort) Unexpected tangible rewards & task non-contingent rewards Be discerning how you use rewards! (Sanacore, 2008)

11. ‘EI’ INTERVENTIONS FOR ST’S W/ RD Emotional Intelligence (EI) skills: (1) Perceive emotions in self /other (2) Use emotions to help thinking (3) Understand emotional knowledge (4) Regulate emotions in self Language/ comprehension deficits due to E knowledge deficits (ie. forming emotional schemas, social scripts) Positive affectimproves ability to process info; cognitive org.; creativity Can generate more associations Higher EI  better persevere with frustration (Pellitteri, 2006) INTERVENTIONS Peer mediation / tutoring: Older st’s w/ RD help younger w/ reading probs↑self-esteem; self efficacy, meta-cognition, problem-solving By analysing reading errors of younger st’s… (need guidance/training) Guided reading w/ scaffolding Don’t target decoding at expense of fluency + comprehensionlose flow Pre-reading strategies: main idea; type of story Make personal / affective connection Repeated engagement w/ sections of text  deeper meaning read complete story modified

12. Role of Parents Motivating their kids • Supportive Home Environment: early exposure w/ enjoyable books • Parent beliefs about readingaffect child (ie. for entertainment or skills (decoding)\ • Focus on error correction feedbackperception: mechanistic; can hurt wavering motivation of struggling reader • Shared storybook readingpromotes motivation • Excessive focus on skill developmentundermine affective quality of child/parent interactions • Teacher advice for Parents: --- encourage to read w/ kids; but give appropriate books for home (don’t assume) • May need to give guidance/workshop on how to help (ie. concepts, strategies, how much, what discussions, how to respond to mistakes; focus on comprehension) • 3 kinds of support reading for parents: echo reading (parent says-child repeats); partner reading (taking turns); independent reading (Baker, 2003)

13. Research Themes & Findings on LD & Motivation

14. Limitations Combined skill interventions: which skill resp. for which outcome? Treatment Fidelity Small samples Self-reports: inflated LD responding of abilities/self  self-protection Measuring motivation…so many constructs (Konrad et al., 2007; Sideridis, 2009)

15. Motivating Ideas/ Interventions for LD(Anecdotal, Experiential) Academic Service Learning SEL programs Humour Teaching to strengths (MI) Classroom meetings Reader’s Theatre/ Writing & Acting in Plays Using multimedia (film); computer programs Strategic Games Cultural stories/ projects that foster self-expression and pride Celebration of Learning Days

16. LD definition problematic?? Deci, 1986: “What seems to us to be missing…is the possibility that emotional and motivational variables are central to some (if not all) learning disabilities either as initial causes or as factors that exacerbate problems that are based in neurological deficits.” (Sideridis, 2009)

17. My Holy Trinity of Learning & Motivation 3 basic psychological needs of SDT:

18. Born-again Trinity of Motivation & Teaching 1. Is my teaching of high interest? 2. Does my teaching convey value or meaningful rationale? 3. Is there appropriate reward or reinforcement to support my teaching to motivate students? 1. Intrinsic Motivation 3. Extrinsic Motivation 2. Internalized Motivation

19. Discussion Questions Do you believe rewards undermine intrinsic motivation? What rewards do you use? What ideas, interventions, strategies help keep your students motivated? Can a teacher make accomodations/ modifications for a student with LD and still hold them to high expectations?

20. References Baker, Linda. (2003). The role of parents in motivating struggling readers. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 19, 87-106. Chan, Lorna, K. S. (1994). Relationship of motivation, strategic learning, and reading achievement in grades 5, 7, 9. Journal of Experimental Education, 62(4), 319-339. Clark, Margaret, D. (1997). Teacher response to learning disability: A test of attributional principles. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30(1), 69-79. Fulk, Barbara, M. (1996). Reflections on “The effects of combined strategy and attribution training on LD adolescents’ spelling performance”. Exceptionality, 6(1), 59-63. Garcia, J-N., & Caso, A. M. (2004). Effects of a motivational intervention for improving the writing of children with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 27(1), 141-160. Higgins, J. W., et al. (2001). The effects of a token economy employing instructional consequences for a third-grade student with learning disabilities: A data-based case study. Education and Treatment of Children, 24(1), 99-106. Kunnen, E. S., & Steenbeek, H. W. (1998) Differences in problems of motivation in different special groups. Child Care, Health and Development, 25(6), 429-446. McCurdy, M., et al. (2008). Examining the effects of a comprehensive writing program on the writing performance of middle school students with learning disabilities in written expression. School Psychology Quarterly, 23(4), 571-586. McMaster, K. M., & Fuchs, D. (2002). Effects of cooperative learning on the academic achievement of students with learning disabilities: An update of Tateyama-Sniezek’s review. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 17(2), 107-117.

21. References Miller, S. D. (2003). How high- and low-challenge tasks affect motivation and learning: Implications for struggling learners. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 19, 39-57. Nunez, J. C., et al. (2011). Multiple goals perspective in adolescent students with learning difficulties. Learning Disability Quarterly,) 34(4), 273-286. Pellitteri, J. (2006). Emotionally intelligent interventions for students with reading disabilities. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 22, 155-171. Sanacore, J. (2008). Turning reluctant learners into inspired learners. The Clearing House, 82(1), 40-45. Sideridis, G. (2006). Motivational issues in learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 29, 131- 136. Sideridis, G. (2009). Ed. K. R. Wentzel & Wigfield, A. Handbook of Motivation at School. Routledge: New York. Van Reusen, A. K. (1994). Facilitating student participation in individualized education programs through motivation strategy instruction. Exceptional Children, 60(5), 466-475. West, J. (2002). Motivation and access to help: The influence of status on one child’s motivation for literacy learning. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 18, 205-229.