Deck 12: Motivation in Learning and Teaching

Question 1

Which of the following teachers is taking a humanistic approach to motivation?

A)Mrs.McKenzie gives students three choices for their history project.She stresses how much they will learn and grow as they work on the tasks involved.
B)Mr.Ranger creates cooperative groups and emphasizes how much students will enjoy working in their groups.Students name their groups and build their own group identities.
C)Ms.Harper sets aside time every week for students to compete in math games.She puts students in groups of four.Groups compete to win the most points and add to their accumulating point totals.
D)Mr.Kim gives a long homework assignment and gives students half of the class period to get started.He reminds them of the importance of turning it in on time to avoid penalties.

Answer 1

Mrs.McKenzie gives students three choices for their history project.She stresses how much they will learn and grow as they work on the tasks involved.

Question 2

Which of the following students appears to demonstrate performance avoidance goals?

A)Deon skimmed the chapter quickly and decided on a few comments he could make during group discussions tomorrow.He doesn't want to look stupid when his group meets and starts to discuss the new material.
B)Lanea works the problems as quickly as she can.She wants to be the first student to complete the assignment in math.
C)Deloris struggled with one of the science questions.She read and re-read the section of the chapter dealing with the concept.She's a perfectionist and doesn't want to make a mistake on her homework.
D)Ron is taking French and got into a study group with two of his friends.They both do well in every subject,and he thinks they're cool.He likes to hang out and have fun stumbling over French pronunciations.

Answer 2

Deon skimmed the chapter quickly and decided on a few comments he could make during group discussions tomorrow.He doesn't want to look stupid when his group meets and starts to discuss the new material.

Question 3

According to cognitive evaluation theory,which of the following classroom events is most likely to increase students' intrinsic motivation to learn?

A)Mrs.Hebert tells students they will receive demerits for talking during guided reading time.
B)Mr.Pace gives students one more day to work on their reports and warns them they will be penalized for late work.
C)Ms.Carlson writes on the board the due date for science projects and suggests that students transfer the information to their notebooks.
D)Mr.Dixon informs students of the new guidelines for the essay and makes sure all students copy the guidelines into their notebooks.

Answer 3

Ms.Carlson writes on the board the due date for science projects and suggests that students transfer the information to their notebooks.

Question 4

Jana practiced her lines for the play and watched movies in which gifted actors portrayed characters similar to her character in the high school play.After her performance,her teacher and other adults and students told her she gave a stellar performance.She said she worked really hard to develop the character's wacky disposition.She attributed her success to:

A)external locus.
B)stable causes.
C)uncontrollable causes.
D)internal locus.

Question 5

Which view of motivation is based on intrinsic and extrinsic sources of motivation and is characterized as expectancy x value?

A)Humanistic
B)Cognitive
C)Social cognitive
D)Sociocultural

Question 6

The following teachers all assigned essay writing in their middle school English classes.Today they returned students' papers.Based on the following information,which of these teachers is most likely to have students who are motivated to pursue learning goals in the classroom?

A)Mr.Angelo returned the papers and complimented students on their essays.He said the class as a whole is submitting good work.
B)Mrs.Dominguez returned the essays and told the class they needed to write another draft.She said she knew they could do better work.
C)Mr.Lindsey returned students' essays and said they lacked interest.He reminded students of the standard and said the essays fell short of his expectations.
D)Ms.Compton returned the essays and asked students to compare this draft with their first draft to see how much progress they had made.

Question 7

Miguel moved to a new school around Thanksgiving.In his third grade class he is shy and has not made any friends by Valentine's Day.What unmet need is likely interfering with his learning?

A)Autonomy
B)Relatedness
C)Competence
D)Safety

Question 8

Based on the following attributions,which student is most likely to be motivated to choose more difficult academic tasks?

A)Marla believes her failure in the chemistry lab was caused by her lack of preparation.
B)Duke said he didn't study for the algebra test.He said he's just good at math.
C)Camille said she made the highest grade because she was lucky enough to get the easier version of the test.
D)Stan thinks he failed the literature test because he cannot read and understand poetry.

Question 9

Think about students' needs in the classroom.Based on studies,which of the following high school teachers is most likely to have students with greater conceptual learning and higher school attendance?

A)Mr.Delaney weaves personal experience stories into every lecture.Even if the stories are not relevant,they are entertaining.
B)Mrs.Mason expects her students to be in their seats with their books open when the bell rings every day.
C)Ms.Romine gives clear instructions and plenty of advance notice for the book report students will present to the class next week.
D)Mr.Andrus allows his students to choose among three types of projects they will do as a culminating activity in the history unit.

Question 10

Which of the following students has an incremental view of ability?

A)Cassidy is trying different strategies for learning her vocabulary words.She is sure she will find a strategy that works for her.
B)Devon knows his dad did well in math when he was a student,but Devon believes he got his mom's genes and can't do as well as his dad.
C)Staci makes good grades in literature,but she doesn't understand science.She knows there's nothing she can do to make high grades in science.
D)Marcus's teacher asked him if he wanted to use the tutorial on the computer.He said it wouldn't help.He said his teachers have always told him he doesn't have a mind for math.

Question 11

Sanya spent hours preparing her presentation for Tuesday's assignment in speech class.When she gave her speech to her group,she failed to make eye contact with her audience,and she fidgeted with her hair.She had reminded herself to exhibit these specific skills,but lost points for failing to follow through during her presentation.She had the same problem with previous speeches.What basic need is not being met?

A)Competence
B)Autonomy
C)Belonging
D)Self-actualization

Question 12

Which type of goals is most likely to enhance motivation and persistence?

A)Goals that are easy to reach
B)Goals that are difficult to reach
C)Goals that can be reached fairly soon
D)Goals that are vague and easily altered

Question 13

Ms.Jovanovic encourages her first graders to complete their reading assignment before lunch in order to receive a sticker.Which approach to motivation is she using?

A)Sociocultural approach
B)Cognitive approach
C)Humanistic approach
D)Behavioral approach

Question 14

In which of the following situations is success attributed to stable causes?

A)Success attributed to hours of practice
B)Success attributed to inherited intelligence
C)Success attributed to having a good coach
D)Success attributed to a partner's help

Question 15

Ms.Strauss made the decision to delay the class field trip.Students verbalized their frustration and disappointment.Which teacher response supports self-determination and autonomy?

A)I am the teacher,and it is my responsibility to make decisions that are best for you.
B)Delaying the field trip is a big decision and should be made by the teacher.
C)I recognize your frustration with my decision to delay the field trip.
D)You are allowed to make a lot of decisions,but this is a teacher decision.

Question 16

Which of the following students appears to be intrinsically motivated?

A)Marty likes to watch her cousin go parasailing,but is afraid to go up with him.After much persuasion,she agrees to try it once to please her cousin.
B)Alfonso studies for the spelling bee every night and wants to win the trophy to make his dad proud of him.
C)Shonda takes her mystery book to all of her classes and reads a few more pages whenever she gets a chance.
D)Len competes with his best friend to make the highest grade in algebra class.

Question 17

Kai's goal for her history assignment is to learn as much as she can about Navajo Indian culture by reading books and Internet sources and then visit the reservation near her hometown in New Mexico.Kai's goal orientation for this assignment is:

A)social.
B)performance approach.
C)mastery.
D)performance avoidance.

Question 18

Braden is worried about the grade he'll receive on his essay.Mr.Tompkins encourages him not to worry about his grade.He tells Braden to focus on learning from his past mistakes and improving his writing on the essay.Mr.Tompkins is encouraging which type of motivation?

A)Introjected regulation
B)Intrinsic
C)External regulation
D)Extrinsic

Question 19

Mr.Darnell walks around the classroom monitoring students as they work on the new skill of adding fractions.He stops at Ada's desk and praises her effort and persistence.Ada has been struggling to understand fractions,but is using the manipulatives to try to get the right answers.Her answer is wrong,but her explanation of her process is on target.Why does Mr.Darnell praise Ada even though her answer is wrong?

A)He views intelligence as stable and believes Ada needs to try even when she cannot succeed.
B)He holds an entity view of ability and knows Ada needs encouragement.
C)He holds an incremental view of ability and believes Ada can improve.
D)He views intelligence as uncontrollable but wants Ada to stay engaged.

Question 20

In Maslow's hierarchy,what are the deficiency needs?

A)Belonging,survival,self-esteem,self-actualization
B)Survival,cognitive,belonging
C)Survival,safety,belonging,self-esteem
D)Belonging,cognitive,safety

Question 21

Which of the following strategies is LEAST likely to build student interests and curiosity in the subject.

A)Mr.Brown relates content objectives to his own experiences in his science class.
B)Mr.Varner incorporates students' personal interests into his literature class discussions.
C)Ms.Whiteside uses humor and personal experience to illustrate concepts in social studies.
D)Ms.Fox uses the actual notes and diagrams drawn by inventors when she teaches history.

Question 22

Which teacher is most likely to INCREASE anxiety for students who experience academic anxiety?

A)Mr.Carlisle often uses competition and encourages students to see who can complete the most problems correctly in the shortest amount of time.
B)Ms.Germaine often uses group learning activities and asks students to report their findings within their groups.
C)Mrs.Shebester develops different types of assessments in addition to written and oral tests.
D)Mrs.Cole gives clear written and oral instructions to make sure students do not face uncertainty about expectations.

Question 23

Which of the following teachers is using strategies that encourage student motivation?

A)In Mrs.Blalock's class,students work on the easy problems in the math chapters and skip the hard problems.
B)At Ms.Thomas's centers,students use measuring cups and measuring spoons to learn about volume.
C)Mr.Copeland uses spontaneity and humor in an uninhibiting environment.His students talk freely rather than raising their hands in a structured manner.
D)Mr.Franks helps students master facts by using rote memory to prepare for standardized tests.

Question 24

Students' motivation to learn in a given situation boils down to their answers to all of the following questions EXCEPT:

A)Can I succeed at this task?
B)Do I want to succeed?
C)What do I need to do to succeed?
D)Does the teacher want me to succeed?

Question 25

When is Evan MOST likely to experience academic anxiety in the classroom?

A)When he recognizes the source of his anxious feelings and accurately interprets them
B)When he attributes successes and failures to things he can control
C)When he uses self-regulation strategies to complete an academic task
D)When he sets performance goals

Question 26

Suppose you are teaching eighth grade math to a small class of nine students who perform below grade level.Most of these students attribute their failure to unchangeable factors and exhibit self-handicapping strategies.In essence,these eighth graders function in failure-avoiding mode.You want to help them change their thinking and create a culture of learning among these students - keep them from reaching a state of failure acceptance.Describe what you will do to achieve this goal.Address students' view of ability,attributions for successes/failures,and self-efficacy for doing math tasks.

Question 27

Mr.Jacobs has noticed that his students often act bored during social studies activities.In order to increase positive achievement emotions and decrease boredom,he should do all of the following EXCEPT:

A)match the challenge of tasks to the students' skill levels.
B)use performance goal orientation to encourage students to focus on the outcome.
C)show enthusiasm for the subject and encourage students to enjoy working on the task.
D)allow students to choose among several activities that focus on the lesson content.

Question 28

Brenden is a student in Mrs.O'Donnell's high school algebra class.He barely passed math last year and knows he won't be able to succeed in algebra.He says he doesn't have the brains to do math no matter how much he works at it.The teacher offers to help him after school,but Brenden says it won't help.He's tried tutors before.Brenden's beliefs about himself illustrate:

A)controllable causes of failure.
B)an incremental view of intelligence.
C)an unstable view of ability.
D)learned helplessness.

Question 29

Ms.Rios went to a professional development seminar and learned about meeting students' need for autonomy.She realizes that she has used controlling teaching behaviors with her fourth grade students.Now she believes that students' motivation is influenced by their need for autonomy.What might she do to provide appropriate levels of autonomy for her students?

Question 30

Nika is a failure-avoiding student.Her teachers have different ways of dealing with her.Which one of her teachers does NOT encourage self-worth?

A)Mr.Simmons tells Nika how he failed math one grading period and then learned new strategies that helped him succeed.
B)Mr.Levitz says failure is diagnostic and tells Nika what she needs to do to improve.
C)Mrs.Rollins helps Nika set performance goals to make a passing grade in health class.
D)Ms.Carmike coaches Nika to ask specific questions about the aspects of science she doesn't understand.

Question 31

Mr.Chen is beginning his second year of teaching sixth grade in a low-income area.He has always been driven by goals and is trying to help his students learn to set and achieve goals,but his students didn't respond well to his performance goal orientation last year.Mr.Chen recently revisited his educational psychology text from college and read the chapter about motivation.Now he wants to change the goal orientation for his teaching and help his students work toward mastery goals.What should he do to achieve this goal?

Question 32

Mr.Cardot has been using a behavioral approach to motivation in his second grade classroom.He gives stickers for completing assignments,for answering questions correctly,and for other things like working quietly.He recently noticed that none of his students could answer questions about the setting of a story,but he had taught lessons about the setting and discussed the settings of several stories.Now that he is revisiting the setting,his students don't remember what they learned.What advice would you give Mr.Cardot about his approach to motivation?