Motivational Strategies of Three Fifth-Grade Teachers

This study begins to build a conceptualization of teachers' motivational orientations and seeks to identify teacher strategies that support motivation to learn. Three fifth-grade teachers' statements used to frame lessons, maintain lessons, and handle responsibility for learning were explored in classrooms that exemplify three motivational orientations. In the learning-oriented classroom, twice as many lessons were introduced with motivational statements as in the work-oriented and work-avoidance classrooms. More lessons in the learning-oriented classroom included motivational statements referring to endogenous (e. g., challenge) rather than exogenous (e. g., rewards) factors. This teacher's management/maintenance statements frequently served to maintain student interest rather than to redirect students from off-task behavior as in the other classrooms, and she encouraged student responsibility for learning. Questions raised for future research include the relation between teacher motivational orientation and both student (outcome) and contextual variables. Strategies that support motivation to learn are highlighted.