Synthesis of research on strategies for motivating students to learn. Educational Leadership, 40-48. Reviewed by Tammie O'Brien. This article focuses on understanding student motivation in a classroom setting. Learning is information processing, sense-making, and advances in comprehension or mastery that occur during the acquisition of knowledge or skill.
Performance is the demonstration of such knowledge or skill after it has been acquired.
Motivation to learn refers to the motivation that drives later performance and also to the motivation underlying the covert processes that occur during learning. One approach to motivation is the expectancy x value theory. Several examples are given for how to increase motivation in students. Exercises that help teach the principles above can be found in this article as well. This article is a good reference for teachers to use, especially if they feel they need more information on how to motivate students.