Motivating Student to Learn
by
James B. Levy

Motivation is the fulcrum that moves student learning. Indeed, no learning can take place unless students are interested in the subject matter. And, at bottom, motivating students involves capturing both their interest and attention. All the time we spend as teachers developing a syllabus, preparing lectures, and creating classroom materials will mean little if we do not also appreciate the critical importance of stimulating our students' interest in the subject matter.

Motivating students to learn is a complex skill involving elements of psychology, student-teacher rapport, and the students' innate interest in the material presented. With respect to the latter, it's clear that students have to assume some responsibility for their own learning. More specifically, to get anything meaningful out of the experience, students need to show up to class wanting to learn. Even the best teacher cannot force students to learn about a subject they do not care about. Nevertheless, any teacher can develop the ability to positively influence student learning through an understanding and application of motivational theory. While numerous theories exist to explain human motivation (one commentator catalogs at least 32 of them), most share several elements in common that have direct application to the classroom.

Law students, like the rest of us, are more likely to engage in a subject if they see a good reason for doing so. In the parlance of motivational theory, this is referred to as the "value" component to student motivation. This component consists of both an intrinsic and extrinsic element.

The intrinsic element refers to the extent to which the subject matter appeals to a student's personal, academic, or professional goals. Teachers, therefore, generally have little difficulty motivating students to learn in courses they self-select. The challenge for most teachers then is to motivate students in the required courses, especially in the unpopular ones such as legal writing, which I teach.

Obviously, the more we can do to make the material as interesting as possible, the more motivated students will be to learn it. Beyond that, we should do as much as possible to relate the classroom material to our students' goals of becoming lawyers. When discussing material in class, illustrate key points with examples from practice. Try to relate the material to the kinds of real-life problems that students will face. One technique I use when teaching analytical skills is role-playing. For example, I will present students with a hypothetical legal problem based on the cases we have read for class and then place them in the role of attorneys who have to advise a client on an appropriate course of action based on their analysis of those cases. The more I do to make the classroom resemble what students can expect to happen in practice, the more success I have getting them to learn the material.

The extrinsic value component of motivational theory refers to the external rewards the teacher connects to the material. Grades and the desire for approval from teachers or peers are the most common examples. This aspect of motivational theory tells us that we can boost student motivation by adding graded components, such as quizzes and take-home assignments, or by making class participation count toward the final grade. I have experimented with using class participation as a course component, and motivational theory confirms my own experience that the quality of class discussion improves when I tell students it will count toward their final grade.

Research tells us that intrinsic factors tend to be more powerful motivators than extrinsic ones. This same research tells us, however, that student motivation is optimized when the teacher relies on a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Thus, we need both to make the material interesting, important, and relevant to our students as well as create the proper academic incentives to encourage them to take it seriously.

There is also an "expectancy" component to student motivation. This means that students who believe they can succeed at a new skill or task are more likely to engage in it. Thus we can affect student learning positively by creating a supportive atmosphere in the classroom. This must be done with integrity, however, since false praise can undermine motivation when students perceive it as an insincere or facile attempt to control their behavior. No expert has ever suggested that merely heaping praise upon students will help them do good work. On the contrary, studies show that teachers who set high standards and then establish a supportive classroom atmosphere are the most effective at motivating students to learn.

The next aspect of motivational theory is the "affective" component, which refers to the students' emotional response to the task at hand. A classroom that engenders feelings of excitement, enjoyment, and interest will enhance motivation to learn, while classrooms that produce anxiety, stress, or boredom have a deleterious effect on student motivation. A practical example can be found in the emotional milieu we create through our Socratic dialogue during class. If we question students in a way that increases their fear of failure or provokes shame or embarrassment, then we negatively affect their learning. On the other hand, if we question them in a way designed to excite them about their ability to find the "correct" answer, we can positively influence their learning. It is vitally important that we be aware of the way in which the emotional atmosphere we create in our classrooms affects student learning. This is especially true in law school where studies show that students suffer more stress and anxiety than those enrolled in any other post-graduate course of study.

Connected to the affective component of motivational theory is the fact that our own attitudes about the material we teach can have a great impact on student motivation. Social psychologists have documented this phenomenon, which they label "emotional contagion." In short, if we are enthusiastic about what we are teaching, we tend to make our students enthusiastic about it as well. Conversely, if we project disinterest or boredom or, worse, denigrate the material we teach, we tend to infect our students with those kinds of attitudes as well. Indeed, research shows that passionate teachers tend not only to better motivate students to take their courses more seriously but also inspire them to explore the subject matter further outside of class. In the end, that should be the goal of all good teachers.