CASE STUDY IN MOTIVATION

EDU 615: Motivational Theory and Class Management: Module 8

Case Study in Motivation
Caryn Snow
June 21, 2014
University of New England

Introduction

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Luke is a very capable First Grader who turns 7 in July. He lives in low-income housing
and alternates between mom and dads house. He has two older siblings whom share the
same parents and a new sibling who has a different father. Luke often comes to school
upset when he has to go to Dads house. He rarely has completed homework, comes to
school without a snack, and receives free breakfast and lunch through the school. Luke
has many friends, and is often the choice buddy when it comes to any task. Luke is a
bodily-kinesthetic learner and participates in after school programs primarily focused on
running, dancing, and sports. Luke is currently reading on grade level but refuses to
complete on grade level reading comprehension packets. He has been given an easier
reading packet to help build his confidence, but will still argue and refuse to try without
adult supervision. Once Luke begins to read the packet, he discovers he can. He then will
stop, and becomes agitated.
In writing, Luke refuses to pick up a pencil to begin, often shouting that he has nothing to
write, and cant. Luke shares exciting events during morning circle and is encouraged
to write about these events. Luke will smile, and enthusiastically agree, but refuses to
follow through once writing time has begun.
Luke is on grade level for reading. He struggles in the areas of math, spelling, and
writing. Luke ended the year with an average of 40% in spelling, 60% in math (failing in
the areas of numeracy, place value, and equality of numbers), and still will not write a
five sentence response, narrative, or report.
The challenge is to continue Lukes successful behavior without continually calling mom
to sit in on class for a day, and to motivate Luke when mom cant come into school.

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Lukes mom and I have remained in contact using telephone calls and a nightly behavior
journal that must be signed and returned. When Luke has a good day, he gets a smelly
sticker, and a positive note in his journal. This motivates Luke greatly. However once
Luke begins to struggle, he assumes he is no longer getting the sticker, and then continues
to have a difficult day.
Observations
Recently Luke has begun to throw temper tantrums whenever any task is required of him.
He will often kick chairs, yell this is stupid, or simply refuse to attempt the work. If
allowed to work with an adult, Luke is amiable, engaged, and works diligently. Often in
the classroom, I can engage Luke by allowing him special seating near me. However,
he is now giving specialists (art, gym, music teachers), difficulty. He refuses to listen to
their directions, and often shouts at the teachers I hate school, and I hate you! After
several phone calls home, Lukes mother spent the afternoon in school with Luke (as a
punishment that the mother decided would be best). Luke did not have one temper
tantrum, was motivated, affable, and engaged the whole day.
In an attempt to help Luke feel more successful and increase Lukes spelling scores, Luke
was placed in a differentiated phonics group that went to a different classroom teacher for
small group instruction. This was presented as a privilege to Luke, that got to share
another teachers classroom. The thought behind this, was that Luke would gain another
adult role model to form a relationship with (when his mother could not come to school),
and Luke would be working more at his own ability level which is also related to the selfdetermination theory. However, when placed in that classroom, Luke would stand up and
wander the room, ignoring teacher direction. When to about his behavior, Luke would say

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So are you going to call my mom or what?. It got to the point where Luke did not care
about the academics if he had no one to prove to that he knew what he was doing. A week
later, thinking about the performance goals approach in the Goal Orientation Theory, I
asked Luke if he would help me with a Kindergartener in our buddy classroom
(Anderman & Anderman, 2012). I said this child was really struggling and his teacher
had asked if Luke could help out. During our phonics time, we changed the groupings
and sent Luke to a different teacher this time, telling him that on Friday he would be
expected to help the Kindergartener. Knowing that Luke was being held accountable to
teach someone, he seemed to feel as though what he was learning had a purpose and was
a great listener.
This made me consider the Goal Orientation Theory, in that Luke isnt mastering skills
or behaviors for himself, but rather for his parents or peers, those whose opinions
mattered to him (Anderman & Anderman, 2010). Research indicates that student
achievement is linked to the parents values (Anderman & Anderman, 2010). Parents are
communicating messages both verbally and nonverbally about how they value (or dont
value) education (Anderman & Anderman, 2010). Parental expectations affect student
competence and motivation (Center on Educational Policy, 2012). Lukes mother meant
to embarrass Luke by sitting with him in class, instead she encouraged him to try his best
so that he could be rewarded with having her present, and prove to her that he can do
the work.
While having his mother present helped motivate Luke to behavior properly and
complete work, he is still not performing when she is not in the classroom. Luke has
begun ripping up his paper, putting his head down, and scribbling all over his work so he

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wont have to complete it. It seems that Lukes three basic needs are not currently being
met. In thinking of the self determination theory, I began to give Luke more choices.
Luke needs a feeling of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in order to remain
focused and engaged (Anderman & Anderman, 2012). He seems to get these needs met
when he has a reason to complete the work, such as his mother or another trusted adult
right with him. The presence of adults helps him feel competent which allows him to
confront learning feeling that he has an advantage (Lynch, Research-based Issues to
consider in using extrinsic rewards to motivate students, 2007). When Luke feels in
control, he readily performs. By giving Luke a sense of autonomy, such as completing
writing in pen or pencil, selecting a smart spot in the room to do his best work, or even
working with a buddy, Luke have begun to stay on task, remain focused, and demonstrate
a feeling on competence (Anderman & Anderman, 2012).
Lukes friends have begun to notice his outbursts during our literacy block and are
asking to be moved away from Luke during this time. The students say they are distracted
and dont want to be off task like Luke. This only feeds into Lukes outbursts, causing
him to begin shouting that now he has no friends.
In thinking about the Social Cognitive Theory, I buddied Luke up with some other
students in the classroom. Luke wants to be seen as capable by his peers and when
allowed to work with buddies, Luke is enthusiastic and motivated. When paired up with
someone at his ability level, Luke began to see that he is capable of the same tasks as his
peers. This Lukes feeling of self-efficiency because he will discover that he does
encompass the necessary skills to perform the tasks required (Anderman & Anderman,
2012). In time, Luke began to gain the confidence to complete work on his own and

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perhaps help his peers who are struggling. Luke would be applying his skills in a safe and
supportive environment that is encouraging the appropriate level of challenge for him
(Brophy, Synthesis of research on strategies for motivating students to learn, 2003).
Effective Strategies
Based on my observations, I believe the most effective motivational strategy for Luke is
the Self-Determination Theory. Luke is very focused on extrinsic rewards, and only
performs when he feels his three needs are being met (Anderman & Anderman, 2010).
When Luke feels that he as choices over where or how he completes a task (pen or pencil,
in his seat, in the quiet corner, or on the floor, or working near and adult or
independently), feels that is important (he is going to teach it to another friend, or show it
to his parents), and feels that his is competent in that area, Luke willingly partakes in
activities and completes tasks (Anderman & Anderman, 2010).
It seems Lukes need for control stems from his lack of control at home. Luke often does
not know where he is spending the night (mom or dads house), and is often sharing his
toys, room, and time with his three other siblings. When Luke feels he has autonomy, he
feels he is in control. This sense of control allows Luke to gain ownership over his
learning and tasks at hand.
Lukes motivation for extrinsic rewards, like having his mom coming to school, plays
into the fact that he wants that attention that he doesnt necessarily get at home and his
feeling of competence. Mom does not know the rules, schedule, structure, and activities
we do everyday, therefore she is constantly looking at Luke for direction as to what they
are dong next. By having mom rely on him, Luke is demonstrating his competence as a
student. Luke is also demonstrating to mom his competence by reading and writing to

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her. When mom is not available to come to school, pairing Luke up with younger students
or struggling students helps Lukes confidence because he is able to demonstrate and
teach what he knows to his peers (Anderman &Anderman, 2010).
While the Self-Determination Theory is a good fit for Luke, there is on motivational
theory in particular that would not be. The Expectancy-Value Theory would not be a good
motivational strategy to use with Luke because Luke does not currently have the
confidence to succeed based on his own perceptions no matter how capable he really is
(Anderman & Anderman, 2010). Luke relies heavily on extrinsic rewards and motivators.
He needs to be constantly pushed and encouraged to continue to make progress.
When I met with Lukes Second Grade teacher, we discussed the Self-Determination
Theory and Lukes need for competence, relatedness, and autonomy as well as extrinsic
motivators. We discussed how it is important to find an older student or peer to pair Luke
up with in order to motivate him as he progress throughout the grades. Mom is not going
to be able to continually come to school, perhaps using Lukes older sister as a reward, or
having Luke come visit First Grade next year will motivated Luke to work hard and help
form a relationship that he desires to feel competent. I also recommended a small sticker
chart, rather than the journal home. This way Luke is rewarded with stickers (which were
huge motivators) for when he completes work or acts appropriately, and he is not losing
anything. When he fills up the sticker chart, he can choose to help in another classroom,
play a game with a friend, or perhaps take a walk with an adult, this will help give Luke
the autonomy he so desires.
We also discussed the importance of differentiated instruction to help Luke stay on grade
level and feel competent. One way we explored differentiating instruction is using the

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Adjustable Assignment Model, which offers three flexible tiers of instruction (curriculum
rewinding, grade level, and curriculum fast-forwarding) that meet students needs based
on learning gaps and achievements (Chapman & King, 2012). One way our school is
considering implementing the Adjustable Assignment Model is by sharing students
vertically across grade levels. I have teamed up with one other Kindergarten and one
Second grade teacher for next school year to shift students. We are planning on
continually assessing students throughout the school year so that we can create flexible
and continually changing groups where students are best getting their academic needs
met (Chapman & King, 2012). Since Luke already has a relationship with me, and is
performing below Second Grade level in specific areas we explored the possibility of
Luke coming to my First Grade classroom for instruction. Curriculum rewinding, will
allow Luke to experience and be exposed to information he may be lacking or struggling
with (Chapman & King, 2012). Luke is less likely to become frustrated or bored. This
intervention helps students gain readiness skills so that they can best learn (Chapman &
King, 2012). They are appropriately challenged, which negates off-task behavior.
Conclusion
Conducting a case study on Luke has helped my to realize that there isnt necessarily only
one strategy that works for each student. While I focused mainly on the SelfDetermination Theory, Luke was also motivated by the Social Cognitive Theory, in that
he often exhibited behaviors that were expected of him socially dependent on the
situation or peers involved (Anderman & Anderman, 2010). It was hard to narrow the
effective strategies down to only one theory, because I found that Luke was motivated by
a mixture of a few different theories.

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I have also realized everyone has different motivators. While Luke was mainly
motivated by extrinsic rewards, there are others who are motivated by mastery goals; they
want to successfully complete a task for their own personal satisfaction, or expectancy
goals (Anderman & Anderman, 2010)
It is our job as educators, to ensure we implement different strategies to find the best fit
for our students. I have discovered that it is crucial for all students to be involved in a
welcoming, caring, and safe environment that offers autonomy and plays to student
strengths. This helps students to feel competent and responsible for their learning, thus
diminishing negative behaviors and creating a classroom community for success.

References:

Anderman, E. M., & Anderman, L. H. (2010). Classroom motivation.

Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.

Brophy, J. Synthesis of research on strategies for motivating students to

learn. Educational Leadership, 40-48. Retrieved May 11, 2014

Chapman, C., & King, R. (2012). Differentiated assessment strategies. (2nd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Dufour, R., Dufour, R., & Eaker, R. (2008). Revisiting professional learning

Lynch, D. Reseach-based issues to consider in using extrinsic rewards

to

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motivate students. University of New England. Retrieved May 8, 2014

What roles do parent involvement, family background, and culture play in

student motivation. (2012, January 1). Center on Education Policy,
national independent advocate for public education and more effective
public schools. Retrieved June 21, 2014, from http://www.cep-dc.org

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