First Advisor

Henderson, Russell E.

College

College for Professional Studies

Degree Name

Master of Education

School

School of Education and Counseling

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Comments

Education

Number of Pages

146 pages

Abstract

The findings of recent studies in the area of achievement indicate that the motivation to learn contributes to academic success, apart from intelligence, individually and significantly. While the early motivational theorists concluded that cognitive skills and abilities were factors of intelligence, and that behavioral and psychosocial attributes were factors of motivation, the more contemporary motivational researchers have found that the belief one holds about intelligence influences both cognition and behavior, more powerfully than previously estimated. Presented here are the main social cognitive components of motivation: (a) competence beliefs and self-efficacy, (b) attributions, (c) intrinsic motivation, and (d) achievement goals. The research on each of these components was reviewed, along with its relationship to academic achievement, based upon which suggestions are offered for instruction and assessment. The goal of this project is to provide a useful means by which student motivation might be increased and achievement improved, thereby shaping student success. This project includes an Instructional Booklet for Educators, including Learning Motivation and Academic Achievement Models, which were designed by the author to inform teachers of the ways in which beliefs about the nature of intelligence (i.e., those of students, teachers, and parents) affect academic achievement. In addition, this booklet may guide educators in instructional and classroom design, along with the informal assessment of intelligence beliefs, which they may use to shape academic achievement through the feedback and the developmental actions that foster motivation and learning, immediately and continually.

Date of Award

Summer 2006

Location (Creation)

Colorado (state); Denver (county); Denver (inhabited place)

Rights Statement

All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.

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