This is a talk for primary school teacher education students in Guangzhou, China. It begins with an analysis of the question about motivation and then considers to theoretical approaches to answering the question.

1. How to motivate students
(primary & middle school)
Dr Robert Shaw
School of Management
Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Wednesday 21 May 2014, 2 pm

2. Teachers’ Law of the People’s
Republic of China
Article 7
Teachers shall enjoy the following rights:
(1) to conduct educational and teaching activities and
carry out reform and experiment in education and
teaching;
(2) to engage in scientific research and academic
exchanges, join professional academic societies and
fully express their views in academic activities …

3. Today
1. The question asked
2. Teaching-learning in the west
3. William James
4. Traditional teaching methods & motivation
5. John Dewey & China
6. Modern education & motivation

4. Question asked
How should teachers motivate primary and
middle school students to learn English
effectively?

5. Questions asked
The question suggests:
1. Precision: middle students, English, effectively
2. Motivation is separate aspect of pedagogy
3. A model of teaching-learning
4. A silver bullet

8. There are no silver bullets in
education

9. There are no silver bullets in
education

10. The silver bullet
1. Simple questions do not have simple answers
2. Teachers sometimes look for “tips” that will help
them in the classroom tomorrow
3. China needs teachers who are both:
a. Trained in practical skills
b. Educated

11. What de-motivates students?
1. Rote learning (drills, memorising)
2. Meaningless material
3. Learning without a goal
4. Fatigue

12. What de-motivates students?
1. De-motivated = bored
2. What do students find boring?

17. Teaching-learning in the west:
two approaches to education
1. Traditional approach
2. Modern way
3. .
4. .
5. .

18. Teaching-learning in the west:
two approaches to education
1. Traditional approach
2. Modern way
3. These ideas apply to all student grades/levels
4. Different theorists and teachers develop these
two approaches in various ways
5. William James (traditional)
& John Dewey (modern)

19. Traditional approach
1. Ideas about schooling came from the family and
the army
2. Professional teachers
3. Scientific approach
4. Needs of mass education
5. William James was influential

20. William James
1. American
2. 1842 – 1910
3. Philosopher,
psychologist,
physician
4. Pragmatist

21. 1. Comprehensive
textbook
2. Operant
conditioning
3. Attention
4. Motivation

23. Examinations

25. How do we motivate students?
Traditional approach
1. Positive reinforcement
a. Rewards for success, rubber stamps
b. Kind comments
c. Stars, certificates, notes to parents
2. Negative reinforcement
a. Punishments
b. Negative comments

26. Two kinds of motivation
1. External motivation
a. Motivation based on something external to the
task itself
b. Operant rewards & punishments
c. Examination learning is an example
2. Internal motivation
a. Motivation that comes from within the student’s
relationship to the task
b. Learning because you love to learn
c. Learning incidental to some activity

27. Modern approach
1. New goals: thinking, creativity, originality
2. Education as a way of life
3. Humanistic approach
4. Needs of the individual
5. John Dewey was influential

28. John Dewey
1. American
2. 1859-1952
3. Philosopher,
psychologist,
educational reformer
4. Advocate for
pragmatism &
liberalism

31. 1. Thinking is like
breathing
2. Reflective
thinking is what
is important
3. We cannot
require it of
students
4. All we can do is
set up the right
conditions

32. The On-going Dance of
John Dewey and
China: A Western
Philosopher becomes a
Second Confucius
西风东渐化孔子，今世
前缘谈杜威

33. 1919-1921
Columbia
University
Student Hu Shih
became a leader in
the New Culture
Movement
Arrived a few days
after 4 May 1919
Effect on university
leadership

34. John Dewey

35. American children are
taught the list of ‘modern’
inventions that originated
in China.
They are not taught,
however, that China
invented the boycott, the
general strike and guild
organization as means of
controlling public affairs.

36. Modern approach - motivation
1. Motivation relates to curriculum, pedagogy and
evaluation
2. Internal motivation best
3. Let them learn
4. Child centred
5. Encourage and support

37. Modern approach – in China

38. 38
Curriculum
What you teach
Evaluation
How you assess
Pedagogy
How you teach

39. 39
Textbook
What you teach
Examination
How you assess
Teacher
How you teach
Traditional
education

40. The three evils of teaching
40
1. Curriculum
2. Evaluation
3. Pedagogy

41. The three evils of teaching
41
1. Curriculum
Textbooks
2. Evaluation
Examinations
3. Pedagogy
Desks

42. The harm done by textbooks
42
Textbooks
1. Kill student motivation
2. Stop the teacher from developing
3. Freeze the curriculum
4. Give a foreign view of what is important

43. 43
Artwork by Qiu Ying 仇英 c.1540
Civil service examination candidates
wait for officials to post their marks

44. 44

45. The harm done by examinations
45
Examinations
1. Kill long-term student motivation
2. Reinforce external motivation
3. Make education unjust for students
4. Waste time and energy
5. Focus on low order skills (next slides)

46. 46
Benjamin
Bloom

49. The harm done by desks
49
Desk layouts
1. Say who is in control – teacher centred
2. Limit the forms of motivation available
3. Levels the student experience

50. 50

51. 51

52. 52

53. 53
1. Reinforces the idea the teacher is the authority
2. Undermines student confidence
3. Make us teach classes & not individuals
4. Limit our teaching methods (tutorials)

57. Pedagogy for motivation
1. Be a creative thinker yourself
2. Do not teach English
Set up the conditions for thinking and encourage
the students to work in English
3. Projects based on the students’ interests
4. Ask students to keep a personal glossary
5. Reward, reward, reward ……

58. Curriculum for motivation
1. Enquiries / research in English
2. The safety poster
3. The nature walk
4. Teach an elder or a friend
5. Personal communications
- blog, Skype, email

60. Thank you