Motivation
Effective academic performance is due to a combination of skill and will. Skill is the collection of strategies that a learner uses. Will is the motivation or choice to succeed.
Students often choose to fail by making faulty attributions. For example, they attribute their poor performance to personal factors (e.g. "I'm not smart" or "I'm not good at multiple-choice tests") and/or environmental factors (e.g. "The professor is boring" or "I don't have enough time to study").
These types of faulty attributions become excuses for not performing well and are dangerous because they impede more effective study approaches. For example, believing that you lack ability is likely to discourage you from developing effective learning strategies and spending quality time. Alternatively, believing that your successful performance is due primarily to your high ability can be just as harmful because you are not likely to recognize the importance of developing strategies and are likely to devote insufficient time to studying. High ability might be sufficient for performing well in high school. However, mastery of college-level content demands more.
Additional examples of nonproductive attributions for performance include the following: a) "I'm not motivated because I don't have long-range career goals" b) "I don't like the subjects I am taking;"; c) "I don't enjoy studying"; d) "My classes are too large;" e) "I can't do well in my morning classes because I'm not a morning person"; f) "The lecture is too disorganized"; and g) "I'm seldom in the mood for studying". The unfortunate outcome of adopting any of the aforementioned excuses for performance is that you begin to believe: "My behavior is not controllable, therefore, my attempts to put forth effort and use strategies will not help."
On a more positive note, it is possible to take control of your motivation and your performance, even if you have been adopting every excuse in the book. First, it is important to recognize the excuses that you are currently using and to make a decision to take full responsibility for your performance. Next, it is helpful to understand what motivates you and what limits your motivation. Students tend to be poorly motivated if they have received negative performance feedback. For example, if a student really does study a lot but consistently earns poor grades on tests, then that student is likely to give up trying. This is understandable. We humans tend to be motivated when our performance is followed by rewards or reinforcers. However, when the rewards (e.g. "As" or "Bs" on tests) are absent, we tend to lessen our level of performance.
In order to increase motivation, students should do what they can to arrange for their performance to be followed by a positive response. One logical choice students should make is to develop specific learning strategies to help them prepare optimally for their classes. Many popular but ineffective strategies include recopying notes, rereading text, and reciting information. Unless accompanied by more active and effective strategies, these strategies are not sufficient for helping you to learn optimally. More active (effective) strategies include marking text, creating organized representations of text and lecture, developing study questions and answers, and predicting lecture or test content. Implementation of these active strategies will increase the likelihood of getting positive performance feedback, thereby increasing motivation.
A second, more short-term choice for increasing motivation to study is for you to provide your own reinforcement. Many students find it challenging just to read a chapter or go to class! Others indicate difficulty maintaining motivation to study over longer periods of time or when working on an extensive project. In either case, it is helpful to develop a plan for what you need to accomplish and then provide yourself with a reward once you have followed through with your plan.
It is sometimes helpful to break large tasks into smaller, more do-able parts and then reward completion of each part. An example would be to divide the large task of writing a research paper into the following sub-tasks: a) pick a topic; b) go to the library to gather information; c) read and takes notes on the information; d) write an outline; e) begin writing a draft of the paper; f) revise the draft; g) have someone else give you feedback on your draft; and h) make final revisions. Completion of these sub-tasks might require several weeks. It is wise to schedule specific times to complete each sub-task and reward yourself after each timely completion of a sub-task. This pattern of working and then rewarding yourself will help you to develop more positive attributions regarding the effort you are expending.
Although arranging for efforts to be reinforced is an important strategy, there are other important strategies to develop motivation. One strategy is to identify current barriers to effective studying (e.g. false attributions, poor time management, distractions, etc. ) and overcome them. Make a conscious choice to study when you are most alert, under quiet conditions, and where others are unlikely to pull you away from your work. Plan time to attend all classes and review sessions. Plan to actively study information in notes and text at least weekly, if not daily so that you are gradually building a memory knowledge base in each class. Be assertive about preserving your study time for study; resist others' efforts to inveigle you into activities that model and justify their own procrastination. Those who would distract you from what you both know you must do are not your friends; your friends will respect your priorities if you do. (You can arrange to go out and run, shoot baskets, watch tv or whatever after both of you have completed your work and thereby reward you both.) Finally, plan to be prepared for exams a few days in advance so that if something enticing comes up the night before the exam, you can participate without guilt, confident that you are ready.
In summary, poor academic performance is due to poor skill and poor will. Although false attributions (excuses) commonly block effective performance, it is possible and necessary to control them. It is important to recognize the importance of developing learning strategies so that the time you do spend studying is worthwhile. The use of rewards following effort can be an effective way to build motivation. Most important, realize that:
You are in charge of your performance and you can take steps toward becoming a more motivated and effective learner!
-- Written and/or compiled by James A. McShane
