Students think they grow more motivated to tackle STEM topics as they get older. Teachers disagree.
That’s according to recent surveys by the EdWeek Research Center.
A majority (59%) of teachers of STEM subjects say most of their students grow less motivated as they progress from elementary to high school. About a third said most of their students grow more motivated.
On the other hand, a majority (59%) of secondary school students say their level of motivation is higher than it was in elementary school, while 8% say their motivation is lower.
This is a potential problem because if teachers think students are not as motivated, then they might not be engaging them in the best ways possible.
The EdWeek Research Center surveyed nationally representative groups of middle and high school students and K-12 educators, including 1,058 teens and 605 teachers in March and April.
Students’ and teachers’ perceptions of motivation differ
The contrast between students’ and teachers’ views might be because they each define or perceive motivation differently, experts say.
Students are probably thinking of motivation as “things they think are fun, things that they might be interested in, what kinds of activities they do in class with the teacher,” said Christine Royce, a professor at Shippensburg University’s teacher education department, and a past president of the National Science Teaching Association.
Plus, as students move through their K-12 education, they have more opportunities to explore future careers that interest them and how the STEM topics they’re learning intersect with those professions, possibly making them feel more motivated to work hard in those subjects, said Latrenda Knighten, the president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Shelley Ajin, a senior at Downtown Magnets High School in Los Angeles, is one of those students who says her motivation in STEM classes has increased over time.
“I felt a little more motivated in high school,” Shelley said. “I had amazing teachers who taught me a lot and had a lot of interactive labs.”
There were also more opportunities to participate in clubs or programs related to STEM that “have really kept my motivation up, especially because they’re really interactive,” she added.
Meanwhile, teachers are observing students’ outward reactions and behaviors in class and use that to gauge their levels of motivation, Royce said. Teachers are looking at whether students are engaged, asking questions, and working on the task—and their perceptions might be that a lot of that is not happening.
Teachers also know that content becomes more challenging and rigorous as students progress and there might be fewer opportunities for hands-on activities, prompting kids to feel less excited about STEM learning, according to Royce and Knighten.
Vy Le, a chemistry teacher at Downtown Magnets High School, hypothesizes that students’ motivation follows a V shape. Younger kids have “natural curiosity—they like learning about science and how the world works,” and their motivation might dip until they have more opportunities to explore their interests, which might only happen when they get to high school.
“Maybe [teachers] didn’t get to see the last part, where [motivation] goes up,” Le said. “Students, on the other hand, maybe they don’t remember much about the beginning where it declines, but when they’re older they remember more of that upward curve.”
How teachers can tap into students’ motivation
How can teachers help bolster students’ motivation?
First, expect students to be motivated, Royce said.
“If they expect that students are motivated, it’s more likely they’re going to utilize strategies and instructional methods that are going to make kids more motivated,” she said.
Royce and Knighten recommend that teachers ask students for feedback on what would motivate them to learn the topics. What teachers will most likely hear from students is that they want more hands-on activities or real-world connections, they said.
In her class, Le said she’s seen students’ interest and motivation increase over the course of the school year, and she attributes it to the hands-on lab activities they do in class.
“In the beginning of the year, it was tough [to engage students],” she said, noting that most time then is spent learning concepts rather than conducting lab experiments. “But they’ve gotten used to the rigor. They also saw how, after all the learning, they were able to apply their learnings in these labs.
“By the end, a lot of students were saying, ‘I think I’m going to major in chemistry [in college], you gave me that passion in chemistry,’” Le said.
Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center’s work.
