Our session will focus on the issue of student motivation in information literacy classes, particularly in credit-bearing information literacy courses. Teaching credit courses raises different teaching and learning issues than occur in single, course-related, instruction sessions. The ability to work with students in the classroom week after week allows librarians to connect with students in a very different way, yet also raises challenges in keeping students interested and engaged. We will address several educational theories related to motivation, including the differences between extrinsic and intrinsic motivators, John Keller’s ARCS (Attention/Relevance/Confidence/Satisfaction) Model of Motivation, and key classroom elements that have a significant impact on motivation. We will provide examples of how these theories can be translated into everyday classroom use. One element that will be considered in detail is practical assessment methods, such as student learning portfolios. While we will concentrate on motivating students in credit courses, a number of the ideas will be useful to instructors who teach course-related instruction sessions.
Very little has appeared in the library literature on motivating students. With the increasing presence of information literacy credit courses, this is a topic of interest to many librarian instructors. Students often enroll in these courses because of general education requirements, and they may not feel the same enthusiasm that they do for courses they have chosen to take. Engaging students in an information literacy course is not necessarily difficult if certain methods are used, and many of these can be done without restructuring the entire course. We will explain a number of ways to increase motivation, yet we will also involve attendees throughout the panel presentation. We plan to start the session with an informal “minute” writing exercise where we will ask participants to consider the problems they have faced with student motivation, and will record their responses to integrate with a later section of the presentation. When we talk about extrinsic and intrinsic motivators, we will ask participants to reflect upon their own motivation for learning, such as their attendance at the ACRL conference. We will also distribute candy as a very tangible example when we discuss some of the factors relating to extrinsic motivators. Prior to a question and answer period, we will conclude with some very practical suggestions for motivating students, and will refer back to the problems that attendees identified early in the session. We will also ask audience members to jot down three things they took away from this session and one great idea they had during the session.
Will Work for Candy”: Motivational Techniques That Work
ACRL 11th National Conference, April 2003.
Trudi E. Jacobson ()
Stephan J. Macaluso ()
Lijuan Xu