Running head: CASE STUDY IN MOTIVATION 1

Case Study in Motivation

August 22, 2013
Mark Williams
University of New England












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Case Study in Motivation
I. Introduction
Sam is a ten-year-old boy who was a student in my fourth grade class of 2012-
2013. My class this past year was comprised of 13 boys and 10 girls, and the
instructional model is one of inclusion. All special education services are provided
within the classroom. There were 3 students on IEPs and 2 on 504 plans Sam being
one.
Meeting Sam on the very first day of school, I was impressed with his verbal
skills and ability to carry a conversation with an adult with ease. From that day forward,
I knew that the student/teacher rapport was going to be friendly and productive. He
appreciated my sense of humor, and as it turned out, humor would often be the catalyst to
engage Sam in his schoolwork. Not intrinsically motivated by most subject areas, I
learned from those first few weeks of school that drawing out Sams true potential and
abilities was going to be an ongoing challenge.
Sam entered the Winthrop School in Hamilton Wenham at the beginning of his
second grade year. His family is originally from the Faroe Islands - an island group
under Denmark control. The islands are located halfway between Norway and Iceland.
The language spoken is Faroese. Sams family came to the United States while his
mother was pursuing a graduate degree at a local seminary college. His dad co-captains a
ship and is away at sea for long stretches of time. Sam is the oldest child of three. He
has a brother 5 and a sister 3. Sam entered second grade fluent in English and was
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reading at grade level. He has had significant hearing loss in one ear and uses a hearing
aid. This past year a growth was discovered in the ear canal and removed, resulting in an
improvement in hearing. While in second grade, Sam was tested outside the school
system and diagnosed with mild attention deficit disorder with executive function
disorder. At that time, the parents did not disclose the test results with the school. The
parents were not very receptive to outside counseling, but did agree to meet with our
schools adjustment counselor.
Sam struggled attending to class instruction in both second and third grade. As the
work became increasingly more challenging, his ability to sustain attention diminished.
Since the parents were not willing to release the testing to the school, no special needs
services could be offered at the time, but Sam was placed on a 504 plan due to his
hearing loss. No accommodations for testing or instruction were made at the time, other
than preferential seating.
During his second and third grade years, Sam also experienced some noticeable
difficulty making and sustaining friendships with grade level peers. He seemed to be
drawn to one or two boys with significant behavioral issues. Our adjustment counselor
offers small group classes around social thinking of which Sam became involved.
Sams involvement in the social thinking group helped somewhat in having him reach out
to form new friendships. Still, over the course of those two years, he was seen as
different both by students and teachers.
Over the years, Ive garnered the reputation for connecting with students that
dont fit the mold so Sam was placed in my class. The strategic placement of another
boy diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome in the same class turned out to be providential.
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This other child named Charlie was performing well above grade level, but struggled
with similar social issues as Sam. I soon observed that these two students could benefit
from working together. Charlie, also on a 504 plan for organization and time
management was attending the social thinking group with Sam. The bond they formed
this past year was remarkable both working hard to support one another.
Over the course of first term, Sams attention issues became apparent. His ability
to stay on task and complete assignments was a struggle. And when I would confront
him with unfinished work, he would completely shut down. During those formative
weeks, I was administering some reading and math assessments to determine whether his
lack of motivation was due to the work being beyond his capabilities. My informal
assessments and classroom observations didnt appear to justify this concern. Sam
appeared to grasp new concepts fairly easily, and the results of those preliminary
assessments showed that he was performing on grade level. I did note that his one area of
significant weakness was in written language not unusual for students with executive
function disorder. Sam would become nearly immobilized when given a writing
assignment.
I did contact Sams parents early on to discuss some of my observations. After
that first conference, I was completely surprised when they presented me with the results
of Sams testing. I did explain that before I could take receipt of the results, I was
obligated by law to share them with our Student Assistant Team. They agreed, but did
not want to pursue further testing or special education services. At the time, they
expressed their concerns over Sams low test scores as well as his reluctance to complete
nightly homework. I shared some possible strategies that they could test out with Sam to
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have him be more engaged with homework and study prep. Since Sams father was
often gone for long periods of time, much of this responsibility was left to his mother.
Most email communications were ineffective Sams mother often expressing her
feelings of being overwhelmed.
II. Observations
This past year has been a transitional experience for Sam. He entered fourth
grade with no obvious behavioral issues. I tested him in Early October on the Fountas
and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System in Reading and his instructional level placed
him at the beginning of fourth grade. Due to the demographics of our school system, this
put Sam in the lower percentile amongst his peers. Administration of the benchmark is
done individually and within the classroom during our Reading block. I took some
anecdotal notes during the testing phase. My observations were centered on his ability to
attend to the task and his engagement with the dialogue. Sam appeared somewhat
disconnected to the whole procedure. His responses to various comprehension questions
were brief and vague. Any attempt to engage him further was not successful. Sam was
not rigid or uncooperative, just not engaged in the process. The benchmarks allow for
some choice of reading material fiction or nonfiction. Normally the teacher is
encouraged to alternate the readings, but I felt it was important to allow Sam more
options in the hopes to elevate is motivational level and in turn gather more accurate
diagnostic information. I also opted to keep the testing sessions to a minimum in an
attempt to catch him on a day where his attention and motivation were at their peak.
Unfortunately, Sams overall attention and engagement with this assessment remained
static. I soon began observing this attitude and approach reflected in his overall
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classroom behavior in most subject areas with the slight exception being in the area of
math.
As the year progressed, Sam was beginning to show a facility for mathematical
operations and problem solving. Even though he struggled with basic math facts, Sam
was fairly adept at acquiring new math concepts with minimal support. This one area of
personal strength would prove to be my way of connecting with Sam and supporting his
self-efficacy. I first noted this interest and strength with the introduction to our unit on
fractions. The unit generally begins with a hands-on fraction puzzle that each student
creates with a single piece of construction paper. We begin with establishing the whole
and students are then asked to fold the paper in halves and tear them apart. The half is
then identified, labeled as and the equivalent fraction statement 2/2 = 1 whole is
recorded on the back. In the second step, students take the other and fold that and tear
into quarters. The is labeled on the front and the equivalent fraction statements 2/4 =
, 4/4 = 1 whole are recorded on the back. This procedure continues until students have
16ths. Throughout the lesson, Sam was fully engaged, and I elicited his aid in assisting
other students that were experiencing some difficulty. Sam appeared to enjoy this role as
my helper, and I would subsequently call upon his help in future math lessons. I also
would privately speak with him prior to each math lesson explaining that I was relying
upon him to keep up with the pace of the lesson a personal goal I had set up for him.
When Sam got behind, he found it overwhelming and would resort to just giving up. I
used frequent cuing throughout each lesson just to keep him on track.
I was hoping that these simple strategies would have some carry over to other
subject areas. Unfortunately, it wasnt the case. In reflecting back on his overall lack of
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motivation, I see the basic tenets of attribution theory in action. Sams performance on
most assessments throughout the year was low and not reflective of his true capabilities.
And I believe he saw these repeated low scores as inevitable and out of his control a
key dimension of attribution theory. Fourth grade is the first grade in the elementary
years, where regular formalized assessments begin primarily in the areas of math, social
studies and science. Sam struggled significantly on Social Studies assessments that were
administered approximately every 3-4 weeks. These assessments were consistent in
structure fill-in the blank using key vocabulary, true/false statements, multiple choice
and open response essay question. Its important to note that many students struggle with
this new format. Much class time is spent in the early part of the year on organizing
notes and practicing good study habits and structuring an open response paragraph. It
became instantly clear that Sam was not getting the support at home in preparing for
these exams. Contacting his mother was not productive. One of Sams issues was losing
his notes. Just before each exam, we review notes whole class and have a practice test. I
began printing out a set of completed notes for Sam and other students who may have lost
a sheet or had been absent. I also partnered Sam up with a student who lived in his same
apartment building as study buddies. And on the day of the exam, I would often sit with
Sam to talk over the main ideas of the unit so theyd be fresh in his mind. He did seem to
appreciate the one on one time.
Sams scores remained inconsistent for much of the year. However, I did notice
the most improvement in motivation when he was able to observe positive behavior from
his peer group a key component of social cognitive theory. I decided to partner Sam up
with Charlie for their Canada project. This is a long-term assignment involving several
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steps. Charlie had the organizational skills but was often bogged down by the steps
over focusing on them and ultimately becoming overwhelmed. When engaged, Sam had
the ability to jump in and get the job done, but struggled with the organizational piece. I
thought it might be an appropriate pairing. Their initial brainstorming phase was very
productive and appeared to keep Sams attention. Sams more practical approach seemed
a good foil for Charlies over focus on minor details. And Charlie was great delegating
and organizing the various steps they needed to accomplish in order to meet the
requirements of the assignment. Charlie was seen within his peer group as clearly one of
the most academically capable students in the class. Sam on the other hand, never
perceived himself as capable academically and more importantly lacking the sense of
control over turning this false perception around another principle of attribution theory.
As the deadline for projects neared, the pair did need some assistance in pairing down a
portion of their project in order for it to be completed on time. This was very
distressing for Charlie, yet Sam was able to provide some options that would bring their
project to completion. I think this was so important in building Sams self-efficacy. He
was beginning to believe that he could perform along side his high-achieving peers.
III. Effective Strategies
As I reflect back over Sams progress in achieving his own personal goals and
striving to work on the goals I set out for him, I do think that building a strong support
system was a key factor. Sam needed to know that it was okay for him to take risks in his
learning and know that this process involves making mistakes and overcoming
challenges. It became apparent soon enough that Sam needed to feel that he could have
some control over his own learning and was able to effectively change his academic
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performance. As noted in my observations, several of the theories of motivation could
have played a role in bringing about effective change for Sam. Yet for this change to
have meaning for Sam, he needed to have a greater sense of control over his learning.
Therefore, I think that self-determination theory would assist Sam in developing that
sense of autonomy and competence. I also feel that Sam needed to appreciate and
embrace the need for relatedness. Connecting to his larger peer group was a very real
challenge for Sam. He has a somewhat unorthodox and quirky personality that wasnt
readily accepted by his peers. Finding a kindred spirit in a fellow classmate like
Charlie was pivotal. As placement meetings began late last spring, it was essential that
these two students be placed in the same room. Recommendations for next years teacher
would be to address Sams unique learning style which I feel combines active
experimentation with concrete experiences. A differentiated approach appeared to be the
most effective in dealing with his attention issues and lack of motivation. Matching
Sams readiness level, his unique interests and his preferred mode of learning was no
easy task, but served to be the channel for change.
IV. Conclusion
The entire case study process has revealed new understandings and new
approaches to this age-old problem of motivation. Motivation is arguably the key
variable in drawing students into the learning dialogue. What methods teachers decide to
employ will depend upon their own teaching styles and understanding the needs of their
individual students. What motivates some may prove ineffective for others.
Understanding the components of motivational theories will help teachers develop their
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own arsenal of teaching tools and strategies that will enhance the learning experience for
all students.


References
Anderman, E. M., & Anderman L. H. (2010). Classroom motivation. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all
learners. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2005). How to be an effective teacher: the first days of
school. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong