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When I was a teacher in Taiwan, I taught accounting at a vocational high school. I really enjoyed teaching at that time. The only thing I tried very hard was to excite students to participate in the class. Because of the differences in cultures, Asian students are more passive than students in western countries. I keep trying and encouraging students in the class, even though it is not easy. However, I found that the more the students joined in the class, the higher grades they received. Therefore, I became curious about whether classroom interaction is related to students' motivation. I believe it is the most important skill when you interact with students. For this reason, I am conducting this research, and my hypothesis is that classroom interaction increases students' motivation. I want to prove this hypothesis and find out something that can help teachers in the class.
In a classroom in which students' voices are honored, the teacher gains access to information about children's perspectives and subjective experiences that promotes responsiveness to children's educational, social, affective, and physical needs (Dewey, 1904; Erickson & Shultz, 1992; Oldfather, 1991; Weinstein, 1989). Rohrkemper (1989) proposed a Vygotskian perspective on adaptive learning that emphasizes the role of classroom interactions. Rohrkemper defined adaptive learning as "the ability to take charge of frustration and maintain the interion to learn while enacting effective take strategies in the face of uncertainty-taking charge of one's motivation, emotion, and thinking"(1989, p.143). Rohrkemper emphasized the importance of interactions with others, as well as with tasks, in working through problems with difficult learning.
Rohrkemper and Corno (1988) found that children can learn important adaptive strategies when they are confronted with stressful situations, and argued that these adaptive strategies can and should be deliberately promoted within classrooms. As students learn to cope with stress and boredom and to respond flexibly to new situations, they become able to take control of their own learning.
In other word, they conclude that participating in the class not only enhances students' motivation but also teachers will understanding what the students' needs, and students can learn important adaptive strategies as well.
Oldfather(1993, p.11) stated "as participant/observer I conducted 48 classroom observations (95 hours) that included a series of 41 in-depth interviews over the eightmonth period". As follows is Oldfather's conclusion about "responsive classroom culture and motivation".
"A deeply responsive classroom culture that honors student voices supports both motivational and ethical goals in the following ways:
Oldfather stated the responsive classroom environment has the potential to nurture students' ownership of learning. The constructive process of each individual learner is respected. The teacher "shares the ownership of knowing "(Oldfather, 1992). This stance changes the power relations in the classroom. Connected teachers create a caring community of learners that encourages risk taking. Everyone in the community (including the teacher) teaches, as well as learns. Connected teachers invite students' collaboration in the construction of meaning, and they nurture students' voices by facilitating "the having of wonderful ideas" (Duckworth, 1987). In such an environment, students become more fully engaged in their learning.
According to my survey current ongoing research(Chiang, 2001), 92% of informants agreed that they like the feeling while everybody talks and interacts in the class. Also, 94% of them believe that they can get good grades if they interact with others in the class. In addition, 91% informants support the question that "participating in the class discussion increase my motivation to study English." Even though 25% informants disagreed with this item that "the more the students join in the class, the more they like their studies," the results of this research are very positive.
On the other hand, 58% of informants agreed that "most teachers help me to participate in class" and 75% informants agreed that "even if you say something incorrectly, teachers always give you good feedback and support." It shows most teachers encourage students' participating in the class. Therefore, it not only enhances students' motivation to study, but also helps teachers' teaching to go smoothing in the class.
In summary, my hypothesis appears to be support the belief that classroom interaction enhances students' motivation.
Duckworth. E. (1987). The having of wonderful ideas and other essays on teaching and learning. New York: Teachers College Press.
Oldfather, P. (1991) Students' perceptions of their own reasons/purposes for being or not being involved in learning activities: A qualitative study of student motivation (Doctoral dissertation, The Claremont Graduate School, 1991). Dissertation Abstracts International, 52, 853A
Oldfather, P. (1992). Sharing the ownership of knowing: A constructivist concept of motivation for literacy learning. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Reading Conference, San Antonio,TX.
Oldfather, P. (1993b, April). Facilitating participation and ownership through engaging students as co-researchers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta, GA
Oldfather, P. (1993)Motivating students: A responsive classroom culture.Retrieved December 07, 2001, from the World Wide Web : http://www.indiana.edu/~eric_rec/ieo/bibs/mot-gen.html
Rohrkenmper, M. M. (1989) Selfregulated learning and academic achievement: A Vygotskian view. In B.J Zimmerman & D. H. Schunk (Eds.), Selfregulated learning and academic achievement: Theory, research and practice. New York: SpringerVerlag.
Rohrkenmper, M. M. & Corno, L.(1988) Success and failure on classroom tasks: Adaptive learning and classroom teaching. Elementary School Journal, 88(3),