Relating Motivation to Read and Emergent Reading Skills: A Measurement Validation Study

Two studies examined the construct validity of emergent readers' motivation measures. Both studies directly assessed reading skills. Motivation was measured via self-report inventories, including existing and new items derived from the Preschool Reading Attitudes Survey (PRAS), the Motivated Reading Questionnaire (MRQ), and the Motivated Reading Profile (MRP). Parent and teacher measures of emergent readers' motivation were also administered. Study 1 findings indicated significant correlations within readers' self ratings and between teachers' and parents' ratings of children's motivation, but little consistency between these ratings and children's self-ratings. Study 2 replicated many Study 1 findings and indicated stability in children's motivation measures.     

Elementary Students’ Motivation to Read and Genre Preferences

Abstract

This study examines the psychometric properties of a reading motivation measure with a sample of upper elementary students in the United States (n?=?195). The research explores upper elementary students’ motivation to read, the amount/frequency of their reading in general, and their preferences for different text genres. Factor analyses support the validity and reliability of the SRQ-RM for upper elementary students in the United States, a tool not previously used with this population. This study also included a nuanced assessment of students’ genre preferences, which has implications for reading motivation and effective classroom instruction.     

Young Children's Motivation to Read and Write: Development in Social Contexts

In a 3-year longitudinal, mixed-method study, 67 children in two schools were observed during literacy activities in Grades 1–3. Children and their teachers were interviewed each year about the children's motivation to read and write. Taking a grounded theory approach, content analysis of the child interview protocols identified the motivations that were salient to children at each grade level in each domain, looking for patterns by grade and school. Analysis of field notes, teacher interviews, and child interviews suggests that children's motivation for literacy is best understood in terms of development in specific contexts. Development in literacy skill and teachers' methods of instruction and raising motivation provided affordances and constraints for literate activity and its accompanying motivations. In particular, there was support for both the developmental hypotheses of Renninger and her colleagues (Hidi & Renninger, 2006 Hidi, S. and Renninger, K. 2006. The four-phase model of interest development.. Educational Psychologist, 41(2): 111–127. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and of Pressick-Kilborne and Walker (2002) Pressick-Kilborn, K. and Walker, R. 2002. “The social construction of interest in a learning community.”. In Sociocultural influences on motivation and learning, Edited by: McInerney, D. and Van Etten, S. 153–182. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.  [Google Scholar]. The positions of poor readers and the strategies they used were negotiated and developed in response to the social meanings of reading, writing, and relative literacy skill co-constructed by students and teachers in each classroom. The relationship of these findings to theories of motivation is discussed.     

Young Children Use Letter Names in Learning to Read Words

Three studies demonstrated that mental simulations and affect are related to temporal changes in subjective confidence. In Study 1, students' confidence in their midterm exam performance lessened from the first day of class (3.5 weeks before the exam) to exam day, and confidence correlated negatively with upward simulations (i.e., simulations that are better than reality) and negative affect. In Study 2, manipulated upward simulations produced low confidence and negative mood even when the exam was viewed from a distance; students who were forced to think about upward simulations 1 month prior to the exam felt no more confident than did students on exam day. In Study 3, manipulated negative moods produced low confidence and more upward simulations when students anticipated laboratory tasks, and again distal and proximal confidence did not differ. Discussion centers around reciprocal relations between mental simulations and affect, and a possibly integrative account of previous explanations.     

Motivation for Reading and Writing in Kindergarten Children

This study characterizes the reading and writing motivations of kindergarten children. Four hundred fifty-one children participated in the study, answering questions measuring value, self-concept, and enjoyment of reading and writing. A factor analysis validated the conceptual motivational constructs. Findings indicate that kindergarten children have high motivation for both reading and writing, although scores for writing motivation were not as high as those for reading. Among the group studied, boys’ and girls’ motivational profiles are not markedly differentiated. Implications for future research and educational practices are discussed.     

The Development of Young Children’s Mental Timeline in Relation to Emergent Literacy Skills

ABSTRACT

The abstract concept of time is conceptualized as moving linearly across space, known as the mental timeline (MTL). The direction of our MTL is consistent with reading direction. English speakers, who read left to right, think of past on the left and future on the right; the reverse is true of Hebrew speakers, who read right to left. However, it is unknown whether familiarity with reading direction facilitates the development of the MTL or whether it develops prior to becoming familiar with a language’s direction. This study examined the relationship between the development of the MTL and emergent literacy skills in English-speaking preschoolers and kindergartners. Results reveal a preference for spatially displaying time as moving horizontally from left to right in preschoolers, which is strengthened in kindergartners and predicted by emergent literacy skills. Results indicate that emergent literacy skills are related to the early development of the MTL, providing insight into the origins of the mental timeline.     

Time Reproduction in Children With ADHD: Motivation Matters

The primary goal of this study was to examine whether children with ADHD have a true deficit in subjective time sense, or whether their impairment reflects a motivational deficit. Thirty children with ADHD and 30 matched control children completed two versions of a time reproduction paradigm (“Regular” and “Enhanced”) in which motivational level was manipulated by the addition of positive sham feedback and the prospect of earning a reward. A secondary goal was to investigate performance on measures of working memory and behavioural inhibition, and how those constructs relate to time reproduction in the context of Barkley’s (1997a) model of ADHD. Children with ADHD performed significantly better on the motivating ‘Enhanced’ versus the Regular time reproduction paradigm, although they continued to perform significantly worse than controls on both tasks. Control children exhibited no reliable change in performance between versions of the task. Significant group differences were also observed on the working memory and behavioural inhibition tasks. We discuss the impact of motivation, working memory, and behavioural inhibition on time reproduction performance.     

How to Read Wittgenstein

"How to Read Wittgenstein" is a discussion of some misinterpretations that arise when Ludwig Wittgenstein's later works are read, not in their historical context, but as though they were written for a generation of philosophers influenced by G.E. Moore and ordinary language philosophy. The criticisms are directed primarily at Oswald Hanfling's "Critical Notice" in Philosophical Investigations 19:2 (April, 1996).     

An Initial Study of the Effects of Cooperative Learning on Reading Comprehension,Vocabulary Acquisition,and Motivation to Read

This study investigated the effects of the Jigsaw II cooperative learning (CL) model and whole class instruction in improving learners' reading comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, and motivation to read. Forty-four grade five English as a foreign language learners participated in the study, and a posttest-only control group experimental design was employed. The results did not indicate any statistically significant differences between the control and experimental group on the dependent variables of reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. However, the results revealed statistically significant differences in favor of the experimental group on the dependent variable of motivation to read and its dimensions, the value of reading, and reading self-concept. The pedagogical implications of the findings and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

Context-Specific Motivations to Read for Adolescent Struggling Readers: Does the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire Tell the Full Story?

Commonly used literacy motivation assessments do not specifically explore literacy motivation in school. These context-general assessments may be problematic for struggling adolescent readers, as qualitative research documents that these adolescents exhibit different levels of cross-context motivation. The present study explores whether an in-school measure predicts additional variance in reading performance beyond a non-context-specific measure. One hundred and fifteen fifth graders were administered the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire, an in-school reading motivation daily log, a demographic survey, and standardized reading assessments. Findings indicate that the in-school reading motivation measure predicted performance for struggling readers and the non-context-specific measure did not.     

Emergent Simple Discriminations and Conditional Relations in Children, Intellectually Impaired Adults,

Previous research has shown that when, under non-reinforced conditions, stimuli are added to S+ and S- stimuli in simultaneous discrimination tasks, transfer between paired stimuli is likely to occur. The present study examined whether this procedure also leads to the formation of conditional relations between paired stimuli. In Experiments 1, 2, and 3, normal pre-school children were trained on a simultaneous discrimination task with A1 reinforced and A2 not reinforced (A1+/A2- ). Then they received two tests (no programmed consequences): one with B stimuli superimposed on the A stimuli (A1B1/ A2B2), and one with B stimuli only (B1/B2). Subjects who selected A1B1 and B1 also received conditional discrimination tests: one with B1 or B2 as samples and A1 and A2 as comparisons (B-A), and one in which the functions of these stimuli were reversed (A-B). Intellectually impaired adults and normal adults served in Experiments 4 and 5, respectively. These experiments were basically the same except that the subjects were also given the opportunity to demonstrate transfer from B to C via BC (B1C1/B2C2 and C1/C2 tests). Most children (75%) and intellectually impaired adults (75%) treated the conditional discrimination probe tasks as simple discriminations and typically selected the trained and derived S+ stimuli. The remaining children, intellectually impaired adults, and all normal adults related all directly and indirectly linked stimuli of the same functions conditionally to one another (A-B, B-C, A-C, and vice versa). The present findings suggest that, as humans develop, conditional stimulus relations may emerge from tasks and stimulus configurations that are increasingly remote from traditional conditional discrimination tasks.     

行为评价对3岁儿童掌控动机的影响

运用情境实验法,考察了71名3岁儿童掌控动机的基本特点及行为评价对其影响。结果发现:3岁儿童:(1)对新奇玩具具有强烈的掌控动机;(2)丰富的视听反馈会更加激发其探索与操控;(3)当成人对其探索行为有积极评价时,儿童获得更多愉悦感;(4)掌控成败体验出现;(5)积极评价可增强掌控成功时的兴趣感,缓解失败后的不良情绪;(6)多数(94.42%)儿童愿意尝试挑战,并能坚持较长时间以期成功,但坚持性存在个体差异。     

Motivating Grade 1 Children to Read: Exploring the Role of Choice,Curiosity, and Challenge in Mobile Ebooks

A pre-experimental case study design was used to explore the value of intrinsic motivation in mobile eBook reading among 30 Grade 1 child participants. Data collection comprised pre- and post-test motivation questionnaires and researcher field notes. Child participants' enjoyment of mobile eBooks corresponded to 3 motivational aspects of intrinsic motivation: curiosity, choice, and challenge. Post-test results indicated that most child participants enjoyed answering eBook comprehension questions and preferred eBooks to print books. Child participants' reading behaviors related to iPads' accessibility features and inherent reader-friendliness. The motivating features of using mobile devices for eBook reading and enhancing reader motivation are described.     

Relations Between Conscious And Unconscious Manifestations Of Motivation In Children

Interest strength in 36 attitudes was measured on 89 public school students by means of four indirect behavioral tests. Standard scores on Word Association and Information were combined to give the Integrated (conscious) scores, and those on Selective Memory and Autism were combined to give the Unintegrated (unconscious) scores. Eighteen hypothesized drive factors and four device factors were extracted. The centroid was partitioned, and the Unintegrated portion was rotated by Procrustes for pure drive factors. This portion was projected upon the Integrated realm by reassembling the centroid matrix, and rotating the whole to the Procrustes position obtained for the part. Overall results appeared to support the "structural" rather than the "topographic" approaches t o psychoanalytic theory.     

西北地区小学生学习动机发展特点的研究

采用问卷调查法探讨了2～6年级小学生学习动机的发展特点.结果表明:小学生学习动机发展表现出由附属性动机→威信性动机→认知性动机→成就性动机的强度渐增特点,成就性动机处在较高位置.四类动机及其所含因素在年级、性别、城乡之间存在差异.研究提示,当前教育教学改革应关注学生学习动机问题,重视加强小学中高年级和农村学生学习动机的培养与激发.