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Reading motivation

Reading motivation is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Reading motivation rather than just read about it. In short: Reading motivation is the motivational drive to read, an area of interest in the field of education. Studying and implementing the conditions under which students are motivated to read is important in the process of teaching and fostering learning.

Key takeaways

  • Reading motivation belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Reading motivation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Reading motivation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Reading motivation is the motivational drive to read, an area of interest in the field of education. Studying and implementing the conditions under which students are motivated to read is important in the process of teaching and fostering learning. Reading and writing motivation are the processes to put more effort on reading and writing activities. Different strategies can be followed to develop a student's motivation to read.

Integrating sensory organs with text materials. For example, when reading the word "apple", read it loudly, visualize, feel the texture, taste, and odor. Pronounce each word properly. Differentiate pronunciation for the purpose of spelling and for the purpose of communicating ideas. In pronunciation, give emphasis on phonic discrimination, such as, C-A-T, C-A-N. Change from extrinsic to intrinsic reading motivation. Although incentives are a good motivator, further interest in reading will come from intrinsic wants and needs. Instead of rewarding reading with a gift, relate reading completion to increased reading competency and accomplishment. Organize reading material in an attractive way. For students who know how to read, but need extra encouragement, giving a book talk is a way to inspire reading. It is an especially effective tool with reluctant readers who need a hook before they will invest the energy into reading a book. Reading motivation for children can be enhanced when it is read with songs or music playing.

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Intrinsic motivation is when one does something because of personal interest in that particular thing. Extrinsic motivation has to do with avoiding the consequences of not doing something. The motivation to read is one of the major factors that determine student success or failure in elementary school. Therefore, it is crucial to come up with ways to motivate and include all students to read. Reading is a task requiring interest and effort; as such, the reading skill of students has been associated with reading motivation. Students who are extremely motivated to read choose to find the time to read, which in turn will develop into a lifelong reading habit. Hence, motivation plays a crucial role in elementary schools to foster reading. Multiple factors, including both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, significantly contribute to students' academic success in higher education. Intrinsic motivators, such as personal interest and enjoyment of learning, work in conjunction with extrinsic factors like career prospects and grades to shape student achievement and engagement in academic pursuits.

Teachers' response to encourage intrinsic motivation in reading The main goal of educators should be to move students motivation from extrinsic to intrinsic. Students who display intrinsic motivation in reading are more likely to read and thus learn and grow outside of the classroom. Teachers can improve intrinsic motivation in a variety of ways including:

Link real life experiences to text: students who feel as though they are reading things that are relevant to their personal interests are more likely to be involved in the reading of the story and classroom discussions Selecting texts that connect to students' interests and backgrounds-reading articles or stories about common interests can spark conversations in classrooms as well as promote interest in reading the texts. If some students in a classroom play baseball, reading a story about a baseball player can spark interest and enthusiasm in the classroom Give choices to students to allow them to take ownership of their reading-assigned readings (while sometimes necessary) do not encourage intrinsic motivation in reading. Rather, allowing students to have a choice in what they read allows them to take ownership of their own learning and can choose texts that is personally relevant to their culture and interests. Provide constant positive feedback to students: because students who feel as though they are good readers will be more likely to want to read, always encouraging students that they are talented and able to read well can create increased intrinsic motivation Encourage collaboration in the classroom that is centered around reading: students who work in groups and all individually contribute towards a common cause are more likely to be interested in the subject. Organizing small "book clubs" in the classroom that allow students to socialize and talk about a book can create a laid back atmosphere where students feel as though they can freely express their views and ideas about the texts, and will increase interest in the context of the article or story.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Reading motivation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Reading motivation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Reading motivation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Reading motivation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Reading motivation

In research
Reading motivation appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Reading motivation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Reading motivation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Educational psychology, Motivation, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Reading motivation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Reading motivation in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Reading motivation means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Reading motivation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Reading motivation in simple terms?

Reading motivation is the motivational drive to read, an area of interest in the field of education. Studying and implementing the conditions under which students are motivated to read is important in the process of teaching and fostering learning.

Why does Reading motivation matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Reading motivation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Reading motivation.

Tags

  • Educational psychology
  • Motivation

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