Set Meaningful Purpose for Reading or Literacy Task
Throughout similar research, observations, and literature, the importance of setting a meaningful purpose emerged. Through a review of literature relevant to Motivation Theory in ECI 545, strong theories emerged which indicate the importance of:
- internal attitudes
- control over learning
- setting purposes and goals
Setting Purpose through Choice
Overwhelmingly in this review of literature, student choice emerged as a factor which motivated students by setting a purpose of personal interest in the text or literacy task. To further examine this factor, I conducted research on the presence of student choice in literacy programs, including the Daily 5 Literacy Program.
An overview of this research can be seen in the following video.
Presence of Choice in Voki and Flip Camera Research
Setting purpose through choice also emerged as an essential motivating factor in my work with Flip camera and Voki technologies. While technology use was the largest factor of motivation in each of these, setting a meaningful purpose for the task, as well as helping students set their own purpose through choosing material in which they were interested were essential in the corresponding high level of motivation and engagement.
Establishing a Purpose with a Struggling Reader
The significance of a meaningful purpose emerged in another area as well, as I worked with a struggling 3rd grade reader in my reading clinic experience through ECI 645. The following report, student name withheld, describes the process of diagnosing the student's areas of difficulty and establishing focus areas for remediation. Without establishing these purposes for instruction and sharing these purposes with the parents and when appropriate, the student, such improvement in the student's reading ability would not have been possible.