QTC #3

From the different motivational theories listed, I believe that I personally relate to the social cognitive theory, which states that people begin being motivated largely by consequences that follow a behavior, but eventually their motivation comes from within.  As a learner, I find myself being motivated by my own personal goals that I set.  I write a lot of to-do lists for myself that I find very motivating.  I believe that these lists could be very helpful for myself as a teacher as well as for my students.  For example, I could have goals set in the form of a to-do list for my teaching that day.  I will word the goals in an informative manner to assist in motivating students that way.  These will be written in “I can” statements for the students.  By writing these goals as “I can” statements, the students will come into the assignment with a positive attitude and the knowledge that they are able to accomplish this goal I set for them.  I will also write these goals with a couple different options.  Giving students opportunities to make choices for themselves is another factor in motivation.  Some of these choices can simply be giving students a chance to select the order that tasks are completed or allowing them to pick their own book to read.  Giving choices will help with motivating students because it is more likely that they will be interested in what they are doing if they are able to make these decisions on their own. 

Outside of this motivational theory, I find it very important to motivate students by providing them with positive reinforcement.  The best positive reinforcement, in my opinion, is to verbally praise students for their good work.  This is very motivating for me as a student, and I want to bring this into my classroom as well.