Student Motivation, Academic Success, and Caretaker Involvement in Online Learning

Erin Barger

Introduction

I began teaching 6th grade science at Michigan Connections Academy, a k-12 virtual public

charter school, approximately three years ago. Teaching at a cyber school has a unique set of challenges,

but one problem that is not unique to my students is a lack of motivation and success in school. I

experienced this problem in my prior student teaching and teaching positions in brick-and-mortar

classrooms, and even watched my fellow students struggle with motivation to succeed when I was in

school. Unfortunately, many students complain that they dislike school and do not put forth their best

effort in learning and achieving good grades. In my school I see many students who are chronically

behind in their work and accumulate overdue lessons, and this leads to some students who are unable

to complete and pass their classes in time at the end of each semester. I also have some students who

chronically rush through their work, not spending adequate time reading through their daily lessons and

spending fewer than 2 minutes on their assessments that come at the end of each lesson. Other

students will take their time through lessons and assessments, but they do not take notes or study

before quizzes or tests, despite frequent teacher emphasis on completing study guides beforehand; this

often results in low or failing grades.

Of the 150 to 170 6th grade students, I have anywhere from 25 to 32 students in my homeroom

who I am responsible for. (The number of students varies throughout the year due to students enrolling

for the first three weeks of each semester until we reach our grade cap, and some students withdraw

during the semester.) I have scheduled biweekly phone calls with each homeroom student every two

weeks. Instead of over the phone I like to have the student join me in my LiveLesson room where we can

share our webcams (and other things that may be useful during our time together, such as our screens).

One focus of this time is to set goals together for what they wish to accomplish between calls. Students
who are behind or failing always have goals about catching up or improving their grades to passing.

Most often these students do not accomplish their goals, and they remain behind or failing because they

do not follow through with the action steps that were set. (These steps typically involve completing a

specific number of lessons per day to catch up, completing a study guide in order to prepare for an

upcoming test or retake a previous test, and/or revising work on a project and submit it to the teacher.)

The excuses for not following through usually involve forgetting, being too busy, having too many large

assessments in that time (such as tests and projects), or being too far behind to go back and improve

grades or spend time studying for upcoming assessments.

In Semester A of the 2017-2018 school year there were 151 students in the 6th grade who

completed the semester. 44 of those students failed at least one of their core classes (math, language

arts, science, or social studies). 11 students failed just one class, 14 students failed two classes, 9

students failed three classes, and 10 students failed all four core classes. A total of 35 students failed

Science 6 A. These numbers are staggering; in a perfect world there would be no failing students, and all

students would gain the necessary knowledge and skills to be successful in the following grade levels.

In my efforts to help these behind or failing students I have had some heart-to-heart

conversations with them. I ask them questions about why they are unsuccessful in school to see where

they are coming from, and most of the time they say they don't know, or if they do give reasons they

usually involve not liking school, wanting to spend time doing other things, and not thinking that what

school is teaching them now will be useful for them in the future. I ask them what they want to do later

in life, and attempted to help them see how their learning and success in middle school (and later

grades) will be crucial to reaching their goals. Unfortunately, I have yet to see any major differences in

my students after these conversations, though I am hopeful that someday I will.

 One common thread I have seen amongst all of my failing students (and often the chronically

behind) is the appearance of a lack of caretaker support at home. Many caretakers admit that they do

not sit with their students while they complete work to give them assistance or check on them

frequently during the day to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to do. Some caretakers

work during the day, others have younger children that they need to watch and take care of, and others

have many students who attend our school so their attention is divided (and younger students usually

demand the most attention). However, it is my belief that that most students need at least some

assistance and supervision from a caretaker or learning coach throughout the school day in order to stay

on track and be successful academically. In brick and mortar classrooms, students who spend most of

their classroom time being taught or supervised directly by the teacher have higher achievement than

those who spend most of their time working independently (Brophy, 1986, p. 1070). One could argue

that this could also be applied to students working at home, hypothesizing that students will have higher

achievement when their caretakers spend more time assisting them. Most students, especially in the

younger grade levels, do not have the necessary skills and sustained motivation to work independently

for long periods of time and correctly learn the concepts that they are supposed to learn (Brophy, 1986,

p. 1071). This concept can also be applied to online learning environments, which require even more

autonomy and self-regulation than the typical brick-and-mortar classroom (Park & Yun, 2018, p. 43-33).

Most students need to be supervised and helped throughout the day (to a certain extent) as they

complete their online coursework so that they can stay on track and learn what it is that they are

supposed to learn. If they are not being aided at all by an adult and not being checked in on, my

hypothesis is that most of my students would likely suffer academically.

The vast majority of 6th grade students are completing their work from their homes each day,

some with little to no supervision from caretakers, which is a problem, especially for students who

chronically rush through their work and fail because they don't want to spend their time doing it. From
my personal chats with students, I know of a handful that would sit around all day and watch television

and play video games if no one told them they had to complete school work. In fact, I have had students

go many school days without completing any lessons or assessments in our system, or they are

completing work but are rushing through assessments and not following instructions. When I ask

caretakers why this is happening, they sometimes say they don't know—or they are refusing to tell me

the truth. If the student wasn't sick, they usually say that they thought their student was getting stuff

done, and they are confused when I tell them that their student hasn't been completing enough work,

or they have been rushing through.

When students are struggling with grades or staying on track I make it a point to try to speak

with the caretaker(s) on a regular basis, typically once or twice per month. These conversations are

usually very disheartening. Many of these caretakers do not frequently check on their student's

progress, so they often do not know that their student is failing classes or that they are rushing through

their assessments and failing them. Most caretakers say that they are trying to help their student reduce

their overdue lessons and/or bring grades up, but from week to week the students are in the same boat,

and sometimes even worse off than before. Many caretakers are very secretive, claiming that things are

fine, regardless of their student's progress. I'll ask them to do certain things and to hold their student

accountable, and they'll just agree and say little else. It makes me wonder how highly some of these

caretakers value their student's education, and if their students hold the belief that their caretaker cares

about their learning and success in school. If students think that their caretakers don't care, maybe they

won't care. I would love to know the right things to say to these caretakers to get them to realize how

important their involvement is for their student's success.

A select few caretakers will admit that things are going poorly and they aren't sure what to do

about it. These caretakers realize that their student is struggling with motivation and will state that their
student does not like or care about school. They usually explain that they have tried certain strategies,

like taking away certain privileges until things change, or offering up some sort of reward if they can

bring their grades up, but they don't seem to make a difference. I offer up any suggestions I have of

things they have not yet tried, and also emphasize sitting next to them as much as possible while they

are doing their work, as well as requiring them to show the caretaker completed study guides before

they can take major assessments and projects before submitting them. I encourage caretakers to take a

look at their student's planner so they know what types of assessments are coming up and when, and

also to look at their grade book so they know how their student has performed on recent assessments. I

stress the importance of simply being more involved in everything their student is doing. I do not have

all the answers, and often am not sure what to tell caretakers when they come to me for help. I would

love to help those caretakers and know what to say and the right advice to give that will best help them

to motivate their students and help them be successful.

The main research questions that I am trying to answer are what are the causes behind a lack of

motivation in my students in my online course, and what are some ways in which I can help my students

become more motivated to learn the material and pass their classes? Sub-questions that are also heavily

related to my topic are what connections, if any, are there between caretaker

involvement/actions/attitudes and student motivation and success in school, and what can I do to help

the caretakers of my students who are trying to help their students succeed?

Literature Review

Student motivation in the classroom is often manifested by excitement, involvement in

activities, perseverance, effort, positive emotions, interest, and curiosity (Skinner & Belmont, 1993, p.

571-572). Studies show that when students are highly motivated and engaged in school they earn higher

grades and perform better on standardized tests (Skinner & Belmont, 1993, p. 572). When students are
disengaged they may show a lack of effort and perseverance and struggle with negative emotions such

as boredom, depression, anxiety, and anger, which could lead to behavior issues toward others in school

(Skinner & Belmont, 1993, p. 572). As educators we desire all students to learn and perform well on

assessments, but many students do struggle to be academically successful, and motivation is a key

factor that we must examine (Pintrich, 2003, p. 667).

There are many factors that can influence student motivation in school. Pintrich (2003)

described Self-Determination Theory as the belief that all humans have three basic needs that must be

met in order for motivation to be strong – competence, autonomy, and relatedness (p. 670). Studies

have shown that when students feel competent and expect to perform well on a task, they tend to work

harder and do better; believing in themselves lends to higher motivation and engagement in learning

and thinking (Pintrich, 2003, p. 671). When students are involved in decision-making in the classroom

and are provided with options and choices, students feel more in control of their learning; many studies

have supported that this autonomy is positively correlated with higher motivation in the classroom, as

well as higher academic achievement (Ames, 1992, p. 265-266; Pintrich, 2003, p. 673). Students also

want to feel like a part of a community, so positive and strong relationships with their teachers and

peers leads to higher motivation and happiness in class (Skinner & Belmont, 1993, p. 573 & 578).

Student interest is also well-known as a motivational factor for students, and tasks should

incorporate the topics and activities that students are interested in (Ames, 1992, p. 264). This concept

also relates to Expectancy-Value Theory. Pintrich (2003) described that in addition to students being

motivated and having an interest in the topic or task at hand, students need to feel that the task is

important or worth-while (p. 675). Expectancy-Value Theory consists of four parts – intrinsic interest,

utility, importance, and cost. If students are interested in the task or topic, they find it useful, they think
it is important to perform well on the task, and there will be few costs or consequences for

participation, then they will be more highly motivated to complete the task well (Pintrich, 2003, p. 675).

In addition to any of the opposing conditions above, other factors may influence students to lack

motivation in school. For example, if students know that they are going to be tested and evaluated on

their learning in a way that feels more controlling than it is informative, they are likely to lose interest in

learning (Ames, 1992, p. 265). Students often get so focused on being evaluated that they lose sight of

the actual learning, and instead they solely focus on what they will be evaluated on and find value in

nothing else (Ames, 1992, p. 265).

Student emotion can also affect motivation in school, either positively or negatively. Motivation

is negatively affected by emotions such as sadness and anxiety, but positively affected by happiness

(Lee, 2000, p. 369). Students in distress are predicted to have less interest in school (Wentzel, 1998, p.

206). If students are having a tough time with something personal, they are likely to be distracted by

those thoughts and feelings and be less worried about school.

Specifically in my context of online learning there are factors that are likely to impact student

motivation and could hinder success, such as lack of face-to-face interaction with teachers and

classmates. Students who have those positive relationships and support experience higher motivation in

school, but those who do not have a higher risk for academic difficulties and dropping out (Wentzel,

1998, p. 202-203; Lee, 2000, p. 368). Without a physical classroom and daily contact with teachers and

classmates, students often feel frustrated and isolated due to a lack of social contact and interaction

(Bai, 2003, p. 1; Lee, 2000, p. 368). In order to lessen these negative feelings, students should increase

their social presence in their classes through interacting with teachers and students regularly (Bai, 2003,

p. 4).
 After reading the above literature about ways that students may express motivation and some

things that may increase or decrease motivation, I used what I learned to inspire some questions on a

student survey that I plan to send out to students as a part of my research proposal (to be discussed in

future sections). If student emotions affect motivation, I wanted to include a question about their

general happiness, their excitement (or lack thereof) toward school and learning, whether or not they

worry about school, and whether or not they like school and specifically attending MICA. In relation to

Self-Determination Theory I am including questions about their effort and perseverance in school;

whether or not they think they are smart, have the ability to earn good grades, and expect to do well

when they try their best (competence); and whether or not they are given enough options, choices, and

opportunities to make decisions about their learning (autonomy). In relation to Expectancy-Value

Theory, I am including questions about whether students think that school knowledge, tests, and grades

are useful or important. I also included a question about learning as much as possible (not just what

they will be tested on) to see if there are students who are solely focused on what they are evaluated

on. I also included questions about their relationships with teachers and other students to see whether

or not they feel connected and a part of a community.

Parents also have a large role when it comes to influencing the motivation and achievement of

their students, partially because their constant interaction with their children impacts their self-efficacy

growth (Fan & Williams, 2010, p. 54). Fan & Williams (2010) have described self-efficacy:

Self-efficacy refers to individuals' beliefs in their ability to produce desired results as well as to

learn and perform. … This belief in one's own ability influences choice of activities and effort,

engagement in the behaviors that are necessary to attain goals, academic interest and

motivation, as well as growth of cognitive competencies and accomplished achievement. (p. 56)
Academic achievement can be predicted by self-efficacy of students since those with high self-efficacy

are likely to put forth the effort to succeed (Fan & Williams, 2010, p. 56).

Parental involvement in school also can predict student success; studies have shown that

increased parental involvement is associated with many positive benefits, such as higher performance

on assessments, gains in reading, fewer behavioral issues, higher attendance, better preparation and

course completion, and reduced dropouts (Fan & Williams, 2010, p. 54). When parents increase

involvement in their child's education and school functions, their students feel more capable (Fan &

Williams, 2010, p. 56). When students feel that their parents highly value their education and set high

standards for their success in school, they are more likely to feel more confident, engaged, and

interested in school (Fan & Williams, 2010, p. 69). Parents who communicate with the school more

frequently when it comes to benign matters show a positive correlation with self-efficacy, engagement,

and motivation in their students; however parents who communicated with the school more frequently

about issues with performance and behavior show negative correlations with self-efficacy, engagement,

and motivation (Fan & Williams, 2010, p. 69). The authors believe that this is likely due to helpful

information learned and positive conversations with students about the benign topics, but very

disheartening conversations and punishments about poor performance and behavior that lead to

students having less confidence and interest in school (Fan & Williams, 2010, p. 69).

There is, however, such a thing as parents being too involved in their children's schooling, and

more involvement does not necessarily translate to more positive results. When parents gain

information about how their student is doing and use that information to help and provide

encouragement, it increases a child's intrinsic motivation; however, when parents are overly controlling

and provide too much surveillance, it can actually weaken a student's motivation (Fan & Williams, 2010,

p. 57). For example, this could happen when parents have strict rules about earning certain grades and
put too much pressure on their students (Fan & Williams, 2010, p. 70). Certainly not all rules are bad,

though. Fan and Williams (2010) discovered that student's achievement, engagement, and motivation in

school was positively influenced by their restricted access to television time by their parents, possibly

due to spending more time on other activities related to learning (Fan & Williams, 2010, p. 70).

With the information learned above about how parental involvement can influence student

motivation, I included questions in my student survey about rewards and punishments for grades, how

much they feel their caretaker cares about grades, if their caretaker puts limits on the amount of time

they can spend with television and video games, and if their caretaker is able to help them and spends

enough time working with them. For that last question, if the student indicates that their caretaker does

not spend the right amount of time working with them, there is a free response question that asks if

their caretaker should help them more or less and why. This can give me insight into whether they feel

that their caretaker is overly controlling, which could decrease their motivation. Caretakers will receive

their own link to a different survey, and I also included questions about how often they check on their

students, what percentage of a typical workday involves them working directly with the student,

whether they think they spend enough time working with their student, whether or not they require

their students to somehow show that they are ready for assessments before taking them, and whether

or not there are rewards or punishments for grades earned. These questions will allow me to have both

student-reported and caretaker-reported results in regards to caretaker involvement in their schooling.

Research Context

Michigan Connections Academy (MICA) is a tuition-free online public charter school for

kindergarten through 12th grade. The nearly 1,700 students who attend the school live across the state

of Michigan, and the vast majority complete their schooling in their homes with the help of parents or

other caretakers who we call "learning coaches." (Any adult that assists a student with their school work
is a learning coach. Some students have learning coaches who are not a caretaker, such as a tutor or an

adult who runs their sports school/program.) Elementary and middle school students take all of their

courses through MICA and must not be enrolled in another school at the same time; however, many

high school students are encouraged to dual enroll at a local college or university and take college

courses that satisfy graduation requirements. 71% of students are white, 16% are African-American, 6%

are two or more races, 5% are Hispanic or Latino, 2% are Asian American, and less than 1% are American

Indian/Alaska Native. 40% of students are eligible for free lunch and 9% are eligible for reduced-price

lunch. 16% of students qualify for special education services. 1% of students are English Language

Learners.

MICA is a school that families must choose to attend as a school choice option. There are many

reasons why caretakers decide to enroll their students at MICA. Some families wish to school their

children at home (for personal or religious reasons), but our school provides them with teachers, a

curriculum, one computer per family, and other supplies, which takes pressure off of caretakers to do

the teaching. Other students need a flexible school schedule because they participate in intensive sports

programs, arts programs, or religious classes that require availability during the day. Some students

were bullied or caretakers do not feel safe sending their students to their local public schools, so MICA

allows them to keep their students away from danger. Many caretakers are not satisfied with the quality

of education and/or their student was not being provided with the support that they needed to succeed

in the classroom, so MICA caretakers can be more involved in their student's education. Some families

love to travel, and MICA gives them the flexibility to do school whenever and wherever, as long as they

have a computer with internet access. A number of students even have medical conditions that make

attending a brick-and-mortar school difficult or impossible. Whatever the reason caretakers have for

bringing their students to MICA, my school is highly beneficial for many; however, it is not for everyone.
 All 6th grade students at MICA are required to take Science, Language Arts, Social Studies, Math,

Art, Health & Physical Education, and Educational Technology & Online Learning. Students in the state of

Michigan are required to attend school for just under 32 hours per week, so most students should be

spending 6-7 hours per day on school work on average. Students complete 4-5 lessons per day, which is

where they gain the majority of their knowledge. Each lesson is like an interactive slideshow containing

objectives, vocabulary, videos, articles, activities, worksheets, questions to answer, and an assessment

at the end. Students are expected, but are not required, to attend hour-long whole-group LiveLessons

taught by their teachers. Most core content classes have one LiveLesson per week, Language Arts has

two, and electives are about once every other month.

LiveLessons are meant to mimic a lesson taught in a brick-and-mortar classroom and take place

in an individual teacher's LiveLesson room, which is similar to a Skype call or chat room, but with many

capabilities. LiveLessons do not have a set format (teachers have the autonomy to teach how they see

fit), but teachers typically use webcams and microphones to communicate with students, share various

forms of media (pictures, videos, music, PowerPoint presentations), share their screens, draw on white

boards, and use poll pods (multiple-choice and short answer) for students to answer questions. Students

can communicate through chat pods (where everyone can see what is typed) and Q&A pods (where only

teachers can see what is typed), and they may share webcams and/or microphones if teachers give

them rights to do so. Occasionally teachers may use breakout rooms where students can be split up into

smaller groups to complete work together, but not all teachers do this as it becomes very difficult to

make sure all students and groups are appropriately on task since you cannot be in more than one

breakout room at a time. All LiveLessons are recorded, and links are posted to the message boards for

students to view at any time. Students can also set up one-on-one help sessions with teachers, if

needed. Many students also receive intervention support for math and/or language arts.
 There are many limitations to this online setting, as we are not all in a physical classroom

together. My students lose out on opportunities to work on and discuss material in groups, and science

experiments are few and far between (as most of them can't or won't do the suggested activities in their

lessons, often due to a lack of materials). Students are completing their work outside of the watchful

eye of the teacher, which means I have no control over the speed at which they complete their

lessons/assessments, which tasks they do and do not complete within their lessons (like watching videos

or completing printable worksheets), and whether or not they take notes or take the time to review

before assessments. They are not forced to stay on pace, so I have students who are all over the place

within the curriculum. I am not able to directly teach my students each day, which means I have little

control over what they are actually learning and am not physically there to help them and answer their

questions as they are working through. I host one group LiveLesson per week, but maybe 60 out of 160

students actually come. Many of my students I have never even communicated with (outside of mass

communications sent to all students), and many ignore me when I try to reach out to them and offer

help. I often feel at a complete loss when I have struggling students because I am not physically there,

and many caretakers are also unresponsive and/or not supportive.

The participants in this study will be drawn from my 6th grade Science course, of which there are

approximately 160 students enrolled. (All 6th grade students are taking my science course, as it is

required and I am the only 6th grade science teacher.) There is no "typical" for what is taught in 6th grade

science across Michigan, as standards for science are not assigned by grade level beyond 5th, so it is up

to the discretion of each school to determine on their own which topics are taught in which middle

school grade levels; however, my current curriculum teaches energy, ecosystems, Earth and moon,

Earth's history, and Earth's interior and exterior systems. Half of my units will be changing next year to

better align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and to make sure all middle school

science standards are covered in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade at MICA. Currently they are not all covered.
 My students are typically 11 or 12 years old, but could be as young as 10 and as old as 13.

Approximately half are girls and half are boys. They have a very wide range of academic abilities and

challenges—varying reading and math levels, a lack of note-taking and study skills, lack of

computer/technological skills, and learning disabilities to name a few. Many new students enroll at

MICA at the beginning of each semester and have never taken online classes before, which adds another

challenge, as there is a learning curve when joining our program. A student's home life is a very large

factor for student success at our online school, and many students have challenges in that area, as

well—students who lack parental support and discipline, who don't have consistent access to internet or

a working computer, who have to share a computer with siblings, whose parents are divorced or going

through one, who had a recent death or trauma in the family, or who are dealing with depression come

to mind first. I talk to caretakers of students in my homeroom frequently who explain the struggles that

my students are having and that they can sometimes interfere with completing school work.

The students who participate in my study will be all who are willing and able to complete online

surveys that I send out and/or be interviewed by me about the research topic. The timeframe of my

study will likely last 1 – 2 months, depending on the length of time required for me to gather sufficient

data.

Research Methods

In order to gather data to answer my questions I will be using data from student grade books,

results from surveys, and interviews that I conduct after receiving survey results. I will be able to gauge

the success of my students in school through examining their grade books, which students, caretakers,

and teachers have access to at any time. In a student's grade book I can see their current score and

lesson completion in each class, as well as an overall percentage. If I click on any of their seven classes I

can see detailed information for every assessment they have completed, including their score,
assessment questions, their answers/work, any teacher feedback, how long it took them to complete (if

it is a quick check, quiz, or test), and the time stamp for when they submitted it. I can also see a general

breakdown of their average score for each type of assessment in the grade book (test, quiz, portfolio

item, quick check, and discussion board). I can also look at my whole class grade book to easily organize

students by score and lesson completion. Those students who are failing and/or far behind in their

lessons would be considered unsuccessful and likely to struggle with motivation.

I will be sending out optional electronic surveys to the caretakers and students of my 6th grade

class. I will webmail separate links to caretakers and students, as the questions on their respective

surveys are different, though related. I will kindly request that they each complete the survey

individually, and specifically ask caretakers to hold their students accountable for completing their own

survey, as well. I will request that they complete the survey within 2 weeks of the sent date, and I will

send out the survey links at least twice more within that time period. I will also be checking in with my

homeroom students during our biweekly calls and asking any who have not yet completed it to please

do so, likely getting them started with it before we end our call. I will ask the other 6th grade teachers to

also ask caretakers and students about the survey during their biweekly calls.

The surveys include questions that aim to determine the frequency of activities that typically

make caretakers and students successful in our online environment, what they think the source of their

student’s motivation (or lack of motivation) is, what they do and how they feel when an assignment is

failed, and if there are consequences for failing grades in classes or on assessments. There will also be

some questions related to how much caretakers care about their student’s success in school and how

they convey that to their students, and how their students feel about how much their caretakers care

and why. The surveys will include questions that caretakers and students will answer on a Likert or
Likert-like scale, as well as long-answer questions where they can provide written answers or

explanations for choices.

After the two week time is up I will take time to read through and examine the results of the

surveys. I will then reach out to schedule interviews with caretakers and students that had particularly

interesting survey results, especially those who are at opposite ends of the spectrum of motivation and

success. (I may also choose to contact families who did not answer my survey but who are known to be

less motivated in school.) I will interview caretaker and student separately in my LiveLesson room where

I can record them. I will take detailed notes during the interviews but can use the recordings for later

reference. My questions will focus on getting additional information beyond what was provided within

the survey and asking for clarification if responses were confusing. Interviewing students will be

especially helpful because some students will likely not take the time to think through and type out

detailed explanations of their answers. I can use this as an opportunity to dig deeper with them and

really have them think about and explain their thoughts and feelings about school.

Analysis

The analysis of my survey results will begin with "scoring" student results based on their

responses to the Likert-like scale questions. On the student survey every question was phrased in a way

that a score of 5 (strongly agree) would indicate high motivation (or a characteristic or attitude that

would likely cause a student to be more motivated), and a score of 1 (strongly disagree) would indicate

low motivation (or a characteristic or attitude that would likely cause a student to be less motivated). By

adding up all of the answers for each student it can give me a "motivation score." Students that have a

higher score would be more highly motivated in school, and students with lower scores would be less

motivated in school. I would then compare these scores to each student's current overall grade and

make a scatter plot of the data and drawing a line of best fit to see if there is any correlation between
motivation score and student grades. This will allow me to see for myself if overall motivation in my

students leads to higher achievement, as the literature that I have read suggests that it would.

Next, I will create scatter plots for each individual question that student were asked, placing

student responses (1-5) on the y-axis and their current overall grade on the x-axis, also drawing a line of

best fit to look for correlations. Any graph with a strong positive correlation would indicate that the

topic addressed in the question is important for student success, and provide answers to my questions

about why students might have low motivation and/or perform poorly in their courses. I can do the

same for any Likert-like scale questions (or other questions with a numerical scale) that caretakers were

asked, plotting response on scatter plots. I would actually make two scatter plots per question—the y-

axis would be the parent response on both, but one plot would have student overall grade on the x-axis

and the other plot would have student "motivation scores." Strong positive correlations with a line of

best fit would indicate that the topic addressed in the question is important for student success and/or

motivation. I would also pay close attention to the questions related to frequency of helping and

checking in on students (numbers 4-10, see Appendix B) to see if there is a trend of certain activities in

higher frequencies leading to lower student motivation and/or lower overall grades. This could indicate

an "ideal" amount of parental involvement, avoiding too much or too little.

I will also want to compare the specific answers between caretaker and matching child, making

note of specific similarities and differences in responses on related questions—for example, do both

student and caretaker think that they spend enough time working together on school for the student to

be successful? Do both student and caretaker think that the student is smart and capable of earning

high grades in school? Any strong differences between student and parent responses may be reason to

set up interviews with them to dig deeper.

 For the free response questions on student and caretaker surveys, I will group answers into

categories based on similarities of responses. I can make bar graphs for each question, adding a bar for

each type of answer and indicate the frequency of that answer being given by the bar height. The

written responses will help me gain insight into why students are motivated or unmotivated, what could

possibly be done to help motivate them, and what parents do when their students are successful or

unsuccessful. Many of the caretaker questions ask them to choose whether or not their student has

failed an assessment, had a failing grade in a class, or fallen behind in their work this year. Caretakers

who indicate that their student has had any of those issues can explain why they think that happened

and what they have tried to do to remedy the situation. Caretakers who indicate that their student has

not had any of those issues can explain why they think that has been prevented, including what they

personally do that may help prevent it. With this knowledge I can work toward answering my questions

of what can be done to help students be motivated and successful, including what parents can

specifically do to help.

My interview notes will be analyzed to specifically search for answers to my research questions.

I will be digging for the sources of motivation for my students (or lack thereof), what they think could

help them to become more motivated in school or what could help them to be more successful

academically, and what parents can do to foster motivation and academic success in their students.
 References

Ames, C. (1992). Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation. Journal of Educational

Psychology, 84(3), 261-271. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.84.3.261

Bai, H. (2003). Student motivation and social presence in online learning: Implications for future

research. In C. Crawford, N. Davis, J. Price, R. Webter & D. Willis (Eds.), Proceedings of SITE

2003—Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp.

2714-2720). Albequerque, New Mexico, USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in

Education (AACE). Retrieved February 1, 2018 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/18542/.

Brophy, J. (1986). Teacher influences on student achievement. American Psychologist, 41(10), 1069-

1077. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.41.10.1069

Fan, W., & Williams, C. M. (2010). The effects of parental involvement on students' academic self-

efficacy, engagement and intrinsic motivation. Educational Psychology, 30(1), 53-74.

doi:10.1080/01443410903353302

Lee, C. (2000). Student motivation in the online learning environment. Journal of Educational Media &

Library Sciences, 37(4), 367-375. Retrieved from

http://coreylee.me/en/publications/2000_Student_motivation.pdf

Park, S., & Yun, H. (2018). The influence of motivational regulation strategies on online students'

behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. American Journal of Distance Education,

32(1), 43-56. doi:10.1080/08923647.2018.1412738

Pintrich, P. R. (2003). A motivational science perspective on the role of student motivation in learning

and teaching contexts. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(4), 667-686. doi: 10.1037/0022-

0663.95.4.667

Skinner, E. A., & Belmont, M. J. (1993). Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher
 behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of Educational Psychology,

85(4), 571-581. doi:10.1037//0022-0663.85.4.571

Wentzel, K. R. (1998). Social relationships and motivation in middle school: The role of parents, teachers,

and peers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(2), 202-209. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.90.2.202

 Appendix A, Student Survey Questions

Below is the list of questions that will be included in the student survey sent out to my 6th grade
students. The survey results will give me insight into their enjoyment of school and learning, motivation,
perceived academic ability, perceived learning coach attitude/involvement, and perceived teacher
attitudes.

The survey will be given as a Google Form. Unless otherwise noted, students will choose where they fit
on a scale of 1 to 5 for each statement, 1 being Strongly Disagree and 5 being Strongly Agree. For
questions 2 and 13 students will be presented with a free response question depending on how they
answered the previous question.

1. Free response: What is your first and last name?

2. I am happy most of the time.
3. School is exciting.
4. I do not worry about school.
5. I like school.
a. Free response (if Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral): Why do you like school? (List as many
reasons as you can think of.)
b. Free response (if Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral): Why do you dislike school? (List as
many reasons as you can think of.)
6. I am happy that I attend MICA (instead of a different school option).
7. I like learning new things.
8. I try hard in school.
9. I am smart.
10. I have the ability to earn high grades (A's and B's).
11. I expect to perform well on tasks as long as I try my best.
12. If something in school is hard for me, I keep working until I get it right.
13. I am given enough options and choices for my learning.
14. I am involved in making decisions for my learning.
15. The skills and knowledge I learn in school are useful or important.
16. I try to learn everything I can, not just what I will be tested on.
17. Tests are useful or important so that I can show myself, my teachers, and my caretakers what I have
learned.
18. It is important for me to earn good grades.
a. Free response (if Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral): Why are good grades important to you?
b. Free response (if Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral): Why aren't good grades important to
you?
19. I will be rewarded for earning good grades.
20. I will be punished for earning bad grades.
21. My learning coach cares about my grades.
22. My learning coach is able to help me when I need it.
23. My learning coach spends the right amount of time working with me and helping me (not too much,
not too little).
a. Free response (if Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral): Do you think your learning coach
should help you more or less? Why do you think so?
24. My learning coach puts limits or restrictions on how much time I can spend watching television
and/or playing video games.
25. My teachers care about me.
26. My teachers are willing and able to help me.
27. I have strong relationships with my teachers.
28. I have strong relationships with other students at MICA.
29. I feel like I am a part of a community.
30. Would you be willing to talk with me over the phone or in LiveLesson about this survey? (Yes/No)
31. Free response: Is there anything else you would like me to know?
 Appendix B, Caretaker Survey Questions

Below is the list of questions that will be included in the survey sent out to the caretakers and learning
coaches of my 6th grade students. The survey results will give me insight into their involvement in their
student's education, confidence in helping their student, reactions to failing grades and being behind,
rewards for high grades, and their ideas for where their student's motivation (or lack of motivation)
stems from.

The survey will be given as a Google Form. Most questions will include a Likert-type scale indicating their
agreement or frequency. There are also many free response items where caretakers are asked to type
out an answer, some of which are different based on how they respond to the previous question.

1. Free response: What is your first and last name?

2. Free response: What is the first and last name of your 6th grade student?
3. On average, how many hours does your student spend on school each weekday? (Options 1-9)
4. How often do you check in on your student as they complete school work each day?
5. I require my student to check with me before starting and/or submitting an assessment.
6. I discuss lesson content with my student before marking a lesson as complete.
7. I require my student to complete and show me study guides before taking tests and quizzes.
8. I require my student to attend LiveLessons (or watch the recordings later).
9. How often does your student ask you to help them with their school work each day?
10. What percentage of a typical school day involves you working directly with your student? (Options
0-20%, 21-40%, 41-60%, 61-80%, 81-100%)
11. The amount of time that I spend working with my student is enough to help them be successful.
12. I feel confident in helping my student navigate Connexus.
13. I feel confident in helping my student with programs/tasks on their computer (examples: Microsoft
Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, organizing documents in folders)
14. I feel confident in helping my student complete their lessons well.
15. I know what my student needs to do in order to earn good grades.
16. I know how to help my student be successful.
17. My student is smart.
18. My student is capable of earning A's and B's in school.
19. How often do you usually check your student's grade book? (Options: Less than once per week,
Once or twice per week, Three or four times per week, Once or more per day)
20. Has your student failed a quiz, test, portfolio, or discussion this year? (Yes/No)
a. Free response (if "Yes"): Why do you think your student failed the assessment(s)? What do
you do when your student fails an assessment? Is there anything that you have tried to help
prevent this from occurring in the future? Has it worked?
b. Free response (if "No"): Why do you think your student does not fail assessments? Is there
anything that you do to prevent this?
21. Has your student had a failing grade in a class at any point this year? (Yes/No)
 a. Free response (if "Yes"): What do you do when your student is failing a class? What, if
anything, do you do to help them improve their grade? Is there anything that you have tried
to help prevent this from occurring in the future? Has it worked?
b. Free response (if "No"): Why do you think your student does not have failing grades in their
classes? Is there anything that you do to prevent this?
22. Free response: Are there consequences for your student if they fail an assessment or have a failing
grade in a class? If so, what are they? Is your student aware of these consequences?
23. Free response: Are there any rewards for your student if they earn high grades on assessments or in
classes? If so, what are they? Is your student aware of these rewards?
24. Has your student had more than 5 overdue lessons at any point this year? (Yes/No)
a. Free response (if "Yes"): What do you do when your student is behind in their lessons? Is
there anything that you have tried to help them catch up? Has it worked? Is there anything
that you have tried to help prevent them from falling behind in the future? Has it worked?
b. Free response (if "No"): Why do you think your student has not fallen behind in their
lessons? Is there anything that you do to prevent this from happening?
25. Free response: How do you show your student that you care about their learning and their grades?
26. Would you say that your student is motivated to do well in school? (Yes/No)
a. Free response (if "Yes"): What do you think is/are the source(s) of your student's
motivation?
b. Free response (if "No"): Why do you think that your student is unmotivated?
27. Would you be willing to talk to me over the phone or in LiveLesson about this survey? (Yes/No)
28. Has your student taken my student survey? (Options: Yes/No, but I will have them take it
soon/Unsure)
29. Free response: Is there anything you would like to add about the topics of this survey?