“That’s
one of the great things about music. You can sing a song to 85,000 people and
they’ll sing it back for 85,000 reasons” – Dave Grohl, of Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures and (formally) Nirvana fame
 |
| Look at those smiling, motivated students! Too bad they're all actors. |
Turns out. motivation is a part of a person’s biological make-up! How motivated you are depends on your focus on the future and
is constantly being self-monitored and self-evaluted (1). I don't know if that takes the pressure off of a person, or piles a dump truck more on you...
Don't worry, Teach, there is things you can do to help your students become more motivated! Although biological inclinations toward motivation are outside
of a teacher’s control, creating the "correct setting" can change motivational patterns (1). If you create a supportive classroom environment that fuels a student's internal belief that they can meet their goals, their motivation to work towards that goal will be very strong (1).
The good news is that fandom is naturally motivating. It is wholly formed by readers who, without pressure of
performance or expectation, go out and are simple create out of their love of
a book/tv show/ movie, etc. If that's not an act of passion, I don't know what is! It is the work that a person would do regardless, and in most cases, most dedicate their time to writing fanfictions instead of doing the project they
were assigned (teachers take note!). As many individuals could attest to, it’s almost like they are
compelled to do it – it’s too fun not
to do it right then and there. Children write all the time (2)! In fact, according to the Pew Interest and American Life Project, 93% of
teens they surveyed “wrote for personal reasons, or just for fun outside of
school” (3)!
So, why
will teens write freely but groan at the thought of writing for school?
Audience may have a large role to play in this phenomenon. I think Laura (name
changed), a teenage student interviewed about the writing she has to do in school, said it best: “I think the problem with
[school] writing is it wasn’t story telling at all. It was just regurgitation
of facts, or it was analysis of stories that were already there… I’m just doing
this because I’m trying to demonstrate I was listening to you, and I’m
demonstrating mastery of the material you just taught me” (4).
The assignments Laura
described, while chosen strategically by her teacher to meet curriculum
guidelines, many not have been the most engaging methods, because not only is
the task tedious (regurgitating facts) completing just to demonstrate understanding,
the demonstration not just coming naturally out of the activity, etc) the only
audience will be her teacher, who will be grading it, from a position of
superiority, not enjoyment, and responding to the work on an equal level. The
subculture community aspect of Fandom is what post people find most appealing
about creatively contributing to it. You can find a group of people who love
the same things you do and create something that you know they are going to
appreciate. And the best thing is that they will let you know directly through comments, messages and posts. It's not just your teacher looking for perfect punctuation - it's a group of people who want to dive back into their favourite world with you.
All fanfiction
sites allow for readers to post comments on stories and send messages to other
users. While this has the potential to be used in a negative way, as is
fostered by the safety in anonymity that the internet can offer, often the
comments are genuine, encouraging and appreciative of the author’s hard work
(4). Such comments are a form of “short term
feedback,” which strongly boost self agency and promote motivation.
Children need to publish and share their work. Fanfiction sites, an online publishing option, are free to join and easy to use. Through publishing children get to identify themselves as writers and authors, something that was previously reserved for only the eliete few selected by publishing companies.
Indeed,
this sense of pride in publishing has been found in other forms of media. In a follow up interview with students who created Readers Theatre podcasts that were then published online, a student "noted
that recording the scripts and then listening to them was powerful because it’s
like “being real” (7). Publishing gives students a chance to see
themselves as writers, artists, musicians, a real world, adult position, no
longer just students. They get to put their hard work online where people unrelated to their family, friend or school circles could find it and appreciate it. That is exciting and motivates you to do more. Children today are especially aware of the power of the internet to spark "big breaks": They watch it happen to the vloggers they love on YouTube and hear about it on facebook news feeds. This is an exciting and powerful tool they have access to like no generation before.
In conclusion, by publishing and providing an audience and a chance for frequent response, fanfiction sites are online environments that foster a writer's motivation to create. This
supportive, motivating environment will be reflected in literacy rates – an
engaged, rewarding and challenging relationship with a work of fiction creates
a positive association between students and reading. Motivation “manifests
itself within the amount of reading completed by a student” (9)
Sources:
(1) Putman & Walker, 2010, p. 141
(2) Oldfather, 1993, p. 11
(4) Lammers & Marsh, 2015, p. 277 (interview conducted June 19, 2014)
(5) Graves, 2004, p. 9
(6) Tossenberger, 2008, p. 186
(7) Vasinada & McLeod, 2011, p. 494
(8) Putman & Walkers, 2010
(9) Fawson & Moore, 1999; Pavonetti, Brummer & Cipielewski, 2002; Taylor, Frye & Maruyama, 1999, as cited in Putman & Walker, 2010, p. 142
