Autonomy-Supportive Teaching and Classroom Environments: The Key to Student Motivation

• In Event: Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Engaging and Supporting Student Learning in Middle School

Abstract

A teacher’s style, practice, and behavior converge to create a unique dynamic within the classroom impacting student engagement. Furthermore, students’ emotional and motivational experiences influence their attitudes and behavior, affecting engagement. The purpose of this review of literature was to identify and synthesize research regarding the ways teachers create autonomy-supportive classrooms, and how this affects students academically and psychologically. Using a lens of Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), I identified teachers’ style, behaviors, and instructional practices influencing students’ motivation and engagement. Understanding the possible correlation between autonomy support, engagement and affect during middle school is significant because the adoption of autonomy-supportive strategies might impede students’ loss of engagement and increased disaffection, effecting academic and psychological growth.

Author

• Kathleen Marie Alley, University of South Florida