When I started teaching back in 1999, I had a problem. As students finished their final assignments in my educational psychology courses and went off to become teachers, they were pretty good at spouting the main points of contemporary motivation theories and some of the associated teaching strategies. But when it came to deciding which motivational strategies to use as a teacher, they struggled because their knowledge was fragmented into separate, sometimes conflicting, theories.
There had to be a better way for them to apply theory to practice.
That challenge sparked a 10-year journey that led to the MUSIC model of motivation. It wasn’t something I set out to invent. I just wanted to make the research usable. After digging into the research and trying different approaches with students and teachers, I realised that motivational strategies could be grouped into five broad categories. To be clear, I didn’t create new motivation theories; I simply organised motivational strategies from these theories into a framework teachers could use.
What is the model of motivation?
Underlying the model is the basic premise that motivation isn’t fixed; it’s shaped. And we, as instructors, have more influence than we think. MUSIC aligns the course motivational climate with five core principles that drive motivation. When these elements are present, students lean in; when they’re absent, even the best content can fall flat.
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Briefly put, MUSIC stands for:
- eMpowerment: students feel they have choice and control
- Usefulness: they believe the work matters for their goals, now or later
- Success: they believe they can succeed, even as they are challenged
- Interest: they find the activities stimulating and enjoyable, and their curiosity is piqued
- Caring: they feel their instructor and other students care about them and their learning.
When students perceive these five things in their learning environment, they’re motivated. It’s not a magic trick. It’s good design.
Where do educators start?
Educators can take this approach one step at a time. To start, identify where your students’ MUSIC perceptions might be lagging. You can do this informally – just ask them about their MUSIC perceptions and pay attention during class to see when students become disengaged. Or you can survey students. We have free questionnaires available online that ask questions about all five MUSIC components.
If you find that students don’t perceive your course as useful, you can work on that aspect of the MUSIC model. A perceived lack of usefulness is common in electives and general education classes. Start there. Help them connect the material to real-world problems or their career goals. In a history class, for example, you could use a news headline describing how engineers dug into an ancient burial site and had to stop construction. What are the ethical implications for the progress of this construction project? Suddenly, history is more relevant to engineering majors.
Or maybe empowerment scores are low. Students feel as if they have no say. Adding choice doesn’t mean rewriting your syllabus. It can be as simple as letting them choose among a couple of assignment options. In an animal science course, you might give students a choice of anatomy cases: one with a small animal and one with a large animal. Both can teach the same principles, but students select the one that resonates with them. That small tweak can increase empowerment – and, as a bonus, make the class feel more interesting and relevant to their careers.
What else should educators know about motivating students?
Here’s what I’ve seen in my own courses and with instructors who’ve adopted this motivation model.
- Course policies matter: Consider how your policies affect students’ MUSIC perceptions. For example, strict late penalties that make students feel overly controlled or doomed after one misstep can undermine their empowerment and success perceptions. A more flexible policy – say, a 24-hour grace period or a limited number of “late passes” – keeps expectations high but fair.
- Assignments can multitask: A single assignment can affect multiple MUSIC components. One instructor gave students the choice of creating a podcast or writing an essay. The podcast required students to practise their writing skills in ways similar to writing essays (it was useful), but it also offered creative choice (empowerment) and was more interesting because it was novel.
- Relationships are critical: Students who believe you care about them will often work harder. Seeding this sentiment can be as simple as learning names, following up when someone misses class, or chatting with them before or after class.
The best part? These changes often reinforce each other. Give students a choice, and they pick something more interesting. Show you care, and they’re more willing to take on challenges and feel successful.
What happens next?
Next, revise as you go to hone your use of the model. Using the model isn’t about a one-time fix. I use it intentionally, with purposeful design, every semester, even after 25 years of teaching. Before a course starts, I ask: how am I addressing each component? During the term, I check in: what’s working? What’s not? And I adjust. Sometimes I don’t implement everything I’d like because practicality matters, too. Maybe I don’t have time to give students a choice of, say, the type of final exam they prefer. That’s OK. Small changes in other aspects of the course add up to build a positive motivational climate.
The MUSIC model is used in more than 45 countries and counting, and we’ve recently been asked by the World Education Research Association to put together an international research network, with people in 35 countries who have already signed up. Why? Because it works, it costs nothing, and it’s simple enough to apply in real classrooms. You don’t need a grant or a semester of training. Just start with one question: Which part of MUSIC could make the biggest difference for my students right now? Then try one change. See what happens and build on that.
Motivating students isn’t about instructor charisma or gimmicks. It’s about creating a motivational climate where students feel empowered, find the material useful, believe they can succeed, and are stimulated in a caring environment.
Brett D. Jones is a professor in the educational psychology programme in the School of Education at Virginia Tech.
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