Consider the theories of motivation that we discussed in class. Which theories of motivations are most helpful and instructive to you? How can they enhance motivation and affect your students?
The motivational theories I consider most helpful to me as an individual and as a future teacher include: Humanistic theory, Expectancy versus Value theory, and Goal theory.
Being a Psychology major, I am familiar with Humanistic theory. Maslow theorizes on human motivation through the concept referred to as "Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs." In this theory, Maslow proposes that humans move through a heirarchy of needs. These needs include: physiological needs, safety needs, love/belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. Under this theory, humans are motivated to move higher up on the heirarchy only if the need just below is already met. For example, if an individual does not experience love or a sense of belongingness, then he or she will experience esteem/confidence issues. As a future teacher, I certainly want to keep this theory fresh in my mind. According to this theory, problems with self-esteem can inhibit self-actualizing concepts such as creativity, morality, problem-solving, etc. Therefore, if one of my future students has a low self-esteem, he might experience academic and social difficulties. This theory helps me understand that not all academic difficulties result from laziness, potential disabilities, or behavior problems. I must do all that I can to ensure that my students' basic needs are met.
In addition to Humanistic Motivational theory, I also found the Expectancy vs. Value theory interesting and valuable as an individual and as a future educator. According to this theory, two factors determine motivation, expectancy and value. I find this theory perfectly applicable to my life and my motivational tendencies. Last semester, my favorite class was Geography of South America. I adored the course and knew exactly what I needed to do to prepare for the final exam (I had completed two other tests in the course, I knew what to expect). If I adequately prepared for the test, I knew that I would perform well (I had a high expectation of success). I found the course material interesting and valuable (I wanted to know more about South America to be a more knowledgable, informed person). In this situation, I was highly motivated to perform well on the test and I had a lot of confidence going into this task. Sure enough, I did great! However, when I have lower expectations of success at a task and when I see little value in a task, I am less motivated to prepare adequately and less likely to enter into the task with confidence. Understanding the Expectancy vs. Value theory will help me immensely as a future educator. In presenting a task to my students, I must enstill in them a high expectation of success and I must enable them to see the value in the task. Then, according to this theory, I will have a classroom full of highly motivated students!
The third and final theory that I would like to address is Goal Theory. In class last week, I learned that goals greatly affect motivation. In discussing this theory, I would like to focus on performance goals and learning goals. Quite simply, Performance goals are goals based on performance. An example of a performance goal might be "I want to get an A in this course." Performance goals have to do with competence. In contrast, the intention of "learning goals" is to learn rather than perform. An example of a learning goal that I had last semester was "I want to learn all about the countries of South America because I find South America an intriguing, complex, and beautiful continent." Goals that are "learning-focused" are ideal. These goals foster long-term, deep learning and understanding of concepts, facts, ideas, etc. As a future educator, I want children to see the intrinsic value of learning the course content. However, I also recognize the benefits of performance goals. Performance goals can provide students with incentives to learn even when they fail to recognize the intrinsic value in a task. Goal theory is directly applicable to education, I am so glad that I have a better understanding of this motivational theory.
In researching motivation in children, I came across an article titled, “Raising Self-Motivated Children.” This article is based off of the book, Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning, by Kathy Seal. In this article, Seal emphasizes meaningful learning. Seal stresses the importance of helping children to see the inherent value in learning tasks. Children must be able to connect and apply course content to their lives. In this article, Seal indirectly supports aspects of both Expectancy vs. Value theory and Goal theory as they relate to motivation in elementary school students!
For my followers, I promise not all my posts will be this long. I wasn't sure how to go about this first major post, I'm sorry!
I really like the statement you made about how making sure that your students' basic needs are met plays an important role in their motivation. I think you are correct in that many teachers assume that a child is being lazy, has a learning disability, or has behavioral issues when they are showing academic difficulties. It is important as a teacher to look at all possible reasons why a student may be having academic difficulties and not just assume the first thing, and most common thing, that comes to our mind. Self-esteem is a HUGE factor in motivation and teachers need to have an adequate understanding of this very important factor.
ReplyDeleteI also talked about the Expectancy versus Value Theory and the Goal Theory in my post this week. These two theories are the ones I can most relate to and are also the ones I find very important in my future as a teacher. To me, these theories play a vital part in one's motivation.
I think you found an awesome link to relate this week's topic to. Seeing value in a task is important in students' motivation to learn. One most find a behavior or subject area has importance, utility, interest, or cost in order for it to have some type of value to them.
I used the same article! I like the way you applied the humanistic theory to teaching. I think a lot of times teachers are so focused on fitting everything in that they can lose sight of the children sitting in front of them. A child's emotional needs play a really big part in how they perform in school, so I love how you pointed out the importance of finding the root of the issue and helping students in all areas of life.
ReplyDeleteGreat article! And great analysis of the theories. I think you really did a great job applying them to your life and your future practice.
ReplyDeleteI love how much of the information from the psych classes that we take (as psych majors) can be applied to education. I think relating Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a great idea because it is applicable to children in the classroom. If a kid isn't eating at home, it is super unlikely that they will care about learning times tables. I think that as a teacher it is important for us to take into consideration the home lives of the students in out classrooms, and understand that we can be more than knowledge providers.
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