Teaching Today A Practical Guide Fourth Edition - part 2

Motivation Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Maslow, a humanist psychologist, and one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century, has explained ‘human nature’ in one simple model. He suggested that there are universal, instinct-like needs, which every human being strives to satisfy. Almost all human activity can be seen in terms of these needs. Maslow gives the needs a hierarchical order. Those needs at the bottom of the diagram overleaf are of greatest importance. A need towards the top would only be of importance to someone if the needs lower down were already largely satis-fied. For example, a researcher observing a gang noticed that one of its members, who was a very good bowler, deliberately lowered the standard of his game when he played cricket with his gang. He didn’t want to humiliate his friends by getting them all out first ball. His need for belonging was greater than his need to boost his self-esteem. Although we are not fully aware of these needs, they are rather like mental vitamins; if we are denied them, we can never be fully mentally healthy. Maslow observed that if we feel deficient in any of these needs, then problematic behaviour, such as that described on the left of the diagram, often results. If the needs are met, mentally healthy behaviour results, as shown on the right of the diagram. It is very important to realise that there are no substitutes for these needs, and only gratification of the need can prevent deficiency-type behaviours. For example, when I was a novice teacher I used to ‘tell off’ students who were attention-seeking or showing off. Then I was advised to give them more praise for attention to task, and give them conspicuous or responsible tasks to do in class in order to raise their self-esteem. I was surprised at this advice – but it worked! If the two lower needs are largely met for your students, then you can harness Maslow’s needs by making sure that: • All students feel valued, accepted and included, at least by you the teacher; and that a group ethos is developed. There is also an opportunity for group work (belonging needs). • All students experience success, and get praise and other reinforcement. There are opportunities for students to gain respect from you and other learners (esteem needs). • Routine tasks sometimes make way for choice, creative work and other opportunities for students to express their individuality and explore their own interests. You foster curiosity and opportunities for students to think for themselves (self-actualisation needs). Maslow showed that there is only one way of motivating your students. And that is to ensure that your students’ belongingness, esteem and self-actualisation needs are nourished through the learning activities you devise. These are the only ‘go buttons’. 55 The learner’s practical and emotional needs If the need is not met the student feels . . . • restless and bored, with a lack of zest for life • life is meaningless, boring and without purpose • a tendency to avoid growth and development • listless • fearful of criticism • fearful of failure and of risks, e.g. fear of new situations or learning activities • fearful, frustrated or angry toward those who withhold respect, e.g. a teacher, school or college • envy and bitterness Persistent thwarting leads to neurotic compensation, e.g. • chronic showing off, attention-seeking, arrogance • shyness and withdrawal • lonely, rejected and rootless • strong conformity to group norms • dislike or hostility towards out-groups Persistent thwarting leads to neurotic compensation, e.g. • maladjustment and hostility • or withdrawal • anxiety, dread • fight-and-flight behaviour • craving for food, water, etc. Needs The self-actualisation needs To make actual what one is potentially. Personal growth and development by following one’s own passsions and interests. Self-expression, creative action, need to search for identity and meaning in life. The esteem needs Self-esteem: desire for achievement, strength and confidence; adequacy: to be able to cope by oneself. Respect: desire for recognition, reputation, prestige, status and dignity. The belongingness and love needs The need to give and receive love and affection. To belong, to have roots. The safety needs Freedom from pain and injury, security, stability, etc. The physiological needs Food, water, air, etc. If the need is met the student feels . . . • a desire to grow and develop in the direction of their higher values • creative, positive and energetic • unselfish desire to make a useful contribution • curious and open to new experiences • a desire to think for themselves • a growing sence of identity • self-confident, content • self-belief and self-respect • prepared to take risks and try something new, e.g. to learn • cooperative, generous and kindly • esteem needs lessen and higher needs take their place • they can love themselves, and others • they can trust friends and loved ones, and give them freedom • these needs lessen and higher needs take their place • physical security • safety needs lessen and higher needs take their place • no physiological craving • these needs die away and higher needs take their place Maslow’s hierarchy of needs Some teachers think motivation is an end in itself, but it benefits learning because it increases attention to the learning task, mental effort and perseverance in the face of difficulty. If a classroom is noisy and distracting, students may find it difficult to achieve attention, effort and perseverance, despite being motivated. Passive and active learners – learners taking responsibility for learning We have seen that learning is not something done to students, but something students 56 do to themselves. But many students, especially poor learners, seem genuinely to Motivation believe that in order to learn, all they need do is attend classes and carry out the activ-ities more or less willingly. They then expect that learning will follow automatically. This ‘passive learner’ approach is described in more detail in the box overleaf. Look carefully at the box describing active and passive learners. How can we make our students into ‘active learners’? You must encourage your students to realise that they must teach themselves with your help (not sit back and expect to pick it up by osmosis!). It is often worth talking one-to-one with passive learners to encourage them to take more responsibility for their learning. You can encourage your students to become active learners by: • discussing the active and passive learning approaches with your students, • encouraging students to assess their own work and their own learning • asking students to set themselves targets • asking searching and puzzling questions as part of your teaching • avoiding the use of over-controlling ‘recipe’ style worksheets and activities • getting students to make their own understandings by the use of the question- ing teaching method (Chapter 14) • getting students to think for themselves – for example, with group work, discussion and the guided discovery method (Chapters 18 and 29). And perhaps most systematically by: • independent learning, where students take full responsibility for learning small sections of the course (Chapter 33) • mastery learning, where students must pass frequent tests or retests (Chapter 43) • self-directed learning, where learners take control and responsibility by evalu-ating their own performance, and then striving to improve it to meet their own needs (Chapter 34) • adopting the facilitating approach (Chapter 10). Giving the problem to the student You can encourage students to take responsibility for their learning by giving the problem to the student. Here is an example: ‘How do you find doing your lab reports, Peter?’ ‘Oh. Alright I suppose.’ ‘What do you find most difficult about them?’ ‘The conclusion bit, Miss.’ ‘Yes, lots of people find conclusions hard. So what are you going to do to improve them?’ The technique is first to ask for self-evaluation. If the student does not volun-teer a problem, then ask a problem-finding question, such as, ‘What do you find most difficult?’ Then, when you have found the problem, give it to the student by asking, ‘What are you going to do about it?’ 57 The learner’s practical and emotional needs There are two types of learner: Active learner Learning is something I do to myself … So success or failure depends on me. Passive learner Learning is something done to me by experts … So success or failure depends on factors beyond my control: • I need to find the right resources. • how good the teacher is • I need to check my understanding. • the resources • I need to find my learning problems. • my intelligence • I need to put these problems right. • my talent for the subject • In short, I need to take control and • etc. responsibility. … So if I don’t learn … I need to try harder or change my learning strategy, e.g.: • try another book • ask a friend for help • brush up my prior learning. Either way, if I take full control and responsibility, I’m likely to succeed. Mindset: Empowered ‘I can make a difference.’ ‘Just try your best.’ Focused on: • the process: ‘What should I do next?’ • improvement (rather than perfection) • the positive (avoids the negative). adaptive, responsive, self-believing … So if I don’t learn … either: • the teacher is at fault • the resources are at fault, or, more likely • I’m stupid. Either way, the only rational course is to give up! Mindset: Disempowered ‘It’s all out of my control.’ ‘I won’t succeed, so I’m giving up.’ Focused on: • likely negative outcomes • the impossibility of getting it perfect • the negative. defeatist, fatalistic, despairing 58 Motivation Perhaps it is your attitude and approach that is most crucial. You must see yourself as a learning facilitator or learning manager, and encourage students to take respon-sibility for their own learning. This shows respect for the learner, and develops their self-belief, autonomy and resourcefulness. Conversely, if the teacher always takes responsibility, this can develop the students’ feelings of dependency and helpless-ness, and encourage them to avoid the blame for their own poor learning. Students can be given at least some control over their learning on every course, as Chapter 41 on course organisation shows. How this ‘facilitating’, ‘self-directed’ approach can be implemented is considered in more detail in Chapters 10, 34 and 41. Adults will usually feel resentful and alienated if a teacher adopts a command-and-control approach. Many teenage learners feel the insult just as keenly, and can become very uncooperative. The teacher has at least as much to gain as the learner in giving the learner some control. Professor Carol Dweck has discovered that about half of learners at every educational level believe their ability is fixed. The other half believe ability can be increased by learning. Students who believe it is fixed tend to give up in the face of a difficulty, but those who believe it can be increased by learning tend to increase their efforts in the face of a challenge. See the motivation page of www.geoffpetty.com for more details. Carl Rogers, in Freedom to Learn, quotes research showing that in only 1 per cent of their activities are school pupils given some choice. How much choice, control and freedom (e.g. creative work) are students usually given in your subject? To what extent can students meet their self-actualisation needs through the teaching of your subject? The expectancy–value theory of motivation According to the ‘expectancy–value theory’ of motivation, a learner’s motivation is given by the following formula: 59 ... - tailieumienphi.vn