T2P Week 5

If teachers want to put their ideals and pedagogical philosophy of fostering intrinsic motivation into practice in the classroom, then they will need to first evaluate how motivation works for them. According to Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory, motivation can be viewed as the complex interplay between innate drive and external forces. Therefore, a combination of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators may be what is necessary for the diverse needs of students. For Vygotsky, students will have different learning styles based off of several social and cultural factors. Therefore, teachers will have to use just as varied and differentiated methods to motivate them. As Pink has extensively studied, often extrinsic motivation only works for simple and direct tasks; intrinsic motivation and the quest to learn for learning's sake often leads to greater creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking.

In the classroom, I will try to foster intrinsic motivation by developing relationships with my students and learning about them to find out what their interests are. Then, I will give them some autonomy (self-determination) to give their input on the curriculum (as Noddings suggests). For example, I plan on incorporating an intensive research project in my syllabus. However, the students will have complete freedom to choose any social studies topic that interests them (and they can even pick contemporary issues). They will also choose how they want to present the material and how they would like to be assessed. For instance, some students might have fun doing a skit, roleplay, or video, some artistic students might like to make a collage or powerpoint, and some students would prefer writing a traditional essay or some other form of written work (memo, poem, short story, etc.)

Educators need to use participant observation to get to know the students in order to effectively motivate them. They will also need to be adaptable and flexible by experimenting with multiple kinds of motivation so that they can find a good balance between rewards and optimal performance. It is impossible to motivate students if we don't know them--including any emotional issues they may be experiencing. This is fundamental to Noddings's pedagogy of care. She states that often teachers "care" about students insofar as they master the subject matter or perform on a test. This is idealized caring because though they have a vision they do not put it into practice. I agree with Noddings that what is far more important is relational care--teachers developing genuine, enriching relationships with their students. So much of high school education, for instance, is socially-based. By getting to know the whole student (the student as a full, complex human being) then teachers will understand how their EQ may be positively or negatively influencing their motivation in academics. In addition, I hope to be a teacher who has high aspirations for all my students, challenging them to succeed to the very best of their abilities. These high expectations and authentic relationships will show to the students that I believe in them and their futures, and it will motivate them to be all that they can be.

To do that in practice is difficult to describe, but fundamentally I think it involves actually talking with students before, during, and after class, taking an active role as a fellow learner in class discussions, being open and available for students to talk to outside of the classroom ("the door is always open"), and treating them and their ideas with compassion and respect. In addition, teachers will need to survey the class and collect data on their interests, strengths, and past academic history in order to learn how to most effectively teach them and their unique learning styles. One technique I will use in the classroom is having the students fill out a questionnaire on the first day of class, where they will describe their favorite and least favorite classes, hobbies and non-academic interests, career goals, goals for my course in particular, academic goals in general, what they feel their strengths/weaknesses are, and how they feel they learn best. I will also ask them what their interest level in Social Studies is, and what aspects/eras/topics of history they are most interested in. Then, if many students are interested in a particular topic, I might adjust my curriculum to fit their interests, which will foster intrinsic motivation and autonomy.

To transform theory into practice, then: Teachers should make the effort to truly get to know their students, care about their well being, and vary techniques based off of student learning styles and interests. This could include something as simple as varying lecture to include video or pictures for visual learners, music or recordings for audio learners, and cooperative group work for interpersonal learners. This will inspire intrinsic motivation by fostering student autonomy, competence, and purpose in what they are learning and doing (The Big 3 of self-determination, from Ryan and Deci).