An Introduction to the Importance of Motivation
As explained by Lou Holtz, “[i]t’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” His statement is true for the importance of motivation. As a teacher candidate, learning the concept of motivation is crucial for my well-being and for the future of my students. The way that students are taught and encouraged have a huge impact on their careers and their life. In this paper I will be exploring how I was motivated during my earlier years and how the motivation shifted as my education progressed. I will also be discussing the theories that I believe would have benefited my learning experience from had they been implemented in the classrooms. In fact, the way that careers and
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Our schools had a special community for students who were athletes and it was a very friendly, outgoing, and fun environment and encouraged me to remain positive even if I did end up losing. I feel as if this feeling of belongingness was subconsciously an intrinsic and extrinsic motivator as it made it enjoyable that the entire team functioned together and fit seamlessly. The motivations kept my interest in the sports and to this day I appreciate the different experiences I gained through athletics in school.
On the other hand, I recognize that I was still motivated by my teachers’ and parents’ enthusiasm when I did well on exams and assignments. It was rewarding to see that I, as a first-generation immigrant, was able to do as well and sometimes better than my peers. My parents were not able to help me with my assignments majority of the time and I was still able to keep up with those who had more resources. That was another external motivator for me, knowing that my parents would feel accomplished that they were able to raise a child in the way that they hoped to. My parents only wish for me is to have the maximum opportunities as possible as someone who is Caucasian, even though they were not able to directly help with it. I did not see it as a competition, but rather that I was climbing steps that made it easier for my parents to bare with the difficulties that they were facing, living in a foreign place.
All three of the examples given
One of the most essential aspects of the educational process is to know how to motivate students for learning. A challenging part of being a teacher is to know and learn how to motivate students. First of all, a good definition for motivation is as Byrnes quote “Motivation is construct
Lately, I’ve been writing about motivation because, it being the start of the school year, I am dying to know how to help my students (nearly all of whom start the year wanting to do well) persist in motivating themselves to do the year’s work and achieve a year’s worth (or more) of growing into people who will flourish long-term. Motivation is their job, and it’s my job to teach them how to do their job better.
Motivation is an important aspect of everyday life. "Researchers have consistently found that an approach based on extrinsic rewards and consequences actually reduces children's intrinsic motivation to learn" (Solley). Motivation is lost due to the pressure
Motivation can be defined as the desire or inspiration to carry out specific tasks or to do something. Motivation is required when goals are being set and more so in their execution. In a work setting, motivation can be defined as a process through which individuals choose between alternative forms of behavior with the aim of achieving personal objectives. The goals sought by individuals can be extrinsic or relatively tangible such as monetary rewards and promotion, or intrinsic or intangible such as self esteem or job satisfaction (Armstrong, 2006). In learning, the desire to attain good grades is what motivates a student to study hard everyday as they prepare for the exam. On the other hand, for a teacher to put his best foot forward, he
Ever since I began my teaching career, I have been fascinated with the topic of motivation and the role it plays in student learning. Daniel Pink’s book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, has been on my personal reading list for a couple of years now, and I was elated to find that it was one of the recommended books to read for this assignment. I have often wondered why some of my students, and even one of my own children, are more internally driven than others to complete a given task. Now that I am in the process of becoming a school administrator, my curiosity about what motivates adults has been heightened, as well. In the hopes of finding some insight, and perhaps the answers to some of my burning questions, I
The fundamental aim of motivation within an educational environment is to essentially make certain that their students are continuously encouraged in order for them to complete any task effectively. The core significance of student motivational approaches is to aid an educator in boosting up student morale. An additional role of motivation is to ensure that even when students are facing a difficult time outside of school they are always encouraged to
In Ganah’s article (2012), motivation is stated as “essential for successful learning as less able students who are highly motivated can achieve greater success than more intelligent students who are not well motivated” (p. 251). I believe this author described motivation dead on. For my students in their Special Olympic competition, motivation was key. We as their coaches along with their fellow athletes stood at the finish line whether it was on the track or at the end of the pool, we stood cheering for them and they would run faster, swim harder, or work harder to finish. Just like motivation is key for the athletes I worked with, it is also key in the classroom. In the short essay, Motivating Factors in Child Learning (1937), the author gives us many factors that can influence a student’s motivation. Although this article was written many many years ago I can see the relevance in some of the methods. In the article I read about how a student’s emotions can effect how they learn (Mast, p.3). This was found true in my students. My students would have off days just like myself and any other human being. We modified their classwork on their bad days so that they could still accomplish some task but they were able to do it in their time. Helping my students was my ultimate goal and so modifying their classwork so they still complete some work only helped
Current research on young adolescent student motivation shows that the teacher must; make the lesson connect to the outside world as much as possible, let the students decide where they sit or what project to work on, guide the student rather than tell them the way, and be someone the student can trust and depend on. Teachers must motivate their students to become better and more engaged within the classroom by using techniques that allow the student to develop their own sense of motivation.
The majority of ASCC’s course offerings are Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees. However, the college offers only a Bachelor in Education Degree, BED program, in 2006, under the Teacher Education Department. The BED program provides theoretical and practical experiences for pre-service and in-service elementary education majors. One of the major challenges of the program since its inception is the low enrollment from the general student population. A slow but significant climb in enrollment was noticeable when a new platform was required for the program in 2008 – the introduction of MOODLE in addition to the face-to-face format of the teacher education program.
The greatest struggle in our educational system is the lack of educators that are willing to activate the students’ interest in the subject. Instead of increasing the students’ motivation to learn, students are being presented with material that is meaningless to them. I believe that effective teaching starts by presenting students with material that seems relevant to them. Presenting fresh ideas to students increases their motivation. Breaking the monotone routine makes students willing to explore new content. It is the teacher’s responsibility to provide students with some motivation that augments the students’ willingness to learn a topic. Learning is a step by step process that will not occur over night. This process requires great effort from both the teacher and the
Eggleton, P. J. (n. d.) Motivation: A key to effective teaching 3(2). Retrieved August 14,
There are different things a teacher can do to trigger this type of motivation in students. “Some examples of
To be an effective educator I will strive to develop a curriculum that gears towards students interests and fosters motivation. Motivation is the key to keep students engaged and actively involved as well as stimulating the mind and passion to continue learning. It is my desire to keep students attention by being creative, engaging the students in hands on activities, involving them in cooperative learning and urging them to think critically. As a teacher I must remain flexible and practice patience to
A theory that supports motivation is the self determination theory. In the self determination theory people need to grow and gain fulfillment by a drive in them. Self Determination is the process of deciding how to act on ones environment. When one is trying to overcome a challenge or encountering a new experience a person wants to gain the knowledge to succeed over the new challenge. When self determination theory is in focus internal factors are at play; a person is primarily focused on the need to gain knowledge or independence. There are three factors that contribute to a student’s self determination and the needs are linked to the student’s
What is motivation? What influences it? The term motivation can be defined in different ways. Motivation can simply defined as “ a need that, if high, is evident in a strong desire to achieve, to excel, to reach a high level of excellence” (Lefrancois 430). To become motivated, one must have a positive attitude to a variety of learning skills. Some factors that influence motivation include our peers, friends, parents, and environmental settings. Division four being high school division, attention is focused towards learning and what methods can be used. Students at this stage are more eager and develop a sense of what he or she wants to do and accomplish in upcoming adulthood. With a division comes a group of intelligent theorists. All