Theories of Motivation in Education.

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Social Psychology

Catherine Hillier

BA (Hons) PcET Year 1

Social Psychology

“Through learning, individuals can re-interpret their world and their relationship to it. A true learning culture continuously challenges its own methods and ways of doing things. This ensures continuous improvement and the capacity to change.” www.sefip.gov.uk

A learning culture is an environment in which people are committed to their own growth and development as individuals and apply their learning in reflective practice. It involves accepting a set of attributes, values and practices which support a continuous process of learning.

Within Academi each stage of a student’s journey will start with a supported induction. This induction is designed to allow the students to gain a great deal of information regarding their course of study before the learning programme begins. Many students come to college as either a mature student who has been out of the educational system for a few years, or as a young learner leaving many friends behind, venturing into a new environment, not knowing anyone else. However, both usually come with fears. During the induction students are encouraged to throw away their fears. A task is carried out where a paper bin is placed on the desk. Students write down their fears about the course and attending college, these fears are written down on a piece of paper. Next, they are instructed to ball up that piece of paper and throw it in the bin. Then every piece of paper is removed and each fear is read out. Finally, the students are reassured on how the college and the educators are going to help them keep their fears from materializing.

Following induction, students and educators can develop Individual Learning Plans to identify the best possible route to achieve their learning goals, this includes personal tutorials and action plans.  Students will be involved in a continuous cycle of learning, critically reflecting on their earning and practice, reviewing the Learning Plan, evaluating achievements and actively looking for further development activities to maintain and improve their capability. Assessment of learning is identified through performance appraisals and competency based assessments and students are encouraged to analyse their learning needs through their performance to achieve their objectives. Students are encouraged to work in teams, share information, learning and knowledge through team learning processes. Attention to students preferred learning styles is considered so as to create a variety of learning methods to suit the students and to aid in maximum development and achievement. All of the methods in place at the Academi department aim to help motivate students into wanting to learn and achieve their goals to the best of their abilities.

Educators have a great influence on a students' motivation. A student may turn up in class with a certain level of motivation. However the educator’s actions and teaching style, the structure of the course, the nature of the assignments and interactions with students all have a great effect on student motivation. Motivation is probably the most significant factor educators can target in order to improve learning.

Barbara McCombs and Lynda Miller (2006) state that almost everything educators do in the classroom has a motivational influence on students, either positive or negative. This includes the way information is presented, the kinds of activities educators’ use, the ways in which they interact with students, the amount of choice and control given to students, and opportunities for students to work alone or in groups. Students react to who educators are, what they do, and how comfortable they feel in the classroom.

It has been suggested by McLean (2009) that poor behaviour is a function of poor motivation and that motivation is a two way process between the educator and the student. McLean (2009) describes motivation as ‘the ability to cope with setbacks, adversity, pressure and power’ and suggests that an engaged student can be identified as expressing their opinions, taking the initiative, and trying to produce changes in their environment. The student needs to have a sense of being in control of their learning and the learning context. He also suggests that disengaged students allow external forces to control their level of engagement and motivation. In order to really understand what motivates young people and how to maintain motivation in the classroom, there needs to be a shift away from behaviour modification and punishment towards actually understanding the individual’s needs, goals, aspirations and feelings.

The National Institute of Adult Continuing Educations (NIACE) survey on how adults like to learn shows the extent to which adults learn informally using a range of approaches and prefer to blend individual study with interacting with other people. www.niace.org.uk

Educational psychology has identified two classifications of motivation, these being intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation arises from a desire to learn a topic due to its inherent interests, for self fulfilment, enjoyment and to achieve a mastery of the subject. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is motivation to perform and succeed for the sake of accomplishing a specific result or outcome. Students who are very grade oriented are extrinsically motivated, whereas students who seem to truly embrace their work and take a genuine interest in it are intrinsically motivated.

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Research conducted by Edward Deci, Professor of Psychology in the Social Sciences at the University of Rochester, indicates that extrinsic rewards can have a negative impact on intrinsic motivation. In one series of experiments, Edward Deci had two groups of college student’s play with a puzzle called Soma. One group of students was paid for each puzzle they solved, the other group was not. He found that the group that was paid to solve puzzles stopped solving puzzles as soon as the experiment and the payment had ended. However, the group that did not receive any payment for completing each ...

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