Motivation in the Library (Post 2)

Q: Consider the theories of motivation that we discussed in class.  Which theories of motivation are most helpful and instructive for you?  How can they enhance motivation and affect your students?   Please give at least one example of how a theory of motivation could be used in your future classroom. 

A: Looking back at my education experience in high school and undergraduate studies, I find that most of my motivation came from extrinsic forces- grades, approval from teachers, peers and parents, and the promise of a good college--or, later--a good job. The exception to this would be subjects I really enjoyed, like English, or excellent teachers that made otherwise hard-for-me-to-grasp subjects, like Geometry or Biology, really interesting and fun. As a student in these classes, my educational motivation was intrinsic--I loved learning. 

As an adult learner-- some classes may be an ends to a mean (re: a requirement), but intrinsic motivation is more prevalent because I now choose how to spend my time, and am only motivated by my own goals and desires to learn. This largely falls in the realm social cognitive theories through my own self-efficacy beliefs and self-regulation. 

Motivating students is everything-- a model class would have every student engaged and motivated to learn for the entire period/day/week/year.  With motivation, discipline problems decrease and life-long learners are born. 

I might employ any number of behaviorist extrinsic motivators for students in any given class. Examples are praise and stickers for students who are behaving appropriately or who exhibit kindness or caring to a classmate above and beyond what is expected. I also have behaviorist punishments-- three stikes leads to a time-out for individuals, and calls home are employed if there are chronic behavior problems. Likewise, whole classes are motivated to behave by earning stickers for eight weeks in a row. At the end of eight positive classes, the class has earned a reward "Fun Day." 

I hope to nurture more intrinsic motivation to learn and behave in the library as I gain experience teaching.