Chapter
11
It seems
impossible to choose one or even two theories among the theoretical approaches
to the study of motivation. As a high school teacher, I see myself combining
all the theories to motivate my students and encourage them to achieve higher
and perform better. At some extinct the choice between a theory and another is
dictated by the diverse special needs of every student and also by the nature
of the ongoing task.
By
emphasizing on the role of enduring characteristics and personality in
motivation, the trait theory gives a clear explanation to how learners differ
in their attitude toward an unusual experience or a social situation.
According to
the Behaviorist Perspective, learners’ motivation is guided by possibility of
reinforcing outcomes. Thus the lack of something may drive the person to engage
in a behavior susceptible to fulfill the need.
The role of
goals, expectations, and self-efficacy, in the social cognitive perspective is
legit and founded in classroom setting.
Among many of
learners’ need I believe arousal is one of the principal that should be
fulfilled in order to see palpable results in their learning process and
knowledge growth.
Students’
motivation is an ultimate goal of every teacher, and if the intrinsic
motivation is not enough to drive them; it’s up to teachers to find the
appropriate ways, according to theories and practices, to motivate students and
assist them to reach their full potential.
It is so impossible to choose just one theory, so I definitely agree with your statement there. I think a skilled teacher combines two or more theories to make a perfect mix for their students and for their classroom. The diversity of the students is of the utmost importance, in general education and in special education. Therefore, when making your perfect mix, the characteristics of the students needs to be the top priority. If the theory is not working for your students, then it is not sufficient in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteStudents definitely need reinforcement to build up their academic motivation. As teachers, we must focus on positive and negative reinforcers. We should reinforce positive behaviors and behaviors we want to see more of. However, we sometimes must punish the behavior (take something away) that we want to see less of. A token economy (students collect something throughout a time period and get something bigger at the end of the time period, for example, a student gets a sticker every day they behave and at the end of the week, if they have a star for every day, they get to pick something out of the treasure chest) and list of alternative reinforcers are great tools for changing or shaping the behavior of students.