Motivational Learning

Victoria Joseph, PharmD

PGY1 Pharmacy Resident

Suburban Hospital – Johns Hopkins Medicine

Scott Geller’s Ted Talk shared three questions to discern empowerment and self-motivation: can you do it? Will it work? Moreover, is it worth it? These three questions check training, education, and motivation.  Answering yes to all three questions demonstrates empowerment that leads to self-motivation. In order to empower someone, Geller recommended utilizing the 4 C’s to fuel self-motivation: consequences, competence, choice, and community. Consequences is the idea that people do things because they expect something in return, and they may need to be convinced of its worth. Providing feedback and recognition shows people they are competent which inspires them. Training people to be success seekers and not failure avoiders encourages sense of autonomy, which is motivational. A sense of relatedness and community leads to happiness and motivation [2]. 

In the classroom, there tends to be two different types of people, students who are genuinely interested and want to succeed at the subject and students who do the course out of obligation to fulfill a requirement or obtain a reward. The first type is considered intrinsic motivation, where the learner is fascinated with the subject and its application whereas the latter is extrinsic motivation where the learner does something to meet expectations or be rewarded. Geller’s idea of consequences relates to intrinsic and extrinsic motivation because regardless of the outcome, people expect something in return. For intrinsic motivation that would be knowledge or self-fulfillment and for extrinsic motivation that would be a reward or fulfilling a requirement [1].

The advantage with intrinsic motivation is that it can be long lasting and self-sustaining since the motivation is inherent. The disadvantage is that fostering intrinsic motivation can be a lengthy process and different students may require different approaches to motivate them. The advantage of extrinsic motivation is that it is more likely to produce behavioral changes and does not require the effort and preparation of intrinsic motivation. In addition, it does not require different approaches or background knowledge of students.  The disadvantage is that extrinsic motivation can distract students from the subject and they may not be truly interested since it is an obligation rather than a choice. In addition, if rewards are involved, the rewards may need to be escalated to maintain interest. Once rewards are removed, students tend to lose their interest. James Middleton, Joan Littlefield, and Rich Lehrer proposed an intrinsic motivation model: the student has to determine if the activity is interesting and then evaluate the stimulation the activity provides and the personal control it allows. Ultimately, there has to be a balance between stimulation and personal control or the student will lose interest [1].

Unmotivated students will not learn, even if the lesson is perfect. Some professors do not see motivating students as their job, but teaching is meant to benefit the students. Effectively teaching entails capturing the audience’s attention and interest. So one can argue that effective teaching requires motivated students [3]. The following are different strategies to motivate students to learn:

Presenting with energy and enthusiasm and displaying motivation shows the professor’s interest and allows the professor to serve as a role model to the students. In addition, taking the time to develop a meaningful relationship with the students makes it easier to tailor the course to their needs and interests. If a professor takes interests in their students, then students are more likely to notice the attempt and reciprocate by taking more interest in the course. Utilizing real world and practical examples and assignments shows students the applicability and utility of the subject. It allows the students to find personal meaning and value in the material. Incorporating a variety of active teaching activities engages students in the material. They can learn by self-discovery and group projects, which encourage active learning. Group work provides a sense of relatedness and correlates with the community component of Geller’s talk. Giving students’ autonomy to choose their own essay or project topics allows them to explore their areas of interest.

Emphasizing a growth mindset over a fixed mindset, which is the idea that abilities and talents can be cultivated and are not innate, can inspire self-motivation [3]. Providing realistic goals and assignments, appropriate emphasis on tests and grades, and thoughtful feedback are good ways to keep the subject relevant and not distract students [1]. Realistic goals and assignments relates to the choice component of Geller’s talk because students should be set up for success, which trains them to become success seekers and not failure avoiders. Feedback relates to the competence component because thoughtful feedback and recognition shows people they are competent which inspires them.

A majority of these teaching practices are familiar concepts. The biggest difference is conscious awareness to inspire self-motivation, which provides the student with the tools to succeed outside the classroom, not only for the course but also for life.

References

1)  Motivating students. Vanderbilt Center for Teaching. Vanderbilt University. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/motivating-students.

2)  TEDx Talks (2013). The psychology of self-motivation | Scott Geller | TEDxVirginiaTech [video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sxpKhIbr0. Published December 5, 2013.

3)   Wilcox L. Top 5 strategies for motivating students. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. https://www.nbpts.org/top-5-strategies-for-motivating-students. Published June 4, 2018.