Motivation in teaching and learning

Motivation is an internal drive that directs behavior towards achievement (Barkley, 2009). Motivation enhances learning by directing behaviors towards particular goals, increasing effort, energies, increasing the initiation of and persistence in activities. In cognitive process, motivated learners are more actively relating the knowledge and skill to real-life application of what they learn (Eccles & Wigfield, 1985). Over the years there have been tremendous amount of research on motivating leaners, but not as many in motivating teachers. There are a number of motivation destroyers in the teaching career – not seeing learner’s success, unachieved pre-set goals, burnout and stress, lack of organizational support, and feeling lost in the career path. When teachers lack motivation, they can easily appear less interested and passionate in the classroom; they become reluctant to explore new teaching strategies; they could even decide to quit from their teaching career. Teacher’s motivation is thus a prominent issue that deserves more attention from teachers ourselves and also school administrators.      

            Fundamentally I am motivated by student’s achievement and the impact that I make in their academic life. My intrinsic motivation also increases when I see a steady personal and professional growth. Here is what I do on a regular basis to keep motivated

·       Set realistic short-term and long term goals: I find this technique very helpful. An attainable goal allows me to track my own progress, and frequent evaluate myself using pre-set criteria. Frequent formative self-assessment is also useful as it informs us where we are in teaching, and what else can be done by the end of the school year. When I first started my teaching career, I made “muddling through” the semester as a goal so that I wouldn’t be too stressed. In the second year, I started to modify my teaching plans, edit course content and optimize the activity design. If perfectionism were ever achievable, I believe at least it wouldn’t be achieved overnight.  

·       Learn about/from students: teacher-student relationship is one of those relationships we have to face. Not only a nurturing teacher-student relationship will enhance learning, but also makes the stressful long-working days tolerable. Occasionally I have a couple of students who truly make effort but simply can’t be good at the subject. I reminded myself and the students that everyone has their strengths and weakness. There are a lot of reasons that could cause academic failure such as prior learning. College students should be encouraged to explore multiple areas and find the one they are truly passionate about – which doesn’t have to be the classes I teach.

·       Professional development and peer support: I like to take one or two teacher’s education courses each semester and participate several local workshops. Continuation in professional development promotes constant self-evaluation and increases self-awareness level. It also creates a learning community of teachers who support each other.

Reference

            Barkley, E. F. (2009). Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. Jossey-Bass.

            Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (1985). Teacher expectations and student motivation. In In J. B. Dusek (Ed.), Teacher expectations (pp. 185-217). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.