Today’s culture is for students to sit, listen, and learn. While Edmundson and Freire indicate that there are valuable rewards in provoking students to critically think and analyze the materials provided, they say little about ways to keep students motivated. Further research indicates that motivation plays a significant part in keeping the interest and focus of students and teachers. Adjustments to educational culture are insignificant if strategies for increased motivation in the classrooms aren’t utilized.
When teachers find presentation methods for their material that student’s find relatable the results have a greater impact. However, if students aren’t able to relate, the words seem detached, alien, and motionless; leaving the students
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Because that’s what works.” (Edmundson, 2015, p. 391) Edmundson declares that he and his students reap the rewards of conformity and compliance with the culture of the university. However, one must wonder, what are the students and teachers missing out on by conforming to the present culture? Would they learn more and get more out of each lesson by changing this culture? Surely they would. “A common frustration among college teachers is the tendency for students to compartmentalize what they learn rather than transferring or applying knowledge from one context to another.” (Marshik, Kortenkamp, Cerbin, & Dixon, 2015) A simple answer to gain back some of what is missing would be to take the motivation of students seriously. Once the motivation is in place, communication and authentic thinking will be viable. “Furthermore, the importance of the culture in the classroom and the interaction between student and instructor can facilitate or impede student motivation.” (Sedden, & Clark, 2016) Figuring out what their motivational trigger is can help gain their interest. “Several researchers found that students respond to instructors who are motivated themselves, and …show more content…
Are we encouraging them to be their best selves, or fit in and be like everyone else? Edmundson (2015) describes his students as desperately “trying to blend in, to look right, not to make a spectacle of themselves.” (Edmundson, 2015, p. 393) Edmundson (2015) also excitably describes a specific student, one that “is a singular…” (Edmundson, 2015, p. 391-392) Whose singularity doesn’t hold him back; it propels him forward. This student “decided to follow his interests and let them make him into a singular and rather eccentric man; in his charming way, he doesn’t mind being at odds with most anyone.” (Edmundson, 2015, p. 391-392) Motivating teachers and students to desire this type of attitude towards their learning experience will enable them to do more than listen, learn, repeat. “Students want to feel connected to and supported by their instructor, and when they feel this, students gain intrinsic motivation to learn.” (Sedden, & Clark, 2016) Sedden and Clark (2016) also explain that there is a significant potential for higher grades when the “instructor used humor, developed a rapport with the learners, provided an open atmosphere where students were free to ask questions and argue viewpoints, and exhibited high expectations of the students.” (Sedden, & Clark, 2016)
He explains his fear of his students’ opinions of his teaching and then finds himself trying to win over popularity from his students. On the course evaluations, Edmundson observes the “enjoyable” rating, which he then states that he would rather his students be challenged and changed by his teachings than to be having fun without truly learning the curriculum. This is due to the fact that liberal education and general society has completely taken a turn for the worst, which then dives into the discussion on how American culture is today - devoted to consumption and
Ever since I began my teaching career, I have been fascinated with the topic of motivation and the role it plays in student learning. Daniel Pink’s book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, has been on my personal reading list for a couple of years now, and I was elated to find that it was one of the recommended books to read for this assignment. I have often wondered why some of my students, and even one of my own children, are more internally driven than others to complete a given task. Now that I am in the process of becoming a school administrator, my curiosity about what motivates adults has been heightened, as well. In the hopes of finding some insight, and perhaps the answers to some of my burning questions, I finally picked up Daniel Pink’s book and began reading.
Do students need an education where the curriculum ensures specific skills are taught at certain ages? What if the student is lazy and is not capable of self-education? This essentially amounts to a student in an environment that consists of disorderly chaos and educational negligence that they control, right? For countless years, there has been prevalent public debate on the various alternatives to the typical education an American student receives; in particular, unschooling, a non-traditional educational philosophy that bases itself on activities chosen by the student as the principal method for learning. While it may seem impossible for students to gather knowledge without a firm educational regimen, “Unschooling” by Sherry Parmet provides
He says: “Perhaps it would be a [clever] idea to try firing the counselors and sending half the deans back into their classrooms, dismantling the football team and making the stadium into a playground for local kids, emptying the fraternities and boarding up the student-activities office.” (26). Although his policies were explicit they combat the extremes of the problem that he sees in his college and colleges nationwide. He goes deeper and backs up his policies for change: “what our current students are given to read, many of them will simply translate it into melodrama, with flat characters and predictable morals.” (Edmundson 25). The problem indeed exists in universities, but there’s still some optimism and “the library…the occasional teacher who lives to find things greater than herself to admire.” (26) and some students haven’t surrendered to ordinary
In Professor Mark Edmundson’s essay, where the main thesis was consumerism in the American modern college educational system, he presents himself as an english professor at the University of Virginia who he cares about his students and how they learn. He explained that, while he received good feedback from his students through their evaluations about his teaching method, he feels that he is being too easy on his students and he isn’t teaching them the way he would like. He also explains how he usually has to use a joke or an “off-the-wall question” to get the physical class moving. In this way, he is merely entertaining his class, rather than teaching them. He later compared himself to a professor that asked the two questions of his students: “What book did you most dislike in this course?
In Edmundson’s essay “On the Uses of liberal education”, he talks about colleges loosing up and students having a choice on what teachers they want. Not all students learn the same, there are many different teaching styles, which is why giving students an options can be agreeable. There are teachers that tend to use real life experiences as a teaching technique. This technique allows students to relate and better understand the subjects being taught. Many students learn best when they feel a connection, it allows them to open their mind a little more and to connect with their teacher on a personal level. Being kind and understanding does not mean you are being too soft, it means you care and want to make an impact on your student’s life. Edmundson said “I want some of them to say that they’ve been changed by the course”, giving students the opportunity to grow and develop is something all students
“Motivation is a complex part of human psychology and behavior that influences how individuals choose to invest their time, how much energy they exert in any given task, how they think and feel about the task, and how long they persist at the task” (Urdan & Schoenfelder, 2006). The biggest question educators face in today’s classroom is what motivates a student to do something and why? Virtually all students are motivated in one way or another. Research of student motivation suggests a theory that emphasizes a social-cognitive perspective. The cognition of students regarding academic work are influenced by social factors, such as messages from the teacher about the difficulty of the task, the perceived abilities of classmates, and the information about the importance of learning the material (Urdan & Schoenfelder, 2006). In this paper the focus will primarily be on those elements within the classroom that influence student motivation and engagement.
students do not learn the same way as their peers. We have to modify and try to explain things to
It establishes the foundation and ensures that they understand the basics of every lesson before overwhelming the audience with terms and techniques that would likely intimidate students that may or may not be familiar with the introduced information. The author of this article makes it a point to enlighten educators that it is important to do things that the students can relate to, but to also operate within the comfort of your own zone. This ensures that the students are learning as oppose to being distracted by desperate attempts to “relate” or “be down”. Simply build the curriculum based on the likes and interests of everyone within that environment to ensure a welcoming and productive atmosphere when time for the execution of the
Keller, John M. (2006). What Are the Elements of Learner Motivation? Retrieved July 4, 2011
“Motivation is the process whereby goal-orientated activity is instigated and sustained” (Schunk, Pintrich & Meece, 2008. As cited in Eggen & Kauchak, 2010, p.284). Motivation comes in many forms and can be divided into two broad categories - extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivators are external factors which can motivate a student; rewards are an example of this. An issue with extrinsic motivators is that the desire for the learner to participate often lessens, once the rewards are withdrawn (McCullers, 1987). On the other hand intrinsic motivation comes from within - learning for the joy of it - where the desire to learn leads to a higher level of knowledge, and is a reward in itself. Kohn (1996, p.285) states that research suggests, “Rewards actually decrease interest in intrinsically motivating tasks, therefore sending the wrong message about learning” (as cited in Eggen & Kauchak, 2010a)
As students in college classrooms sit and listen to their teacher’s requirements and lectures, students often asked themselves why am I here? Why am I taking this class? Is it relevant to my major, my life or career choice? College-level institutions of learning have a hard time figuring out what is the best way to teach students and what works for the student’s best. According to John Dewey “how students are taught is as important as what they are taught” (415). College level students should be taught the skills and abilities that are needed to survive in the work force as well as in society as a whole. Students will face challenges after a college education leading to a different path in life rather than the one they were chasing or hoping
In daily life, we need motivation to improve our performance in our job or in studies. Motivation is an internal force, dependent on the needs that drive a person to achieve. In the other words, motivation is a consequence of expectations of the future while satisfaction is a consequence of past events (Carr, 2005). We need to give reward to our self when we did correctly or we has achieve our target. Reward is something that we are given because we have behaved well, worked hard, or provided a service to the community. Theories of motivation can be used to explain the behavior and attitude of employees (Rowley, 1996; Weaver, 1998). The theories include content theories, based on assumptions that people have individual needs, which motivate their action. Meanwhile according to Robbins (2001), motivation is a needs-satisfying process, which means that when a person's needs are satisfied by certain factors, the person will exert superior effort toward attaining organizational goals. Schulze and Steyn (2003) affirmed that in order to understand people’s behavior at work, managers or supervisors must be aware of the concept of needs or motives which will help “move” their employees to act.Theories such as Maslow (1954), McClelland (1961), Herzberg (1966) and Alderfer (1969) are renowned for their works in this field. The intrinsic reward or also be known as motivators factors is the part of Herzberg motivation theory. Motivators are involve factors built into the job or the studies itself such as achievement, recognition, responsibility and advancement. Hygiene factors are extrinsic to the job such as interpersonal relationship, salary, supervision and company policy (Herzberg, 1966. There have two factors that are called hygiene fac...
It is first important to understand how motivation works in the classroom. There are infinite procedures teachers use to achieve desired effects from their students, but there are general patterns these motivational tools follow. In order for teachers to communicate with their students, they must identify with their needs on an individual basis (Gawel, 1997). This proposal is much akin to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, which states five basic needs that must be met in order to achieve full motivation. These needs, in ascending order, are as follows: physiological, security, love and belongingness, esteem and self-respect, and self-actualization (Gawel, 1997). Each of these needs details a very important issue in motivation inside the classroom and out.