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Motivation Module 10.2

Background

What is Motivation?

Background Information

Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. Following are synonyms for behavior that is oriented toward attaining a particular goal:career-minded, ambitious. high-reaching, self-starting, career-focused, determined, committed, spirited. Motivationis defined as the drive required to engage in goal oriented behavior. People are driven by many motivators in pursuing their goals (Sharot, 2017; Touré-Tillery & Fishbach, 2017; Ponmozhi &Balasubramanian, 2017; Singh, 2015; Ofoegbu, 2004).

  1. Rely upon external incentives. External rewards encourage a focus on short-term results at the expense of long-term ones.

  2. Avoid losses. Loss aversion produces a strong desire to stick with one’s current status.

  3. Intrinsic motivation.Behavior-driven by internal rewards (wanting to do something for its own sake (Ryan & Deci, 2017).

  4. Positive self-image.Includes how one sees themself, how others see them, how one perceives how others them.

  5. Self-validation. This involves confirming one’s existing self-views.

  6. Curiosity. This motivating factor arises when one needs to obtain missing information to reduce or eliminate a deficit feeling. The opposite of curiosity is boredom or disengagement.

  7. Autonomy. People like to feel in control.

  8. Thus, since individuals embody a variety of motivations,they are motivated by different trigger . demands and requirements as exemplified by these sources of motivation. (Source: https://www. psychologytoday. com/us/blog/science-choice/201904/the-10-most-common-sources-motivations)

Activities

Activities

  • Keep a log of observations of the sources of motivations listed previously. Abstract patterns of possible relationships between individuals and specific sources of motivations.

  • Administer Duckworth’s Grit Scale to selected individuals from activity 1 and observe specific relationships.

The following are some additional motivational activities

(Source: https://www.edsys.in/14-fun-classroom-activities/)

  • Open-Ended Questions

    • This type of question enables one to think out of the box and make an attempt to test and challenge their creative thinking.

  • Work in Groups

    • Working in groups helps to understand people and reach a solution as a team.It provides a platform to express one’s own views while giving equal importance to others’ views also.iii.Evaluation.Use evaluation of task performance as a self-assessment to ascertain where one places within a group and then may be motivated do more hard work to perform better.

  • Switch Roles/ Taking the role of a teacher, boss or other helps one to know the effort and dedication needed to carry out the job.Even after the simulation activity is done, the motivation gained during the activity may be enhanced.

  • Motivational Quotes (Source:https://www.edsys.in/45-famous-quotes-on-teachers/)

    • Give students or employees the job of collecting motivational quotes and making posters with them. Pasting such inspirational quotes in the classrooms or information boards in corporate facilities can be motivation reminders.

      • “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge” - Albert Einstein

      • “Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important” - Bill Gates

      • “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think” - Margaret Mead

      • “The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching” - Aristotle

      • “The dream begins, most of the time, with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you on to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth.” - Dan Rather.

      • “The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind” - Khalil Gibran

      • “No man can be a good teacher unless he has feelings of warm affection toward his pupils and a genuine desire to impart to them what he believes to be of value.” - Bertrand Russell

      • “That is the difference between good teachers and great teachers: good teachers make the best of a pupil’s means; great teachers foresee a pupil’s ends.” - Maria Callas.

      • “In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something else” - Lee Lacocca

      • "There is no system in the world or any school in the country that is better than its teachers. Teachers are the lifeblood of the success of schools.” - Ken Robinson.

      • “The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say: The children are now working as if I did not exist.” - Maria Montessori

  • Set Goals

    • Setting realistic goals is important and achieving small attainable goals gives one

  • Welcome Ideas

    • This would make one feel important thus creating a welcoming environment to inspire folks to express their ideas without hesitation.

Assessments

Assessment

Taking the Grit Scale (Duckworth, 2016) as shown in Table 10.2 can also serve as an assessment of motivation..(Note: score can be obtained from https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-scale/).

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