Remedial and Support Teachers'
Association
of Queensland
›› Tips
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›› Tips |
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MOTIVATION: It's always there for something! Once an individual has committed herself or himself to a task for which he or she has the necessary ability, skills, and knowledge, and at which he or she can expect to succeed, the chances of achievement are high. The sense of personal satisfaction that comes with the knowledge of a job well done, a goal achieved, or an experience enjoyed, confirms the initial motivation. The motivations of challenge, interest, pleasure and curiosity may need no external support. However, in many areas for many learners, and in some situations for all of us, satisfaction needs to be reinforced. The learner needs feedback about successful achievements, especially when these have occurred within subsets of a task even though the overall outcome has appeared as failure. Teachers of learners who have a history of failure cannot afford to miss any opportunity to give positive feedback about the student's self-worth. All learners need feedback about their successes, whether from themselves or from others. Success encourages interest which triggers attention and concentration, leading to greater involvement and the satisfaction that encourages the motivation to achieve even greater successes. For those who are committed to helping students to learn, the realisation that we ourselves have so much to learn, understand, and accept about the human condition is the important starting point. In "Essentials of Learning for Instruction", Prentice Hall, 1988, Robert M. Gagne and Marcy Perkins Driscoll develop the ARCS model first presented by Keller (1983, 1984). The acronym provides an easy reminder of the various sources of motivation and a useful checklist for teachers and parents. A ATTENTION R RELEVANCE C CONFIDENCE S SUCCESS / SATISFACTION Keep an IDEAS book so that the flashes of inspiration don't disappear with the lost dreams. These might be ones you might think worth including:
The following checklist might provide some useful reminders: Do I talk with children rather than to them? Do I devote some personal time to each child? Do I talk about why he or she is at school? Do I put a high priority on spending extra time with children who need someone to talk to? Do I remember how important it is to really listen and to let the child know that I am listening? Do I identify strengths and find ways of showing my recognition of those strengths to those whose approval is important to the learner? Do I always check that the level of difficulty of tasks that a student is being asked to perform is appropriate to his or her present knowledge and skill, and that he or she is never sentenced to certain failure? Do I make sure that the learning environment is accepting and supportive? Do I plan to involve parents? Do I use positive messages in notes; happygrams; meetings; phone calls, etc.? Do I consciously use my own behaviour to model those behaviours that I require of my students? Do I make the rewards for achievement relevant to the wants of the student? Do I admit my own mistakes when I make them?
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