Thursday, February 2, 2012

Motivation – the critical point

Today’s discussions with our vice principal, cohort deans, counselor and discipline mistress led me to conclude that the academic success of the students can happen with the success of the motivational task.

Motivation is one of the most powerful influences on learning. For I believe that if someone has the motivation to learn, they will likely to succeed in doing so. If not, they are much less likely to do so.

I firstly believe in motivation as something that comes from within, the self-drive to do things and in my case, the drive to learn. With this internal drive to learn, the programs can then be designed around the developing the emergence of this drive – hence this is my core purpose to communicate with my graduating cohort (in the upcoming assembly talk before the target setting and during the parent teacher meeting). Since such motivation does not need to be supplied by external influences like teachers or environment, it is based on the students’ own current interests and developing the readiness of the student. As the cohort dean, I would closely monitor their progression in their learning.

Motivation can also, however, be extrinsic. Students who does not have the drive to learn and one who is not currently interested in the subject matter, then I think that it may be
possible to provide motivation in the prospect of the future benefits or through giving the “push”.

Previously, there tend to take extrinsic motivation more seriously than internal drive. I believe that the two types of motivation is not incompatible with each other, but I personally feel that providing our students with the internal drive for learning makes learning more pleasant and effective than extrinsic motivation. However, I am also mindful of students who are not always self-driven in learning, then extrinsic motivation may be an unavoidable necessity for my graduating cohort.

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