Running head: Philosophy of Motivation 1

Philosophy of Motivation

Travis Metzger

EDUC 405

Fall 2018
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Philosophy of Motivation

How do students stay motived in classrooms that last for upwards of an hour and a half?

Sometimes a teacher in the class will restrict movement to entirely sitting and writing for the entire

time, and students become disengaged. No reasonable person can expect the attention of another

human for that long. Instead, teachers in the classroom need to motivate their students so the students

are able to succeed both inside and outside of the classroom. Any well-designed classroom includes

motivation in its cirriculum. Students should have a supportive environment, differentiated learning,

and personal interest in content to help drive motivation in order to succeed in the classroom.

Students want to succeed when they are comfortable in the classroom. I firmly believe

that there needs to be a teacher in the classroom that students can trust and relate to. The teacher should

have a degree of seperation from his or her students, but ultimately needs to connect to the students so

that in turn the students view the teacher as an extrinsic motivator in the classroom. I believe that

teachers cannot instrinicly motivate their students as they should not be dictating the thoughts or ideas

of students in their classroom. Instead, the teacher instills in the students a sense of pride and

accomplishment when the students themselves fulfill tasks in the classroom. This is done by learning

about the students in the classroom as people and knowing ways to reinforce good behavior. Some

students may be motivated by the grade they get on an assignment, while others may find satisfaction

in a compliment given to them about a paper. There can never be two classrooms that are both

supportive environments and identically the same because no two students are the same.

Any motivating classroom needs to have differentiated learning. I believe that a classroom

reling solely on one instructional style ultimate results in stagnant and ineffective learning. There are a

multitude of learning theories, such as Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, that all point to how

learning is different for everyone. Drawing upon my own personal experience, I will attest to

classrooms needing learning styles and activites to engage all students. I cannot tell someone how

many times a lecture only class has had twelve students fail a test and curve is needed to increase their
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grade. Not only is this a travesty from the viewpoint of grades, these classrooms also fail students by

creating one type of evaluation and forces students to either conform or fail a course. A teacher needs

to continually morph classrooms by changing assessments and projects in class. When this

differentiation happens, students are more engaged simply because it is more likely that there will be

an activity that interests said students.

I believe personal interest is the key to motivation. No student wants to learn about material

and content that doesn’t pique his or her own interest. Every praticum experience I have witnessed

correlated personal interest and success in the class. I stand by the opinion that students will not care

about the classroom until it is relevant to them. Instead, those students who are not engaged become

classroom and behavioral management issues. My classroom will be proactive in creating a great

learning environment, and this also includes eliminating issues before they happen. Having students

enjoy what they do will almost always result in interest and motivation to learn about a subject.

The best classroom policy to accomplish all these goals is to know the students. Giving

students the time to talk about their day requires minimal effort by the teach. Relating to the students

and developing relationships can result in civility and higher capabilities of patience in our students

(Gregory, G., & Kaufeldt, M. 70). This is as simple as standing outside a classroom every day and

acknowledging each student. One of the greatest teachers I had, Tim Watson, is amazing at

interpersonal relationships. He took my personal feelings and thoughts and managed to blend it into the

classroom, creating an amazing learning environment that I’ll never forget. I want other students in my

classrooms to feel that sense of connection and commitment, because it truly reinforces personal

interest and supportive environments in the classroom.

Motivation is what drives students. Excellent teachers cannot resonably expect their students to

provide motivation every day. I believe that teachers should provide the opportunities for students to

succeed, and motivation is an opportunity needed to allow students to succeed. Supporting our students

with the environment makes the students want to participate in the classroom. Differentiating the
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material allows our content to reach different students with different needs. Morphing content to apply

to personal interests and desires allows students to have instrinsic motivation in a class. My classroom

will have all these ideas in place to better encourage students to succeed both inside my classroom and

beyond.
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Citations

Gregory, G., & Kaufeldt, M. (2015). The motivated brain: Improving student attention,

engagement, and perseverance. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.