Whether and How Teachers Could Benefit from Knowledge of Forms of Motivation

匡燕珍

【Abstract】There are basically two forms of motivation： intrinsic and extrinsic. This is an important section in the teacher training course that every teacher should learn. In this paper， whether or not teachers could benefit from knowledge and understanding of forms of motivation and how teachers and students could benefit will be discussed.

【Key words】knowledge of motivation； benefit

Some may argue that knowing forms of motivation is not that useful， since there are some teachers who have never learned anything about motivation still achieve great accomplishments and foster excellent students. In response to this， this paper argues that even though some teachers may be successful without knowing anything about motivation， if they know， they could benefit more.

1. Whether or not

First， each student is different and may hold various attitudes towards each academic course in different situations. If teachers could identify what kind of motivation each of them has individually in different periods and motivate with different methods， their learning outcomes could be much better. Also， for some difficult courses， teachers cannot only rely on students intrinsic motivation； knowledge on “how to promote more active and volitional forms of extrinsic motivation becomes an essential strategy for successful teaching” （Ryan & Deci， 2000， p.55）. Also， different forms of motivation are suitable for different situations， appropriately switching and transferring between different forms of motivation would generate better results， since sometimes intrinsic motivation might be the best， and sometimes students could only be promoted to study out of their extrinsic motivation.

On the contrary， without knowledge of motivation， teachers may treat all students the same and push them to learn only with regulations， rewards or punishment. Students may therefore lose their initial interests towards study and regard it as a burden. At the same time， for those teachers who would spend even more time and put more energy to teaching， their students may have high pressure and start to learn for their teachers instead of for themselves.

Therefore， knowledge of forms of motivation could equip teachers with wiser and more useful teaching techniques.

2. Benefits

Teachers and students are interactive with each other in the same education process， as a result of which benefits to teachers and to students are， to some extent， coherent.endprint

First， teachers who know how to promote students with a better choice of form will transform students learning from “unwillingness or reluctance， to passive compliance， to active personal commitment” （Ryan & Deci， 2000， p.60）， and thus let them have “greater persistence， more positive self-perception and better quality of engagement” （Ryan & Deci， 2000， p.61）.

Second， with highly-motivated students， “teachers job of managing the instructional programme would be simpler” （Spaulding， 1992， p.3）， winning them more time and energy for their self-improvement， self-cultivation as well as their own life. Gradually， they become “more professional motivated， working hard to provide students with worthwhile educational experiences and finding more satisfaction in doing so” （Spaulding， 1992， p.4）. They are more likely to seek enjoyment and fulfilment from their teaching positions， foster outstanding students， and their profession will be developed.

In addition， an environment where teachers and students are both actively devoted and motivated can be created， and a positive relationship will be built between them， turning the classroom into a more harmonious place.

In most cases， teachers are more mature than students. Understanding forms of motivation could make them pay attention to their own teaching motivations， promote a better form of motivation to their students， and therefore devote with more passion and initiative. Teachers and students are interactive to each other， and knowledge of motivation theory could help build a win-win situation.

References：

[1]Ryan，R.，&Deci，E.（2000）.Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations： Classic Definitions and New Directions.Contemporary Educational Psychology，25（1），54–67.

[2]Spaulding，C.L.（1992）.Motivation in the Classroom.New York： McGraw-Hill.endprint