Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
“Let’s be honest – miss – I’m just here to pass the class, get my degree, and get the hell out of here,” I muttered under my breath when one of my university professors asked why I didn’t seem very motivated to participate in class.
Teachers want their students to be intrinsically motivated– that means that their motivation comes from within, and these individuals are usually driven by mere enjoyment of the activity rather than by external rewards.
Yet most teachers can acknowledge that students are typically driven by results, rather than by the acquisition of knowledge, or by their genuine passion for the subject matter.
But the hopeful teacher still looks to inspire in a way that allows the learner to view the subject through a different lens – one that in turn drives the student to show up to class, to participate, and to actively study because the student is intrinsically motivated.
Sounds like a perfect scenario – but is this environment a realistic one for teachers to work towards creating?
Thanks to Self-Determination Theory, there are some tools available to teachers that can make creating a learning environment as such a reality.
Self-Determination Theory
Recently, I wrote an article about BJJ competition and Self-Determination Theory (SDT). To get specific, that article was about Organismic Integration Theory (OIT), one of the five sub-theories that make up the macro-theory of motivation that is SDT, and about the different types of motivation, ranging from intrinsic (internal) to extrinsic (external).
Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET) is another sub-theory of SDT, which instead focuses on the socio-environmental factors that influence individuals to be intrinsically motivated.
CET’s main tenant is that humans possess three basic psychological needs, which must be satisfied in order for intrinsic motivation to exist. These needs are:
- Competence (feel like you’re good at something)
- Autonomy (have the freedom to make decisions)
- Relatedness (feel connected to the people around you)
When individuals have these three needs satisfied, they tend to be intrinsically motivated. When the three needs are thwarted (not satisfied), the opposite is true.
Believe it or not, integrating elements from some boring academic theory into your teaching is easier than you’d think, and can make a significant difference to the quality of the learning environment.
The next parts of this article will detail each of the three psychological needs, along with some suggestions for how to integrate these principles into one’s teaching practice.
Competence
Who doesn’t like a pat on the back?
Humans enjoy being successful, and perceived competence in a particular domain is a must for increasing the confidence and motivation of a learner.
Notice the subtlety: perceived competence means the learner must think they are successful, and this doesn’t always mean being the best student in class, or putting up the biggest numbers in the gym.
Instead, consider it like this: tasks that are too difficult, or contain too much negative feedback, will disinterest a student over time, leaving their motivation levels low and fueled by mostly extrinsic factors.
Teachers can take time to make sure that tasks are developmentally appropriate for the group so that all students have the opportunity to achieve success.
Part of creating an environment where students can feel successful includes positive feedback from the teacher.
Students need to know when they’re doing something incorrect for their technical advancements and understanding, but a positive compliment from the teacher is so much more important for the development of intrinsic motivation.
Feedback does not always have to be results-oriented, focusing on process-oriented feedback celebrates elements of learning such as effort, persistence, and attention.
Likewise, most people have heard of the compliment sandwich at some point (most likely with a variation of the name). This is where a teacher gives a compliment, then a piece of criticism, then ends with another compliment.
Although this is quite well-known in the world of education, it is nonetheless an extremely effective tool for delivering criticisms to students while keeping motivation and morale high. More instructors need to get back to basics and put together a compliment sandwich on a more regular basis.
Autonomy
Nobody really likes being told what to do.
The lack of freedom makes some feel claustrophobic, even if the decisions being made by others are minor ones.
Teachers who are particularly controlling do little for their students’ motivation. In fact, students who learn in environments where teachers have a controlling approach not only show decreased intrinsic motivation – their quality of effective learning also decreases!
Ok, so, structuring very rigid activities that leave the learner with no choices is something to steer clear of. But what kind of choice should the learner be getting?
Consider that some individuals may have specific reasons for wanting to do an exercise or a movement in a particular way – be it a natural inclination, a personal interest, or because of some physical limitation, such as an injury.
With that frame of mind, creating exercises that allow learners to tailor the movement or select between a handful of positions that all emphasize the same skill makes much more sense.
This way, the learner gets to increase their knowledge and improve their skills while modifying the content to fit their individual and unique circumstances.
But there is another reason for wanting to give a learner more choice.
Giving students options allows them to be part of the decision-making process, and gives them ownership over the material and subject.
Allowing students to take part in all aspects of the learning experience is hugely important in order to truly foster intrinsic motivation.
Relatedness
I’m a self-proclaimed introvert and even I want to be around people every so often.
But not just any people, I feel most comfortable when I’m around people who are like me – people who I can relate to.
Relatedness is the psychological need with the weakest effect on the development of intrinsic motivation, and often examples using SDT only use competence and autonomy together.
However, relatedness should still be addressed by teachers nonetheless. It’s no surprise that students work better when they can associate with other people who are like them.
Why Does This Matter?
Academic Journals may not be fun to read through (for almost all of us), but there are some gems if you take the time to look around (kind of like shopping at Winners, except that everything is a super dense academic theory instead of discounted golf shorts).
The desire to improve one’s teaching practice requires spending time and putting effort towards broadening your scope of pedagogical knowledge.
Both practical and theoretical knowledge have value, but theories tend to be left out in place of practical examples that are quick and easy to use.
Spending some time to learn about sport/exercise psychology and pedagogy theory can have a significant impact on the quality of your teaching.
Creating a learning environment that fosters intrinsic motivation is obviously beneficial for students, but can also present a fantastic improvement in the quality of the lessons for the teacher.
Teaching is a joy, but teaching students who are genuinely passionate for the subject matter is a different, unbelievably fulfilling experience – especially when the teacher’s motivation also comes from within!
Enjoy reading this article? Follow me on social media for more content like this! Instagram @evanbjj, Twitter @evan_writing.
