Love to Learn
When I think about my time as a student, it may look like I was motivated by a monetary reward. My dad rewarded me with money for getting As, having a high GPA, and being ranked in my class. My grades were a combination of mechanical skill and deeper cognitive skills that required conceptual and creative thinking. Studies show that higher pay leads to better performance when the task is simple, but higher pay leads to worse performance when the task is more conceptual (Pink, 2010). What my dad may not have realized is that I wasn’t doing it for the money; I was doing it for the learning. Whether my dad paid me or not, I was motivated to learn.
I have always loved to learn, and my goal as a teacher has always been to help my students love learning. I don’t believe in artificial rewards for learners (although I enjoy receiving them) because it causes the learner to do something for the reward rather than the learning. This is why grades are a hot-button topic; students do it for the A instead of for the benefit of their own learning. Instead, I believe in setting high expectations with my students and challenging them to do great things. I focus on autonomy, mastery, and purpose (Pink, 2010) in my learning environment because I believe that it creates intrinsic motivation to learn where students can take ownership of their learning and become life-long lovers of learning.
My learning philosophy is a work in progress as I grow as both a student and teacher, but it focuses on my main beliefs that learners are unique, and they construct knowledge for themselves when given the appropriate tools. They do not need an extrinsic reward; they need a chance.
References
Pink, D. [The RSA]. (2010, April 1). RSA ANIMATE: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
