4. Self Determination Theory Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan Johnmarschall Reeves Handbook of Self-Determination Research The University of Rochester Press ISBN: 1-58046-156-5 www.urpress.com
This is my school. Classrooms filled with students and teachers. As a starting teacher I had in some classes a hard time to keep order. I could barely keep them in the room. If fact I considered a lessons where all of them stayed a succes. What if there was a school and no student came. What if there was a war and nobody went?But in fact we came make them come to school and go to war. You can make people do things they do not want. You can regulate their behavior. That is what this talk is about.
IN some cases this is entirely unnecessary. It is obvious that these children enjoy what they do. They behave in an authentic spontaneous manner. On the other hand this class is behaving quite nicely, not because they enjoy it, because they are made to do so. Their behavior is externaly regulated in contrast with the intrinsic motivation of the others.Although if you look carefully, there are some girls in the class enjoying themselves in the back. And that shows immediately the problem of external regulation.
Improve the quality of the motivation, not the amount of motivationAn extrinsic motivation enables through a proces of internalisation selfdetermined engagment.
It is not only the amount of motivation that is the key. You get results of poor quality because the quality of the motivation is poor. The qualiy improves when the level of autonomy improves. To understand how to improve the quality, we need to have a closer look at the two behaviors.
SDT states that External regulation and intrinsic motivation are mere the ends of a scale. A scale of internilasation and therefore of autonomy.What is this external yet in harmony with self kind of regulation?
Externally motivated, yet in harmony with the self. Look the sun is shining. I could have a nice cappucino in the sun. Yet I am working during the summer holiday on this timetable.I agree with the values of the good education. I want to support that.
What is motivating students. What happens when somebody identifies himself with this external prompt?Research ahs shown what teachers already experienced. TO motivate studentsYou need relatedness: You need tohave a good relation with your studnets, they need to have the feeling that you will be there for them when they need you, support them.And they need to have experience competence. The perception that they are up to the task.Research also shows that fulfilling these two needs will only get you so far. Every teacher will know this kind of student. Hard working, willing and able. But their motivation only goes so far, their behavior is still controlled. Internally they feel obligated to fulfill the expectancies of their teachers or parents.To really push students towards autonomous behavior, they need to graps to meaning of their efforts for themselves personally. You need to fulfil their need of autonomy, resulting in more autonomous behavior. In this case the regulation is still external, but in line with personal values. This motivated behavior is easier to maintain, gives a sence of voluntairy agreeing with the regulation.Autonomy... Sounds like a dream is n’t it? Is it possible? How is this possible?
Autonomous can be stimulated, supported. It can also be thwarted, killed.C’es t le tone qui fait la musiqueIt is an atmosphere. And how would you dscribe such an atmosphere:
Before the summerholiday teachers get their timetable. Now ti Some of them are not happy. What do I do?
Before the summerholiday teachers get their timetable. Now ti Some of them are not happy. What do I do?