Get Motivated, Stay Motivated!

Merriam-Webster defines motivation as:

• the act or process of giving someone a reason for doing something: the act or process of motivating someone
• the condition of being eager to act or work:  the condition of being motivated
• a force or influence that causes someone to do something

Seems pretty simple but actually it is not. Motivation begins with a goal. There are many reasons why adults learn. It may be to fill in educational gaps, to develop personally, to perform a job better or to join the job market. Whatever the reason is, motivation can be classified as intrinsic, extrinsic or a combination of both.

Kelly and her tutor Rebecca celebrating her accomplishment!

With spring just around the corner, like many of us, I get motivated to spend the weekend doing the “spring cleaning”. I know that by completing this task, I will feel a sense of accomplishment and renewed energy. Therefore my goal is intrinsic. But, after having done so I may come across items that I haven’t used in years and proceed to advertise my ‘well used items’ on Kijiji or have a garage sale. My motivation becomes a combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic.

It is the same for adult learners who set goals for literacy or numeracy training. Learners access our program because they need to fill an immediate gap in their life.

Have you ever been motivated to begin an activity or take a course only to find that you quickly lose interest, begin to question why it is relevant or discover that the outcome may not be what you expected?

With some adult learners this may happen, but in many cases they face different kinds of barriers. In order to understand the barriers, ‘Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ is a helpful concept. Maslow believed that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled, a person seeks to fulfill the next one, and so on. One must satisfy lower level basic needs before meeting high level growth needs. Once these needs have been satisfactorily met, one may be able to reach the highest level called self-actualization.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs includes five stages:

1.       Physiological needs – air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep

2.       Safety needs – protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear

3.       Love and belonging needs – friendship, intimacy, affection and love

4.       Esteem needs – achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, self-respect and respect from others

5.       Self-Actualization needs – realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking person growth

 

You may have had an experience with your learner where they have not shown up to meet with you and did not call to cancel. It may be that their physiological needs e.g. running out of food in the middle of the month or a love and belonging need e.g. having a family member take ill, is taking precedence. According to Maslow, motivation and progress are disrupted by the failure to meet lower level needs.

Even when learners are at their ‘self-actualization’ stage in the learning process, it can be a struggle to ‘stay motivated’.

Some great tips for helping your learner stay motivated:

1.       Create useful and relevant learning experiences based on the age and interest of your learner.

Emphasize practical knowledge. It is important to create activities that provide immediate relevance. Adult learners appreciate more practical knowledge, rather than extraneous facts and theories.

2.       Facilitate exploration.

Using all sorts of materials, references, infographics, short videos, podcasts, etc. can inspire your learner to want to learn more.

3.       Build community and integrate social media.

Social media websites are powerful tools for collaboration, commenting and sharing.  You can facilitate group discussions and communities.  People will quickly start exchanging knowledge, and will also have fun.

4.       Challenge through games.

Come up with different problem-solving exercises and case studies.  Guide your learner to look for and find solutions.

5.       Use humour.

Humour is helpful with even the most demotivated learner. When your learner knows that you have a good sense of humour, he or she will listen to you more carefully and will have more fun. Laughter is the best medicine!

6.       Chunk information.

Chunking is essential, as it helps people remember and assimilate information.  Small bits are easier to process.

7.       Accommodate individual interests and career goals.

Empower your learner to work on their interests and career goals by individualizing activities to suit their needs.

8.       Stimulate your learner.

Encourage your learner to think critically by either providing them with brain teasers, or by asking thought-provoking questions.

9.       Let learning occur through mistakes.

Remind your learner that we all make mistakes and that is part of the learning process. “Practice makes perfect”.

10.   Make it visually-compelling.

Did you know that for some learners up to 83% of learning occurs visually?

11.   Get emotional.

If you don’t sound inspiring and your materials aren’t exciting, how will you motivate your learners? Come up with controversial statements to launch discussions, tap into memories and add real-life stories.

12.   Get examples of their workplace.

If your learner is working, connecting what is learned with how it applies in their workplace will make learning more relevant.

13.   Ask for feedback.

It is important for your learner to know that their opinion counts! Encourage self-reflection. It is also helpful for you to know that you are on the right track.

14.   Give positive feedback.

“You’ve been working hard!” Keep a portfolio of their best work. Don’t be afraid to point out how work can be improved – remember practise makes perfect.

15.   Re-visit their goals.

Sometime learners will lose sight of why they are working on a particular skill. Help them connect what they are working on to their goals. Outline the benefits of the activity.

-          Joanne Morant