Child Development and Pedagogy Motivation

Child Development and Pedagogy Motivation

5.1 Meaning of Motivation

Meaning of Motivation:- Motivation is that internal condition of the individual which generates activity in the individual and continues till the goal is reached.

Motivation : Related Terms :-

1. Mental set- This phrase point to the fact of the individual being mentally healthy. As long as a person is not mentally healthy, he will not be motivated towards performing any activity.
2. Drives- Incentives render very important assistance in developing motivation. Incentives are related to particular activities or objectives, and the individual manifests deep interest in performing or obtaining them. Incentives are related to external circumstances.
Motives cannot be seen in concrete or visible form. We can only infer their existence.
3. Incentives- Incentives have their source in the needs of the organism; for instance, the need for water gives rise to thirst and the need for food gives rise to a sensation of hunger.
4. Interest- Interests of the individual also provide motivation to him. Individual selects only those things and work in which he is interested. Sawheri and Teleford has right stated that interest in favourable towards object.
5. Goal- Individual works hard to achieve his goal. The result of the works is the goal of individual and he works for it.
6. Need- When an individual feels the need of any thing, he tries to get it. He is in tension till he gets the things. Maslow stated the physiological, safety, relational, love, honour and self needs.

5.2 Classification of Motivation

Classification of Motiviation

1. Thomson’s Classification :-

(i) Natural motives - These are the motives found existing in every human being from the moment of birth. These include hunger, thirst, the need for security etc., and it is through these that human life develops.
(ii) Artificial motives - These motives develop in the individual as a result of the environment. Their basis is provided by the natural motives, but under the cover of socialisation. Examples of artificial motives are, desire for respect and status in society, formation of social relationship, etc.

2. Maslow’s Classification:-

In Maslow’s opinion, motive can be divided into two classes -

(i) Inborn motives- these include hunger, thirst, safety, sex, etc.

(ii)Acquired motives- these include motives generated by the environment. Maslow has further subdivided motives into two categories - 

(i) Social motives 

(ii)Individual motives. 

Social motives include sociability, combat and self-assertion, whereas individual motives compherhend habit, interest, attitude and some unconscious motives.

5.3 Characteristics of Motivation

Characteristics of Motivated Behaviour :-

1. Eagerness- When children are motivated towards performing a particular activity, they evince eagerness in performing it. As soon as this eagerness becomes evident, the teacher can infer that the child is prepared to learn that particular activity.
2. Energy mobilization- As soon as the child obtains motivation, additional energy is suffused in his body, and it is seen that he can continue performing that activity for hours without showing signs of exhaustion. Under conditions of energy mobilization, individuals are seen performing many deeds otherwise entirely beyond their capacity. Children, for instance, succeed in getting first divisions in examinations only after getting adequate motivation.
3. Consistency- When children are motivated for a particular activity, they apply themselves consistently to its performance. On setting himself the goal of getting a first division, a child applies himself to his studies for the entire year.
4. Achievement of goal and reduction to tension- The behaviour manifested as a result of motivation in characterised by a sense of satisfaction on achieving the goal. If students are asked to solve mathematical problems in the class, they appear tense and anxious as long as they do not solve them. As soon as they succeed in solving these problems, their anxiety disappears.
5. Concentration of attention- The motivated child focuses his entire attention upon the task to be performed. In this situation, the child makes many attempts and adopts many ways and means to achieve his goal.

5.4 Method of Motivation

Methods of Motivation:-

1. Needs- As the famous proverb puts it, “necessity is the mother of invention.” This is borne out by the fact that not only children but even adults feel impelled to act, to do something only when they perceive a need. Hence it is obviously desirable for the teacher to make the learners feel a need for the lesson which is to be taught to them.
2. Attitude- Motivation plays a very profound role in developing the desired attitude in children. And it is self evident that children perform the desired work better when a favorable attitude is developed.
3. Interest- Children learn that lesson fastest which interests them. For this reason, the teacher should employ some complementary materials for introducing a lesson so that he can arouse their interest in that particular lesson.
4. Habit- The habits of children play a significant role in the development of new knowledge. If fresh knowledge can be based upon the knowledge acquired earlier, it helps in the development of lesson as well as the learning.
5. Emotional state - It is desirable for the teacher to pay full attention to the emotional condition of the children, he is teaching. Besides, he must do his best to ensure that children have an attitude of love, not of hatred, towards the subject being taught to them. If he succeeds in creating an emotional bond between the child and the knowledge to be taught, he will achieve rapid success in motivating the child and thus preparing him for rapid learning.
6. Reward and punishment - Motivation is very powerfully influenced by the availability of rewards and punishment, because the sole intention behind providing either rewards or punishment is to exert a favorable influence upon the child’s potential behaviour.
7. Competition - In schools, students, are generally seen exhibiting a keen desire or tendency to compete with each other, to secure some prize, or to get more marks than their classmates in tests and examinations, etc. The teacher can take advantage of this tendency to compete and exploit it for imparting new knowledge to his students.
8. Knowledge of progress - It is desirable for the teacher to keep on acquainting his students with their progress, because this sustains their motivation and keeps them actively engaged in the activity.
9. Fear of failure - Occasionally, the teacher should also confront the students with the fear of failure, because some students are better motivated for diligent work when the threat of failure hangs over them.
10. Level of aspiration - In this context, the reference to level of aspiration means that students should be taught only those tasks which accord with their physical and mental maturity. Experience has clearly established that whenever the level of knowledge or activity is beyond the children’s capacity to grasp or perform, they develop a strong aversion to it.
11. Seminars and conferences - In the present age, stress is often laid upon collective learning and working. It also observed that children do more work when in a group.
12. School environment - The environment prevailing in any school should itself be capable of motivating the student. The child should be able to draw motivation from the environment itself. Schools possessing an unsuitable environment are often productive of inactive, dull and indifferent children. However, it is a fact that the environment of the school is created jointly by the teachers and the students.