Motivation In Education

 Motivation In Education

Motivation is an art of stimulating interest in the pupil, where there is no interest or it is not felt by the pupil. How a teacher can create interest in class for learning? How children can learn more effectively? The answer is of importance of motivation.

Motivation in Education

Meaning of Motivation

'Motivation' is the golden road of learning. Motivation sets the activity in motion and sustains and directs it. The aspect of motivation being incentive interest, drive.

The human behaviour is controlled, directed and modified through certain motives. When a person is hungry and is searching for food or constructing a house or mating or learning new skills, we will always be able to trace some such elements, which initiate his activities, guide them and modify his behaviour in the light of his success or failure. The man searches food because he is hungry. Here, hunger is a motive, which provides him an incentive to search food. Thus, we may call the motive as the raw material of human nature.

The motives are very important in learning. How they can initiate direct control and enrich learning?

What is Motivation?

Motivation is the term derived from word 'movere', which means 'to move' move toward set goals.

Motivation is the force, which impels or incite individual's actions, determines the individual's direction of actions and his rate of actions. When an individual gets any motive, he experiences a tension and disequilibrium and become restless. His activities are then initiated. The individual feels a push to behave in a certain direction.

Almost all the activities of an individual are determined by the motives. He begins to act and his activities continue till he achieves a goal, thus the motives perform these functions.

The originate action, they continue the activities and till the goal is not achieved, they direct the activities in a particular direction.

Importance of Motivation in Education

The process of learning advances with motivation. Motivation create an interest in students for learning. Jhonson defined motivation as "Motivation is the influence of general pattern of activities indicating and directing the behaviour of organism."

Thus, there are some ways of facilitating learning through motivation-

1. Learning: The main base of learning is motivation. 'Law of affect' is the main factor in the process of learning. Those processes which satisfies individual need and desires are repeated by the individual and feels distressed when he is not satisfied. Praise also serve an important motive in the process of learning, which helps him in progressing blame and punishment create tension among children.

2. To gain the Object: Achievement of goal is very important which is facilitated by motivation. These goals are achieved by natural motives.

3. Character Formation: Main feature of education is building good character of child. Good character leads to the development of good moral and cultural ideas.

4. Attention: For education to be developed attention must be developed among children. A child concentrates on that aspect of learning for which, he is motivated. Absence of motivation decrease attention of students.

5. Method of Teaching: Teaching methods are used according to condition. Motivation is also required for the type of method of teaching. If there is sufficient motive, it facilitates the process of learning.

6. Curriculum: Curriculum construction is also based on motivation. Thus, only those subjects should be included in curriculum which create interest and motivate the child for learning.

7. Discipline: If appropriate motive is used in school, then problems related to discipline can be solved.

Kinds of Motivation

A. Natural Motivation

1. Psychophysical Motivation: This motivation is related to mind and body. These motives are necessary for a person to remain alive, such as eating, drinking, hunger, thirst, rest, play.

2. Social Motivation: Man is a social being. Man's behaviour depends on type society in which he lives. Social motives are acquired in social environment such as love, respect, knowledge, position, fame etc.

3. Individual Motivation: Every individual inherits some of the qualities from his forefather and some tendencies are inborn. Some of habits are developed by influence of environment. Example of individual motives are - interest, play, popularity etc.

B. Artificial Motivation

1. Punishment and Prize: Punishment is the art of inflicting pain deliberately. It is the most ancient method of guiding the young. Prize, in the form of money, exemptions and medals are powerful incentive.

2. Co-operation: This is very strong motive and educational must be imparted using this motive.

3. Maturation: To give motivation to children, it is necessary that children must be physically, mentally and socially matured.

4. Knowledge of Progress: The student who is kept informed about progress, that he is making gets incentive for greater effort. It is necessary that children are aware of goals. Purposive striving of goals is much more fruitful.

5. To Engage the Whole Personality: Motivation should provide the child with an opportunity to develop whole personality and not one feature of a person.

6. Law of Effect: Law of effect play a very important role for motivation.