Motivation

Motive is any condition within a person that affects that person's readiness to initiate or continue an activity.

Motivation is difficult to define but most psychologists who are concerned with learning and education use the word to describe those processes that can:

• arouse and instigate behavior.
• give direction or purpose to behavior.
• continue to allow behavior to persist.
• lead to choosing or preferring a particular behavior.

Six Major Factors Have a Substantial Impact on Learner Motivation
(Wlodkowski 1985 - Champagne 1995)

1. Attitude

   "is a combination of concepts, information, and emotions that results in a predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably toward particular people, groups, ideas, events or objects."

   Attitudes are learned. They are formed through our experience, instruction, and observing role models. Many students come to professional school without a well defined set of attitudes about how a professional is supposed to behave. By participating in courses and clinical activities, and by observing faculty, students develop their attitudes and values about being a health care professional. On the other hand, students come to school with an attitude about learning. If their parents have always been positive about education, the students will most likely have a positive attitude about school. However, if the school experience is negative, that attitude can change and the students may no longer have a positive attitude about going to school. The same is true for certain subjects. Many female students develop a negative attitude towards mathematics and science because of their experience in elementary school.

   Since attitudes are learned, they can be changed. If a student is not motivated to learn, it is possible for an instructor to help that person change his/her attitude. However, attitude change will most often not be accomplished through fear and punishment. The following five factors could be influential in bringing about an attitude change.

2. Need

   "is a condition experienced by the individual as an internal force that leads the person to move in the direction of a goal."

   Every human being has needs. These needs push us to action in trying to meet those needs. One basic need is food. When a person is hungry s/he will try to obtain food. Once the hunger stops the person's need for food is no longer present and the person can concentrate on accomplishing other goals. The same is true with all our needs.

   One of the most popular approaches to the discussion of human needs is Maslow's hierarchy of needs. (Champagne 1995) The table on the following page identifies the need, conditions of deficiency and fulfillment.

   There is good evidence that people's physiological and safety needs must be met before a person can focus on higher needs. If we accept this premise, it is easy to see that students who are having financial problems or who do not take care of their physical needs like food and sleep will have a difficult time meeting the demands of a professional curriculum.

   Teachers, if they want students to be motivated to learn, should consider helping students meet their needs. Students cannot always understand how what they are learning will help them fulfill their goal of becoming a health care professional. It is the responsibility of the teacher to help the student gain this insight, if motivation to learn is important to that teacher. For example, a student may not understand why it may be necessary to inquire about a patient's recent travels in order to determine if the patient could have been affected by the environment. A person who has been back-packing in the mountains of New Mexico would be more likely to contract Lyme disease than a person who has not left his home town.

3. Stimulation

   "is any change in our perception or experience with our environment that makes us active." A hot stove, rock music, a loud clap of thunder, a beautiful sunset are all stimuli.

   There is ample research to demonstrate that human beings almost demand stimulation. When babies were put in an orphanage and received almost no stimulation, their development was severely retarded. Prisoners of war who are locked in isolation chambers suffer greatly from lack of stimulation, unless they create it on their own, like writing their memoirs.

   Most students do not intend to become bored with their course work but a non-stimulating learning environment can result in students becoming fatigued and distracted. Developing a learning environment which challenges students to be actively involved and personally responsible for practicing like a professional will provide a stimulating environment. Students who have been surveyed consistently rate rotations during which they are given responsibility higher than rotations that required them to remain passive. For example, once the level of competency has been determined, preceptors can assign specific patients to students who are then responsible for providing whatever care is necessary including patient counseling regarding the action of medication, interaction among drugs and possible side effects.

4. Affect

   "pertains to the emotional experience-the feelings, concerns, and passions-of the individual learner or group while learning. Learning does NOT take place in an emotional vacuum."

   Students and teachers are constantly affected by their emotions. Emotions can be controlled but they cannot be turned off. Therefore, it is in the best interest of students if teachers can take into account the emotional state of students. For example, the day of the most important test of the semester is not the time to introduce complex material because a large number of students will be affected by the emotions of anxiety and fear. The teacher can ignore the students' emotions, but the students will have a difficult time being motivated to learn if their emotions are out of harmony with their thinking.

   Likewise during a rotation, preceptors should be aware of the personal life of students. If a student is planning on participating in his best friendıs wedding on Saturday, it is not reasonable to ask him to remain after work on Friday for an extended mid-rotation review.

5. Competence

   "is the concept or major motivation factor that describes our innate desire to take the initiative and effectively act upon our environment rather than remaining passive and allowing the environment to control and determine our behavior."

   Anyone who has watched young children knows that they are continually trying to master some skill, either verbal or physical. A small child will work for long periods of time trying to place blocks one on top of the other. When the child is successful, s/he exhibits a great deal of satisfaction, maybe even asking for approval from observing adults. This desire to become competent continues throughout life unless some major disruption occurs in a person's life. People at all ages try to be competent at whatever they do.

   Therefore, achieving competence can be a great motivator for students. Preceptors can help achieve this motivation by pointing out the progress students are making toward competence and helping to demonstrate how being competent will help the student be a more effective health care provider. For example, after observing student talking with a physician on the phone the preceptor can point out the specific points where the student performed well and why paying attention to certain details enhances patient care. People who know they are competent will almost always have self-confidence, another characteristic that is important during students education as well as while working. Students who are confident that they can learn have a much better opportunity to be successful than if they have doubts about their intellectual ability.

6. Reinforcement

   "is any event that maintains or increases the probability of the response it follows."

   There are two basic types of reinforcers: positive and negative.

   Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is followed by a pleasant experience. A student conducts research on a new drug and presents this information to the preceptor. The preceptor was not aware of this information and is very impressed by the studentıs effort. The preceptor then asks the student to present this same information at a local pharmacists meeting. Being selected to make such a presentation is only a reinforcer if the student sees this as an honor and not a punishment.

   Negative reinforcement occurs when the desire to reduce or avoid an undesirable condition influences behavior. For example, if students fear that keeping poor records will cause them to be viewed as incompetent, chances are that they will continue to keep good records. Penalties, disapproval and threats often act as negative reinforcers.

   Generally speaking, positive reinforcement is more effective than negative reinforcement.

   Reinforcers can be either external, controlled by someone else, or internal, dependent on the individual whose behavior is being changed. Grades may be an external reinforcer for some students, while knowing that they are competent may be an internal reinforcer for other students.

   Exercise 9 - Planning for Motivation