In connection to my previous blog on meaningful learning, this article talks about a motivational strategy that I find interesting in the book of Barkley (2010). This strategy refers to promoting autonomy by providing students with meaningful rationale that enables them to understand the purpose and personal importance of course activities.
Motivation involves a process of satisfying a need such that when a set of needs are met, an individual is ready to achieve another goal (Robbins, 2001). Applied in the context of teaching and learning, a student is more engaged when he/she is motivated, that is, ready to learn and achieve a learning outcome.
Importance of promoting autonomy
This motivational strategy aligns with the central idea of my teaching philosophy which is self-directed learning. That is, I journey with the student in transforming from being a dependent learner to a self-directed learner who is capable of collaborating with the teacher and able to monitor his/her progress throughout the learning process.
Autonomy is one of the basic human needs, and creating a condition to satisfy this need is a powerful motivating factor for learning. Herzberg’s (1965) two-factor theory and Alderfer’s (1989) ERG theory indicate that one of the motivators is opportunity for growth. In this connection, promoting autonomy in learning facilitates personal growth among students (Cankaya, Liew, & de Freitas, 2018). Hence, by providing opportunity to students to own their learning through autonomy is an effective way to motivate them. Ryan’s and Deci’s (2000) self-determination theory as well as Pink’s (2009) motivation framework contend that a motivated individual believes he/she is in control of his/her life and takes responsibility for his/her actions – an idea that reflects autonomy as a powerful motivator.
The 4 theories mentioned above suggest that people are motivated when they have the opportunity to direct their lives in order to achieve personal growth. Hence, promoting autonomy is one of the optimal ways to tap on the intrinsic motivation resource of the learner which is not entirely under the control of external pressures. A way to harness this motivating power is to emphasize the purpose and personal relevance of the learning process related to a course activity.
Promoting autonomy at its best
Promoting autonomy as a motivational strategy works best in settings where providing autonomy support (Niemiec & Ryan, 2009) is most needed. Adults value autonomy more in their learning process compared to their younger counterparts. However, college students who are in their early adult stage need more guidance compared to adults who already have work experience in their professional field. Adults who have considerably more years of work experience are more aware of what they need to learn in response to a specific problem at work or in personal life. In the case of the college students who have relatively limited experience in the field, the present lesson may serve as a preparation for future work or as a solution for a problem that they will experience, so the value for such a lesson may not be that salient compared to those who have direct experience at work.
Autonomy support works effectively among college students (or those in the early adult stage). In this situation, promoting autonomy is reflected in guiding the student towards assuming responsibility and accountability of his/her learning tasks and outputs – scaffolding the student throughout the self-directed learning continuum (Grow, 1991/1996). For example, the teacher guides the student in writing his/her research proposal by outlining the list of tasks to accomplish at a specific period of time and emphasizing how these tasks prepare him/her for future work. Through time, the teacher gives complete control and autonomy to the student in monitoring and evaluating the quality of work.
Aspect of motivation through promoting autonomy
In promoting autonomy as a motivational strategy, the focus is on making the students engage in learning out of autonomous motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000) – that is, learning out of genuine interest and personal value. There may be external rewards in performing the task, but the desire for personal growth and the satisfaction derived from learning are given more importance. Hence, promoting autonomy through emphasizing the purpose and personal relevance of a course activity is a way to facilitate autonomous motivation.
Both the students and the teacher can benefit from promoting autonomous motivation. Tapping into autonomous motivation, a student sees a learning task to be more personally relevant and useful in professional life. For example, creating animated video as a way to present one’s report can be motivating if the reason for doing so is that videos are more engaging and effective in getting one’s message across one’s workplace.
Activating a student’s autonomous motivation also helps the teacher interact more with them through providing feedback on the progress of one’s work, and thus opens an opportunity to guide the student towards being a self-directed learner. With autonomy-supportive activities, the student and teacher can establish a sense of connection which is an important part of effective communication.
Promoting autonomy and its impact to teaching and learning
The value of promoting autonomous motivation has a central role in my teaching philosophy. I view the learner as capable of engaging in activities where he/she is able to meet his/her needs. Hence, promoting autonomy towards a learning task by articulating how such a task is relevant to one’s personal or professional life is an important part of my teaching method.
With this motivational strategy, however, facilitating the students of varying needs may be time-consuming. I need to attend to their individual needs as a consequence of articulating the relevance of such tasks in their personal or professional life. Individual needs vary, so I may need to spend more time with students especially when more time is needed to scaffold them in connecting the task to what they need at work. For example, simplifying the presentation of statistical results may be more relevant when the student has a real data set from his/her workplace that can be explored and I can also provide feedback with. Students may also find the tasks overwhelming when these are provided in advance, so I need to make sure that I structure the tasks to be more digestible and lay out specific steps that are easy to follow. I may have to provide a concise handout that details simple and easy-to-follow steps.
On a positive note, having a discussion with the students on how the task is relevant to their personal or professional life creates an opportunity to tailor fit my succeeding instructional strategies on their individual learning needs. Students can also make use of their prior knowledge and skills and demonstrate it in the current task. Hence, in simplifying the presentation of statistical results, a student may use his/her skills in Microsoft excel or other statistics software to accomplish the task.
References
Alderfer, C. P. (1989). Theories reflecting my personal experience and life development. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 25(4), 351–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/002188638902500404
Barkley, E. F. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty. John Wiley & Sons.
Batara, J. B. (2020, September). BROD Cycle: Mapping your teaching philosophy. https://flowjame.com/2020/09/03/brod-cycle-teaching-philosophy
Cankaya, E. M., Liew, J., & de Freitas, C. P. P. (2018). Curiosity and autonomy as factors that promote personal growth in the cross-cultural transition process of international students. Journal of International Students, 8(4), 1694-1708. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1468072
Grow, G. O. (1991/1996). Teaching learners to be self-directed. Adult Education Quarterly, 41(3), 125-149. Expanded version available online at http://longleaf.net/wp/articles-teaching/teaching-learners-text/
Herzberg, F. (1965). The motivation to work among Finnish supervisors. Personnel Psychology, 18(4), 393–402. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1965.tb00294.x
Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7(2), 133-144. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878509104318
Pink, D. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York: Barnes & Noble.
Robbins, S. P. (2001). Organizational behavior (9th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
Acknowledgment: My sincere gratitude to Glenn Galy for the feedback of the previous version of this article.
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