Behaviour Management

Behaviour Management

1. Key theme

   • The constructivist approach of intrinsic motivation is the key theme that I will be analysing and concentrating on as I believe it is an important theory to be considered whenfocussing on behaviour and the classroom environment. Intrinsic motivation is centred within the pupil and involves the self-desire to seek new challenges and to thrive to achieve goals, despite of difficulties. It is often driven by the pleasure and enjoyment to learn and is undertaken due to the sense of achievement a child obtains in completing the activity.

2. Emotional Response

   • Intrinsic motivation is a concept that I strongly agree with because children who obtain this motivation will engage with their learning due to their genuine curiosity and interest to the topic; instead of completing the work to receive an extrinsic reward such as a sticker. This concept is understanding and nurturing pupil’s interests (Kusurkar et al. 2011), therefore I believe it is important to identify children’s individual needs in order for them to apply intrinsic values.
     • Children who apply intrinsic motivation are often increasingly determined and cognitively active within tasks compared to pupil’s who are encouraged through external benefits (Guay et al. 2010). Therefore I feel it is my job to create a positive learning environment to support children in building up perseverance which will consequently stimulate them to accomplish something in order to feel a sense of personal satisfaction.

3. Professional Response

   • I believe this theory is significant for children’s learning experiences because a natural enjoyment to achieve and understand something will often lead to positive impacts on attainment. I believe pupils who are driven internally use strategies that require deeper levels of thinking to challenge and advance their reasoning skills, such as decision-making activities. Through this, children’s comprehension will be enriched.
     • However, I feel that within the classroom environment, it is easy to ‘slip into’ the behaviourist approach of operant conditioning whereby extrinsic rewards are used for children who are unable to defer gratification and behave suitably in the surroundings. Therefore rewards such as praise and stickers are used as an incentive and a strategy for classroom management.

4. Influenced views by experiences, learning in the session and academic readings

   • Learning in the session and from my academic readings, I have discovered the consequential effects of how all children learn differently depending on the type of motivation that they possess. I have realised the importance of how intrinsic motivation can support children’s cognitive behaviours to as they are able to create aspirations for themselves to achieve, which will have significant contributes to their future viewpoints.
     • Children’s energy to explore and their continuous efforts to satisfy their own curiosity has been notably driven by intrinsic motivation (Sansone et al. 2000). Suggesting how internal pleasures can positively affect pupil’s in a variety of ways which I have recognised and understood through wider exploration.

5. Implications

   • As a teacher, I aim to promote intrinsic motivation within children as in this way, children’s concentration will be maintained as they are engaged and involved with their own learning. For example whilst observing children during my placement, it was increasingly obvious to notice the children who purely completed their work in order to receive a reward, rather than caring about the outcome of their work for self-achievement. I believe contextualizing topics to be relevant and linked to pupil’s experiences and prior understandings may stimulate this type of motivation as pupils will be interested and focussed. Additionally, I feel that in creating a supportive classroom environment, children will feel valued and appreciated which will encourage them to intrinsically participate in their learning.

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