Three Levels of Motivation
Three Levels of Motivation in Instruction:
Building Interpersonal Relations with Learners
Shari Taylor
Teaching and Learning Models
EDCIP 882
Dr. Kim
October 12, 2005
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Three Levels of Motivation
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Author: Katy Zinquan Cao
Indiana University Bloomington
Summary
This paper proposes a learning model that identifies the three levels of motivation
(3LOM) in instruction. The three levels are: inclusion, entertainment, and edification.
“The following are the values underlying this model,” states Cao:
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The purpose of instruction should serve the positive needs of the society and
promote the development of the society.
The instructor should first of all have sufficient expertise and good qualities or
standards that are acclaimed by the majority of society.
The process of instruction and learning is one type of social interaction that
should be carried out accordingly.
The instructor should seek to understand the needs of each student.
The instructor’s first priority is to teach the things as listed in the curriculum.
Secondly, if s/he can, the instructor should explore the learner’s potential and
provide guidance for the learner to achieve his potential in the future.
Learners have their own free agency. The instructor is not to force changes on
them but cater to their individual potential and ambition (p 92).
As a teacher, Cao states that our goals should not simply be to teach the items that the
curriculum dictates, but to also be a good role model and “respectable scholar” for the students.
The author takes a look at motivation from a social psychological point of view and the basis of
her theory comes from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, but also pulls ideas from the Instructional
Design Principles, and related literature on Classroom Motivation.
Maslow’s (1943) Hierarchy of Needs states that “human beings are motivated by
unsatisfied needs,” and that these “needs must be satisfied before a person can act unselfishly.”
Once these needs are satisfied, then human beings will move toward growth. Every individual
has a “prepotent need” which is a need that has the greatest influence over our actions;
unfortunately those needs are going to vary among individuals. The three basic Instructional
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Design Principles are used to say that instruction should be appealing, effective, and efficient. If
a student lacks in any of those areas, it can discourage student’s interest in the instruction.
Level One: Inclusion. Cao states that this is “a prerequisite for social interactions.”
Students need to be accepted unconditionally. As teachers, we should come in on the first day
with preconceived notions about individual students – don’t be judgmental when you first meet
your students. To be motivated and learn, the students must feel comfortable. Two goals for
teachers are: 1.) Build a positive personal relationship with each student, and 2.) Maintain “spirit
de corpora” in the classroom – don’t pick favorites and make sure peers respect each other.
Level Two: Entertainment. This level is a step up the hierarchical ladder. On this level,
the teacher should make the learning process fun and relaxing versus boring and frustrating.
There are three aspects to consider: 1.) Choose entertaining learning materials, 2.) Use
entertaining delivery methods, and 3.) Develop entertaining teaching style. It isn’t always easy
to find entertaining learning materials or utilize entertaining delivery methods. The teacher
should adopt the appropriate method to make learning more entertaining dependent on the
circumstance.
Level Three: Edification. Edification literally means intellectual, moral, or spiritual
improvement. During the instructional process, students experience “revolutionary upgrade in
his understanding in one or all of the three domains, which results in changes in his way of
thinking and/or behaviors in a better way” (Cao, p. 95). This means students should be exposed,
as much as possible, to general knowledge and skills on a basic level. On a more advanced level,
they should acquire some awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses. This is based on
self-actualization from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Not every student can reach this level,
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however, but as teachers we should be alert to detect those students who are exceptional in one
way or another and help bring out the best qualities in those students.
Critique
Although the article was interesting to ready, the goal of the article was not projected
clearly. Cao listed values underlying her Three Levels of Motivation to address not only what is
needed to motivate the student to learn but what is need to motivate the teacher to teach.
Unfortunately, Cao does not perform any of her own qualitative or quantitative research to
advance the field of student/teacher motivation, but merely replicates studies already completed
by other theorists. Her theory is clearly supported by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the
principles of Instructional Design; however, I couldn’t determine if Cao was trying to improve
on those theories or just make comparisons to them.
I do believe that certain needs and desires must be met in an individual for him to
improve himself, but I also believe that it is very difficult to meet the needs of all students on any
given day. Interestingly enough, the Three Levels of Motivation, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs,
and the principles of Instructional Design are very tightly interwoven. The general types of
needs in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs are: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and selfactualization and the lowest level of the 3LOM is inclusion. These are very closely related to
each other. For students to feel “included,” they must have a positive self-esteem and feel
comfortable in their surroundings. Unfortunately, the students don’t live in a vacuum. There are
always influences on the students that make them uncomfortable in given situations – their best
friend could have just started dating their ex-boyfriend, etc. As teachers we may try to include
each individual student, but the student may choose to not participate in the activities.
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The tone (climate) set by teachers and students as well as the peer interaction are
absolutely vital in inclusion. A problem arises when Cao states that the teacher must be
available when students need help, but in reality teachers have other duties that may pull them
away from the classroom when that student is needing additional assistance (2004, p. 94). Most
teachers strive to strengthen personal relationships with students, but, unfortunately, some
students come to school/class with big chips on their shoulders – their parents had bad
experiences in school so they expect their kids to get into the same types of trouble; drugs and
alcohol pull students away from their safe environment in the hallways and during lunch times,
etc., and personal issues come into play (break-up with boyfriend, etc). Teachers may try very
hard to reach all students, but inevitably there will be a personality conflict with a student who
may not share the save values as the teacher and/or school district.
Another point by Cao states that teachers need to “maintain spirit de corpora in the
classroom.” We should treat every student equally and encourage peers to treat each other
respectfully. Unfortunately, in classrooms, students don’t treat each other as equals. There may
be dissention among races, socioeconomic groupings, and intelligence levels. Teachers try to
create groupings and change the groupings regularly, but besides encouraging students to work
together as a team, teachers can do little else. There won’t always be harmony in the classroom.
All educators face the challenge of balancing rules and guidelines. In some cases, teachers will
not treat students equally because exceptions are made to accommodate the student - either due
to academic reasons (IEP’s/504 plans or behavioral issues).
Basing the Three Levels of Motivation on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs does create
some distinct questions. According to the online article entitled Motivation in Theory Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it states, “there is little empirical evidence to support the model.
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Some critics suggest that Maslow’s model is only really relevant to understanding the behaviour
of middle-class workers in the UK and the USA (where Maslow undertook his research)” (p. 2).
According to VerWys, Maslow interviewed people he admired and knew with the list of people
including Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, and Eleanor Roosevelt – all people he thought were
already self-actualized (p. 17). What about the lower socio-economic class? The same basic
need may cause different behaviors in different individuals. Some students may enjoy
interacting socially with others in projects while others may not. For Cao to base her motivation
theory strictly on Maslow leaves room for criticisms of her theory. Smith makes a statement
regarding Maslow’s work:
“Although a large proportion of the needs he proposed have been upheld, the lack of
support for the process of motivation suggests that Maslow has oversimplified that very
complex dynamic practice of being human. He has perhaps lost some of the richness of
life in his explanation and fails to capture the energy that is motivation” (p.20).
Overall, I think Cao has a good theory of motivation, but I would question some of the
very basic fundamentals on which she bases her theory. With social inequalities, it is difficult as
a teacher to always include students and maintain “spirit de corpora” in the classroom. The
entertainment level plays a huge part in motivating students, but the edification level is probably
the toughest of the three levels. VerWys states “Maslow thought that only 2 % of the population
were fully self-actualized” (p. 19). If the 2% includes adults, how are teachers truly going to get
their students to the basic level, let alone the secondary level? It is great that Cao tells teachers
to set high expectations and get their students to maximize their potential, but in reality as
students move from one teacher to another teacher and one grade level to another grade level is
reaching self-actualization actually possible? I think not – maybe in a perfect world where all
the students have a family to go home to and enough money and food to go around.
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REFERENCES
Joyce, B., Weil, M., & Calhoun, E. (2004). Models of Teaching. 7th ed. Boston, MA: PrenticeHall, Inc.
Motivation in Theory - Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved November 14, 2005, from
http://www.tutor2u.net/business/people/motivation_theory_maslow.asp
Smith, Louise J. Evaluating the applicability of Maslow’s models of motivation in ancillary
staff. Sheffield, England. Retrieved November 10, 2005, from
http://www.shu.ac.uk/research/fmgc/research/papers/evaluatingtheapplicabilityofmaslow.pdf
VerWys, C. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Troy, NY. Retrieved November 10, 2005, from
http://www.rpi.edu/~verwyc/MASLOWOH.htm
Whitaker, T. (2004). What Great Teachers Do Differently. Larchmont, NY: Eye on
Education, Inc.