Educational
Breakthrough
Using Human Needs Psychology to Enhance
Learning Retention
Dr. Rollo Fisher
Monroe Community College
What is Human
Needs Psychology?
• Developed by Dr. Cloe Madanes
• 6 Human Needs
• 4 Basic Human Needs
• 2 Fulfillment Human Needs
Human Needs
Festivity
• Take the Human Needs Festivity
• Score Yourself
• Place your six needs in priority order
Human Need #1:
Certainty
• Feel safe
• Avoid pain
• Feel comfortable in our environment
and relationships
• Degree varies from person to person
• Code words: stability, safety, comfort,
protection
Human Need #2:
Uncertainty/Variety
• Exercise (body and mind)
• Surprise
• Suspense
• Code words: fear, change, chaos,
entertainment
Human Need #3:
Significance
• Feel important
• Needed/wanted
• Superiority
• Code words: pride, importance,
achievement, rejection
Human Need #4:
Love/Connection
• Need connection/strive for love
• Feel loved by others
• Community
• Code words: unity, passion, tenderness,
desire
Human Need #5:
Growth
• When stop growing, then dying
• Grow physically from child to adult
• Grow emotionally from experiences
• Grow intellectually from response to
outside world
Human Need #6:
Contribution
• Give beyond own needs
• Give to others or a cause
• Time, Talent, Treasure
• Necessary for fulfillment and happiness
Needs met + or • Certainty-make a living or steal from
others
• Variety-read a book or high risk
behavior
• Significance-be the best or be the worst
• Love/Connection-be kind or dominant
• Growth-be better person or despicable
• Contribution-give or destroy
Pinpoint Users
• Tweet something you remember about
one or more of the 6 human needs ( be
sure to include #INN12 and
@rollofisher)
Why use Human
Needs Psychology?
• People consciously unaware of their
needs
• Each student learning material for
different reasons
• Teach same concept for different
Human needs
• Students transfer own needs to material
Application to the
Classroom
• Assignment: Place your 6 human needs
in priority order two ways. First, create
your ideal order. Second, create the
order you are currently living.
Voice Class I
• “The Water is Wide,” a British Folk
Song
• Choose one of the two lists, and
transfer it to the text of the song.
The Water is Wide
• Verse 1:Oh, the water is wide, I cannot
cross over And neither have I wings to
fly, but give me a boat that will carry
two, and both shall row, my love and I.
The Water is Wide
(continued)
• Verse 2: I leaned my back up against
an oak. I thought it was a trusty tree,
but first it bended and then it broke, as
did my false, false lord to me.
The Water is Wide
(continued)
• Verse 3: Oh love is sweet and love is
fair, fair as the dew when first it is new.
But love grows old and waxeth cold,
and fades away like morning dew.
Student Answers #1
Ideal-Actual Needs
•
•
•
•
•
•
Contribution
Variety
Connection/Love
Significance
Growth
Certainty
•
•
•
•
•
•
Contribution
Connection/Love
Variety
Significance
Growth
Certainty
Student Answers #1
Transfer
• “The person
in the song believes that
he is making a contribution to his
significant other in his life to make a
connection for her love. Because she
has not reciprocated, he is forlorn and
losing his self confidence in their
relationship. Certainly, he is not
experiencing personal growth and is
causing uncertainty within himself
(possibly about his ability to love
deeply). His self-esteem has been
bruised, as a result.”
Student Answers #2
Ideal-Actual Needs
•
•
•
•
•
•
Connection/Love
Growth
Significance
Contribution
Variety
Certainty
•
•
•
•
•
•
Growth
Significance
Contribution
Certainty
Connection/Love
Variety
Student Answers #2
Transfer
• “In my current state I feel that my
personal growth and significance is
more important to me than anything,
and so the message of the text to me,
seems almost trivial. I wish I could
place more stake in relationships but I
can’t-they are the one thing that I need
the most variety in. The idea of love
growing old is what rings true to me. I
feel self centered and unromantic,
especially because I wish I was a more
Student Answers #3
Ideal-Actual Needs
•
•
•
•
•
•
Growth
Certainty
Significance
Contribution
Connection/Love
Variety
•
•
•
•
•
•
Variety
Connection/Love
Contribution
Significance
Growth
Certainty
Student Answers #3
Transfer
• “In the song ‘Misery’ by Maroon 5, the
song is definitely surrounded by love.
However, he is giving and receiving
love by negativity. He is destroying
himself to fulfill his love. So by doing
this he is negatively affecting his
significance and growth. This song
relates to how I am now because I went
through this downward spiral with my
ex. I became somebody I was not to
keep her happy and fulfilled, but in turn
Student Answers #4
Ideal-Actual Needs
•
•
•
•
•
•
Growth
Connection/Love
Certainty
Contribution
Significance
Variety
•
•
•
•
•
•
Contribution
Variety
Certainty
Connection/Love
Growth
Significance
Student Answers #4
Transfer
• “The text meaning in the water is wide
to me, I feel there [is] a lot of
contribution in that the man is willing to
contribute to anything so that he can
see his love. Then there is some
variety, because an[y] minute
everything is going good and then the
next it goes down the drain.”
Student Answers #5
Ideal-Actual Needs
•
•
•
•
•
•
Growth
Certainty
Connection/Love
Variety
Contribution
Significance
•
•
•
•
•
•
Connection/Love
Growth
Certainty
Significance
Contribution
Variety
Student Answers #5
Transfer
• The Water is Wide:
• 1. Connection/Love-in the past I could
relate to the ‘trusty tree bending and
breaking’ when I was suspicious and
could no longer trust my boyfriend of
that time.
• 2. Growth-‘wings to fly’ makes me think
of my growth as a dancer
• 3. Certainty-This song is not certain
about love, like I was with my past
relationship
• 4. Significance-It says how love isn’t
significant anymore and I disagree.
Better things come along and love can
rejuvenate
• 5. Contribution-‘both shall row’ makes
me think of two people working together
for a greater purpose
• Variety-there is a lot of variety in the
Human Needs priority
affects learning
• A change in one need changes how the
person views his or her experience
• The priority order may be subconscious
• The more needs that are met by
experience, the stronger the attachment
Application to any
classroom
• Teach from the perspective of different
needs as the priority need
• Recognize that each student may be
projecting their human needs onto the
lesson in positive and negative ways
• Create awareness of the existence of
these needs to enhance transfer of
concepts
Life is a lesson
• Take your priority list of human needs,
and apply them to this presentation. If
your needs were in a different order,
how would that change your individual
response to these concepts?
Personal account
• My personal Human needs priority list:
• Growth, contribution, Connection/Love,
Certainty, Significance, Variety
Questions to ponder
• Which of your needs are being met in
your day to day activities at your
college?
• Which of your needs do you wish to be
met in your day to day activities?
• What will it take to change from your
actual list to your ideal list?
Philosophy of
Education
• Who should be taught?
• Where should the students be taught?
• Why teach people?
• What should people be taught?
An experiment
• Pair up with someone else in the room
and share how Human Needs
Psychology could affect your
educational philosophy
Final thoughts
• People do not learn in isolation, but
rather they bring their outside lives into
the classroom
• The greater the connection between a
person’s human needs and education
will increase retention and application of
learning
Final thoughts
(continued)
• If students do not connect their
education with their human needs, the
educational experience may not
transfer to their professional career
• If professors connect teaching with their
own human needs, they may become
more effective educators
Thank you
Any questions?