Eight Human Needs - How to Motivate Students

If you've ever read my blog before, you know that I really love educational speaker Rick Lavoie. In most teacher preparation programs we've been taught that students' basic physiological needs must be met before they can truly learn. This is an example of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs at work.

Once these basic needs are met, we can begin to explore what Lavoie calls, "Secondary Needs." These are eight things that are highly motivating for humans. Learn more about these in this short clip (starting at 3:23), or continue reading below.

Part A:

 

Part B: 

 

Part C:

According to Lavoie, these are the eight secondary needs:

"We try to motivate the kids by using what motivates us." - Rick Lavoie

I watched this video and had an a-ha moment. That's why Johnny crawled under his desk every time I tried to congratulate him for awesome work. I had always loved recognition and am highly motivated by it, but Johnny wasn't.

Now that I'm keeping these motivators in mind and developing interventions for homeroom teachers to use that support our behavior challenges, I'm finding that the thing that scares teachers most is students motivated by power. Lavoie hit the nail on the head with that one. Isn't it funny how the students who need power the most are the ones who get it the least? Why not give the students a little power? Let them be involved in developing rules. Let them check classmates' work. Let them point to answers on the board as you teach. Let them choose which assignment to complete from a list. Give him or her two choices for a lesson plan for tomorrow, and teach the lesson chosen. Give them power in positive ways so they don't need to seek it in negative ways.

Apply it to the classroom

Think of your most challenging student. Think of someone you consider your polar opposite. What motivates you, as opposed to what motivates that person? Use this information when developing interventions.

FREEBIE! I came up with a list of some ideas that teachers can use to motivate students. These are all based on Lavoie's ideas above. Get it here:

Do you find that one motivator does not motivate all your students? Do you use varied forms of motivation in your classroom? What are your thoughts on motivation? Share in the comments below!

A Peach for the Teach