Motivating Adult Learners to Their Highest PotentialHumanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow created a hierarchy of human needs that ranges from the very basic psychological needs for food and water to the higher level need for self-actualization. By understanding Maslow’s theory of human needs, educators are better able to work with adult students to help them reach beyond their basic needs and fulfill the more esoteric and spiritual need of self-actualization.
Humanistic psychology focuses on human potential rather than the behaviorist theory of stimuli and reinforcement, or the theory of instinctual impulses of psychoanalysis. The humanist theory is that human beings are always striving for the higher levels of consciousness and creativity. Humans seek wisdom. Some psychologists call this the search to be the fully-functioning person or the healthy personality. Maslow calls this the level of the self-actualized person.
Before anyone can begin to reach for self-actualization, they must meet the first-level, most basic needs in the hierarchy. These include physiological needs such as the need for oxygen, food, water, and a constant body temperature. These needs are the most basic and must be met before a person will try to fulfill any esoteric needs.
How do these first-level needs affect students in a classroom? Very simply, if these needs are not met, students are unable to make the connection to learning. If you have adult students who are concerned about providing food for themselves and their families, their learning capacity may be affected. On a more basic note, many classes are held in the evening after students have put in a full day at work. For evening classes, allow students to eat in the classroom, or provide a long break so students can get a bite.
The second category of needs in the hierarchy is safety. These needs include a need for a home and security. When America was attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001, a need for security was felt across the nation. People flocked to stores to buy gas masks and antibiotics—perceived protection against biological warfare that many feared would come. Air travel decreased as people stayed home instead of traveling.
Students in the classroom are affected by the need for safety and security in two ways. First, students must have their own sense of security. If a student is homeless, or in danger of losing a home or a place of safety, the student’s learning capability will be affected. Second, students must feel the classroom is safe. Provide this sense of safety by informing students of all safety precautions, including inclement weather policies and emergency evacuation procedures. You also can provide a sense of safety by conveying your own sense of safety. Your calmness and confidence will be sensed by your students.
The need for safety and security must be met before moving to the third level in the hierarchy—the need for love, affection, and a sense of belonging. You may not be able to provide your students with a solid marriage. In fact, you may have students who are just coming out of a long-term marriage. What you can give your students is a sense of belonging to the class and a sense of each student's value as both a human being and as a student.
When the fourth need is met—the need for esteem and self-respect—it translates into self-confident students. When students feel self-confident about themselves, they also feel self-confident about their learning capability. To provide for this need, accept people as they are, showing respect for each individual person in your classroom and requiring all your students to show respect for one another, regardless of personal bias or prejudice.
The final level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs—self-actualization—has the potential of being met in your classroom. Indeed the goal of every educator should be to help students reach their highest potential. According to an educator at Honolulu Community College of the University of Hawaii, there are ten points that educators can address to help students become self-actualized. These begin with teaching students to be authentic and to listen to their own inner voice.
Assign papers or oral reports that require students to trust themselves, such as journal entries, opinion essays, or letters to the editor.
Encourage students to become world citizens. Provide means for students to transcend their cultural conditioning. Assign projects that require interviewing people from other walks of life.
If a student is struggling and you suspect the student is in the wrong major, talk with the student. As the educator, you are in a unique position to encourage students to discover their true vocation.
A classroom is the right place to teach that life is precious. Help students see the positive side of life rather than adding to any negative perceptions. See the true person and help your students see the truth about each other.
The classroom provides an opportunity for students to bond, which provides an experience of belonging. Provide group activities to give students a chance to get to know one another.
As the educator, you must provide for the needs of all your students while they are in the classroom. This includes safety, a sense of belonging, and self-esteem needs.
Teach beauty to refresh the consciousness of students. Let your own enthusiasm for the beauty of what you teach come across to your students.
Even adult learners may feel their lives are out of control. To have quality of life, some control is necessary. Perhaps it might be said that we have little control over life, but mastery of life demands that we create boundaries for ourselves. The classroom provides a wide-open opportunity to transcend life’s little problems and discuss the serious issues of life, such as pain and compassion, suffering and sorrow, justice and injustice, death and grief, and life.
Finally, students must learn to make good choices. For self-actualization to become a reality in their lives, students must practice making choices that affirm and nourish their lives.
Horace Mann, father of higher education in America, said, “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” What greater victory could an educator win than to be instrumental in students’ self-actualization?
Web Sites:
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachingtip/maslow/htm
http://www.wnp.ac.nz/online/introcer/alpha/map.htm
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachingtip/maslow/htm
