Managing Behavior Problem

Managing students’ motivation in class could be related to handling behavior problem. Last meeting of MMSEL course was about managing students’ behavior problem.  The presenter shared about students’ behavior problem based on its type. There are defiant students, aggression, bullying and violence.

1.      Defiant students usually tend to badly resist the rule because transitional of human development and defense of assigned personal image. This kind of student often skips the class, refuses teacher’s instruction and disrupts the class. What teacher can do for handling this behavior problem is by losing temper, using calm neutral voice to give instruction or using silence to ignore the student.

2.      Aggression here is as an attempt to harm another individual physically or socially which is influenced by emotion variable such as anger, irritability, resentment and attitude variable such as negative view, cynicism, mistrust and suspiciousness. How to handle this kind of behavior is by telling them it is unacceptable, identifying where and when a student is aggressive, teaching conflict-resolution skills, school counseling and letting aggressive students use their energy in positive way.

3.      Bullying happens when a more powerful student hurts, frightens, or intimidates a weaker student continually. It can be done through verbal bullying, physic, indirect bullying, social bullying, intimidation and cyber bullying. How to handle this is by implanting respect value among students, raising awareness about bullying and its effects and raising students’ confidence for the victims.

4.      Violence is any behavior that violates a school’s education or climate with the intention to be free from aggression. Violence is started from a small thing like putting downs, insult, threats, and trash talk. Yet, it can be grown into fighting, sexual harassment, drugs and other crime behavior. To minimalize this potential of violence there should be family based program that can improve family relation. It might happen because of lack-relationship between the children and their family especially parents. Social development strategies can prevent violence by letting students know how to deal with social situation.

I have had experience as students since I was in elementary school. Many situations happened. Some were because of technical problem such as teaching and learning system or schedule, but most were caused by behavior of school members especially students.  Most of the problems were caused by defiant students who did not want to obey school regulations. Mostly the teacher always gave warning directly to students who caused problem in the class. Not only problem that is caused by defiant students but also bullying. I have encountered a teacher who bullied the students by physical bullying. He used ruler or his hand to hit students’ cheek when they could not answer the question. As the result, most of us studied hard to remember the materials before the class started. Other teacher did not do anything about it. Even until I graduate from the school, it still happens.

Behavior problem will always happen on children. What we can do as teacher is by doing efforts to manage the situation in order to prevent unintended situation to happen.  The strategies could be by teaching students about self-regulation, practice stress management, promote tolerance, and provide space and activity that can help students develop their self-potential. It is also important to build awareness about behavior problem to the entire of school members.

Good Communication for Successful Learning

What we have learned from previous meeting of MMSEL course was about communicating with parents for helping the success of students’ learning. Communicating is the best way to convey and to receive information. It also helps people in making relationship or even solving problems. This is also the reason why teacher should have good communication with parents of the students. It is needed in order to have good relationship between teacher and parents so that there is cooperation to help students in achieving a successful learning.

Teachers’ job is to teach. Successful teaching is indicated by students who get new knowledge and ability which is useful for them. Then it also becomes teachers’ job to make sure that teaching and learning activities are successfully conducted. There might be external factor that make the learning process is not successfully conducted such as students’ personal problem. Teacher should know which student who has learning problem such as personal problem so that teacher can help the student to achieve successful learning. This is why teacher need to have good communication with parents to know what the problem is so that it can be solved.

However, parents also need to know that though they send their children to school, it does not mean there is no need for parents to teach their children anymore. They still need to know what their children do at school and what their children get. Monitoring children progress not only becomes teachers’ concern but also the parents. Then there should be cooperation between teachers and parents to help children learn successfully.

What teacher can do is by having communication with parents in the very beginning of the semester. It is aimed to make plan what teacher and parents will do for the importance of their children’s learning. Then parents will not be surprised if one day they are called to come to school regarding their children’s problem at school. I think it is better than teacher only have communication with parents if there is problem with their children at school.

The importance of Opening the Lesson

Teacher needs to be competent, creative and innovative since they need to face students almost every day. Students are sometimes highly motivated and unmotivated at all in the other time. This becomes teacher’s crucial concern to get students put their willingness to study and be involved in the learning activity. That is why teacher should be as creative and innovative as possible to find the way out to maintain students’ motivation in learning.

It is necessary for teacher to be able to bring out interesting and meaningful lesson. One of the ways to do it is by doing attractive opening of the lesson. Opening is the most influencing part of the learning activity. When teacher can attract students’ attention and interest in the opening, then they will be involved along the learning activity. In contrast, they will not put any attention if they think the lesson will be boring or less meaningful for them.

Climate Variable for Meaningful Learning Process

Sampoerna School of Education (afterward SSE) has a program called School Experience Program (afterward SEP) that enables the students to feel the real experience of teaching in the classroom setting since . It gives the opportunity for SSE students to apply the theory about teaching in the real classroom setting. However, as one of SSE students who have done SEP, I found it hard to apply all of the theory since there were a lot of factors that perhaps I ignored. One of the problems I most encounter is the students were no likely to be involved in the learning activity I provided. It seemed they were not motivated to complete the task I gave for them. Yet, I know now, after attending Motivation and Management of Students for Effective Learning (afterward MMSEL) class, that teachers are not only required providing learning activity and materials but also creating an atmosphere that motivates students to learn.

The Influence of Beliefs on Motivation to Learn

How we see ourselves will affect how we live our life. This also certainly happens within learners. How learners see their selves usually affects the way they learn. Learners have their own beliefs toward themselves. There are statements such as “I can do today test well because I have learnt all night” or “I think I cannot pass the algebra test though I learn hard because I do not inherit math skill.” The sort of those statements reflects a belief of a learner. In other words, a belief is “a cognitive idea that is accepted true without necessarily definitive evidence to support it.” Generally people will accept their belief true without conclusive proofs because they experience it their selves and create self-conclusion toward their ability.

As what I have experienced since school age, my belief on my ability does affect the motivation to learn. When I was in senior high school I got good score in science test, I put high expectation that I could do even better for next science test. This describes expectation as belief about future outcomes.  In this case, my past experience affected my expectation for the future test. Because the teacher gave compliment since I showed a progress on science subject, I was motivated to do even better than before. The feeling of satisfaction of finishing a test well made me more confident and put more belief on my own ability.

The Influence of Need on Motivation to Learn

Need is owned by every living thing, and certainly by human. Need are power and effort that come from the inside of human to reach particular state or object. Need forces human to do some activities to fulfill the need itself. Maslow (1968, 1970, 1987), viewed as father of humanistic described human needs into hierarchy which is well-known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need. He divides it into deficiency needs and growth needs. Deficiency needs relates to basic needs that support the importance of human live. Growth needs describes humans need of intelligent and satisfaction.

According to Maslow, growth needs will never be fulfilled before human meet their deficiency needs. Deficiency needs include Survival, Safety, Belonging, and Self-esteem.

Survival needs stand as the basic needs that human need to fulfill before they can fulfill the other needs above it. Survival needs take account of the need of shelter, warmth, food and water. Those needs are described crucial for guaranteeing that survival. People will put effort to fulfill this need first before they continue to meet other needs. I do prefer to eat when I am hungry rather than to study, since study is also human needs. I think this need is also being a consideration of school policy maker since there is time for students to break and have a meal time before they continue to study. It is because, as I experienced at school, student are rarely motivated to learn when they are hungry. In other words, teacher and school policy maker should surely put concern on it since it can increase students’ motivation to learn.

Safety needs emerge when the survival needs are met. It describes the need of freedom from physical and emotional threat. When people have a place to stay, food and water, they will demand the feeling of safeties from any threat. This also has to be a concern for school and teachers because when this need is not met, students will not come or have motivation to learn. For example, I experienced it myself when I was in senior high school. There was a friend who always treated me like she did not like me. I felt an emotional threat from her. Then I prefer not to go to school. I did not have motivation to come nor learn. I think what teacher can do regarding this issue is by knowing the relationship exist among the students.

Belonging needs relates to the human need of love and acceptance from family and peers. This is emotional needs. After people meet their needs of survival and safety which are physical needs, they will continue to seek love and acceptance of their selves from family and peers. I think this need also influences the motivation of students to learn. When I already have a place to stay, food, water and feeling of safety, I feel energized to study. Yet, when family, teachers and peers do not accept me I feel I do not want to be there anymore. For example, when there is no one wants to have a lunch with you or do homework together, it decreases not only motivation to learn but perhaps also the motivation to make friends. What teacher can do regarding this issue is by teaching students to feel affection for each other.

Self-esteem needs still relates to emotional needs. This describes human needs of recognition and approval. Human is social-creature which is demanded to do interaction each other in order to be able to fulfill their need for the sake of their live. Yet, within interaction happens among them sometimes the majority of society rejects somebody to be in their community. The feeling of recognition and approval in the community is described as the highest human need by Maslow before they come to meet growth need. I think I experienced this many times, such as in a discussion of organization or in the classroom, not only me but I am sure almost every student wants to be listened, recognized and approved. This certainly influences students’ motivation. As I experienced, once I was not listened or my opinion was ignored, I felt like no more willingness to be included in the community. Teacher can handle this issue by letting students know about the importance of respect each other.

After people meet all their deficiency needs, according to Maslow, they will continue to seek growth needs. Growth needs, as mentioned before, relates to human needs of intelligence to attain our full potential as human and to be all that people are able to be. This need explains why there are musician, artist, athlete, scientist etc. When people are interested in particular object for instance energy, they are trying to find the knowledge about it. Then, when they develop their understanding about energy, they will not stop searching. It increases their motivation to look more for the knowledge and everything relates to it. I do experience it now when I feel I have meet all of my deficiency need. I am interested in computer programming and I find it remarkable. Although it is hard, since it is not my major of study, I feel challenged to be master on it and create something astonishing.

Other need that is not mentioned in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is the Need of Self-Determination. This need includes:

The Need for Competence

It explains human willingness to be seen as smart person. People put efforts to be as competence as they expected. Reflecting on my experience, the more we feel the need for competence, the highest motivation is. Teacher can influence this with attributional statements about performance, praise ad criticism, emotional reaction and offers help.

The Need for Relatedness

Relatedness refers to the feeling of being connected to others, love and respect in one’s environment. This need might be related to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need for the need of Self-esteem which demands for recognition and approval from others.

The Need to Preserve Self-Worth

Self-Worth refers to “an emotional reaction to an evaluation of the self” (Schunk et al., 2008). This need describes people tendency to protect their self, sense of self-worth and self-acceptance. I experienced this as a student of senior high school that I put effort to make myself seen as “smart” student by, for instance, doing “self-handicapping”. I told my friends that I did not learn for the exam when I get low score. I intended it to protect myself seen as unable-student.


Motivation relates to emotional and psychological issue. It energizes people to put effort in achieving their goals which is actually influenced by need. Human has their natural need which Maslow describes it into Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need. It arrives at a conclusion that need emerges motivation for people to do action in fulfilling the needs and attaining their goals.

Views of Motivation

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Views of Motivation

Motivation comes from individual that energizes them to do goal-directed activity. Humanistic theory state that people as organism have energy within themselves which help them through their live. Carl Rogers said basically people are intrinsic-motivated by their tendency of fulfillment, actualization, maintenance and achievement but then it is influenced by the environment. I do certainly agree since I have experienced time when I was highly motivated and when I was unmotivated at all. I am highly motivated when I am going to do activity that I am interested in such as learning about computer program. Mastering computer programming is my goal and it becomes my motivation to do activity that can help me to achieve my goals. Moreover the environment supports me to do that.  In contrast, I am rarely motivated when I am about to do activity that is because I have to do it. I emphasize here, when I do not know what for I am doing it then I will become unwilling to do that. In other word I have no goals in doing it. Not to mention if I am not able to adapt with the environment.

Motivation does energize people in fulfilling their needs and achieve their goals. There are two types of motivation, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Sometimes I am highly intrinsic-motivated and low extrinsic-motivated or vice versa. Motivation could be changing over time.

Intrinsic motivation comes within individual because of curiosity, self –determination, the satisfaction of completing task or challenge and desire to attain goals. People who are highly intrinsic-motivated believe in their ability in controlling environment. This is influenced by the competence of motivation whether they can maintain it or not.

Extrinsic motivation comes from the outside of individual. This also encourages people to do goal-directed activity. Yet, they might do it because there are some consequences if they do or do not do it such as reward and punishment.

There are some theories about motivation. Humanistic and Cognitive perspective are more stressing on intrinsic motivation. Humanistic perspective stresses that motivation as individual attempt to fulfill their need and develop potentials as human being. Implementation of Humanistic perspective in the classroom is by treating students as human first and learners second. Whereas Cognitive and Social Cognitive perspective view that motivation as individual belief and expectation that make people put attempt in understanding how the world works. These two perspectives emphasize that motivation relates to individual feelings, thoughts, beliefs and behavior as efforts to meet their needs and goals.

Other theories of motivation are Behavioral and Sociocultural Perspective. These two perspectives focus on extrinsic motivation. Behavioral perspective states that external reward and punishment will determine the motivation of student. It also examines behavior as the result of experience from their environment. Yet, there is critic to this perspective as it uses reward to increase motivation, it decrease the intrinsic motivation of student to learn instead. Having the same view of Behavioral perspective about external factor that influence motivation, Sociocultural perspective focuses on the need of affiliation which not only creates but also maintain warm, close and personal relationship. It highlights individuals’ involvement in group to value and support learning.

I think intrinsic motivation is more powerful and long lasting than extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation such as reward and punishment will not be well-preserved because when the reward and the punishment are gone, so is the motivation.