The right motivation

WHEN the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education) was launched, I was very excited to see how the education of our future generation was planned and put forward.

Shift 1 of the blueprint that talked about producing holistic, balanced and entrepreneurial graduates caught my eye the most. I know very well that the only way to make it happen is that the teacher-centred approach needs to be replaced with the student-centred learning. And this is the only way that could change the mindset of our students from merely becoming job seekers to be job creators.

Many pedagogical or instructional methods had been developed for the past 40 years by educationists around the world on student-centred approach, namely cooperative learning, collaborative learning, problem-based learning, flipped learning and so on. However, to implement these approaches, there are many critical factors to ensure things work well.

There are six main criteria, all interconnected to each other – Pedagogy, Learning Space and Facilities, Curriculum, Skills of Instructor/Facilitator, Student’s Readiness, and Instructor/ Facilitator’s Motivation.

While all criteria is important, I feel that instructor’s motivation is the most important one that we need to address.

No matter how good the training, facilities, and curriculum, or how ready the students are, all will be doomed if the instructor or faculty members does not have the right motivation. Hence it is very important for an educator to have the right mindset and motivation, extrinsically or intrinsically, to teach.

The role of a lecturer is changing now, and teaching with deep passion is a role that we must play. If you want to be a teacher, it should be because you want to become one, and not because you can’t get any other job. Passion is an important thing that one must have. If one feels strongly about doing research, it is recommended for him/her to become a research scientist, not a lecturer.

If one is highly motivated to make a difference in the education system, come what may, he will make full use of whatever resources he has. He will create rapport with his students, because there is no teaching without a relationship.

Teaching and learning is not about dealing with the number of students passing or failing the course, but it is about individual development. It is about watching students grow not only in terms of knowledge, but also in demonstrating the right attributes and skills.

As an educator, I feel that the teacher/lecturer needs to become a good role model to mould the students in becoming somebody better. In order to have credibility with students, teachers must “practise what they preach”. Students would not be able to become somebody whom we desire them to be, if we do not show the right example.

This also requires consistent self-reflection on what has been done, what could be done better, putting the right interventions to ensure students become better persons.

Although there will be some resistance from students when an educator changes the way they are used to when it comes to learning, a true educator will persevere and not easily surrender.

Despite the challenges educators face, if one has a strong passion and motivation, he will persevere and he do it with a heart full of love. Students may dislike teachers who show “tough love”, and you may even end up not getting a good evaluation as a teacher from the students, but you know, it is for a good cause.

The most important thing that the educator needs to demonstrate to students is that you care for them. You don’t just give them problems to solve, but you’re there to guide them.

The younger generation nowadays can be highly opinionated, even when you are trying to motivate them. They may not realise it now, but they will appreciate it in future because you shaped them to be a better person.

That is the strongest motivation that we should develop in ourselves, because our students will grow up to become change agents in future. With that, let’s build strong motivation within ourselves for the sake of society.

DR MOHAMMAD TAZLI AZIZAN Head, Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning, Universiti Teknologi Petronas