Book Review
Wlodkowski,
Raymond. J.
Enhancing
Adult Motivation to Learn, 2nd Ed
San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999,376 pp. ISBN 0-7879-0360-4
Overview
Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn
explores a new and different approach on the issues surrounding adult learning
with a key focus on the impact of cultural diversity on adult motivation. The
main theme or purpose of the book is to identify and show how instructors can
awaken the desire to learn in adult learners by understanding and appreciating
their different cultural backgrounds. Based on various theories of motivation,
the author proposes different motivational strategies that can be used by
instructors to; create, enhance and maintain the learners’ interests.
According to
Wlodkowski the author of the book, motivation refers to the energy that drives
adults to become naturally inclined to compete for things they consider very
important to them. The author further adds that, there is a very close
relationship between motivation and the learner’s cultural background which in
turn affects the ability and willingness to learn. Adult learners come from
diverse backgrounds in terms of their culture, ethnic origin, race and gender,
and instructors must clearly understand and appreciate this fact if they are to
motivate and encourage adult learning.
The author
supports his view on the impact of motivation on learning using his own
personal experiences, assumptions and facts from reviewed literature and
research studies that explore the use of motivation as an enhancement tool for
learning.
The book is a revised edition of
the same and it mainly focuses on the effect of ethnic differences, racism and
gender on the motivation of adult learners. According to the author, every
learner posses some intrinsic motivation characteristics which emanates from
within and can thus become positively motivated for as long as they are able to
view themselves as the center (locus) of the causes and effects of their
learning. In simple terms, adults are able to learn as much as they are willing
to learn.
Based on this
presumption that learning motivation must come from within, the book seeks to
explores way in which instructors can elicit and stimulate the already present
intrinsic motivation characteristics in order to encourage learning among adult
learners. Reviewed from edition one which was published in 1985, this revised
edition is more comprehensive and responsive to the issue of ethnic, racial and
cultural diversity and its impact on adult learning.
The issue of cultural diversity is
carefully interwoven with the issue of motivation in each and every chapter of
the book giving rise to a comprehensive and practical guide for instructors
involved in adult learning programs.
The book is
carefully organized into eight comprehensive chapters. The first three chapters
are somehow delineated from the other five chapters as they address the issue
of motivation from a multi-disciplinary perspective. The remaining five
chapters mainly focus on practical examples on motivation of adult learners and
they also give workable strategies on how the issue can be addressed more
conclusively.
Evaluation
Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn is
one of the few books in the field of Adult Education that directly address the
issue of motivation so clearly and comprehensively. The book is scholarly
written and it serves as a rich source of reference for instructors and
trainers in the field of adult learning. With eight comprehensive chapters, the
book is organized in a logic manner which is easy to read and understand.
The first chapter
of the book reviews the background information surrounding the term motivation.
This chapter also provides a summary of the issues surrounding adult learning
in relation to motivation and cultural diversity. In this chapter, the author
uses the term motivation to refer to a learner’s willingness to be attentive in
class and to learn in some cases while in other instances, he uses it to refer
to a situation where a learner willingly applies what is learnt in class to situations
outside the classroom.
In chapter two,
the author explores the five key characteristics of an effective instructor
that enhance learner motivation. These
qualities include; enthusiasm, expertise, clarity, empathy and responsiveness
to the learners’ cultural diversity. He further develops these five key
qualities that every effective instructor must possess in order to be able to
motivate the students based on the motivational theory and literature from
cultural and ethnic studies. According to Wlodkowski, an instructor should
first be an expert in the field that he or she is teaching so as to be able to
share the knowledge to the students in a way that all the learners will
understand clearly. Moreover, the instructor should be able to understand each
of the learners and be able to apply different teaching approaches to meet each
learner’s individual learning needs. To be able to capture and maintain the
learners’ attention, the instructor should be enthusiastic and should also
communicate with clarity in a way that every learner is able to understand.
In chapter three,
the author explores the factors to consider when designing a motivating
learning model. These factors include; attitude, stimulation, competence,
emotional state, needs and reinforcement. Based on these factors, Wlodkowski
proposes a “Motivational framework for culturally responsive teaching” aimed at
assisting instructors to enhance the motivation of their students. The
framework outlines four conditions for culturally responsive adult teaching
which include; cultivating positive attitudes, enhancing meaning, establishing
inclusion and engendering learners’ competence. According to the author, these
four conditions form a common culture base on which all the needs of the
learners are valued and addressed equally.
The next four
chapters; 4, 5, 6 and 7 form the main body of the book as they continue
exploring the four conditions of the motivational framework in detail. These
four chapters are consistent in format with each chapter covering one of the
conditions mentioned above. In each chapter, the author first provides the
background information on the condition to be discussed before giving practical
examples and workable motivational strategies on how the condition can be
incorporated into the actual teaching process. Throughout the four chapters,
the author proposes various motivational strategies which are aimed at
enhancing adult learner motivation in each area discussed.
A total of 60
motivational strategies are discussed in chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7. One example of
such a learning strategy is Strategy 1 which proposes that, for an instructor
to cultivate a positive learning attitude in the students, he or she should
constantly share valuable information with the learners. This will make the
learning process more entertaining and the learners will be more interested
hence motivated to learn.
The last chapter;
chapter 8 serves as a summary for the entire book where the author explains how
all the various motivational strategies discussed in the four previous chapters
can be applied in enhancing adult learner motivation. This chapter also
provides additional examples for instructional planning and guidelines for
assessment by on adult learners.
Strengths and weaknesses
The book is well
organized and the ideas easily flow from one chapter to the other making it a
comprehensive and interesting guide for instructors. Having practical examples
to illustrate the key points, the author’s ideas are explicitly presented with
excellent clarity which makes them easy to understand and apply across all
settings. The sixty proposed motivational strategies are particularly helpful
for instructors as they contain wisdom and practical skills which if properly
translated and applied can guarantee excellent results in terms of enhancing
adult learners’ motivation and interest in learning.
In addition, the
author does not disappoint in delivering the proposed ideas and concepts and
despite being a great scholar in the field of psychology, he avoids the use of
psychobabble and jargon words which would complicate the text. In addition, the
author employs humor and many practical examples which help drive the point
home by attracting and maintaining the interest of the reader.
However, the book
is too a bit too choppy. The author spends too much time explaining and
justifying the motivational strategies and some of the learning strategies even
tend to overlap. For instance, Strategy 42 which states that; “when possible,
the instructor should state and demonstrate to the learners the possible
advantages of learning” has a more or less similar meaning as Strategy 67 which
states that; “the instructor should help the learners to be aware of the
natural consequences of learning and the impact of such consequences.”
Recommendation
Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn is a
great read for instructors in the field of adult learning. It not only provides
excellent resources on motivation but it also provides a practical framework
and strategies for motivation of adult learners. I would therefore strongly
recommend this book to any instructor who is already involved or interested in
developing a new course in the field of adult learning as the book serves as an
excellent instructional tool regardless of the stage of their teaching career.
However, most of the techniques and strategies proposed in the book are more
applicable to small groups and would not work very well on large groups of
learners. I would highly recommend this book to teachers, instructors, trainers
and anyone who is interested in motivating adult learners.
Author
The
author Dr. Raymond Wlodkowski has a rich background in the field of psychology
and is a licensed psychologist. He is currently a professor at Regis University
in Denver where he is also the Founding Director of the commission for
accredited programs.
Reference:
Wlodkowski, Raymond. (1999)
Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn: A Comprehensive Guide
For Teaching All
Adults (Revised Edition). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers
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