iMove+iConnect

=** iMove iConnect** =



**Motivation** is a theoretical psychological construct about:

 * 1) =====that which **moves** one into action (Deckers, 2005[|[2]]) =====
 * 2) =====the **force** within individuals that energizes, maintains and controls their behavior (Westen, Burton, & Kowalski, 2006) =====
 * 3) =====that which **arouses, directs, and causes** persistence of behavior =====
 * 4) =====“the **driving force** behind behavior that leads us to pursue some things and avoid others” (Westen et al., 2006[|[3]]). =====
 * 5) =====**goal-directed** behavior (desire to achieve an objective, combined with the energy to work towards that goal) =====

** The term "motivation" derives from the Latin verb movere (to move). **
**Intrinsic motivation** refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure. **Extrinsic motivation** comes from outside of the individual. Common extrinsic motivations are rewards like money and grades, coercion **and threat of punishment.**

= = From the beginning of time, all humans have been intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to survive,to conquer, to propogate, to provide food and shelter, to keep warm, and to be thankful to their creator for living another day or year.

As one of the Elders from the Tkamlupa First Nation once shared with our Home Maintenance "Train the Trainers" session. Elder Sophie Pierre said, "Knowledge is not for us to keep to ourselves, it is our responsibility to share what we know with others". I learned this at an early age from my own grandmother and grandfather, my Kookum and Mosom. I was instructed to help my little brothers and sisters, and to listen to those who are older than me and to learn. If I didn't listen, I was motivated to learn with a stern look, or a authoritative tone in my Mother and Fathers voices. We were motivated by the coming of the seasons and the need to prepare food for the cold winter days ahead when it was dark for many hours and cold. Firewood had to be gathered and piled beside our house, water was gathered, berries were picked, cleaned, frozen or canned, meat was preserved, frozen or canned, and traps and snowshoes were repaired along with the fishing nets.

I was told that if we didn't do these things ahead of time, we would starve and would have to live off others, or would have to go begging for our food and safety. So motivation to learn how to survive, to care for one another and to always be open to learning new things was a value and principal I use to this day. Technology continues to change every year. When I was a little boy at a Catholic school run by nuns and priests and brothers, they motivated us with strict discipline, humiliation and praise sometimes. Getting the strap in front of the class and writing lines or being punished by not being able to participate in play with detentions were the norm. I was motivated to stay away from things that hurt me, and for being humiliated in front of others, so I did what the teachers told me to do and tried to keep up.

As I got older and moved into Junior High School, then High School, I realized that in order for me to keep up with the school work, I needed to listen in class, take notes, work with my counsellor to ensure I had some goals for what I wanted to be when I grew up and to work hard to try and understand what the teachers were trying to teach me. I really had a difficult time with social studies studying foreign countries and history of the world. I could not see how this was going to do any good for me when I got older. I wanted to learn more about my own people, the Cree, not the Mohawks or Nez Perce. Math was a subject I really enjoyed, English was a challenge to me as I had a creative and artistic side that I wanted to pursue. So I got emersed in as many art classes as I could throughout high school, and the higher level classes were left off my chart. Consequently, when I completed high school I did not pursue more studies, but because of living in poverty all of my formative years up to high school, and living in an environment at home that was overcrowded with 8 siblings who all dropped out of school at an early age, except my two older sister, my Mom who went to Residential School and a Dad who was raised by a School teacher who left home to join the war at 17 and finished grade 9. He didn't like my choice of classes at school and who was a hard working labourer most of his life and did not see the same level of importance of school, could not keep us all fed so as we reached 16 to 17, were sent out to make a living on our own. I went off track and got involved with working construction and pursuing drugs and alcohol etc....

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">After I got married and settled down and had children, I had to go back to school to learn some new skills. I started taking evening courses and workshops and reading wherever I could on personal growth, safety training, financial management, building codes, construction, writing essays, reports, letters, volunteering, and my motivation to learn was insatiable. As an adult who now had children to look after and teach by example, I was motivated both intrinsically and extrinsically to pursue my dreams and fullfill what I thought was the quality of life as defined by others.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">I have provided a little about my past experience in education at an early age and into my high school and early adulthood. Motivation to me was fear and isolation and feeling like I didn't belong, and as Maslows Hierarchy clearly outlines, if you do not have the basics, how can you be motivated to take on the challenge of the daily responsibilities in the classroom as a learner. How do you motivate yourself to become whatever you want to be without your basic needs met?

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Over the years I aspired to become certified as a teacher of knowledge by using my traditional oral teachings with hands on teaching with the new technology and methods of instruction I have learned in all of the PIDP courses. I know this Wiki assigment is part of learning and using new technology for teaching our younger and adult members of our community. So how do we motivate learners of all ages who have come from a similar background as my own; from poverty, from reserves, from family violence and drugs and alcohol backgrounds? These are the challenges that I have on a daily basis; in the work I do and the work I do in partnership with others in our community who work with the same level of learners.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">My education journey has taken me from the bush to the chalk board, to teacher student relationships, hand writing, typewriters, fax machines, cell phones, ebooks, you tube to me sitting here in my dining room looking at a laptop screen, talking to my classmates in two other locations, all motivated to learn.

<span style="display: block; font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> Our Words, Our Ways: Teaching First Nations, Métis and Inuit Learners