Collaborating with Maslow

When I was in teacher prep classes 20 years ago, I remember being frustrated with the focus on philosophy and educational psychology without understanding the practical applications. I remember thinking, "This is great Skinner and Maslow, but HOW do I implement this in the classroom? HOW do I teach a novel? HOW do I teach grammar? HOW DO I TEACH?" Now, 20 years later, I understand the foundation educational psychology serves for instructional practices.

 

When a student acts out in class, I return to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and ask: what is this student lacking? What does the acting-out student need?  Educators cannot expect students to to put aside their basic needs for the sake of today's worksheet or test. Poor performing students do not have the capacity to set aside their basic needs so that they can focus on higher-order thinking tasks. And those same students may also lack the capacity to advocate for themselves and state what they need. While the teacher in me may initially want to reprimand the acting-out student and unnecessarily escalate the situation, the mom in me recognizes the opportunity to diffuse it with a question to the student: "Are you cranky because you are hungry?" There's granola bars in my desk drawer for that reason.

As I integrate technology in my classroom, I again return to Maslow. Akin to a checklist, my adaptation of Maslow's hierarchy looks at it with a digital lens. Without meeting the physical needs of hardware, wifi, and battery, educators cannot integrate technology. Without addressing the safety needs of digital citizenship, filters, and firewalls, educators and students cannot safely interact in a digital realm.  But where educators primarily need to focus their energy in effectively integrating technology is using technology so that the needs of belonging and esteem are met. Students need to feel that they belong to something greater than themselves, and they need to feel good about the learning that is happening in that space. Educators can leverage the power of learning management systems such as Edmodo and Google Classroom to create online learning communities, and use badges, comments, and awards to positively reinforce, a la Skinner, the interactions that occur in the learning community (badging will be another blog post coming "soon"). All of this is so that students will become self-actualized, intrinsically motivated learners who realize the strength and aptitude of their talents.