Motivation+in+Extension+Education

I have worked with UT Extension for nine years and work with both youth and adult audiences. UT Extension is a division of the Institute of Agriculture at the University of Tennessee. Extension was created at land grant universities for educators (Extension Agents) to develop programming to meet the needs of farmers and families.

In each county office, there is an Extension Agent that focuses on programming in agriculture, family and consumer science and 4-H youth development. Tennessee 4-H is unique in that 4-H agents are invited into the classroom to conduct programming. Our focus with youth development in the classroom is citizenship, leadership and workforce preparation.

In Extension we have a wonderful support system. We have specialists who work hard to develop programs that we can use within our county program from communication and leadership in youth development, Master Beef and Master Gardener programs in agriculture and financial management and striving to be healthier through physical activity and eating healthy in Family and Consumer Education programming. We have individuals on the state level who are in constant communicaiton with state and federal legislators so that they continue to support UT Extension. We also have leadership on the local and regional level. I decided to ask them to be a part of the "Ask the Expert" section to see how they view their motivation to self and others.

**Ask the Ex****perts**

** Mitch Beaty, Eastern Region 4-H Specialist **

**1. Please share some background information about yourself. How long you have worked, where you went to school and degree and your current position?**

I graduated from Cumberland County High School in 1981 and attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where I received my BS and MS degree. I have worked for UT Extension for 26 years. I started in Wilson County, 4-H/Ag in 1985 and in 1994 transferred to Putnam County, 4-H/AG. In 1998, I advanced to the Cumberland District Office as the 4-H Specialist. In 2004, I transferred to the Eastern Region Office and serve as the Eastern Region 4-H Specialisht. I serve as a resource and mentor to 4-H agents in the Region. I lend leadership to 4-H events and programs as well as assist program leaders in training and developing youth agents in the region.

**2. What motivates you in your work and how do you motivate others? If possible, could you provide an example of how you were motivated by someone or how you motivated?**

My motivation comes from the feeling that any job worth doing is worth doing right. Particularly in our business of helping to educate and develop people specifically youth. In my case I was a person who benefitted from the work of Extension directly when I was in 4-H and indirectly through my parents and grand-parents who relied much on Extension programs over the years. When motivating others I try to help them to see the benefit to the people they are working with. I also like to encourage by rewarding something done well rather than harping on something done poorly.

**3. I am sure each of you remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Please share your top 3 needs for an Extension employee to reach their potential need and goals.**

I think self-esteem probably is one of the major needs of a Extension employee. Most are highly motivated and competitive. Similarly, a sense of belonging and the feel that people appreciate the job you are doing both from clientele as well as administration.

**4.Would you consider yourself Instrinsically motivated or Extrinsically motivated? Why?**

I’m really both. I do take each task as a separate event that I enjoy doing for its own sake (and I am lucky that I get to do things I enjoy. But I also appreciate being appreciated. But if I really had to narrow it down…I would do the job regardless of how it was viewed or if I received the accolades. So I guess I’m Intrinsic… at least mostly.

**5.Self-Efficacy is defined as “People’s judgments of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performances.” (Bandura, 1986). Self-Efficacy affects choice of activities, effort and persistence. How to you keep the self-efficacy high with those you work with? If the self-efficacy is low, how do you raise?**

I think it is important to show workers how they benefit those they are serving as well as how it benefits them personally. For me I think it is important to understand how each person is motivated. We are all different.

**Jerry Lamb, UT Extension, Rhea County, County Director**

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** 1. Please share some background information about yourself. How long have you worked, where you went to school and degree and your current position? **

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I attended New Mexico State and received my BS degree in Ag Econ and then attended Arkansas State where I received my Masters in General Agriculture. I have worked for Extension for 19 years and in three counties. I was the 4-H Agent in Claiborne County and Humphreys County before moving to Rhea County where I have been for 10 years. I am currently providing leadership as the County Director to the 4-H Youth, and Adult FCS/Youth Agents. I am responsible for Adult Agriculture in the county meeting the needs of farmers.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** 2. What motivates you in your work and how do you motivate others? If possible, could you provide an example of how you were motivated by someone or how you motivated? **

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Helping others motivates me. In our profession, we have the opportunity to help others and make impact on our community. I get to spend time with the farmers in the county helping them to make decision regarding their farm. It is a way to form a relationship and trust among the community. I hope I am motivating others through my example. I am a "go to" person and hope that I can instill that in the individuals that I work with. My parents were a great motivator to me early on. They set high expectations for me and I set high goals for myself and had the will and the desire to achieve it. It was expected and valued in our family to continue our education after high-school and be as successful as we could be.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** 3. I am sure each of you remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Please share your top 3 needs for Extension employees to reach their potential need and goals. **


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Support Structure (Secretary, Regional and State Staff, Coworkers)
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Clear and concise job responsibilities
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">They need to feel that they are apart of a larger system other than just theirselves which relates back to the support structure.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**4.Would you consider yourself Instrinsically motivated or Extrinsically motivated? Why?**

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I would consider myself Intrinsically motivated. I always set goals for myself and work hard to achieve those goals. At times, we are all extrinsically motivated because in situations we do want to see the end result.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**5. Self-Efficacy is defined as “People’s judgments of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performances.” (Bandura, 1986). Self-Efficacy affects choice of activities, effort and persistence. How to you keep the self-efficacy high with those you work with? If the self-efficacy is low, how do you raise?**

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Communication in a small office environment is imperative. As the county director, I must have active communication with my staff so that I know what programs are going on and how I can affectively help them to be successful. If I feel that self-efficacy is low, I work with my office staff to figure out new ways to improve, make new goals and help to achieve those goals as an entire office staff.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Extension in the real world:** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Adult Learning:** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Adults learn in so many different ways. When we do an adult learning class, the class is going to be complete with different learning styles. It is important that we make sure that our classroom is designed so that it fits the needs of all learners in some way. For example, I teach a parenting class for parents who are at risk of having their children taken out of the home or maybe children have already been removed and they are taking the steps to build trust so that they can begin visitation and eventually having their children back in the home. Every parent is different and has a different story so, as I conduct my class, I have fit the needs of the class as a whole as well as individually. In one particular class, I had a parent who after the first class shared with me that he could not read. I told him that he could bring someone with him to class to help him and he did. No one else in the class picked up on the change and he felt better because he could still participate in class.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Attribution Theory <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Attribution theory assumes that individuals use various information sources as data to make inferences (attributions) about the casual determinates of behavior.(Motivation in Education, Theory Research and Application, 3rd Edition, pg 83). Personal and Environmental factors have an effect on our outcome. For example, I have trained a Horse Judging team and an Outdoor Meat Cookery Judging team. Teams consist of four members. Each individual must work as an individual and they also have an opportunity to work together at practice. Some days at practice, there could be a few team members that have just had a bad day. It could be the result of just about anything, agruing with a friend, bad grade on a test, didn't get enough sleep etc. Their self-efficacy is low. It is the environmental factors that could help to have a positive effect on that individual so that the attribution (outcome) is positive. The end result is doing well at the contest and it takes everyone to practice and do their part so that the self-efficacy of the entire group is high.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Expectancy-Value Theory <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Expectancies are people's beliefs and judgments about their capabilities to perform a task successfully. Values refer to the beliefs students/adults have about the reasons they might engage in a task. " Do I want to do this task and why?" (Motivation in Education, Theory Research and Application, 3rd Edition, pg 44)

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In my work, I have high expectancy of myself not to mention the high expectancy from my bosses. If I conduct a program, then I have to believe in the program before I can conduct it successfully. For example, I conduct a four week Dining with Diabetes class. The four weeks cover in-depth material about diabetes and how to put what they learn in class, from their doctor to practice. I know that the information is important for my participants to learn so I have to value the program. I do want to complete the task.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Goal Theory <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">We all have "goals" that we want to meet and exceed. Most of us want to exceed those expectations. Youth are always great examples of "goal setters". I have a former 4-H member who always set high goals for herself. She wanted to give 110% every time in in 99.9% of the cases she did and most of the time she succeeded. She showed cattle, was an excellent public speaker and won on the Regional and State level multiple times. She was active in the Angus Association (outside of 4-H) and held a leadership role. As I watched her mature over the years, I could see other 4-H members from our County and from others that would mimic her attitude and devotion to what she enjoys doing. It is up to us as educators as well as parents and other influences to help her to reach the maximum goal. I helped work on speeches, completing recordbook, practicing interview and much more and there was alway positive motivation. She also wanted to be a role model to others and was very successful at that.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Intrinsic motivated people have the will and the desire to want something to happen or to be successful where extrinsically motivated individuals are ready for an end result. We can be both at times, intrinsically and extrinsically motivated depending on the given situation.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Social Cognitive Theory <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In Rhea County I conduct parenting classes for parents who are at risk or who have had their children taken out of the home due to neglect. Parents must complete a six week course on communication, discipline, logical and natural consequences and other topics. Parents come in with a very low self-efficacy because of the decisions that they have made. The goal of the class is to build up self-efficacy so that they can become the best of parents. Each week they must go home and put their new practice to work. Most of the parents that take this class do not have their children at home so they must practice on whomever is at home. When the parents know that they are working toward the ultimate goal of getting their child home, they work much harder. I can certainly tell the difference in the parents they understand what their decisions effect their child everyday. It takes several factors to assist these parents in making the best decision they can for their child. The department of children services, judge, children's services and other friends and family as well as the child or children involved.