•  
  •  
 
Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Volume

15

Issue

3

Abstract

The famous French aviator, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, commented about leadership by saying, "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the sea." In a similar fashion, as leaders of learning, professors should follow the precepts of educational psychology to inspire students to deeply learn the course material. A student who is made passionate about learning a topic will fill his or her own bucket with greater expedience and efficiency than any professor can. This is a testament to the virtues of intrinsic, versus extrinsic, motivation. An optimal learning environment can be crafted, first, by providing a setting for academic success. A savvy professor can then design the course assessment scheme around harnessing student desires for autonomy. Role modeling can be integrated into the curriculum to shape student attitude and behavior. In similar fashion, an overall reinforcement plan can be instituted to reward appropriate student behavior. Following these tenets, educators can make learning an autotelic event that it is a self-contained activity, pursue by students not just for a good grade, but for the sake of learning itself (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.