Motivational Interviewing and Teaching
- Feb 3
- 2 min read
After attending a phenomenal training with the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) in October of last year, I have been thinking a lot about how MI aligns with my internal values as a clinician, teacher, and human. One of my core values is Freedom, and I believe that freedom really is the freedom to choose for ourselves and move closer to our dreams. It is key to me then as an educator that I provide the space for my students to experience some degree of freedom and autonomy. To be empowered in their role as a learner.
However, this does not come easily after 12+ years of education that does not encourage this format. We are not typically encouraged to learn in this manner and I often find my students experience feeling overwhelmed in response to being told that they can structure the classroom how they want, they can alter assignments, or choose who leads the class. Thus, I try to provide a semi-structured environment for them to receive the support they feel they need to practice learning more freely. This typically looks like telling them the way in which the class is usually run, the topics we usually cover, and the ways we usually evaluate. I then give them the ability to shift or change this within reasonable time frames. Typically, the class starts the same as it usually would, they come in to sit and listen and I continually encourage them to discuss, work in groups, and take the lead. Over the course of each semester my goal is to get them to be more autonomous and to recognize that they can also rely on each other, not just me, in their learning endeavors. I believe that our values should be what drives our motivation to do anything and it is not my requirement that my students values align with mine. I always wish to evoke their curiosity, but most important to me is to evoke their motivation.
I also find that with the spirit of MI (acceptance, partnership, evocation, and compassion), I take less personally from my students and am better able to be present with them and their experiences. There is less pressure on me to have all of the solutions and I still find my students receive positive outcomes in response to our conversations regardless of any amount of planning. I am not one to typically go all in on any one model or theory. I think that all of them have their problems and cannot be applied across everyone. That being said, I do find that even with my critical eye, MI is something I think would be beneficial for many people to learn. So for those interested, some basic resources.
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