The Three Pillars of Motivation in Marva's Classroom: Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness

    At her Westside Preparatory School, Marva Collins not only taught students specific skills, such as reading, writing, and calculation. More importantly, she transformed her students, who were previously labeled as problematic or left-behind, into confident and successful learners using practical motivational strategies. In this post, I will examine how Marva Collins motivated her students through the lens of Self-Determination Theory, which highlights that intrinsic motivation thrives on three psychological needs, including autonomy, competence, and relatedness. 

Autonomy

    Autonomy is the need to feel in control of one's own behaviors and goals. Marva Collins didn't force her students to do certain things; instead, she empowered them to succeed. In her book, Marva Collins' Way, she declared, "There is no such thing as 'I can't,' only 'I won't.'" This single statement placed the responsibility for learning on students, making them the agents of their own success or failure. When a student struggled, she didn't simply give the answer. She guided them to discover it for themselves, fostering a sense of ownership. However, when students didn't want to learn, for example, in the movie The Marva Collins Story, when a child refused to participate in an activity and made some noise, Marva Collins didn't threaten the student with detention. She clearly explained to the boy that "If you do not wish to learn, you have the right to fail. Now listen, I love you, you are a bright boy. But you do not have the right to disturb the other children's right to learn." Marva Collins shaped her students' behaviors by making sure they were aware of what they were doing and how they should be responsible for their behaviors. 

Competence

    Competence is the need to feel effective in one's actions. Marva Collins built her students' competence not with empty praise, but with specific, relentless affirmation. She provided praises, like "You are brilliant! You are unique!" after a student successfully sounded out a word or parsed a difficult sentence. In a scene in the movie, a child hesitantly read. Marva patiently guided her, and when she finally succeeded, she celebrated her achievement. This informational feedback directly showed the child that her effort led to success, making him feel genuinely capable and smart. The reward was the mastery itself.

Relatedness

    Relatedness is the need to feel connected to others. Marva Collins built a classroom community that functioned as a family. She used language like "my children" a lot in her communication with students and created an environment of unwavering mutual respect. This was not a top-down dictatorship but a circle of learners. When a student acted out, she didn't alienate them. Instead, she said to them that "We will not let you fail yourself... because you are part of us." This deep sense of belonging meant that students weren't just learning for a grade but learning for each other and for their teacher. This relatedness encourages every student in class to work hard and create pride for themselves as a big group.