Motivating & Inspiring Students. Robert J. Marzano
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identify traits of self-actualization, teachers should first have students select people they believe are self-actualized (at least to some degree). As students consider individuals who frequently engage in self-actualizing behaviors, they may find that their candidates fall into categories—for example, candidates who are successful or well known in their fields, candidates who are particularly satisfied with their lives, or candidates who have accomplished extraordinary or difficult feats. These categories themselves can spark lively discussions around the outcomes of self-actualization. Teachers can also remind students that self-actualization makes us feel that we are developing into all we are capable of being. Consequently, individuals may be successful in specific areas of life but may not experience the sense of fulfillment that often accompanies self-actualization. For example, a lawyer may be successful in his profession, but this may not make him feel as though he is living up to his full potential. If the lawyer has a desire to express himself creatively, he may need to develop his skills as a writer or painter to truly experience self-actualization.
With such discussions as a backdrop, students can identify their candidates for self-actualization. Teachers can provide students with parameters for the candidates they choose, such as whether or not students should be personally acquainted with their candidates or whether candidates can be celebrities, deceased, and so on. Teachers could also provide students with example candidates, like those listed in table 3.2. Visit MarzanoResources.com/reproducibles for information about other candidates for self-actualization.
Table 3.2: Example Self-Actualization Candidates
| Candidate | Description |
| Erik Weihenmayer | Despite losing his vision at age thirteen, Weihenmayer became involved in many extreme sports including paragliding, skiing, and mountain climbing. He won many awards for his accomplishments and his persistent spirit. He was the first blind man to summit Mount Everest and was one of only one hundred people in the world who has climbed the highest mountain on each continent (Adversity Advantage, n.d.). |
| Sandra Day O’Connor | O’Connor grew up in rural Arizona and had to leave home as a child to receive her education. She went on to attend Stanford University, where she studied economics, and then enrolled in Stanford Law. After graduating, she had difficulty finding a job because, at that time, no private firms in California were willing to hire female lawyers. She eventually started her own firm, served as a state senator, and became the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court (Oyez at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2016). |
| Langston Hughes | Hughes was an innovative writer and one of the first jazz poets. He fought against racism and social inequality and became one of the most well-known and prolific African American writers of the 20th century. His determination was apparent in his writing process as well. Four drafts of his poem “Ballad of Booker T.” are archived in the Library of Congress; each draft is heavily annotated, and Hughes made major changes from one to the next before publishing a final draft (Wesson, 2011). |
| Robert Goddard | Known as the father of modern rocketry, Goddard was a physicist and inventor who built the first liquid-fueled rocket. He studied rockets extensively and, in 1919, published work that suggested that rockets could be used for space flight. This claim received a great deal of ridicule and backlash, but Goddard trusted his experiments and calculations and continued to improve rocket technology. His work directly enabled humanity’s exploration of Earth’s atmosphere and outer space (Garner, 2016). |
| Bethany Hamilton | Hamilton began surfing as a young child and dreamed of becoming a professional surfer. When she was thirteen, she was attacked by a shark and lost her left arm. Only a month after this traumatic event, she returned to surfing. She continued to compete and accomplished her goal of turning pro at the age of seventeen. As of 2014, Hamilton was a national champion surfer, as well as an author and public speaker (Soul Surfer, 2015). |
Research Candidates
After identifying their candidates, students can research and write brief biographies of them in their own words. If candidates are alive and available, students might try to arrange interviews with them to get a better sense of their accomplishments. To illustrate what a biography might look like, a student who selected Eleanor Roosevelt as a candidate might write the following description.
Eleanor Roosevelt was born in 1884 and eventually married Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the thirty-second president of the United States. Contrary to the previous expectation that first ladies were to embody quiet elegance without much participation in politics, as first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt reimagined the role of the wife of the president. However, this was not a surprise to many who knew Eleanor growing up, as she had always been active in politics and involved in humanitarian efforts. Throughout her tenure as first lady (and after), Eleanor Roosevelt’s actions showed a desire for equality by breaking down barriers that restricted women. Although traditionally women were not allowed to attend White House press conferences, Eleanor Roosevelt not only held her own press conferences but also limited her first press conference to only female reporters. Due to her husband’s diagnosis of polio, she often was referred to as “the President’s eyes, ears, and legs” and used this position to pursue her own agendas related to the rights of the underprivileged and underrepresented. After her husband died, Eleanor Roosevelt did not retreat from the public eye, unlike many first ladies before her. Rather, she served as chair of the Human Rights Commission in the United Nations and drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is still in use today. After serving in the UN, she went on to fill multiple leadership roles in organizations and committees dealing in a wide range of humanitarian topics (Biography.com, n.d.; Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, n.d.).
Students can also present their findings to small groups or to the class as a whole (once completed).
Identify Candidates’ Traits
During this step, students hypothesize about various traits they believe their candidates possess. Students use previously gathered biographic information to provide evidence for their assertions about their candidates. To aid in this process, teachers may first want to provide examples to students about what appropriate traits are and how to provide evidence for them. For example, a teacher might explain that talented artists are often unconcerned with what others think of their work, as they recognize the intrinsic value of their art or find satisfaction in the process of making it. From this, the teacher could then identify nonconformity, creativity, and intrinsic satisfaction as traits related to self-actualization. To provide evidence for these traits, the teacher could explain that while he is highly appreciated now, when Claude Monet, the founder of French impressionism, first debuted his works, they were largely criticized. Despite the fact that he lived in poverty, Monet continued to paint the way he wanted, eventually experiencing success years after his impressionist debut (J. Paul Getty Museum, n.d.). After this brief lesson, teachers could ask students to identify other individuals who have shown the same traits and use evidence to back up their claims.
To further illustrate, reconsider the student who selected Eleanor Roosevelt as her candidate for self-actualization. She might hypothesize that one of the important traits possessed by Eleanor Roosevelt was her willingness to take risks for the causes she believed in. The student could use Eleanor Roosevelt’s exclusive press conferences for female reporters as evidence of this trait. The student could then explain that many of Eleanor Roosevelt’s actions were inherently risky because she was a pioneer for many progressive ideals and did not know how the public would respond to her actions.
Generate a Class List of Traits
After identifying specific traits and backing them with evidence, teachers can ask students to present their findings to the class. Teachers can do this through brief student presentations or class discussions about traits students have identified. Teachers should record students’ findings as they are presented to compile a list of student-identified traits. Once a list is generated, small groups (or the class as a whole) can analyze its traits. Teachers should remove repeated or irrelevant traits and combine similar traits to create a composite list. In order to further narrow down the list, teachers can also discuss the relevance of traits