Intellectual need is a specific form of

intrinsic motivation Motivation is an internal state that propels individuals to engage in goal-directed behavior. It is often understood as a force that explains why people or animals initiate, continue, or terminate a certain behavior at a particular time. It i ...

; it has been defined as "a learner’s subjective need to address a problem by learning something new." It has been recognized as critical in effective

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and

learning Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, value (personal and cultural), values, Attitude (psychology), attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, non-human animals, and ...

. Intellectual need arises when a person experiences a problem leading to either out of

curiosity Curiosity (from Latin , from "careful, diligent, curious", akin to "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking, such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident in humans and other animals. Curiosity helps Developmental psyc ...

or to solve a specific problem. Intellectual need is often greatest when there is a hole in an otherwise well-connected web of knowledge, where one has reached the limit of their knowledge and identified a knowledge gap. Merely understanding a question and being unable to answer it is not sufficient to create intellectual need—intellectual need arises when a person believes the question to be interesting or important, and usually this involves fitting the question into a framework of well-understood ideas. Mathematics professor Guershon Harel argues for a difference between motivation and intellectual need, stating that intellectual need does not have to do with one's interest or desire but rather

epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...

and one's engagement in problems leading to learning. He has formulated the Necessity Principle, which states: "For students to learn

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

we intend to teach them, they must have a need for it, where 'need' here refers to intellectual need." A common critique of certain educational systems is that students are expected to learn facts and ideas in the absence of any intellectual need. As a result, the teachers and educational system must provide extrinsic motivation for the students in the form of tests, grades, or other incentives. This gives rise to a whole series of problems, ranging from

boredom In conventional usage, boredom, , or tedium is an emotion characterized by Interest (emotion), uninterest in one's surrounding, often caused by a lack of distractions or occupations. Although, "There is no universally accepted definition of bo ...

academic dishonesty Academic dishonesty, academic misconduct, academic fraud and academic integrity are related concepts that refer to various actions on the part of students that go against the expected norms of a school, university or other learning institution ...

Examples

* A student who asks a question is displaying an intellectual need for the question to be answered. * A birdwatcher who cannot identify a certain bird will often have a strong intellectual need to identify that bird because it represents a hole in his or her knowledge; however, others might have no intellectual need, even though they also cannot identify the bird. * One can cultivate intellectual need by giving students a problem they can easily understand but cannot solve, or a question they can understand but cannot answer, before introducing a technique that can be used to solve the problem or information that answers the question. * If a student cannot understand a question or problem, it cannot provide intellectual need for a solution. * Giving students a new technique to solve a problem will not be effective if the students are already able to solve the problem through other easier or more enjoyable techniques, because they will have no intellectual need for the new technique.

References

Notes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Intellectual Need Learning

Examples

See also

References

Notes

Sources