Intrinsic Vs. Extrinsic Motivation

The intrinsic motivation definition is doing something for inherent satisfaction rather than for a reward or to avoid a consequence. In teaching young children, extrinsic rewards are often offered to motivate them to complete a task.

For example, kids in early childhood may work to earn good behavior points and once a class or individual goal is achieved, they will earn a tangible reward, such as a sticker or popcorn party for the class. As kids age into higher grades, these extrinsic rewards may be eliminated in favor of other kinds of tangible rewards, like a higher letter grade on an assignment. Some parents employ the practice of rewarding students for grades with money.

As young children grow, their brains develop to be interested in doing things for their own sake rather than for an extrinsic reward. It is important to note, however, that when a child experiences trauma, the brain rewires itself and can greatly affect behavior and motivation. When teaching students, it is important to know whether or not they may be experiencing some sort of trauma so that strategies may be implemented for those students.

Additionally, suppose the low-level needs of a sense of safety, hunger, thirst, and shelter are not present in students. In that case, they will be less likely to be able to focus on activities that foster intrinsic motivation. (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs)

The key to determining how well students will do with intrinsic motivation will be first to determine if low-level needs are met and if any kind of trauma exists as a barrier. Once those determinations have been made, it is time to explore activities that will foster intrinsic, student motivation.

Ways to Foster Intrinsic Motivation in Students at All Levels

One way to help motivation in the classroom and students’ love of learning is to allow them to see the meaning behind the learning.

• When presenting lessons, do the students understand what the objective of the lesson is?
• How does this apply to them at this time in their life?
• How will this help them in their future life?

Apply Lessons to Real-Life

Spending time on the meaning of the lesson as an anchor for why they are learning this particular lesson can motivate students to want to learn it for that very reason. If the lesson is about a certain math skill, talk to the students about how that may apply to money if that is important to them or relevant to their everyday life.

Likewise, kids learning to read often experience large surges of wanting to pick up books as they find they uncover a whole new world. This can be seen in high school level personal finance classes as students can directly see how what they are learning will be relevant almost immediately. Giving feedback that is encouraging also helps students to develop intrinsic motivation. Feedback should be honest to students and should be done in a positive way that makes them want to go back and revise their product.

Regular Check-Ins for Lengthy Projects

Timeliness is important. For example, when students are in the developmental stages of a multi-step project, having check-ins with the teacher and having them apply the feedback they get at each stage has the potential to be a powerful motivator for them. Assigning a project and then not doing check-ins along the way does not help to build in the idea of revision in a student’s mind. It becomes more of a judgment at the end of a project.

Gamification of Lessons

Designing lessons that are more like games or puzzles can affect a student’s internal desire to do well at that lesson. It will help to increase participation and can be motivating in the risk-taking that students do. Additionally, it can foster social-emotional learning. Students will want to acquire new skills to do better at the task at hand.

For example, instead of lecturing about the Oregon Trail’s history, have them get into teams of wagons and pretend they are going on this journey as the settlers did. There are pre-made games for this activity, allowing kids to learn about the lives of those who ventured on this trail and the dangers they faced. The team has to work together to make it safely to the end of the trail. Gamifying lessons like these are extremely motivating for kids. It can also help them to learn to work in a group.

Student-Choice

Allowing students to have some control over their learning is yet another way to foster intrinsic motivation. Student choice in learning can be more simplified in the early grades and become more complex as the student ages. For example, let students vote on read-aloud books in early grade levels.

Give a choice time during centers to provide some degree of choice. As kids age, allow them to have choices over topics they may be writing about. Assigned reading is also an area that kids can be given more freedom in choice. Student choice leads to more student engagement and a better feeling toward learning. Ultimately, kids are more apt to develop an intrinsic sense of motivation when choice is present.

Best practice is to move from extrinsic rewards and motivation in children to intrinsic motivation as the child ages, building appropriate strategies at each grade level. When students experience a love of learning for the pleasure of learning itself, there is no extrinsic reward that can top that feeling.

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Make Success Attainable Early and Often

School is like a marathon. Students are constantly working toward goals in the remote future: standardized tests, course grades, and even an eventual high school graduation. Our students often don’t have the stamina to sustain motivation throughout extended periods. To keep motivation going, teachers should provide chances for success every day. For example: Although the goal is success on a long-term project, what are students expected to accomplish in a single day? How can they show pride in progress? Make short-term goals clear, and give effective feedback on these goals often. We must remember that students often don’t have the life experience that causes adults to persevere toward far-off goals.

Differentiate the Product

When students complete a task that was designed with their strengths, interests, and weaknesses in mind, student engagement inevitably increases. As educators, we often differentiate the process or content of an assignment, but neglect to differentiate the product. Students don’t have to all demonstrate mastery in the same way. While one student may demonstrate summarizing through paragraphs, for example, another could demonstrate it through a comic strip. Student motivation increases when they are working toward a goal that utilizes their strengths and enhances their weaknesses.

Set and Enforce Clear, Consistent Expectations

Student motivation isn’t only born through fun and excitement – classroom management also plays a part. Believe it or not, when a teacher sets high expectations and sticks to them, students are more motivated to work hard. Sometimes students lack motivation simply because they don’t have to put in effort. When behavior and academic expectations are not evident and consistent, student productivity suffers. Create an environment where students understand that their best is not only encouraged, but expected.

Make Learning Fun

Student motivation is often so inundated with buzzwords like rigor and differentiation that it can be easy to forget about good, old-fashioned FUN. It’s important to stay current in student culture – what do your students enjoy doing, and how can you incorporate it into learning? We all know that this changes constantly. Think about your favorite teacher as a kid. Not the teacher you appreciate as an adult, because their tough-love suddenly makes sense, but the one you loved in the moment. The one who made work seem desirable and effortless. That was likely the “fun” teacher.

Student motivation is on a constant learning curve. Teachers must be intent on knowing their students, and using that knowledge to drive instruction. When students work because they want to, learning is optimal.

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