Intrinsic And Extrinsic Motivation For Students

Motivation is of particular interest to Educational psychologists because of the crucial role it plays in student learning. However, the specific kind of motivation that is studied in the specialised setting of education differs qualitatively from the more general forms of motivation studied by psychologists in other fields.

Motivation in education can have several effects on how students learn and their behavior towards subject matter (Ormrod, 2003). It can:

1. Direct behavior toward particular goals
2. Lead to increased effort and energy
3. Increase initiation of, and persistence in, activities
4. Enhance cognitive processing
5. Determine what consequences are reinforcing
6. Lead to improved performance.

Because students are not always internally motivated, they sometimes needsituated motivation, which is found in environmental conditions that the teacher creates.

There are two kinds of motivation:

• Intrinsic motivation occurs when an individual is internally motivated to do something because it either brings them pleasure, they think it is important, or they feel that what they are learning is morally significant.

Sometimes, motivating your students does not need to come from "receiving" something. Many students are intrinsically (internally) motivated. These students have an internal need to succeed at whatever they do. Students may have a desire to develop competencies in a specific topic; they may have internalized a social value that encourages them to succeed in education, or they may be naturally curious about new topics. Whatever their reasoning, capitalize on these intrinsic motivators. Learning to sense what type of motivation your students' need takes time, but the effort you put in will greatly increase the effectiveness of your lessons.

• Extrinsic motivation comes into play when a student is compelled to do something or act a certain way because of factors external to themselves (like money or good grades).

When teaching, it should be natural to want to motivate your students. The more motivated students are, the easier it is to teach your lesson. Extrinsic motivators are sometimes used when you have a student or group of students who feel like they have to "receive" something for their efforts. This could be small tangible items, or verbal or written praise. Some students thrive on extrinsic motivation. Middle school students may still be interested in stickers, stamps, or accolades on their homework, tests, and quizzes. Receiving special privileges, extra credit, and verbal praise may extrinsically motivate older secondary students. Though not all students need extrinsic motivation, it will become important for you to find out what and how to motivate your students.