Pomp and circumstances

the power and purpose of intrinsic motivation

1/17/12            There is as much controversy about the effects of motivation in the classroom as there is diversity of today's students. I’m most curious about intrinsic motivation because there can be no doubt that intrinsic motivation can help determine the path of my grandchildren’s future and has an extremely encouraging consequence on the achievement of my grandchildren.

But for the purpose of this article, I’m using all of my experience as a classroom teacher.  “The definition of intrinsic motivation here is the motivation in the classroom of an individual to take part in activities that actually increase that person's concept of themselves. Simply put, a person will do something just because it is enjoyable and interesting for them to do it, and for no other purpose. There are certain factors that encourage intrinsic motivation, and these include challenge, curiosity, control, fantasy, competition, cooperation and recognition.”

Where did intrinsic motivation go?  What happened to those students who were curious and full of wonder?  What happened to the hunger to learn?  And, what happened to the pride in struggling up through the learning process?  I’ve been asking myself this question for the past 4 years.  When did it become the responsibility of the classroom teacher to salt the oats in order to make the horse drink?  What happened to preparing the child for the path?  Educating students has changed dramatically where the entire burden falls on the shoulders of the teacher. Before a student has any responsibility in the learning process, the teacher must first exhaust absolutely every teaching strategy, and be able to prove this in writing through samples/worksheets/ visuals/graphic organizers/guided practice/supplemental departments/tutoring/individual help/ect., to administration, parents, and the student! If the educator can make it through this process for each and every student (I had anywhere between 75-150 students per semester), then maybe, just maybe, the student will be held accountable for some part of the learning process.   

And, there’s another thing that has changed in education, studying, for example, should be intrinsically rewarding. However, this is not the case with students, “making it one of the most common malfunctions of the education process. Studying can be, and often is, extrinsically rewarding; meaning that studying results in getting a better grade, or in not being penalized for not studying.”  Educators are spending gross amounts of energy inventing creative ways to make studying more ‘fun’.  When, it’s been in the past, the students who were responsible in taking a personal interest in their own forward motion educationally.  It was up to the student to figure out how they learned and to study, thus teaching themselves, for the purpose of retention.  Intrinsically motivated students, in my opinion and through my classroom observations, are the ones who are retaining information in which to scaffold upon, and they’re the ones who are showing a curious interest in the struggle of learning.   

In the simplest terms, intrinsic motivation in the classroom is what students will do to achieve without any type of external persuasion. For years, researchers and psychologists have been studying this type of motivation. A few theories have been generated.  And if you know anything about a theory, it’s not fact!  Also, if you read carefully, you would have closed in on the quote, “it’s researchers and psychologists” who are generating theory, not the educators, not those in the classroom hour after hour, day after day, year after year.  You might ask “why aren’t educators generating theories?”  It’s been my experience that without ever being sure said theories are accurate, educators are handed politically charged directionality and told to follow suit.  It’s also my opinion that more educators need to buckle down and start writing their own observations and generating their own theories! 

So, according to the article, Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom, here are a few of what the different researchers have determined that students are more likely to be intrinsically motivated if the following situations exist:

1) The student can directly associate the educational result to the work they have invested into it.
2) The student believes they are the reason they have achieved their result, and not just luck.
3) The student truly has an interest in learning and perfecting the task.

Not a theory but common sense: “The long term benefits of instilling intrinsic motivation in the classroom carries far into a student's life. Employers, for example, are more impressed by a job applicant whose interest in the job at hand is to increase knowledge and opportunity to train (intrinsic) than those who are interested in the pay and benefits (extrinsic). Even personal relationships carry this trait; those interested in a relationship because they seek mutual happiness rather than only what they will receive from the association will likely have much more success in their relationship.”  And, originally the purpose of public education was to prepare young Americans to become good citizens, to offer them standardized education so society knew what to expect from the youth as they entered adulthood.  After all, it is society who is paying for public education. 

Encouraging the development of intrinsic motivation in the classroom can increase the feelings of self-worth and self-accomplishment in students. These are valuable assets for the students to carry with them throughout life, applicable in most any situation. They are also traits that describe a successful and high achieving individual.

quotes and inspiration are taken from the Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/317