Intrinsic Motivation

     

      We cannot discuss motivation without talking about the intrinsic motivation of students. It is basically related to the reason why students do something whether in class or outside it. Personally, I have had many students who are motivated intrinsically. In other words, they don't care about materialistic things a lot. What really matters to them is the actual thing, task, or activity. They tend to do a certain activity because they enjoy it, or they like the topic or the activity. They get motivated due to their interest and curiosity. For example, I have a student in grade 6, that really enjoys reading and is always curious to know what is going to happen next in the stories. As a result, whenever we have a reading task, she reads enthusiastically the part assigned and even continues to read more and more till she finishes the story. Also, I have a student in grade 4 who loves spelling words aloud. So, he really enjoys and gives his all during spelling periods. In short, I believe it is the teacher's responsibility to integrate things that make use of students' intrinsic motivation to get the best results and allow students to have fun while learning. 

Extrinsic Motivation

    Students sometimes need some extrinsic motivation while learning. In other words, they need to get something, whenever they do a task for example. Some of them might do the task or activity simply because of the reward that they might get at the end. These rewards can be verbal or materialistic. For example, a teacher might tell the students "Good job", "Bravo", "Excellent work", and that might get them excited to work. Others might do in order to get a star, a gift or just raise their name on the behavioral chart that they have in class. Also, the teacher can motivate them with extra grades, bonuses, or even just taking away a punishment that they have if they do something good. As such, some students might get a good grade at some test just because of the grade itself or because his/her parents want that grade from the particular student. Honestly, I have actually encountered students that are motivated extrinsically. For example, I have student in grade 4, who would only participate in class work just to get a star on the chart. In conclusion, the challenge is to integrate some intrinsic motivation as well and not always depend on the extrinsic ones.🌟