Ryan, Richard M. and Edward L. Deci. 2000. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist 55(1): 68-78.
Thompson, Barry R. and Holly J. Thornton. 2002. The transition from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation in the college classroom: A first year experience. Education: summer issue.
Monday, April 2, 2007
How do we move students toward intrinsic motivation?
To tackle this question, I consulted a couple of papers written by psychologists who study this topic (see “References” post for complete citations.) They point out that intrinsic motivation is an innate tendency, and the appropriate question to ask is not how to get it or what causes it but rather what conditions support and sustain it, versus subdue and diminish it (Ryan and Deci 2000). I like this perspective; it seems to make the job of motivating students easier since they already have an innate tendency! All we need to do as teachers is create the right conditions…
Well, maybe creating the right conditions is still a challenging goal, especially when we consider most college classrooms are designed for an audience of 30 to 300 students or more. Let’s first look at some of the research results on motivation in general, and then deal with translating them to the college classroom in the next post. I will break this up into two main sections, a) motivating people for activities that hold some degree of interest for them, and b) motivating people for activities that do not hold an appeal for them.
a) Motivating people for activities that hold interest for them
Cognitive evaluation theory integrates results from laboratory experiments and field studies from various settings on the effects of rewards, feedback and other external events on intrinsic motivation. They found the following elements to be important:
1. Events such as positive feedback, communication, rewards, etc. that induce feelings of competence during action can enhance intrinsic motivation for that action.
2. It is also important that there be a sense of autonomy (perception that they are responsible for the performance) to enhance the feeling of competency. Said another way, people must not only experience competence or efficacy, they must also feel their behavior is self-determined. This can result from either immediate support for their autonomy and competence, or from previous experiences that have already set up their personal autonomy. To clarify this idea of autonomy, we are referring to the power of using one’s own will in any act, whether in a group or alone, collectively or individually. It does not refer to being independent, unrelated to the group, or detached.
3. Choice, acknowledgment of feelings, and opportunities for self-direction were found to enhance intrinsic motivation.
4. Tangible rewards, threats, deadlines, directives, pressured evaluations, and imposed goals diminish intrinsic motivation because they emphasize an external source of causality.
In general, teachers who are autonomy supportive (in contrast to controlling) catalyze greater intrinsic motivation, curiosity and desire for challenge. Students taught with a more controlling approach lose initiative and learn less effectively, especially when learning requires conceptual, creative processing.
b) Motivating people for activities that do not hold an appeal for them
For activities that do not hold an intrinsic appeal, we can turn to strategies that move people along the extrinsic motivation spectrum. As mentioned in a previous post (“Motivation defined”), there are a variety of extrinsically motivated behaviors ranging from completely unmotivated to a level where the action is accepted or owned as being personally important and has been brought into alignment with the person’s own values and needs. Studies support the idea that people move along this continuum in their cognitive development, and that more autonomous extrinsic motivation is associated with more engagement, better performance, lower dropout, higher quality learning, and better teacher ratings, among others.
If extrinsically motivated behaviors are not inherently interesting, why would anyone perform them? The primary reason lies in our sociability, because the behaviors are prompted, modeled, or valued by significant others to whom we feel (or want to feel) attached or related. To move toward integrating the behavior into the internal realm, people must grasp the meaning and synthesize it with respect to their other goals and values. This processing is facilitated by a sense of choice, volition, and freedom from excessive external pressure toward behaving or thinking a certain way. Support for autonomy is critical and allows individuals to actively transform values into their own.
Well, maybe creating the right conditions is still a challenging goal, especially when we consider most college classrooms are designed for an audience of 30 to 300 students or more. Let’s first look at some of the research results on motivation in general, and then deal with translating them to the college classroom in the next post. I will break this up into two main sections, a) motivating people for activities that hold some degree of interest for them, and b) motivating people for activities that do not hold an appeal for them.
a) Motivating people for activities that hold interest for them
Cognitive evaluation theory integrates results from laboratory experiments and field studies from various settings on the effects of rewards, feedback and other external events on intrinsic motivation. They found the following elements to be important:
1. Events such as positive feedback, communication, rewards, etc. that induce feelings of competence during action can enhance intrinsic motivation for that action.
2. It is also important that there be a sense of autonomy (perception that they are responsible for the performance) to enhance the feeling of competency. Said another way, people must not only experience competence or efficacy, they must also feel their behavior is self-determined. This can result from either immediate support for their autonomy and competence, or from previous experiences that have already set up their personal autonomy. To clarify this idea of autonomy, we are referring to the power of using one’s own will in any act, whether in a group or alone, collectively or individually. It does not refer to being independent, unrelated to the group, or detached.
3. Choice, acknowledgment of feelings, and opportunities for self-direction were found to enhance intrinsic motivation.
4. Tangible rewards, threats, deadlines, directives, pressured evaluations, and imposed goals diminish intrinsic motivation because they emphasize an external source of causality.
In general, teachers who are autonomy supportive (in contrast to controlling) catalyze greater intrinsic motivation, curiosity and desire for challenge. Students taught with a more controlling approach lose initiative and learn less effectively, especially when learning requires conceptual, creative processing.
b) Motivating people for activities that do not hold an appeal for them
For activities that do not hold an intrinsic appeal, we can turn to strategies that move people along the extrinsic motivation spectrum. As mentioned in a previous post (“Motivation defined”), there are a variety of extrinsically motivated behaviors ranging from completely unmotivated to a level where the action is accepted or owned as being personally important and has been brought into alignment with the person’s own values and needs. Studies support the idea that people move along this continuum in their cognitive development, and that more autonomous extrinsic motivation is associated with more engagement, better performance, lower dropout, higher quality learning, and better teacher ratings, among others.
If extrinsically motivated behaviors are not inherently interesting, why would anyone perform them? The primary reason lies in our sociability, because the behaviors are prompted, modeled, or valued by significant others to whom we feel (or want to feel) attached or related. To move toward integrating the behavior into the internal realm, people must grasp the meaning and synthesize it with respect to their other goals and values. This processing is facilitated by a sense of choice, volition, and freedom from excessive external pressure toward behaving or thinking a certain way. Support for autonomy is critical and allows individuals to actively transform values into their own.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Why is intrinsic motivation our goal?
There are several levels on which we could address this question. At the most basic level, it's more fun to spend time learning about something if you are curious and inquisitive, and it is likely to lead to better retention and understanding of a topic. (Of course, we can't expect anyone to be inherently interested in every topic, personally there are just some things that I don't find interesting at all. But let's postpone discussion of that point to a later post.) At this stage in my life, this seems obvious and intuitive (I would never have made it this far in graduate school if it didn't) but I don't think it's something I was conscious of as a freshman, or even as a senior, in college.
From a teacher's perspective, it is much easier to engage students who are intrinsically motivated, although they may pose more challenging questions and issues. I also find more immediate rewards from interacting with motivated students, there is more bi-directional communication which I find reassuring. There may be some inherent danger in this feeling, and I think it's the teacher's responsibility to teach to all the students in the class, not just those who are self-motivated (more on this later).
On a grander level, I think intrinsic motivation is a life skill. I believe that a healthy, enjoyable, well-balanced life involves seeking out new challenges and exploring and learning. We have all probably experienced the personal satisfaction that results from finding answers to a question that you are curious about. In my own experience, this often leads to higer self-confidence, which then frees me to follow my curiosity about the next interesting thing I encounter.
From a teacher's perspective, it is much easier to engage students who are intrinsically motivated, although they may pose more challenging questions and issues. I also find more immediate rewards from interacting with motivated students, there is more bi-directional communication which I find reassuring. There may be some inherent danger in this feeling, and I think it's the teacher's responsibility to teach to all the students in the class, not just those who are self-motivated (more on this later).
On a grander level, I think intrinsic motivation is a life skill. I believe that a healthy, enjoyable, well-balanced life involves seeking out new challenges and exploring and learning. We have all probably experienced the personal satisfaction that results from finding answers to a question that you are curious about. In my own experience, this often leads to higer self-confidence, which then frees me to follow my curiosity about the next interesting thing I encounter.
Motivation defined
I thought I'd start by comparing and contrasting internal and external motivation. To be internally (intrinsically) motivated is to be driven to do an activity for the inherent satisfaction of the activity itself. This is in contrast with being externally (extrinsically) motivated, or driven to do an activity in order to attain some separate outcome or reward. There are some subtleties within this dichotomy that are worth considering. For example, students who study because they are interested in the material are intrinsically motivated, but students who study to get a good grade on an exam as well as students who study because they understand the future payoff for their career are both extrinsically motivated. Both of these latter examples involve external motivators beyond the inherent joy of learning the material, however the last example involves a feeling of choice and personal investment rather than just complying with an external judgment.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Background: Why this blog?
I'm a graduate student in biological sciences and I just finished an intensive, three-day seminar on college teaching. We covered a huge amount of information in a short time, and it was very productive, but due to time constraints we did not get a chance to discuss some of the topics in depth. This blog is an attempt to expand my (and hopefully your) thoughts on ways to increase student motivation, in particular to help students transition from being externally motivated (by grades, fear of failing, etc.) to being internally motivated (curious and engaged out of self-interest).
I hope you'll share your thoughts. Thanks for visiting my blog!
I hope you'll share your thoughts. Thanks for visiting my blog!
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