Motivating Students to Learn: What Works? Intrinsic or Extrinsic Motivation?

Abstract

This study’s focus was to discover the effect of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on students’ learning as well as teachers’ and students’ preferences in motivation strategies used and the reason for using certain strategies. While observing, I encountered multiple examples of intrinsic motivation being supported by teachers, but also an overwhelming amount of extrinsic motivation being used to entice students to complete their work. I discussed different motivation strategies with various teachers and through surveys and interviews began to discover and analyse their motivation strategies, opinions, and thoughts. No student is the same, and it is a teacher’s responsibility to distinguish what type of motivation will work best for a certain student during a particular time or setting. However, the ultimate goal should be to maximize a student’s determination to become a self-motivated, autonomous learner.