motivation : Factors That Encourage Intrinsic Motivation

When a classroom is run on children's natural motivation, emphasis is on learning and being part of the environment, not on rewards and other external reinforcers that take away from the essentials of school. Much research has been done to determine which factors encourage intrinsic motivation in a classroom community. This page describes these factors; for specific classroom ideas, please click here. The following areas are all valuable in creating a learning environment in which intrinsic motivation is fostered (please click on one to learn more about it):
The style of a teacher can have a powerful effect on a student. In the case of teacher control, students' intrinsic motivation is often related to the control orientation of the teacher. Valas and Sovik (1993) studied seventh and eighth grade math students and found that students who believed their teachers allowed more student autonomy tended to have higher intrinsic motivation in math than students who believed their teachers were more controlling. The students with higher motivation also perceived themselves as more competent in mathematics, in addition to having higher achievement scores.
In order to create a learning environment in which students' needs are addressed, teachers must really understand their students interests, beliefs, and concerns: in short, their motivations. Middleton (1995) found that teachers often struggle with predicting their students' motivational constructs. Kohn says it well, "We need to stop asking 'How motivated are my students?' and start asking 'How are my students motivated?'" (Brandt 1995, p.16). Strong, Silver, and Robinson (1995) address this issue in their article, "What Do Students Want (and what really motivates them)?" They discuss four issues which are essential to meeting children's motivational needs: promoting success, arousing curiosity, allowing originality, and encouraging relationships. Success can be developed by clearly defining what success is, valuing it in the classroom, and helping children see how they can attain it. Curiosity can be aroused by making sure that lessons offer fragmented or contradictory information, which puts children in an active role by solving the unknown; in addition, meaningful issues also awaken curiosity. Originality can be promoted by allowing many opportunities for students to express autonomy. Finally, by encouraging relationships, children's innate need for interpersonal involvement is fostered. When factors like these are included in a classroom, children are naturally involved and driven to learn because their intrinsic motivation is heightened.
Often children's intrinsic motivation is affected by the nature of the task itself. Hence, the curriculum plays a valuable role in maintaining children's natural interest in school. A child will assess an activity's motivational value in determining if intrinsic interest exists. Perceived fun, arousal, and control, interact to influence a child's interpretation of an academic activity as intrinsically worthwhile. Arousal is achieved through challenge, curiosity, and fantasy, while an optimum control level is obtained when a child perceives free choice in the activity and the task itself is challenging, but not too difficult (Middleton 1995). Matthews (1991) found that children who felt they had more control in regards to decision making and the general functioning of school had higher intrinsic motivation in reading, social studies, and science.

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