Educational Psychology Essay example -- essays research papers

Essay Topic (Unit 10 – Question #3) How would you as a teacher encourage intrinsic motivation in students? Intrinsic Motivation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Intrinsic motivation can be defined as â€Å"motivation associated with activities that are their own reward† (Perry 2003). It is motivation that stems from your inner feelings and views which feed your desires to accomplish and perform. Oppositely, extrinsic motivation is â€Å"motivation created by external factors such as rewards and punishments† (Perry 2003). When you are extrinsically motivated, you are only performing the task for what you will gain from completion. On the other hand, when we are intrinsically motivated, there is no requirement for external rewards or punishments because the activity is a reward in itself. It is a benefit for students to be intrinsically motivated in the classroom because they are leaning for knowledge and not just for marks or grades. Most students are naturally extrinsically motivated at school by things such as grades and their future career. In a perfect world we â€Å"want students to be motivated also by the love of learning, knowledge for the sake of knowledge, and positive feelings about themselves† (McKinney).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One way of intrinsically motivating students is to â€Å"foster student autonomy† (Specific Classroom Management Methods). Students are more motivated to do things they enjoy than things they do not enjoy. By giving students options and choices, they are feeling in control more than when they are boxed in to the instructions they are normally given. Something as simple as letting the child decide what order they want to do a series of tasks in could make a large difference. One way of fostering independence could be done by giving students a choice from a selection of different books to read. When studying a particular subject, let the students choose what kind of project they would like to do (report, presentation or model). If there are multiple ways of doing something, show the students the different methods so that they can explore and figure out which one works best for them. As a teacher, â€Å"Help students understand how they learn most effectively † (McKinney). Have students keep a journal where they can write down what they’ve learned from completing assignments. Minimizing pressure is also and important aspect of fostering autonomy.... ...ack. This is a way in which the teacher can use constructive criticism to help students improve their work. It also enables the teacher to acknowledge work that has been done well. On the other hand, self-evaluation should be encouraged by asking the child how they think they did. This takes the child away from searching for the external motivation of your praise. It will instead lead them to want to do well for themselves, not just for their teacher. Intrinsic motivation can be increased to fabricate the life-long learners educators wish for and society needs. Teaching children to look for internal motivation is not an easy task and cannot be mastered by one teacher alone. All teachers need to make it their main focus for students to make it their primary motivator. References McKinney, Kathleen. Encouraging Students’ Intrinsic Motivation. Illinois State University. http://www.cat.ilstu.edu/conf/handouts/intrinsicmot.shtml. Perry N., Winne P., Woolfolk A., Educational Psychology. Pearson Education Canada Incorporated: Toronto, Ontario 2003. Specific Classroom Management Methods. http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~jimbo/RIBARY_Folder/specific.htm