How to Implement Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom

First of all, what’s the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?

Well, according to a behavioral psychology author, Kendra Cherry :

• Intrinsic motivation : behavior that is driven by internal rewards; the motivation to engage in a behavior arises from within the individual because it is naturally satisfying to you
• Extrinsic motivation : behavior that is driven by external rewards (money, fame, grades, praise, etc.); the motivation arises from outside the individual

In case you need a visual example, here is a video summary of Daniel Pink’s book, “Drive” :

So how does one encourage students to run off of intrinsic motivation?

• Create an assignment that gets the students excited to complete on their own
  • This gets the student interested from within, without any external motivation
• Create a lesson the is free of grades
  • This way there is no extrinsic motivation to complete the assignment, the students have to find that intrinsic motivation to get it done
• Ask the students what motivates them
  • Tap into these motivations by creating lesson plans around them, whether it be a certain sport, game, etc.

Here is a blog that really caught my attention:

https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2011/11/26/intrinsic-motivation/

The 8 ways this article mentions to fuel intrinsic motivation are:

• Make it deserved
• Make it subtle
• Make it private
• Make it silent
• Make it written
• Make it belated
• Make it on potential 
• Make it joyous

As a teacher, have you ever thought about what intrinsically motivates your students? No? Well now's the time to start thinking! Dig into those intrinsic motivations to find where your students' true potential lies. @AnnMacKenzie #NSTA #scienceteaching #EDT431

— Miss Welsh (@MissWelsh3) September 26, 2018

What would be an example of an activity that requires students to be intrinsically motivated?

• Assign a family history assignment that requires the student to interview their family members to learn about their genetic traits.
  • It could be formatted in some type of family tree
• The student would be intrinsically motivated to get the chance to learn things about their family history that they may never have known before.

Here is a video of an eighth grade family history project:

What is some evidence of intrinsic motivation from this video?

• Every project is very well put together, and shows that every student put an immense amount of effort into this project.
• When they are answering the questions, as well as initially introducing their projects, you can hear the excitement in their voices.
• They are very excited about the fact that they now know more about their family history than they ever did before.
• There is no mention of grades, points, extra credit, etc.