Motivation: Misconceptions & the Truth
Growing up I had always believed that being rewarded for putting in work was destined to 
make me work harder and complete a task more successfully. It was how I was raised by not only my parents, but society as a whole. I was paid for coloring with children (a task I very much enjoy), I was given a grade for building a boat out of cardboard and trying to float in a pool with it, and I’m often paid for hanging out with my cousins, even though we just eat dinner and watch movies. Would I do these things without the prospect of getting something out of it in return? I don’t know for sure, but Daniel Pink says otherwise.
Watch the TED Talk below to get a quick summary of Dan Pink’s “DRiVE” and how the world understands motivation.
Shifting the Motivation in Your Classroom
In the TED Talk above, Dan Pink, author of “DRiVE: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,” explains that when creative and critical thinking is involved, supplying humans with reward actually hinders the effectiveness and success of people. Below are a few examples of how to shift from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation in your classroom.
- Encourage students to pick the topics that will be focused on in class
- When students pick the topics they’re going to learn about, it encourages them to discover what they’re truly interested in
- Use positive feedback and praise to fuel their motivation
- Instead of using just grades, use feedback to positively encourage their learning while still evaluating their work
- Instead of giving students harsh deadlines and strict rules for completing a project, give them a due date but allow them to choose how they want to complete the work
- Autonomy allows your students to show how they’re creative whether thats through words, paintings, technology, music etc.
- ONLY use “carrots and sticks” or extrinsic motivators in your classroom when doing repetitive, simple tasks
- Put passion and heart and creativity into your teaching and be excited when you teach it!
- If your students see that you give your all and go above and beyond for no reward, they’ll be more interested into what you’re teaching and they’ll be excited to do the same
https://twitter.com/ClaireCreight10/status/1045508529933766656
What motivates you to get up out of your bed every morning and go to work or school? For me, I get up to earn my degree in education because the look on a student’s face when you’re explaining a concept, a definition, or an idea to them and it finally clicks is truly heartwarming and priceless.
So tell me, what DRiVEs you?
Claire,
Awesome post! I think you really nailed everything important when it comes to motivation and drive as a whole. The beginning section where you added your personal experiences also humanized your post and made it unique. The TedTalk straight from the author was also a great addition to tie everything together. The section about how to drive intrinsic motivation in the classroom was probably my favorite part because it went in depth and you explained why you added the certain points. Most of the ideas you had are some that I also have and hope to use in my future classroom, too. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your post and the quotes at the end were great!
Kacey
Kacey,
Thanks! I wanted to add my personal experiences and things I will eventually use in my classroom because motivation is a topic I had never truly thought about before, and after reading DRiVE, my whole perspective changed. I thought the TEDTalk was a great addition because I felt like it was a great summary to the book in such a short amount of time instead of me trying to write out the main points.
Claire,
I enjoyed your take on HOW we as teachers can motivate our students. Often times, I wonder what I can do to take what I learn in class and implement it into my future classroom. These are some great examples that I can use! I also enjoyed how you started off your post with some personal experience! It makes the reader reflect on their own personal experiences with motivation and things they are passionate about. How would you start off your school year by finding out what motivates and drives your students? Will you simply ask them or will you engage them in personalized activities?
Michael
Michael,
Thank you! I think a great way to get an idea about what motivates my students will be to just add a little question onto their first day materials that asks them about how they are motivated. I feel like its a good way to physically see how many students write “grades” and figure out how to change them from Type X to Type I. I think based on those responses I’ll be able to better engage them in class based on slowly taking them away from rigorous, boring, point-based assignments or assessments and engaging them with more critical thinking projects with lots of opportunities for creativity!
Claire
I really enjoyed how you began your blog. You discuss tasks that should be fun and creative and done on one’s own time, but you express that you were rewarded for these tasks. I am curious, did expecting payment make them any less fun that if you were to choose to take part in these activities? For me, I always loved playing with and taking care of children. However, as soon as it became a job for me, it became tedious and something I dreaded doing a bit. Is that what you experienced? This brings in the idea of autonomy. You independently might choose to play with your cousins, or color with kids, right? Did expecting a reward no longer allow for those decisions to be autonomous?
Kate,
I don’t think I always feel like that but it definitely has happened. There have definitely been times where I get in my car to drive over and I’m not always as excited as I was when I agreed to babysit. I think when it becomes a job, I’m trying to do everything that their parents do so that I’ll be appreciated more, which I believe takes that autonomy away.
Claire,
I really enjoyed reading your blog! I especially love your ideas for shifting students from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation. I also loved reading about how you grew up on extrinsic motivation, tying everything we learned in DRiVE back to yourself! Daniel Pink’s TEDTalk is a great video to show as well! Overall a really great post!