{"id":4803,"date":"2022-12-02T14:46:45","date_gmt":"2022-12-02T19:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/exemplary-science-teaching\/?p=4803"},"modified":"2023-01-27T20:47:35","modified_gmt":"2023-01-28T01:47:35","slug":"how-to-keep-students-motivated-in-science-classrooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/exemplary-science-teaching\/2022\/12\/how-to-keep-students-motivated-in-science-classrooms\/","title":{"rendered":"How to keep students motivated in science classrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
I’m not officially a teacher yet, but I do tutor large groups of students taking a general college biology course at my university. In order to get students to participate, I will sometimes offer candy or something little to motivate them. But is this really motivating them to learn or think critically about what they’re learning? <\/p>\n\n\n
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Benefits of intrinsic motivation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
encourages autonomy:<\/strong> when students feel self-motivated to do something, it feels less like an assignment and more like an activity they want to do <\/li>
increases creativity<\/strong>: since the activity is something a student wants to do, they are given the freedom to be more creative with the task <\/li>
improves understanding<\/strong>: when creativity and autonomy intersect, it makes it more likely that the student will comprehend and retain what they are learning<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Is extrinsic motivation ever useful?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Yes, extrinsic motivation can be useful in some situations. An if-then reward can work for lower-level tasks, like when I offer candy to the students I tutor when they answer a question. But for higher-order tasks, like a project or assignment, and for learning in general, I think intrinsic motivation is more useful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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