What motivates students?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And further, what motivates them to be engaged at school to master the objective you\u2019ve chosen for them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answers here vary dramatically and can have a huge impact on each and every student.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s start with the obvious line of answers. \u201cEveryone goes to school,\u201d or \u201ceveryone needs an education in this day and age.\u201d Though there is a certain amount of truth to these cliched responses. But if one of these \u201c\u2018cuz everyone does it\u201d answers is the best reason a young person can present for attending school, it\u2019s no wonder these same kids do not engage and simply do school because school is the done thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior students often invoke the mantra \u201cI have to do well at school in order to get into university\u201d when asked about reasons for attending and doing well. This can be a genuine motivational factor, especially in families where the expectation is academic and career success. But is this the answer we really want when we pose that question? Doing well simply to get to the next level is fine when playing video games, but it hardly seems inspirational as an educational goal for a secondary school student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are myriad other reasons students give for attending school, all of them valid. As with any question around motivation, answers to this question can be divided into two categories: intrinsic reasons for attending school and extrinsic reasons. Anyone who\u2019s read Dan Pink\u2019s book \u2018Drive\u2019 or viewed the related TED Talk<\/a>, understands that extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are not equal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prevalent assessment practices are the most obvious example of how we rely too heavily on extrinsic motivators. As long as we evaluate more than we assess\u2013and as long as we provide grades more often than we provide feedback\u2013student motivation will come from the collection of this \u2018currency\u2019 that we call marks. Those richest in this currency will be afforded the best opportunities come to the end of high school, an unfortunate fact. The students we label \u2018mark sharks\u2019 are simply the ones who have truly taken to heart our message that good grades (i.e. extrinsic rewards), as opposed to quality learning, are the primary goal of our educational systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Extrinsic motivators don\u2019t get students truly engaged in their learning, they make school analogous to a job\u2013something that has to be done. If we want our systems to be as strong as they can possibly be we need to explicitly foster an intrinsic motivation in each of our students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only students who are intrinsically motivated to be engaged in school will end up truly challenged, enriched, energized, and ultimately fulfilled by their experience. Yes, it\u2019s an ideal\u2013but it\u2019s worth keeping in mind.<\/p>\n\n