It’s well accepted that there are two kinds of motivation. Some students are extrinsically motivated. They’ll move if you offer a big enough bribe or threat. Carrots and sticks. Punishments and rewards.
Other students are intrinsically motivated. They don’t need your input to go after something. It’s inside them. They’re keen. Focused. Driven. Drawn to approach the task and give it everything.
And the central push in lots of Education Staff PD is to try to create intrinsic motivation in students because… it makes your job easier and the students get better results.
There are two problems here:
(i) YOU can’t create intrinsic motivation. If you’re the motivating force in a student’s life, you’re an extrinsic motivator!
(ii) Even if you could create intrinsic motivation, the bar’s too high. How many students are genuinely internally driven to learn about the circulatory system, surds, the essay you’ve asked them to write, the recorder or ukulele you want them to play, and every other thing in the curriculum. What percentage are truly intrinsically motivated to run the cross-country for a personal best? It’s an impossible threshold.
The Six Types of Motivation
Until the 1970s, motivation was a single-item construct. You either had motivation or you didn’t. And teachers ‘motivated’ students by threatening them or bribing them. Everything was extrinsic. This was the heart of behavioural psychology.
In the mid 1970s some renegade psychologists were essentially kicked out of the establishment (and couldn’t find a journal to publish their research) for suggesting intrinsic motivation existed!
Today, those researchers are behind the world’s most well-established, evidence-based theory of motivation and wellbeing on the planet. And they’ve identified six different kinds of motivation that every classroom teacher needs to understand.
Amotivation means a student has a complete absence of motivation. No intention to act, no sense of purpose, and no connection between behaviour and outcomes. Head is on the table. Eyes are closed. Total disengagement. The student says: “nothing I do matters, so why do anything at all.”
External motivation means the student is motivated by punishments and rewards. This is carrots and sticks, bribes and threats. It’s the lowest form of motivation, but one that is far too prevalent in schools.
Introjected motivation occurs when the student regulates behaviour because “I should”. “I’m supposed to.” “I guess I have to then…”. This is action based on duty, self-expectation, and even a bit of ego.
Identified motivation is where a student ‘gets it’. They may not like the activity or task, but they ‘identify’ the value. They endorse the action. They ‘buy the why’. The rationale makes sense so they shrug, accept it, and get on with it.
Integrated motivation is a deep and powerful form of motivation where a student completes a task or activity because it’s who they are. “I’m a student who knows how to lead”. “I’m a student who gets work done early.” “I’m a student who wants to do well academically (or in sports, etc).”
Intrinsic motivation is deep motivational water. This is a student who shows up and says “Oh, I love this!” And they’re more commonly seen in PE class than maths – although you’ll find them in every class. It’s a small percentage, and they’re a joy because they LOVE the subject, the activities, the learning… the lot.
The Realistic Middle Ground
I don’t think it’s feasible that you’ll create an entire class full of intrinsically motivated students. There will always be more students who are wondering what the point of this is compared to those who are embracing it with delight.
The level at which you can stop using threats and bribes, however, is well below ‘intrinsic’ motivation. It’s waaaay back at ‘identified’ motivation. Let me explain.
If a student buys the rationale, understands the purpose, and sees the relevance of a learning task or activity, motivation is not going to be a problem. The student may not love what is expected, but they ‘get it’. And thus, they’re far more likely to move from compulsion to commitment.
Identified regulation means that the student accepts and recognises the value in the learning activity. And thus, they’re more likely than not to participate willingly.
How do you get them there?
In our next newsletter, I’ll give you the steps. For now, here are three questions to consider as you reflect on your classroom practice and where your students are on this motivation continuum.
- Where do most of your students sit on this continuum right now — and where do you sit as a teacher? Are you relying more on external motivation than you’d like to admit?
- Think of a student who is currently disengaged. What do they actually know about why this learning matters? Have they ever been told — clearly, specifically, convincingly?
- What would it take for your students to ‘buy the why’ in your next lesson? What’s the rationale you’d need to give — and do you believe it yourself?
