Extrinsic and Instrinsic
I thought that these forms of motivation were very informative because this is what we come in contact with from our students. I would like to know however, if anyone can share a situation where the extrinsic lead to instrinsic motivation?
Michael, thanks for sharing. Teaching today is hard work. The students of today are very different from students 10 years ago. Education goes through such times and it takes caring and compassionate instructors to understand the challenges students face outside the classroom. Some students have simply never had to worry about being successful so the skills that are necessary for success do not exist. We find ourselves as professionals within higher education doing the tasks that should have taken place by a student's parents or the K-12 system. I am not saying it is right, I am not saying it is fair, I AM saying it has become part of our job to do what we can to assist ALL students.
Regards,
James Jackson
I teach Math courses in a career college and I have found that students begin the semester with little or no idea of how to use the course material in their chosen program or future profession. For some students, I spend the entire course trying to reach 2-3 students with extrensic motivators to keep them engaged in the material. For the majority of these students, I see a light come on somewhere around mid-term. The students who stay engaged tend to settle in and realize they must focus on education. The students who fail to stay engaged allow outside activities to rule their lives and drop out of school. As a general observation, the younger the student the more work and effort it takes to keep them engaged long enough for them to mature and see the benifit of education. I often tell my students, the more you learn, the more you earn.
Being a cheerleader and a coach is not one of my stronger traits. I learned a long time ago the value of an education and sometimes I find it a challenge to relate to students who don't care. Continuing education keeps me grounded and focused on instruction (engaging the student) long enough for the intrensic nature to kick in.
One example of how an extrinsic motivator can lead to an intrinsic motivator might be when an instructor takes the time to review test performance with a student and is encouraging. The student feels she is getting helpful and supportive feedback. This would definitely lead to a feeling of security for the student. Pointing out what the student did well on the test will help her to feel that she was successful in some way and has achieved some knowledge in the class.
