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Motivating Students

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Sections:

General Motivation Principles
Helping Students to Stay Motivated in Online Courses
Additional Resources

General Motivation Principles

Student motivation is complex and dynamic, so there are many factors that affect it. These include things that are internal to the student (e.g., their beliefs, emotions, achievement history), characteristics of the tasks students are asked to complete (e.g., how interesting they are, how difficult they are, whether they are individual our group tasks), and elements in the learning environment (e.g., the gender and ethnic make-up of the class, supportiveness of the instructor, stereotypes about the students’ ethnic or cultural group). 

 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

One way to categorize different forms of motivation is the intrinsic-extrinsic divide. When students are intrinsically motivated, they are engaging in the task because of something that is inherently motivating about the task itself. For example, students find the task interesting, or believe it is valuable to learn the information or skill that is inherent to the task. Curiosity, a need to understand and master one’s environment, and a desire to achieve valued goals are all drivers of intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation, in contrast, refers to factors that influence motivation that are not intrinsic to the task itself. Rewards, threats, and grades are some examples of extrinsic motivators.

 Both forms of motivation—intrinsic and extrinsic—motivate student behavior. Students who find the work in a class interesting will generally be more motivated to engage in the work than those who find the work boring. Similarly, students who care about getting a good grade will generally be more motivated than students who do not care about getting a good grade. But just because both forms of motivation influence behavior, that does not mean their effects are equal. Decades of research (e.g., Ryan & Deci, 2020) have demonstrated that when students are intrinsically motivated, they tend to engage in the work more deeply, persist at it longer (especially when they encounter difficulty or setbacks), are more creative in their problem-solving, and are more likely to continue working in the area (e.g., learning more about the topic outside of class, taking additional classes in the subject, choosing the field for a major or career) than when they are extrinsically motivated. All of this suggests that instructors should try to promote intrinsic motivation with their students whenever possible. Extrinsic motivation is better than no motivation, but intrinsic motivation is the best form of motivation.

 Tips for Promoting Intrinsic Motivation

There are many theories of human motivation and most of them have ideas for how to promote intrinsic motivation. Looking across those theories, there are four or five core principles of intrinsic motivation, and these are described next.

 Competence: People are more intrinsically motivated when they feel competent, believe that they are gaining competence, and feel that they know how to become competent. A lack of confidence and feelings of incompetence are two perceptions that decrease motivation in general and intrinsic motivation in particular.  

 Autonomy/Agency: Helping students understand that they have ownership over the learning process and that the process of learning, including how they learn and what they learn, is at least partly within their control. Seeking and using student input and being transparent in your reasons for the assignments you give are part of creating agency. The opposite of autonomy is control and coercion. People are generally less intrinsically motivated when they feel like they are coerced to engage in an activity. “Mindsets,” a popular concept in motivation, fits within this category.

 Interest/Relevance: Students are more intrinsically motivated when they find the material and the tasks interesting and/or relevant. This category is where the “Why are we learning this?” question is resolved.

 Belonging: Creating a classroom environment where students feel safe, connected to other students and the teacher, respected, and valued. Classrooms where students feel marginalized, devalued, or invisible can undermine a sense of belonging and decrease motivation.

Identity: People are more intrinsically motivated to engage in identity-congruent behavior. When students believe that class material and tasks are consistent with their values, sense of self, and that there are opportunities for someone like themselves to succeed, they are more motivated. This includes perceptions that the work in that area is personally meaningful.

Principle Definition Tips for Practice
Competence This includes both feeling competent and understanding why and how one becomes more competent.
  • Help students see how the successful completion, with understanding, of each step is related to achieving a larger goal.
  • Show how the development of competence is ongoing.  Have students revisit past work and re-think their answers and approaches to the problem.
  • Test students in a variety of ways to see which methods are best measures of their progress and to give them more chances for success
  • Have students write comments or questions in the last few minutes of class.  Address these the next class.  This encourages students to think about what they do/do not understand.
Belonging Creating a classroom environment where students feel safe, connected to other students and the teacher, respected, and valued.
  • Note the contributions or the positive things that individuals (especially low achievers or low status students) or groups have contributed.
  • Take time to build a classroom community by creating classroom standards as a group and giving students and yourself and opportunity to learn a bit about each other.
  • Teach students how to work in groups, and allow them to be accountable for learning of all members of the group.
  • When students make mistakes, ask them to explain their thinking rather than evaluating their answer. Focus on the process of developing understanding rather than just the product of demonstrated understanding.  Highlight what the class has learned from this.
Agency Helping students understand that they have ownership over the learning process and that the process of learning, including how they learn and what they learn, is at least partly within their control.
  • Discuss purposes for learning material and make the purposes worthwhile.
  • Help students gain a sense of control over their learning.
  • State positive reasons for learning and avoid controlling language, e.g., “learn this for the test,” “learn so you don’t get cheated.”
  • Solicit meaningful contributions from all students, including explanations for answers (even incorrect answers)
  • Help students see how effective use of strategies leads to learning. Encourage them to document the strategies they use.
  • Give students choices about how to work, solve problems, and demonstrate mastery.
  • Have students explain to partners and question partners about how and why they chose a solution method.

Interest/

Relevance

 Student motivation is enhanced when students find the material interesting.
  • Make class material personally relevant by tying it to students’ personal lives or interests.
  • Relate your personal experiences and enthusiasm for the subject.
  • Use open-ended problems that relate to the real world.
  • Discuss the ideas that students have for approaching problems and why they might work; do not look just for right answers.
  • Explain why you are teaching a topic and why it is important.  Most students think that the purpose of school is “work,” and might buy into the notion of “learning” as meaningful.
  • Present information in varied ways. Novelty promotes interest.
  • Create cognitive conflict by challenging students pre-existing beliefs and misconceptions.
Identity People are more intrinsically motivated to engage in identity-congruent behavior. When students believe that class material and tasks are consistent with their values, sense of self, and that there are opportunities for someone like themselves to succeed, they are more motivated. This includes perceptions that the work in that area is personally meaningful.
  • Ask students to reflect upon how what they are learning in your class is related to their own beliefs about what they value, their goals, and their sense of self.
  • Build in opportunities to engage in some identity exploration in your class by asking them to think about who they are, who they want to become, and where your course fits within that process.
  • Where possible, talk about how the information in your class may contribute to the common good or contribute to solving problems in the real world.
  • Students may reject subjects or disciplines because they do not perceive opportunities for “people like them” to succeed in that domain. Show students examples of a variety of people—various ethnicities, cultures, genders—who have made contributions in your discipline.

Helping Students to Stay Motivated in Online Courses

Self-directed learning plays a larger role in online classes, and staying motivated can be difficult. To address this challenge, we asked our SCU colleague Tim Urdan, a Professor of psychology and motivation researcher, to provide some insights on how the motivation literature can help us support students in online courses. Here are three specific challenges to students’ motivation that Tim identified and some strategies to help address them.

Community:  Social isolation can have a big impact on students’ motivation. Without the spontaneous conversations that occur in face-to-face classes, students in online courses may find it difficult to feel like part of a community. Fostering opportunities for students to connect with you and each other can go a long way towards creating a sense of community in an online course.

  • Create informal spaces for students to talk to each other. These could include co-working Zoom sessions, group office hours (rather than just individual meetings with students), or a discussion forum devoted to non-class related topics (for instance, students’ favorite shows or free time activities).
  • Consider replacing an upcoming assignment with an alternative activity to foster community. For instance, ask students to discuss a video or article related to the course content with a classmate, family member, or friend. Students could complete a reflection assignment about the conversation they had and how it enhanced their thinking.

Self-regulation:  Self-regulation is the ability to manage one’s thoughts and behaviors to carry out particular practices (for instance, working on a project when we aren’t in the mood to work). This is already a challenge for many college students and is even more challenging now that students’ learning is more self-directed.

  • Provide structure such as consistent due dates, check-ins, routines, and procedures.
  • Offer students a recommended structure for managing their time (e.g., read one hour MWF).
  • Consider incentivizing participation, such as showing up for Zoom sessions.

Self-efficacy:  Because online instruction is often less familiar to students, they may have a lower sense of self-efficacy; that is, they don’t feel as confident about their ability to learn effectively in an online environment. Clear and consistent communication can help students navigate these unfamiliar learning circumstances and prevent confusion, which in turn increases students’ feelings of competence.

  • Put in extra time to explain logistics and expectations, such as how your Camino site is organized.
  • Do not assume students will read your email. Put all communication in a single location on Camino that students can find easily (for instance, within Announcements or Assignments).

Keep communications concise and encouraging in tone.

Additional Resources

Online Learning Research Center. (n.d.) Self-regulation support. 

Vanderbilt Center for Teaching. (n.d.). Motivating students.

Weimer, M. (June 6, 2018). Five keys to motivating students. Faculty Focus.

Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2020). What can be learned from growth mindset controversies? American Psychologist, 75(9), 1269–1284. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000794

 

Page authors:
Dr. Tim Urdan, SCU Professor of Psychology
Dr. Rachel Stumpf, SCU Faculty Development Program Manager

Last updated:
April 27, 2024