Teachers face a difficult challenge in getting to motivate their students. A good teacher must, first of all, get to know his or her students, well enough to know what interests them. Some students have the gift of a natural urge to learn or the love of learning. Others, though, often get to class because they have no other choice. Being in class may appear to them like being in prison. In every class, the two sets of students exist. A teacher, therefore, must find a proper method of helping all the students by through motivation. There exist two distinct methods by which teachers get to motivate their students. These include the intrinsic and the extrinsic methods of motivation. This paper will describe the intrinsic and the extrinsic methods of motivating students, and finally, provide the most appropriate method of motivation.
Intrinsic motivation comes from in within the students. A teacher’s contribution works by identifying the interests of a student and nurturing them properly. The teacher motivates the student by helping him or her to aspire. Intrinsic motivations include the fascination with a particular subject, the relevance of a subject to life and the world, and accomplishments. For instance, a student who is intrinsically motivated would say, ‘Biology interests me' or ‘I feel quite good when I succeed in class’. Some students are intrinsically driven by the idea of becoming great people later in their lives. A student who wishes to become a doctor in the future must get herself to work hard, especially in the sciences in order to achieve her dreams as asserted by Becker, McElvany, and Kortenbruck 2010) .
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An extrinsic motivational factor for students, on the other hand, applies to those factors that come from outside the student. An external factor, which bears some promise, can get a student to commit to his studies. Likewise, expectations from parents or other role models would also make a student work harder. Other external motivators for students include offering presents and prizes for those who pass some set pass marks and scholarships. An extrinsically motivated student will as much as possible to get good grades through more reading I order to land a scholarship for example. A student may say, ‘I need to get a B in biology to get into med school'.
Teachers may get down to do extra work by trying to motivate their students. Extrinsic motivation works best for those students who do not have the interest to be in school or the interest of studying. Teachers can use presents to get the students to aspire and work harder on certain subjects. Certain doom for those who fail can also provide motivation that would make them work harder and not remain in those positions. Teachers also motivate their students by coming up with result ceremonies where students who pass get to be seen and praised. Every student would long to be in the limelight and to be seen by other students as a role model. Rewards are also provided for the top students. Such kind of motivational practices actively gets the students to put more efforts in their work for better results.
Intrinsic motivation is best for students who love learning and being in class. Once a teacher gets to know what interests a student he will nurture the student and make the student does not go astray. Teachers offer consultation services to such student and provide them with the necessary tips they need.
Extrinsic motivation may present some disadvantages on the learners. It may distract students from what is supposed to be learnt and engage them in other unwise acts such as cheating to get presents or even scholarships. Also, once the external motivators such as rewards are withdrawn , students lose their motivation and the urge to learn ( Lei, 2010) . A consultation in intrinsic motivational methods is a good way to nurture and improve the ability of students.
References
Becker, M., McElvany, N., & Kortenbruck, M. (2010). Intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation as predictors of reading literacy: A longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology , 102 (4), 773.
Lei, S. A. (2010). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: Evaluating benefits and drawbacks from college instructors' perspectives. Journal of Instructional Psychology , 37 (2), 153-161.
