Evidence

Pupils are motivated by intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors

Why are you reading this today? Maybe your mentor has been reminding you for the last week or so, and you felt you couldn’t put it off any longer. It’s hard to get started with a new piece of learning and you needed a push from someone to get going. Or maybe you’re feeling pretty excited about it. You’ve been seeing the improvement in your practice over the last few months and really want to be the best teacher possible. Perhaps it’s a bit of both.

Either of these feelings are recognised and valid reasons for doing this work – motivation is often considered to be either:

Intrinsic motivation

From internal sources, such as the pure enjoyment of task engagement.

Extrinsic motivation

From external sources such as receiving financial compensation.

(Lazowski & Hullman, 2016)

In the classroom this could look like:

Intrinsic motivation

• Pupils reading for enjoyment
• Pupils wanting to try new things because they want to learn
• Revising work to improve it because they want to do better
• Seeing feedback as a learning opportunity

Extrinsic motivation

• Reading because parents/carers/teachers have said you should
• Working hard to get a reward
• Focusing on the grade/score rather than the feedback on work
• Completing an activity/task to get a reward

As part of a highly effective learning environment, we must ensure that our pupils are motivated to learn: the evidence shows that motivated pupils learn more and have better outcomes (Lazowski & Hullman, 2016).

As teachers, we need to understand our pupils and plan activities which motivate them. We can’t assume that pupils are always motivated simply by a love of learning for its own sake (although this may be the case for some pupils). Like all of us, pupils are motivated by both extrinsic and intrinsic factors and we must consider both of these when planning lessons and establishing a supportive learning environment.

Lots of the time, pupils you teach will be motivated by extrinsic rewards and these can be a useful tool when implemented carefully. If used in the wrong way, however, this type of motivation can become transactional with pupils only doing work or putting in effort when receiving a reward upon completion. Over time, this can give the message that it is ability (the ends) rather than effort (the means) that is important. When used prudently however, rewards can help create a positive learning environment and even encourage intrinsic motivation.

Willingham (2009) considers the use of rewards in the classroom, citing conflicting research that suggests rewards have the potential for either a positive or a negative effect in the classroom. A study that used incentives, including money, to motivate GCSE pupils found that although there was some improvement in effort in class, there was no evidence of any impact on behaviour, attendance or homework effort, nor was there any impact on attainment in Maths, English or Science (Sibieta, et al., 2014).

There is no right or wrong answer as to whether to use rewards, but rather it is how we use rewards in our classrooms that matters. Used well, rewards (an extrinsic motivation) can be used to develop some of the behaviours which may lead to intrinsic motivation such as perseverance, effort and seeking challenge:

Teachers should: Use rewards for a specific reason, such as encouraging appropriate behaviours

The reason why

Rewards can be used effectively to encourage a desired behaviour, which might be seen as dull, but mastering the foundational concepts and knowledge will aid long-term success.

Exemplification

For example, teachers might reward consistently good behaviour, ‘You have really persevered with this task, I am going to give you a merit, well done.’

Teachers should: Use rewards in the moment and avoid giving them too regularly

The reason why

If used for too long, it is more likely that use of a reward will actually have negative implications: rewards with novelty are more appealing. Pupils should not complete tasks expecting a reward at the end.

Exemplification

For example, if a teacher gives out a small reward each time their pupils put their hands up to answer a question, they will soon run out of rewards, and pupils will lose interest in them (or worse, see this as an enjoyable game). Instead, offer rewards infrequently and try to make them unexpected. This will help pupils view their work as something to complete for their own benefit rather than for a reward. ‘I am so impressed with the effort you have shown in this task, I am going to phone home and tell your parents how hard you have worked today.’

Teachers should: Beware of rewarding pupils for tasks they (should) enjoy

The reason why

For pupils who already enjoyed doing the task when the reward was offered, it may result in them enjoying the task less than they did at the start: the reward has the effect of de-motivating.

Exemplification

For example, if pupils are rewarded for the number of books they read, this may turn reading into a mechanical activity in order to achieve the reward rather than an enjoyable activity in its own right. Instead you might praise the pupil for trying a more challenging book. ‘I am going to give you a merit for your reading today, I know you chose a really challenging book.’

Helping pupils to journey from needing extrinsic motivation to being motivated to work intrinsically

Although it is important to acknowledge that all pupils are individuals and will be motivated in different ways and for different reasons, as teachers there are steps we can take to encourage and support pupils to develop an intrinsic love of learning and an understanding that effort and the process of learning are crucial for success. This will hold them in good stead in their life beyond school.

And developing a sense of personal, intrinsic motivation is a vital goal of a pupil’s education. We want pupils to see themselves as the type of people who work hard and can succeed, for the right reasons: motivation is ideally part of your personal identity and aligned to your values.

One of the main ways you can influence pupil motivation is through rewards. Rewards play to pupils’ extrinsic motivation, but they can also be used to ‘nudge’ them towards behaviours which – over time – are representative of more intrinsic motivation.

Types of reward

• Verbal praise
• Thumbs-up
• Merits
• Postcards home
• Phone call home
• Stickers
• Public praise in assembly
• Certificates

How to encourage intrinsic motivation

• Rewarding effort
• Rewarding learning strategies
• Rewarding learning processes
• Rewarding persistence
• Rewarding resilience
• Rewarding good behaviour
• Rewarding progress rather than attainment

In your notepad

Consider the way that you use rewards to motivate in your lessons by answering the questions below:

• take a look at the examples above, how do you reward your pupils?
• from your reflections, what do you notice about the way you reward pupils?
• do you think you mainly try to motivate pupils for extrinsic reasons or intrinsic reasons?

Often, the policy for pupil rewards will be set at school rather than classroom level. While there may well be significant freedom for you as a teacher within this, what is rewarded and how will be closely linked to the culture and values of the school. The following video explains one school’s approach to this issue.

Extrinsic motivation

Watch this video of a school leader talking about how they support development of intrinsic motivation

• What does the school do to reward pupils? Can you pick out a specific reward used?
• What is the purpose of the rewards offered?
• Which strategies could you take into your lessons and use?

Video transcript

I believe that our students need to be given options, the opportunity to make decisions, and to feel that they have some control over the environment and their learning.

These are some of the things that I do in my school to build intrinsic motivation and encourage pupils to take a genuine interest in their own learning.

I try to create a positive environment to support pupil motivation. All tutors work with their tutor groups to set individual goals; these may be around self-regulation. Students are rewarded for achieving personal bests and effort towards achieving those goals. Rather than asking pupils to compare themselves to others, we teach self-assessment techniques and ask pupils to evaluate their own progress towards their goals.

We also try to convey a clear message about what the school truly values in our pupils. We use awards assemblies to show pupils that we value academic prowess, but we also reward and acknowledge effort and pupil improvement. Every half-term we have award certificates and gift vouchers for the ‘most improved’ pupil in each subject. We bring in motivational speakers to inspire our pupils and show them that if they put in effort, they will get the results.

We ask teachers to use positive language with all of their classes and to pitch their lessons to be challenging but inclusive. Teachers should plan for their most-able pupil and then provide scaffolding to support all of their pupils to achieve success. There are too many pupils being under-challenged when conversely, challenge that leads to success is motivating for pupils.

Whenever possible, we advocate offering pupils choices in their own learning. If pupils are able to have some autonomy over their learning, they are more likely to value it and put in more effort.

I like to openly discuss motivation with my pupils and talk about my own personal motivations. I actively show pupils that success is important but doesn’t always look the same. I try to show pupils that we are all on a personal learning journey and learning in itself can be rewarding.

In your notepad

• what does the school leader do to support motivation in their school?
• are there any strategies you think might work particularly well? Why?
• are there any aspects of the classroom level practice which could work well in your context? Why?

Pupils’ investment in learning is driven by their prior experiences and perceptions of success and failure

We’ve already seen that there is a strong link between motivation and student success, and so we know that understanding and developing pupil motivation is something we need to focus upon as teachers. Interestingly, it is more likely that pupil success leads to increased motivation, rather than pupils being motivated to succeed in the first place.

The evidence shows that if your pupils can see the value of the work they have been asked to do and believe they can succeed in it, the likelihood of them being intrinsically motivated will be much greater (EEF, 2013). Motivation to achieve has been shown to consist of:

• Students’ expectations of success (e.g. ‘I think I can do this – we’ve done something similar before.’)
• Their perception of the overall value of the activity or task (e.g. ‘I can see how this topic is an important part of the subject, and I want to know more.’)
• How much they value the task at hand (e.g. ‘I can see that understanding this concept is key to succeeding in this topic.’)

Pupils are individuals and will perceive success in different ways. Success could take a number of forms such as grasping a tricky concept, reading aloud to the class or achieving a good mark in an assessment. What a pupil perceives as success is dependent on their prior experiences and it is important to be mindful of this. If a pupil achieves success in your lessons, and is able to experience and enjoy the feeling of succeeding, they are likely to be motivated to work hard and strive for further success. By offering opportunities for all pupils to achieve success we can motivate pupils to want to work hard and learn.

Of course, this is a two-way street. Prior experience of failure is also influential on motivation. In your classroom, it is important to avoid things which will lead to pupils to perceive of themselves as ‘failing’.

Things that can reduce pupils’ investment in learning: Pupils are scared of failing

Strategies to increase pupils’ investment in learning

• Encourage a sense of self-belief in pupils
• Avoid creating a negative response to mistakes and errors
• Encourage pupils to see mistakes as opportunities to learn and improve

Things that can reduce pupils’ investment in learning: Pupils unable to see how the task relates to them

Strategies to increase pupils’ investment in learning

• Demonstrate and highlight the value in a task
• Show how the content links to everyday life
• If possible link the work with the pupils’ understanding of the world

Things that can reduce pupils’ investment in learning: Work is too easy

Strategies to increase pupils’ investment in learning

• Plan lessons that are suitably challenging
• Continuously assess what pupils know and are able to do and adjust lessons accordingly
• Remove scaffolds when necessary

Things that can reduce pupils’ investment in learning: Work is too challenging

Strategies to increase pupils’ investment in learning

• Plan lessons that are suitably challenging
• Be aware of the pupils who need extra support and plan accordingly
• Scaffold work to support pupils. You can refer back to Block 3 for more detail around scaffolding and there will be an opportunity to explore it in more depth in Activity 7.3

In your notepad

• can you identify any evidence of the ‘things that can reduce pupils’ investment in learning’ in your classes?
• what does this look like? For example, if a pupil is not putting in effort because they are afraid to fail, how might this present itself?
• what action will you take? Use the table above to help you.

Teachers can influence pupils’ resilience and beliefs about their ability to succeed, by ensuring all pupils have the opportunity to experience meaningful success

So how do we steer pupils’ perceptions towards feeling successful? Ideally we want to set up a self-reinforcing cycle: if we hold consistently high expectations for our pupils and ensure that we are teaching them well then pupils can begin to experience success, which in turn can lead to greater motivation to succeed. This often means pushing pupils slightly beyond what they are comfortable with – having high expectations means that all pupils must be expected to participate in challenging tasks – and sometimes success may not be instant. We need to avoid this feeling like ‘failure’. To help maintain their motivation, you should teach pupils that:

• They are allowed to get things wrong
• Learning is difficult
• A struggle can be part of the process
• They shouldn’t give up when things are difficult at first
• Errors and mistakes are part of learning
• They can ask you for help
• They are allowed to ask questions of their learning

This needs skilful management to ensure pupils can succeed; struggling too much might indicate that the tasks are pitched too high or need more scaffolding. When pupils understand that to make errors is part of the process of learning, they will be more willing to put effort in to challenging tasks and less likely to give up when they face difficulties. Learning requires thinking. As Coe states, ‘learning happens when people have to think hard’ (Coe et al., 2013). Thinking hard is – unsurprisingly – hard.

Pupils’ investment in learning is also driven by their prior experiences and perceptions of success and failure. When pupils understand that they can improve through hard work and practice, rather than having set abilities that they cannot increase, it is likely that they will work harder (‘I will improve if I put in more effort’). Teachers should support pupils to develop this belief in their own ability to succeed by helping them to identify what has helped them to learn and be successful previously. We explored how to use feedback to do this effectively in Block 5 and will return to this in Block 11.

A key technique for achieving this positive reinforcement of pupils’ beliefs in themselves is praise. While praise can be used to support and motivate pupils, but it is important to be mindful of the impact our praise can have.

• Praise should be sincere and honest
• Praise should emphasise process not ability
• Praise should be as immediate as possible

(Willingham, 2009)

When giving praise, try to avoid...

• Praising intelligence rather than effort: ‘Well done, you are really clever at mathematics.’
• Praising the outcome: ‘You got 83%, that is great.’
• Attributing success to ability: ‘I knew you would do well at that task, you always do.’
• Revealing grudges: ‘I can see you’re trying as hard in this lesson as you didn’t last lesson.’
• Giving the impression that success comes easily: ‘Great answer, this is easy for you.’

When praise is used effectively it can tell students that they are on the right track and motivate them to continue working. Using praise judiciously and communicating genuine warmth and enthusiasm can have a direct impact on motivation and the learning environment.

Strategies to use: Praise the effort.

‘Well done, that was a difficult task and you worked really hard to get that result.’

Explanation

We want pupils to see that the effort they put in can have an impact on the results they get. Be mindful that the pupil may take this to mean that they have done badly, consider the ways you might mitigate this.

Strategies to use: Praise the process.

‘You have worked really hard to find a solution to the problem, well done.’

Explanations

Praising the process pupils have followed acknowledges the work pupils have put in. Even if the outcome is not quite what you or the pupil want, you might praise the thinking skills they have shown.

Strategies to use: Attribute success to effort and practice.

‘The way you did that showed me how much you have been practising. You have really improved, well done.’

Explanations

Acknowledging and appreciating the work a pupil has put in conveys the importance of effort and shows that you value hard work and practice. It also demonstrates that results can be improved on through hard work.

Strategies to use: Start every class afresh, making it clear that you are looking for every pupil to do well.

‘Here’s the feedback from the last homework activity. The first thing we are doing to do is improve our work together.’

Explanations

Pupils’ may come to the lesson with fixed ideas about what you think of them and their abilities. Strive to demonstrate that you are looking for pupils to succeed and do well.

Strategies to use: Teach that success usually follows multiple unsuccessful attempts.

‘This is a very challenging task and I am not expecting perfect answers yet. What I do want to see is everyone trying their best and putting in effort.’

Explanations

Explicitly teaching that it is impossible to get a perfect result the first time you do something and mastering a skill takes practice and hard work will help your pupils see the value in trying hard and practicing.

Strategies to use: Teach that errors lead to valuable feedback which can generate improvement.

‘That is a good error, and lots of people have the same problem. Let’s all go over this now, so we know how to do it next time.’

Explanations

This shares the idea that making mistakes and errors are an important part of the learning process and one that we should value. Pupils may be afraid to try in case they fail so we want to create a learning environment in which making mistakes are part of learning.

Strategies to use: Reinforce the idea that it is never too late to improve.

‘We will come back to this next time.’

Explanations

Show your pupils that they can always improve on something. This emphasises the importance of effort and hard work.

References

Coe, R. (2013). Improving Education: A triumph of hope over experience. Retrieved from:

http://www.cem.org/attachments/publications/ImprovingEducation2013.pdf

Lazowski, R. A., & Hulleman, C. S. (2016) Motivation Interventions in Education: A Meta-Analytic Review. Review of Educational Research, 86(2), 602–640.

https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315617832 .

Sibieta, L., Greaves, E. & Sianesi, B. (2014) Increasing Pupil Motivation: Evaluation Report. [Online] Accessible from: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and- evaluation/projects/increasing-pupil-motivation/ [retrieved 10 October 2018].

Willingham, D. T. (2009). Ask The Cognitive Scientist: What Will Improve A Student’s Memory? American Educator. Retrieved from:

https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/willingham_0.pdf