Fostering Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom

• In Event: Teacher Research Group: A Third Space for Constructing a Counternarrative and Encouraging Teacher Action

Abstract

Numerous longitudinal and psychological studies have demonstrated the powerful and predictive role non-cognitive skills (such as grit, resilience, and self-discipline) and parenting styles serve for high school graduation rates, IQ scores, and future income levels (Tough, 2012). The IQ exam has guided the development of both national and state standardized tests. However, recent research has begun to illuminate its dramatic limitations in showing small correlations between IQ scores and open-minded thinking, and near zero correlations between IQ scores and rational thinking and diligence (Stanovitch, 2009). This growing body of research has begun to identify inherent problems in standardized testing and the primacy given to such testing in No Child Left Behind. Intrinsic motivation is one trait that is given little attention in classrooms and in the evaluation of schools, despite research that shows its predictive abilities in determining future success, creativity, and fulfillment for students (Kohn, 1993). As a common-core aligned reading and writing class teacher, I incorporate a variety of strategies to foster and assess intrinsic motivation, such as student choice in writing assignments, autonomy-supportive projects, a community-oriented behavior management system, differentiation for homework assignments based on content, and character education exercises. In order to study my own students’ intrinsic motivation throughout the year, I tracked student work and character traits. In addition to this data, I supplemented my study with personal journal entries on anecdotal changes observed in student motivation and gave out quarterly student surveys to engage students in thinking about their own reasoning behind the completion of projects and tasks. Overall, this inquiry study offers suggestions for teachers, school leaders, and researchers interested in cultivating intrinsic motivation within a classroom.

Daniel LaSalle is currently a third year teacher and a 2011 Teach for America alumnus.
References

Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes. New York, New York: Houston Mifflin Company.

Stanovich, K. (2009). What Intelligence Tests Miss: The Psychology of Rational Thought. New
Haven, CN: Yale UP.

Tough, P. (2012). How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character. New York, NY. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Author

• Daniel LaSalle, University of Pennsylvania