Human Motivation Essay

What is human motivation? According to authors Kleinginna & Kleinginna, the definition of motivation is “an internal state or condition (sometimes described as a need, desire, or want) that serves to activate or energize behavior and give it direction” (as cited in Huitt, 2011). As teachers, it is important to be aware that motivation to learn is a “source of diversity” in the classroom. This diversity among students in the classroom can range from students who have no motivation to learn (they are forced to be there because that is the “law”) to students who have the “need/desire/want” motivation to learn. According to Pink, there are two types of behaviors in regards to motivation to learning reflected in our classrooms, there are students who display

The first source is referred to as extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is motivation that occurs outside of the student’s self and is driven by external factors. An example of extrinsic motivation is “"if-then" motivators. According to Pink, “if-then” motivators are "If you do this, then you get that" (as cited in Azzam, 2014). These “if-then” extrinsic motivators are used quite regularly in the classroom setting. Some specific examples would be: receiving candy for bring back homework, receiving extra recess if the class is not disruptive, picking up the classroom floor for a treat, etc. The popular extrinsic motivation in my daughter’s class is homework bingo. Students who complete all their homework for the week get to play bingo. The rewards are in class perks such as bring a stuff animal to class, using marker instead of pencils, etc. These motivation methods are often referred to as operant conditioning. It is believed that a learned behavior response increases in “likelihood” if a reinforcement is available. In regards to motivation, the learned behavior response is motivation and the reinforcement is the motivator to get the needed