Intrinsic Motivation Infographic: 27 Ways to Encourage Intrinsic Motivation in Your Students

Intrinsic Motivation Infographic

Motivation can be divided into two types:

1. Intrinsic (internal) motivation and
2. Extrinsic (external) motivation.

Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is centered within the student. The motivation comes from the pleasure one gets from the task itself or from the satisfaction received from completing the task.

Extrinsic motivation refers to the performance of an activity in order to attain an outcome, whether or not that activity is also intrinsically motivated. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the individual. Students who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to engage in the task willingly as well as work to improve their skills, which will increase their capabilities.

27 Ways to Encourage Intrinsic Motivation in Your Students

1. Share your story with your students
2. Incorporate the student in the learning experience
3. Spark curiosity in the subject matter
4. Experiment with eliminating extrinsic awards
5. Create a lesson that is free of grades
6. Ask students what motivates them and then tap into these motivators
7. Challenge students to find a new solution to an old problem
8. Encourage creative ways to accomplish the same task
9. Use teams or groups
10. Praise students for meaningful accomplishments
11. Practice what you teach
12. Play a game that teaches the same principles
13. Discover your passion
14. Discover your students' passions
15. Allow time for the process
16. Demonstrate, show, describe, and engage with a purpose
17. Add energy to what you are doing and intrinsic behavior
18. Create a new atmosphere for creativity
19. Collectively set milestones to reach, and display them
20. Create multiple skill assessments that students choose to take
21. Allow students to measure progress throughout
22. Create a trusting atmosphere
23. Create a class vision
24. Engage in community service
25. Let students have a choice – in what they do, how they do it, and how to assess it
26. Share with others what is happening in the classroom
27. Incorporate the student’s life and story into the classroom