Types of Motivation Essay -- essays papers

Types of Motivation Before we can examine different theories of achieving student motivation we must understand what it is. An article from ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) pointed out an important distinction in types of motivation (1997): â€Å"Student motivation naturally has to do with students' desire to participate in the learning process. But it also concerns the reasons or goals that underlie their involvement or noninvolvement in academic activities.† These two types of motivation are intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. If a learner is motivated intrinsically than they â€Å"learn for the sake of learning†. As opposed to an extrinsically motivated learner who will perform a task for external reasons such as good grades, prizes, etc. This difference is important to point out because different theories have different kinds of motivation as their final goal. One of the five theories that are going to be explored is problem-based learning. Problem Based Learning Often when sitting in any classroom either as a student or as a teacher one will invariably hear a student complain â€Å"when will I ever use this in real life?† This question occurs whenever a student is studying a subject that he/she did not choose for him/herself. Since high schools today do not allow students to pick and choose their classes, this is a huge problem in American high schools. Peter Ommundsen (1999) thinks that this inability to see the relevance of a subject to students’ lives in one the main obstacles in getting student motivation to increase. He presents the idea that to get students more involved one must use problem-based learning. â€Å"Problem-based learning (PBL) inspires students by involving them in meaningful activities rat... ...rstanding and Meaning by Students. (1994). North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Retrieved April 20th from the web: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/science/sc3learn.htm MacKinnon, M. (1999). CORE Elements of Student Motivation in Problem-Based Learning. In M. Theall (Ed.) Motivation from Within: Approaches for Encouraging Faculty and Students to Excel (pp.49-58). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. McCombs, B., & Whisler, J.S. (1997). The Learner-Centered Classroom and School. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Nakamura, R. (2000). Healthy Classroom Management. Australia: Wadsworth. Ommundsen, P. (1999). Problem-based Learning. In K. Ahmet & S. Fallows (Eds.), Inspiring Students: Case Studies in Motivating the Learner (pp.25-32). London, NJ: Kogan page. Reeves, D. (2002). The Daily Disciplines of Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.