Motivating Students When Grades Don’t (or Barely) Matter

Introduction: Webster's defines the word " motivate " as " impel or to urge forward by the exertion of strong moral pressure. " In the context of academia and education, however, motivation takes on a slightly different meaning. According to Linda Nilson, the term means " stimulating the desire to learn something. " 1 There are, of course, two types of motivation when it comes to education or any other field for that matter: intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is what is more commonly known as self-motivation and, according to Robert Eisenberger and Judy Cameron, " is said to be demonstrated when people engage in an activity primarily for its own sake, whereas extrinsically motivated behavior is controlled by incentives that are not part of the activity. " 2 One thing that is commonly agreed upon by most psychologists and teachers alike is that, whether it is intrinsic or extrinsic, motivation is a must in the classroom. As instructors, it seems we have an obligation to ensure our students are motivated, if it is so essential to learning. How do we achieve this? This is a question that has been asked in many studies. A question which has not been asked with much frequency, however, is how does a teacher motivate students when few or no extrinsic rewards/motivational options are available? This literature review will examine the aforementioned question.