Motivation is a key factor in the learning process. There are many different things that encompass motivation. Two concepts I found to be interesting was intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Real quick, intrinsic is when you have the desire or are “inwardly” motivated to do something. Extrinsic on the other hand is something that causes you to be motivated such as rewards; in essence this could be described as “outwardly” motivation. I strongly believe if a child’s motivation is intrinsic then the learning process becomes something that they want. Don’t misunderstand, extrinsic motivation is also important but we must not focus on one forgetting the other. I believe when a child receives outwardly motivation it helps them to learn but there is nothing more important that wanting to learn because that is a desire you have within yourself. I always motivate my children to do good in school. I am constantly praising them and rewarding them when they do good but I always tell them that they need to be the ones to want it more than me. I know most of you in this class are educators but I’d like to know as parent’s what do you do to motivate your kids to do good in school? I read an article that parent involvement was key to a child’s success. Many times parent involvement is overlooked so I’d really like to hear back from each of you on your thoughts about parent involvement/motivation.
