Influences on Learning and Achievement

Richard Ryan and Edward Deci write in their article "Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions" that people are motivated at different amounts and use different kinds of motivation. They define the orientation of motivation as why a person will go after a specific goal and what drives their actions. The self-determination theory says students must be INTRINSICALLY motivated to learn more effectively. For students to be motivated three needs must be fulfilled: competence, autonomy, and belonging/relatedness. 

In the text, "Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation in Schools: A Reconciliation, by Martin V. Covington, he states that their is more harm in extrinsically motivating our students than good. By giving our students tangible rewards students will get accustomed to these rewards. When these rewards are no longer given to students after work has been done the students will no longer show any liking to continue working. Covington also implies that giving rewards to students who are already doing activities that interests them might discourage them, we call this the overjustification effect. 

In the article "Punished by Rewards?" by Ron Brandt and Alfie Kohn they talk about the relationships and implications between punishment and reward. They also argue that rewards are actually damaging students interests when students are already intrinsically motivated. Teachers must make activities and tasks that might seem "uninteresting", "boring", or "dull" to students and create a more engaging creative activity. Brandt and Kohn discuss the three C's of motivation. 

• First C: Content 

  • Student must be content with the subject area. 

• Second C: Community 

  • Creating a safe environment for students to learn in and ask for help.

• Third C: Choice

  • Students are asked what they're doing and how, with whom, and why.

    • Students learn to make good choices by making choices.

Having a school that has the three C's put in place and actively working on them is a place where students do not need punishment or reward. 

Different kinds of reward with intrinsic motivation:

• Verbal: Increased effect, but less of an effect on older students.

• Tangible: Immediate behaviors, but less effective than verbal and negative effects on younger students than older.

• Unexpected: Students not doing task to get reward, less likely to to experience task behavior by being controlled by reward. Not harmful to intrinsic motivation.

• Task-Noncontingent: No evidence reward significantly affected intrinsic motivation for free choice behavior. 

• Engagement-Contingent: Reward offered when engaging in activity. Significantly decreased intrinsic motivation.

• Completion-Contingent: Reward when completion.  Completion and engagement were identical.  

• Task-Contingent: Undermine intrinsic motivation and worse for children.

• Performance-Contingent: Undermine free-choice, decreased intrinsic behavior.