The Role of Motivation in Learning, Essay Example

Learning is a complex process, and it involves different phenomena, such as retrieving new information, processing it, and motivation is an essential part of the learning process (Volet, 2001). Motivation can be described as the internal condition which stimulates behavior and directs it. Motivation to learn is a desire to get information, develop skills, and attain mastery (Jalongo, 2007). In learning, motivation can be described by several main variables: interest and responsibility, or sense of duty, and external motivation – expectations of the learner.

For students and pupils willingness to learn something new is occasional. Then extrinsic and intrinsic incentives come into force; extrinsic ones are necessary if the learning is not thought of as a reward; intrinsic motivation deems learning activity as rewarding in itself because it is interesting, exciting, or challenging (Jalongo, 2007).

‘Interest is an affective state that represents learners’ subjective experience of learning; it represents an integration of feelings, motivation, and cognition and is arguably the most important form of intrinsic motivation (Jalongo, 2007)’. Students or pupils are usually interested in different things and expect different results from learning: academic achievements – interest can be individual or situational, structure of acquired knowledge, external incentives like certificates of grades, etc. (Renninger, 1992). Situational interest is a good way to switch interest from one task to a general interest – say, from exploring flowers to biology in general (Jalongo, 2007). Also, there are pupils who like learning for learning sake and they just get their kicks from it – such people can be called personal developers (Moses, 2000). For teachers it is vital to arouse interest of all kinds in order to make the learning process desired and interesting. Those who are interested in gaining knowledge are motivated to learn more and have good grades.

There are also important factors of motivation like rewards, approval, high grades, certificates, etc. They are also important, as they renew the interest to casual subjects. For many pupils, disapproval of their parents is very strong motivational factor when they have no intrinsic incentives.

Jalongo in her article devoted to motivation and interest in children’s academic achievements describes motivation as an essential part of learning. She appreciates the importance of intrinsic motivation, because it resides within the learner. For example, feeling capability to do something well or competently increases intrinsic motivation, and it increases motivation to learn.

Motivation is largely researched upon. The reason of this attention is quite simple – very few children like learning. Even though they are eager to learn something new when they come to school, their enthusiasm fades quickly. When learning becomes an obligation it seems to be a burden (Jalongo, 2007). A good example is reading – those who start to read enjoy the process, but when they achieve the teen age there are hardly anybody who reads books for pleasure. When the interest to learning fades, then teacher must apply his or her knowledge of the motivational basics in order to refresh the interest to the subject – stimulate situational interest, offer new and provocative topics for discussion, organize competitions, or provide approval of successful students.

Motivation is a very important factor of learning. Whatever kind of motivation is discussed – interest-based, or external, or any other motivation – it is a key element of education process. Internal motivation resides within the learner and is uncontrollable, but predictable. Extrinsic motivation influences personal and situational interest to learn, thus improving internal motivation. Knowledge of motivation sources is important for teachers as it enables them to control the interest to the subject and thus the grades and successfulness of the students.

Works Cited

Jalongo, M. R. (2007) Beyond Benchmarks and Scores: Reasserting the Role of Motivation and Interest in Children’s Academic Achievement An ACEI Position Paper. Childhood Education 83(6), 395-405

Moses, B. (2000, November). 6 Degrees of Motivation. Black Enterprise31(4) Retrieved June 3, 2009 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_4_31/ai_66674361/

Renninger, K. A., Hidi, S., Krapp A. The Role of Interest in Learning and Development Hillsdale, NJ, 1992.

Volet, S., Järvelä S. Motivation in learning contexts: theoretical advances and methodological implications Emerald Group Publishing, 2001. Retrieved June 3, 2009 from http://books.google.com/books?id=fnXR4hSDx2AC&printsec=frontcover&hl=e