essay about students motivation to study

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The Importance of Students’ Motivation for Their Academic Achievement – Replicating and Extending Previous Findings

Ricarda steinmayr.

1 Department of Psychology, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany

Anne F. Weidinger

Malte schwinger.

2 Department of Psychology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany

Birgit Spinath

3 Department of Psychology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany

Associated Data

The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author.

Achievement motivation is not a single construct but rather subsumes a variety of different constructs like ability self-concepts, task values, goals, and achievement motives. The few existing studies that investigated diverse motivational constructs as predictors of school students’ academic achievement above and beyond students’ cognitive abilities and prior achievement showed that most motivational constructs predicted academic achievement beyond intelligence and that students’ ability self-concepts and task values are more powerful in predicting their achievement than goals and achievement motives. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the reported previous findings can be replicated when ability self-concepts, task values, goals, and achievement motives are all assessed at the same level of specificity as the achievement criteria (e.g., hope for success in math and math grades). The sample comprised 345 11th and 12th grade students ( M = 17.48 years old, SD = 1.06) from the highest academic track (Gymnasium) in Germany. Students self-reported their ability self-concepts, task values, goal orientations, and achievement motives in math, German, and school in general. Additionally, we assessed their intelligence and their current and prior Grade point average and grades in math and German. Relative weight analyses revealed that domain-specific ability self-concept, motives, task values and learning goals but not performance goals explained a significant amount of variance in grades above all other predictors of which ability self-concept was the strongest predictor. Results are discussed with respect to their implications for investigating motivational constructs with different theoretical foundation.

Introduction

Achievement motivation energizes and directs behavior toward achievement and therefore is known to be an important determinant of academic success (e.g., Robbins et al., 2004 ; Hattie, 2009 ; Plante et al., 2013 ; Wigfield et al., 2016 ). Achievement motivation is not a single construct but rather subsumes a variety of different constructs like motivational beliefs, task values, goals, and achievement motives (see Murphy and Alexander, 2000 ; Wigfield and Cambria, 2010 ; Wigfield et al., 2016 ). Nevertheless, there is still a limited number of studies, that investigated (1) diverse motivational constructs in relation to students’ academic achievement in one sample and (2) additionally considered students’ cognitive abilities and their prior achievement ( Steinmayr and Spinath, 2009 ; Kriegbaum et al., 2015 ). Because students’ cognitive abilities and their prior achievement are among the best single predictors of academic success (e.g., Kuncel et al., 2004 ; Hailikari et al., 2007 ), it is necessary to include them in the analyses when evaluating the importance of motivational factors for students’ achievement. Steinmayr and Spinath (2009) did so and revealed that students’ domain-specific ability self-concepts followed by domain-specific task values were the best predictors of students’ math and German grades compared to students’ goals and achievement motives. However, a flaw of their study is that they did not assess all motivational constructs at the same level of specificity as the achievement criteria. For example, achievement motives were measured on a domain-general level (e.g., “Difficult problems appeal to me”), whereas students’ achievement as well as motivational beliefs and task values were assessed domain-specifically (e.g., math grades, math self-concept, math task values). The importance of students’ achievement motives for math and German grades might have been underestimated because the specificity levels of predictor and criterion variables did not match (e.g., Ajzen and Fishbein, 1977 ; Baranik et al., 2010 ). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the seminal findings by Steinmayr and Spinath (2009) will hold when motivational beliefs, task values, goals, and achievement motives are all assessed at the same level of specificity as the achievement criteria. This is an important question with respect to motivation theory and future research in this field. Moreover, based on the findings it might be possible to better judge which kind of motivation should especially be fostered in school to improve achievement. This is important information for interventions aiming at enhancing students’ motivation in school.

Theoretical Relations Between Achievement Motivation and Academic Achievement

We take a social-cognitive approach to motivation (see also Pintrich et al., 1993 ; Elliot and Church, 1997 ; Wigfield and Cambria, 2010 ). This approach emphasizes the important role of students’ beliefs and their interpretations of actual events, as well as the role of the achievement context for motivational dynamics (see Weiner, 1992 ; Pintrich et al., 1993 ; Wigfield and Cambria, 2010 ). Social cognitive models of achievement motivation (e.g., expectancy-value theory by Eccles and Wigfield, 2002 ; hierarchical model of achievement motivation by Elliot and Church, 1997 ) comprise a variety of motivation constructs that can be organized in two broad categories (see Pintrich et al., 1993 , p. 176): students’ “beliefs about their capability to perform a task,” also called expectancy components (e.g., ability self-concepts, self-efficacy), and their “motivational beliefs about their reasons for choosing to do a task,” also called value components (e.g., task values, goals). The literature on motivation constructs from these categories is extensive (see Wigfield and Cambria, 2010 ). In this article, we focus on selected constructs, namely students’ ability self-concepts (from the category “expectancy components of motivation”), and their task values and goal orientations (from the category “value components of motivation”).

According to the social cognitive perspective, students’ motivation is relatively situation or context specific (see Pintrich et al., 1993 ). To gain a comprehensive picture of the relation between students’ motivation and their academic achievement, we additionally take into account a traditional personality model of motivation, the theory of the achievement motive ( McClelland et al., 1953 ), according to which students’ motivation is conceptualized as a relatively stable trait. Thus, we consider the achievement motives hope for success and fear of failure besides students’ ability self-concepts, their task values, and goal orientations in this article. In the following, we describe the motivation constructs in more detail.

Students’ ability self-concepts are defined as cognitive representations of their ability level ( Marsh, 1990 ; Wigfield et al., 2016 ). Ability self-concepts have been shown to be domain-specific from the early school years on (e.g., Wigfield et al., 1997 ). Consequently, they are frequently assessed with regard to a certain domain (e.g., with regard to school in general vs. with regard to math).

In the present article, task values are defined in the sense of the expectancy-value model by Eccles et al. (1983) and Eccles and Wigfield (2002) . According to the expectancy-value model there are three task values that should be positively associated with achievement, namely intrinsic values, utility value, and personal importance ( Eccles and Wigfield, 1995 ). Because task values are domain-specific from the early school years on (e.g., Eccles et al., 1993 ; Eccles and Wigfield, 1995 ), they are also assessed with reference to specific subjects (e.g., “How much do you like math?”) or on a more general level with regard to school in general (e.g., “How much do you like going to school?”).

Students’ goal orientations are broader cognitive orientations that students have toward their learning and they reflect the reasons for doing a task (see Dweck and Leggett, 1988 ). Therefore, they fall in the broad category of “value components of motivation.” Initially, researchers distinguished between learning and performance goals when describing goal orientations ( Nicholls, 1984 ; Dweck and Leggett, 1988 ). Learning goals (“task involvement” or “mastery goals”) describe people’s willingness to improve their skills, learn new things, and develop their competence, whereas performance goals (“ego involvement”) focus on demonstrating one’s higher competence and hiding one’s incompetence relative to others (e.g., Elliot and McGregor, 2001 ). Performance goals were later further subdivided into performance-approach (striving to demonstrate competence) and performance-avoidance goals (striving to avoid looking incompetent, e.g., Elliot and Church, 1997 ; Middleton and Midgley, 1997 ). Some researchers have included work avoidance as another component of achievement goals (e.g., Nicholls, 1984 ; Harackiewicz et al., 1997 ). Work avoidance refers to the goal of investing as little effort as possible ( Kumar and Jagacinski, 2011 ). Goal orientations can be assessed in reference to specific subjects (e.g., math) or on a more general level (e.g., in reference to school in general).

McClelland et al. (1953) distinguish the achievement motives hope for success (i.e., positive emotions and the belief that one can succeed) and fear of failure (i.e., negative emotions and the fear that the achievement situation is out of one’s depth). According to McClelland’s definition, need for achievement is measured by describing affective experiences or associations such as fear or joy in achievement situations. Achievement motives are conceptualized as being relatively stable over time. Consequently, need for achievement is theorized to be domain-general and, thus, usually assessed without referring to a certain domain or situation (e.g., Steinmayr and Spinath, 2009 ). However, Sparfeldt and Rost (2011) demonstrated that operationalizing achievement motives subject-specifically is psychometrically useful and results in better criterion validities compared with a domain-general operationalization.

Empirical Evidence on the Relative Importance of Achievement Motivation Constructs for Academic Achievement

A myriad of single studies (e.g., Linnenbrink-Garcia et al., 2018 ; Muenks et al., 2018 ; Steinmayr et al., 2018 ) and several meta-analyses (e.g., Robbins et al., 2004 ; Möller et al., 2009 ; Hulleman et al., 2010 ; Huang, 2011 ) support the hypothesis of social cognitive motivation models that students’ motivational beliefs are significantly related to their academic achievement. However, to judge the relative importance of motivation constructs for academic achievement, studies need (1) to investigate diverse motivational constructs in one sample and (2) to consider students’ cognitive abilities and their prior achievement, too, because the latter are among the best single predictors of academic success (e.g., Kuncel et al., 2004 ; Hailikari et al., 2007 ). For effective educational policy and school reform, it is crucial to obtain robust empirical evidence for whether various motivational constructs can explain variance in school performance over and above intelligence and prior achievement. Without including the latter constructs, we might overestimate the importance of motivation for achievement. Providing evidence that students’ achievement motivation is incrementally valid in predicting their academic achievement beyond their intelligence or prior achievement would emphasize the necessity of designing appropriate interventions for improving students’ school-related motivation.

There are several studies that included expectancy and value components of motivation as predictors of students’ academic achievement (grades or test scores) and additionally considered students’ prior achievement ( Marsh et al., 2005 ; Steinmayr et al., 2018 , Study 1) or their intelligence ( Spinath et al., 2006 ; Lotz et al., 2018 ; Schneider et al., 2018 ; Steinmayr et al., 2018 , Study 2, Weber et al., 2013 ). However, only few studies considered intelligence and prior achievement together with more than two motivational constructs as predictors of school students’ achievement ( Steinmayr and Spinath, 2009 ; Kriegbaum et al., 2015 ). Kriegbaum et al. (2015) examined two expectancy components (i.e., ability self-concept and self-efficacy) and eight value components (i.e., interest, enjoyment, usefulness, learning goals, performance-approach, performance-avoidance goals, and work avoidance) in the domain of math. Steinmayr and Spinath (2009) investigated the role of an expectancy component (i.e., ability self-concept), five value components (i.e., task values, learning goals, performance-approach, performance-avoidance goals, and work avoidance), and students’ achievement motives (i.e., hope for success, fear of failure, and need for achievement) for students’ grades in math and German and their GPA. Both studies used relative weights analyses to compare the predictive power of all variables simultaneously while taking into account multicollinearity of the predictors ( Johnson and LeBreton, 2004 ; Tonidandel and LeBreton, 2011 ). Findings showed that – after controlling for differences in students‘ intelligence and their prior achievement – expectancy components (ability self-concept, self-efficacy) were the best motivational predictors of achievement followed by task values (i.e., intrinsic/enjoyment, attainment, and utility), need for achievement and learning goals ( Steinmayr and Spinath, 2009 ; Kriegbaum et al., 2015 ). However, Steinmayr and Spinath (2009) who investigated the relations in three different domains did not assess all motivational constructs on the same level of specificity as the achievement criteria. More precisely, students’ achievement as well as motivational beliefs and task values were assessed domain-specifically (e.g., math grades, math self-concept, math task values), whereas students’ goals were only measured for school in general (e.g., “In school it is important for me to learn as much as possible”) and students’ achievement motives were only measured on a domain-general level (e.g., “Difficult problems appeal to me”). Thus, the importance of goals and achievement motives for math and German grades might have been underestimated because the specificity levels of predictor and criterion variables did not match (e.g., Ajzen and Fishbein, 1977 ; Baranik et al., 2010 ). Assessing students’ goals and their achievement motives with reference to a specific subject might result in higher associations with domain-specific achievement criteria (see Sparfeldt and Rost, 2011 ).

Taken together, although previous work underlines the important roles of expectancy and value components of motivation for school students’ academic achievement, hitherto, we know little about the relative importance of expectancy components, task values, goals, and achievement motives in different domains when all of them are assessed at the same level of specificity as the achievement criteria (e.g., achievement motives in math → math grades; ability self-concept for school → GPA).

The Present Research

The goal of the present study was to examine the relative importance of several of the most important achievement motivation constructs in predicting school students’ achievement. We substantially extend previous work in this field by considering (1) diverse motivational constructs, (2) students’ intelligence and their prior achievement as achievement predictors in one sample, and (3) by assessing all predictors on the same level of specificity as the achievement criteria. Moreover, we investigated the relations in three different domains: school in general, math, and German. Because there is no study that assessed students’ goal orientations and achievement motives besides their ability self-concept and task values on the same level of specificity as the achievement criteria, we could not derive any specific hypotheses on the relative importance of these constructs, but instead investigated the following research question (RQ):

RQ. What is the relative importance of students’ domain-specific ability self-concepts, task values, goal orientations, and achievement motives for their grades in the respective domain when including all of them, students’ intelligence and prior achievement simultaneously in the analytic models?

Materials and Methods

Participants and procedure.

A sample of 345 students was recruited from two German schools attending the highest academic track (Gymnasium). Only 11th graders participated at one school, whereas 11th and 12th graders participated at the other. Students of the different grades and schools did not differ significantly on any of the assessed measures. Students represented the typical population of this type of school in Germany; that is, the majority was Caucasian and came from medium to high socioeconomic status homes. At the time of testing, students were on average 17.48 years old ( SD = 1.06). As is typical for this kind of school, the sample comprised more girls ( n = 200) than boys ( n = 145). We verify that the study is in accordance with established ethical guidelines. Approval by an ethics committee was not required as per the institution’s guidelines and applicable regulations in the federal state where the study was conducted. Participation was voluntarily and no deception took place. Before testing, we received written informed consent forms from the students and from the parents of the students who were under the age of 18 on the day of the testing. If students did not want to participate, they could spend the testing time in their teacher’s room with an extra assignment. All students agreed to participate. Testing took place during regular classes in schools in 2013. Tests were administered by trained research assistants and lasted about 2.5 h. Students filled in the achievement motivation questionnaires first, and the intelligence test was administered afterward. Before the intelligence test, there was a short break.

Ability Self-Concept

Students’ ability self-concepts were assessed with four items per domain ( Schöne et al., 2002 ). Students indicated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree) how good they thought they were at different activities in school in general, math, and German (“I am good at school in general/math/German,” “It is easy to for me to learn in school in general/math/German,” “In school in general/math/German, I know a lot,” and “Most assignments in school/math/German are easy for me”). Internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) of the ability self-concept scale was high in school in general, in math, and in German (0.82 ≤ α ≤ 0.95; see Table 1 ).

Means ( M ), Standard Deviations ( SD ), and Reliabilities (α) for all measures.

Task Values

Students’ task values were assessed with an established German scale (SESSW; Subjective scholastic value scale; Steinmayr and Spinath, 2010 ). The measure is an adaptation of items used by Eccles and Wigfield (1995) in different studies. It assesses intrinsic values, utility, and personal importance with three items each. Students indicated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree) how much they valued school in general, math, and German (Intrinsic values: “I like school/math/German,” “I enjoy doing things in school/math/German,” and “I find school in general/math/German interesting”; Utility: “How useful is what you learn in school/math/German in general?,” “School/math/German will be useful in my future,” “The things I learn in school/math/German will be of use in my future life”; Personal importance: “Being good at school/math/German is important to me,” “To be good at school/math/German means a lot to me,” “Attainment in school/math/German is important to me”). Internal consistency of the values scale was high in all domains (0.90 ≤ α ≤ 0.93; see Table 1 ).

Goal Orientations

Students’ goal orientations were assessed with an established German self-report measure (SELLMO; Scales for measuring learning and achievement motivation; Spinath et al., 2002 ). In accordance with Sparfeldt et al. (2007) , we assessed goal orientations with regard to different domains: school in general, math, and German. In each domain, we used the SELLMO to assess students’ learning goals, performance-avoidance goals, and work avoidance with eight items each and their performance-approach goals with seven items. Students’ answered the items on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree). All items except for the work avoidance items are printed in Spinath and Steinmayr (2012) , p. 1148). A sample item to assess work avoidance is: “In school/math/German, it is important to me to do as little work as possible.” Internal consistency of the learning goals scale was high in all domains (0.83 ≤ α ≤ 0.88). The same was true for performance-approach goals (0.85 ≤ α ≤ 0.88), performance-avoidance goals (α = 0.89), and work avoidance (0.91 ≤ α ≤ 0.92; see Table 1 ).

Achievement Motives

Achievement motives were assessed with the Achievement Motives Scale (AMS; Gjesme and Nygard, 1970 ; Göttert and Kuhl, 1980 ). In the present study, we used a short form measuring “hope for success” and “fear of failure” with the seven items per subscale that showed the highest factor loadings. Both subscales were assessed in three domains: school in general, math, and German. Students’ answered all items on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (does not apply at all) to 4 (fully applies). An example hope for success item is “In school/math/German, difficult problems appeal to me,” and an example fear of failure item is “In school/math/German, matters that are slightly difficult disconcert me.” Internal consistencies of hope for success and fear of failure scales were high in all domains (hope for success: 0.88 ≤ α ≤ 0.92; fear of failure: 0.90 ≤ α ≤ 0.91; see Table 1 ).

Intelligence

Intelligence was measured with the basic module of the Intelligence Structure Test 2000 R, a well-established German multifactor intelligence measure (I-S-T 2000 R; Amthauer et al., 2001 ). The basic module of the test offers assessments of domain-specific intelligence for verbal, numeric, and figural abilities as well as an overall intelligence score (a composite of the three facets). The overall intelligence score is thought to measure reasoning as a higher order factor of intelligence and can be interpreted as a measure of general intelligence, g . Its construct validity has been demonstrated in several studies ( Amthauer et al., 2001 ; Steinmayr and Amelang, 2006 ). In the present study, we used the scores that were closest to the domains we investigated: overall intelligence, numerical intelligence, and verbal intelligence (see also Steinmayr and Spinath, 2009 ). Raw values could range from 0 to 60 for verbal and numerical intelligence, and from 0 to 180 for overall intelligence. Internal consistencies of all intelligence scales were high (0.71 ≤ α ≤ 0.90; see Table 1 ).

Academic Achievement

For all students, the school delivered the report cards that the students received 3 months before testing (t0) and 4 months after testing (t2), at the end of the term in which testing took place. We assessed students’ grades in German and math as well as their overall grade point average (GPA) as criteria for school performance. GPA was computed as the mean of all available grades, not including grades in the nonacademic domains Sports and Music/Art as they did not correlate with the other grades. Grades ranged from 1 to 6, and were recoded so that higher numbers represented better performance.

Statistical Analyses

We conducted relative weight analyses to predict students’ academic achievement separately in math, German, and school in general. The relative weight analysis is a statistical procedure that enables to determine the relative importance of each predictor in a multiple regression analysis (“relative weight”) and to take adequately into account the multicollinearity of the different motivational constructs (for details, see Johnson and LeBreton, 2004 ; Tonidandel and LeBreton, 2011 ). Basically, it uses a variable transformation approach to create a new set of predictors that are orthogonal to one another (i.e., uncorrelated). Then, the criterion is regressed on these new orthogonal predictors, and the resulting standardized regression coefficients can be used because they no longer suffer from the deleterious effects of multicollinearity. These standardized regression weights are then transformed back into the metric of the original predictors. The rescaled relative weight of a predictor can easily be transformed into the percentage of variance that is uniquely explained by this predictor when dividing the relative weight of the specific predictor by the total variance explained by all predictors in the regression model ( R 2 ). We performed the relative weight analyses in three steps. In Model 1, we included the different achievement motivation variables assessed in the respective domain in the analyses. In Model 2, we entered intelligence into the analyses in addition to the achievement motivation variables. In Model 3, we included prior school performance indicated by grades measured before testing in addition to all of the motivation variables and intelligence. For all three steps, we tested for whether all relative weight factors differed significantly from each other (see Johnson, 2004 ) to determine which motivational construct was most important in predicting academic achievement (RQ).

Descriptive Statistics and Intercorrelations

Table 1 shows means, standard deviations, and reliabilities. Tables 2 –4 show the correlations between all scales in school in general, in math, and in German. Of particular relevance here, are the correlations between the motivational constructs and students’ school grades. In all three domains (i.e., school in general/math/German), out of all motivational predictor variables, students’ ability self-concepts showed the strongest associations with subsequent grades ( r = 0.53/0.61/0.46; see Tables 2 –4 ). Except for students’ performance-avoidance goals (−0.04 ≤ r ≤ 0.07, p > 0.05), the other motivational constructs were also significantly related to school grades. Most of the respective correlations were evenly dispersed around a moderate effect size of | r | = 0.30.

Intercorrelations between all variables in school in general.

Intercorrelations between all variables in German.

Intercorrelations between all variables in math.

Relative Weight Analyses

Table 5 presents the results of the relative weight analyses. In Model 1 (only motivational variables) and Model 2 (motivation and intelligence), respectively, the overall explained variance was highest for math grades ( R 2 = 0.42 and R 2 = 0.42, respectively) followed by GPA ( R 2 = 0.30 and R 2 = 0.34, respectively) and grades in German ( R 2 = 0.26 and R 2 = 0.28, respectively). When prior school grades were additionally considered (Model 3) the largest amount of variance was explained in students’ GPA ( R 2 = 0.73), followed by grades in German ( R 2 = 0.59) and math ( R 2 = 0.57). In the following, we will describe the results of Model 3 for each domain in more detail.

Relative weights and percentages of explained criterion variance (%) for all motivational constructs (Model 1) plus intelligence (Model 2) plus prior school achievement (Model 3).

Beginning with the prediction of students’ GPA: In Model 3, students’ prior GPA explained more variance in subsequent GPA than all other predictor variables (68%). Students’ ability self-concept explained significantly less variance than prior GPA but still more than all other predictors that we considered (14%). The relative weights of students’ intelligence (5%), task values (2%), hope for success (4%), and fear of failure (3%) did not differ significantly from each other but were still significantly different from zero ( p < 0.05). The relative weights of students’ goal orientations were not significant in Model 3.

Turning to math grades: The findings of the relative weight analyses for the prediction of math grades differed slightly from the prediction of GPA. In Model 3, the relative weights of numerical intelligence (2%) and performance-approach goals (2%) in math were no longer different from zero ( p > 0.05); in Model 2 they were. Prior math grades explained the largest share of the unique variance in subsequent math grades (45%), followed by math self-concept (19%). The relative weights of students’ math task values (9%), learning goals (5%), work avoidance (7%), and hope for success (6%) did not differ significantly from each other. Students’ fear of failure in math explained the smallest amount of unique variance in their math grades (4%) but the relative weight of students’ fear of failure did not differ significantly from that of students’ hope for success, work avoidance, and learning goals. The relative weights of students’ performance-avoidance goals were not significant in Model 3.

Turning to German grades: In Model 3, students’ prior grade in German was the strongest predictor (64%), followed by German self-concept (10%). Students’ fear of failure in German (6%), their verbal intelligence (4%), task values (4%), learning goals (4%), and hope for success (4%) explained less variance in German grades and did not differ significantly from each other but were significantly different from zero ( p < 0.05). The relative weights of students’ performance goals and work avoidance were not significant in Model 3.

In the present studies, we aimed to investigate the relative importance of several achievement motivation constructs in predicting students’ academic achievement. We sought to overcome the limitations of previous research in this field by (1) considering several theoretically and empirically distinct motivational constructs, (2) students’ intelligence, and their prior achievement, and (3) by assessing all predictors at the same level of specificity as the achievement criteria. We applied sophisticated statistical procedures to investigate the relations in three different domains, namely school in general, math, and German.

Relative Importance of Achievement Motivation Constructs for Academic Achievement

Out of the motivational predictor variables, students’ ability self-concepts explained the largest amount of variance in their academic achievement across all sets of analyses and across all investigated domains. Even when intelligence and prior grades were controlled for, students’ ability self-concepts accounted for at least 10% of the variance in the criterion. The relative superiority of ability self-perceptions is in line with the available literature on this topic (e.g., Steinmayr and Spinath, 2009 ; Kriegbaum et al., 2015 ; Steinmayr et al., 2018 ) and with numerous studies that have investigated the relations between students’ self-concept and their achievement (e.g., Möller et al., 2009 ; Huang, 2011 ). Ability self-concepts showed even higher relative weights than the corresponding intelligence scores. Whereas some previous studies have suggested that self-concepts and intelligence are at least equally important when predicting students’ grades (e.g., Steinmayr and Spinath, 2009 ; Weber et al., 2013 ; Schneider et al., 2018 ), our findings indicate that it might be even more important to believe in own school-related abilities than to possess outstanding cognitive capacities to achieve good grades (see also Lotz et al., 2018 ). Such a conclusion was supported by the fact that we examined the relative importance of all predictor variables across three domains and at the same levels of specificity, thus maximizing criterion-related validity (see Baranik et al., 2010 ). This procedure represents a particular strength of our study and sets it apart from previous studies in the field (e.g., Steinmayr and Spinath, 2009 ). Alternatively, our findings could be attributed to the sample we investigated at least to some degree. The students examined in the present study were selected for the academic track in Germany, and this makes them rather homogeneous in their cognitive abilities. It is therefore plausible to assume that the restricted variance in intelligence scores decreased the respective criterion validities.

When all variables were assessed at the same level of specificity, the achievement motives hope for success and fear of failure were the second and third best motivational predictors of academic achievement and more important than in the study by Steinmayr and Spinath (2009) . This result underlines the original conceptualization of achievement motives as broad personal tendencies that energize approach or avoidance behavior across different contexts and situations ( Elliot, 2006 ). However, the explanatory power of achievement motives was higher in the more specific domains of math and German, thereby also supporting the suggestion made by Sparfeldt and Rost (2011) to conceptualize achievement motives more domain-specifically. Conceptually, achievement motives and ability self-concepts are closely related. Individuals who believe in their ability to succeed often show greater hope for success than fear of failure and vice versa ( Brunstein and Heckhausen, 2008 ). It is thus not surprising that the two constructs showed similar stability in their relative effects on academic achievement across the three investigated domains. Concerning the specific mechanisms through which students’ achievement motives and ability self-concepts affect their achievement, it seems that they elicit positive or negative valences in students, and these valences in turn serve as simple but meaningful triggers of (un)successful school-related behavior. The large and consistent effects for students’ ability self-concept and their hope for success in our study support recommendations from positive psychology that individuals think positively about the future and regularly provide affirmation to themselves by reminding themselves of their positive attributes ( Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000 ). Future studies could investigate mediation processes. Theoretically, it would make sense that achievement motives defined as broad personal tendencies affect academic achievement via expectancy beliefs like ability self-concepts (e.g., expectancy-value theory by Eccles and Wigfield, 2002 ; see also, Atkinson, 1957 ).

Although task values and learning goals did not contribute much toward explaining the variance in GPA, these two constructs became even more important for explaining variance in math and German grades. As Elliot (2006) pointed out in his hierarchical model of approach-avoidance motivation, achievement motives serve as basic motivational principles that energize behavior. However, they do not guide the precise direction of the energized behavior. Instead, goals and task values are commonly recruited to strategically guide this basic motivation toward concrete aims that address the underlying desire or concern. Our results are consistent with Elliot’s (2006) suggestions. Whereas basic achievement motives are equally important at abstract and specific achievement levels, task values and learning goals release their full explanatory power with increasing context-specificity as they affect students’ concrete actions in a given school subject. At this level of abstraction, task values and learning goals compete with more extrinsic forms of motivation, such as performance goals. Contrary to several studies in achievement-goal research, we did not demonstrate the importance of either performance-approach or performance-avoidance goals for academic achievement.

Whereas students’ ability self-concept showed a high relative importance above and beyond intelligence, with few exceptions, each of the remaining motivation constructs explained less than 5% of the variance in students’ academic achievement in the full model including intelligence measures. One might argue that the high relative importance of students’ ability self-concept is not surprising because students’ ability self-concepts more strongly depend on prior grades than the other motivation constructs. Prior grades represent performance feedback and enable achievement comparisons that are seen as the main determinants of students’ ability self-concepts (see Skaalvik and Skaalvik, 2002 ). However, we included students’ prior grades in the analyses and students’ ability self-concepts still were the most powerful predictors of academic achievement out of the achievement motivation constructs that were considered. It is thus reasonable to conclude that the high relative importance of students’ subjective beliefs about their abilities is not only due to the overlap of this believes with prior achievement.

Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research

Our study confirms and extends the extant work on the power of students’ ability self-concept net of other important motivation variables even when important methodological aspects are considered. Strength of the study is the simultaneous investigation of different achievement motivation constructs in different academic domains. Nevertheless, we restricted the range of motivation constructs to ability self-concepts, task values, goal orientations, and achievement motives. It might be interesting to replicate the findings with other motivation constructs such as academic self-efficacy ( Pajares, 2003 ), individual interest ( Renninger and Hidi, 2011 ), or autonomous versus controlled forms of motivation ( Ryan and Deci, 2000 ). However, these constructs are conceptually and/or empirically very closely related to the motivation constructs we considered (e.g., Eccles and Wigfield, 1995 ; Marsh et al., 2018 ). Thus, it might well be the case that we would find very similar results for self-efficacy instead of ability self-concept as one example.

A second limitation is that we only focused on linear relations between motivation and achievement using a variable-centered approach. Studies that considered different motivation constructs and used person-centered approaches revealed that motivation factors interact with each other and that there are different profiles of motivation that are differently related to students’ achievement (e.g., Conley, 2012 ; Schwinger et al., 2016 ). An important avenue for future studies on students’ motivation is to further investigate these interactions in different academic domains.

Another limitation that might suggest a potential avenue for future research is the fact that we used only grades as an indicator of academic achievement. Although, grades are of high practical relevance for the students, they do not necessarily indicate how much students have learned, how much they know and how creative they are in the respective domain (e.g., Walton and Spencer, 2009 ). Moreover, there is empirical evidence that the prediction of academic achievement differs according to the particular criterion that is chosen (e.g., Lotz et al., 2018 ). Using standardized test performance instead of grades might lead to different results.

Our study is also limited to 11th and 12th graders attending the highest academic track in Germany. More balanced samples are needed to generalize the findings. A recent study ( Ben-Eliyahu, 2019 ) that investigated the relations between different motivational constructs (i.e., goal orientations, expectancies, and task values) and self-regulated learning in university students revealed higher relations for gifted students than for typical students. This finding indicates that relations between different aspects of motivation might differ between academically selected samples and unselected samples.

Finally, despite the advantages of relative weight analyses, this procedure also has some shortcomings. Most important, it is based on manifest variables. Thus, differences in criterion validity might be due in part to differences in measurement error. However, we are not aware of a latent procedure that is comparable to relative weight analyses. It might be one goal for methodological research to overcome this shortcoming.

We conducted the present research to identify how different aspects of students’ motivation uniquely contribute to differences in students’ achievement. Our study demonstrated the relative importance of students’ ability self-concepts, their task values, learning goals, and achievement motives for students’ grades in different academic subjects above and beyond intelligence and prior achievement. Findings thus broaden our knowledge on the role of students’ motivation for academic achievement. Students’ ability self-concept turned out to be the most important motivational predictor of students’ grades above and beyond differences in their intelligence and prior grades, even when all predictors were assessed domain-specifically. Out of two students with similar intelligence scores, same prior achievement, and similar task values, goals and achievement motives in a domain, the student with a higher domain-specific ability self-concept will receive better school grades in the respective domain. Therefore, there is strong evidence that believing in own competencies is advantageous with respect to academic achievement. This finding shows once again that it is a promising approach to implement validated interventions aiming at enhancing students’ domain-specific ability-beliefs in school (see also Muenks et al., 2017 ; Steinmayr et al., 2018 ).

Data Availability

Ethics statement.

In Germany, institutional approval was not required by default at the time the study was conducted. That is, why we cannot provide a formal approval by the institutional ethics committee. We verify that the study is in accordance with established ethical guidelines. Participation was voluntarily and no deception took place. Before testing, we received informed consent forms from the parents of the students who were under the age of 18 on the day of the testing. If students did not want to participate, they could spend the testing time in their teacher’s room with an extra assignment. All students agreed to participate. We included this information also in the manuscript.

Author Contributions

RS conceived and supervised the study, curated the data, performed the formal analysis, investigated the results, developed the methodology, administered the project, and wrote, reviewed, and edited the manuscript. AW wrote, reviewed, and edited the manuscript. MS performed the formal analysis, and wrote, reviewed, and edited the manuscript. BS conceived the study, and wrote, reviewed, and edited the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Funding. We acknowledge financial support by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and Technische Universität Dortmund/TU Dortmund University within the funding programme Open Access Publishing.

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Motivation Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on motivation.

Everyone suggests other than the person lack motivation, or directly suggests the person remain motivated. But, no one ever tells what is the motivation of how one can stay motivated. Motivation means to face the obstacle and find an inspiration that helps you to go through tough times. In addition, it helps you to move further in life.

Meaning of Motivation

Motivation is something that cannot be understood with words but with practice. It means to be moved by something so strongly that it becomes an inspiration for you. Furthermore, it is a discipline that helps you to achieve your life goals and also helps to be successful in life .

Besides, it the most common practice that everyone does whether it is your boss in office or a school teacher or a university professor everyone motivates others in a way or other.

Role of Motivation

It is a strong tool that helps to get ahead in life. For being motivated we need a driving tool or goal that keeps us motivated and moves forward. Also, it helps in being progressive both physically and mentally.

Moreover, your goal does not be to big and long term they can be small and empowering. Furthermore, you need the right mindset to be motivated.

Besides, you need to push your self towards your goal no one other than you can push your limit. Also, you should be willing to leave your comfort zone because your true potential is going to revel when you leave your comfort zone.

Types of Motivation

Although there are various types of motivation according to me there are generally two types of motivation that are self- motivation and motivation by others.

Self-motivation- It refers to the power of someone to stay motivated without the influence of other situations and people. Furthermore, self-motivated people always find a way to reason and strength to complete a task. Also, they do not need other people to encourage them to perform a challenging task.

Motivation by others- This motivation requires help from others as the person is not able to maintain a self-motivated state. In this, a person requires encouragement from others. Also, he needs to listen to motivational speeches, a strong goal and most importantly and inspiration.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Importance of Motivation

Motivation is very important for the overall development of the personality and mind of the people. It also puts a person in action and in a competitive state. Furthermore, it improves efficiency and desire to achieve the goal. It leads to stability and improvement in work.

Above all, it satisfies a person’s needs and to achieve his/her goal. It helps the person to fight his negative attitude. The person also tries to come out of his/her comfort zone so that she/ he can achieve the goal.

To conclude, motivation is one of the key elements that help a person to be successful. A motivated person tries to push his limits and always tries to improve his performance day by day. Also, the person always gives her/his best no matter what the task is. Besides, the person always tries to remain progressive and dedicated to her/his goals.

FAQs about Motivation Essay

Q.1 Define what is motivation fit. A.1 This refers to a psychological phenomenon in which a person assumes or expects something from the job or life but gets different results other than his expectations. In a profession, it is a primary criterion for determining if the person will stay or leave the job.

Q.2 List some best motivators. A.2 some of the best motivators are:

• Inspiration
• Fear of failure
• Power of Rejection
• Don’t pity your self
• Be assertive
• Stay among positive and motivated people
• Be calm and visionary

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How to Motivate Students to Learn Essay

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How to Motivate Students in the Classroom: Essay Introduction

How to motivate learners to learn, how to motivate students: essay conclusion, works cited.

Wondering how to motivate students in the classroom? Essay examples like this one will help you find the answer! Learn here about lack of motivation in college students, the importance of addressing this issue, the role of a teacher in motivating students, and factors influencing motivation.

It is not quite strange to see many schoolchildren and students eager to learn. However, many of these learners require or anticipate their teachers to hearten, challenge, and stimulate them to learn. In the contemporary learning environments, many distracters prevent the learners from effective learning both inside and outside classroom.

Thus, the ability of schoolchildren and students to learn effectively depends on the teacher’s capability to preserve the enthusiasm, which brought learners to their learning environment. It does not matter the level of motivation the learners bring into the classroom because the occurrences within the classroom affects motivation of learners, positively or negatively.

Regrettably, there is no solitary modus operandi of motivating learners. Among the very many factors that affect the motivation of learners, include interest in a given area, an aspiration to achieve, self-confidence, doggedness, expediency of knowledge and determination.

The motivating factors such as principles, wishes, needs and wants vary from on student to another meaning. For example, to some, endorsement of others is the biggest motivation, while to others, winning is a motivation factor (Barbara, p.1).

Motivation is an act of promoting power in students so that they engage in useful learning activities. In most cases, motivation falls into two classes: extrinsic and intrinsic. A new teacher can find these two types of motivation so challenging. However, as a person trained to impart knowledge into students, a teacher is the primary source of motivation.

For example, when a teacher gives a token to a troublesome student in exchange of reverential behavior, we call this extrinsic behavior. Research shows that teachers can motivate students by giving learners some tokens. Under extrinsic motivation, the teacher uses anticipation as a factor to motivate students.

On the other hand, intrinsic motivation involves the inner longing of a student to perform well and follow rules. Thus, intrinsic motivation does not rely on material things in order to motivate students.

Although material things can motivate students to learn, research show that it is not long lasting. Thus, teachers should develop intrinsic modalities of motivating students to learn. For example, in order to motivate students to learn, a teacher should praise students whenever they perform well or portray excellent behavior and ethics, particularly before other students.

Although this appears like an extrinsic motivator, it provides a positive feedback that is imperative in boosting the student’s echelon of intrinsic motivation. Thus, new educators should praise students effectively in order to motivate them to learn. (Brophy, 40-44).

Teachers should ensure that they create lesson plans that increase intrinsic motivation in students. For example, before engaging in a new concept, a teacher should take some time to dwell on the previous learnt concepts.

This will enable students to connect their individual lives with the reading materials. Additionally, teachers should use recognizable examples whenever they engage in new concepts thus, making learning so interesting to students.

Another way that a teacher can apply to motivate students to learn is by encouraging students discover new ideas and ask questions on what they did not grasp well. Sometimes, students fear asking questions in class fearing embarrassment. Clearly, this affects the intrinsic motivation of students negatively.

Thus, teachers should create a good classroom environment where learners feel free to ask questions that will motivate them to learn. Do not tolerate malevolent comments and nasty hilarity in the classroom, as some students feel embarrassed. Moreover, teachers should cultivate a sense of unity among students, which will enable them learn from one another whenever they get involved in learning activities (Brophy, 45-48).

Research shows that teachers have a positive impact in motivating students to learn. Thus, the motivation of students to learn largely depends on educators. From the instructor’s zeal to relevance of materials to organization of the course, teachers can motivate students to learn and achieve better grades.

Barbara, Gross. Motivating Students. 1999. Web.

Brophy, Jere. Synthesis of Research for Motivating Students to Learn. Educational Leadership, 45(2), 1987, 40-48.

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What Students Are Saying About What Motivates Them to Learn

Teenagers share what drives them in school: inspiring teachers, interesting classes, the feeling of accomplishment and more.

By The Learning Network

This week we asked students, “ What motivates you to learn? ” The question was inspired by an Opinion essay by Jonathan Malesic called “ The Key to Success in College Is So Simple, It’s Almost Never Mentioned .”

That key, says Mr. Malesic, who teaches writing at the University of Texas at Dallas, is “a simple willingness to learn.” He writes, “In more than 20 years of college teaching, I have seen that students who are open to new knowledge will learn. Students who aren’t won’t.”

We wanted to know what it was that got students to open up to new knowledge. They said great teachers, interactive classes, setting their own goals and having a genuine interest in a subject were all highly motivating. But many admitted that grades and getting into the colleges and careers of their choice were their main drivers, and they criticized the school system for being so “destination-focused” and quashing their curiosity with endless standardized tests. Read more about their motives below.

Thank you to all those who joined the conversation on our writing prompts this week, including students from Glenwood Springs High School in Glenwood Springs, Colo. ; Holicong Middle School in Buckingham, Pa. ; and Patrick Henry High School in Ashland, Va.

Please note: Student comments have been lightly edited for length, but otherwise appear as they were originally submitted.

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• Our Mission

Maintaining Students’ Motivation for Learning as the Year Goes On

Neuroscience can suggest ways to keep students working toward their learning goals after their initial excitement wears off.

It’s likely that your hard work orchestrating the first weeks of school enhanced your students’ connection to the school community and their enthusiasm for the learning to come. However, as the semester goes on and you seek to sustain that motivated momentum, you may not be able to find the same amount of prep time that you dedicated to the start of the year.

Yet even when your students’ bubbles of excitement fade, you can reboot their connections, engagement, and motivation with the help of insights from neuroscience research .

The Neuroscience of Motivation

Motivation is a desire to learn, try, work, and persevere. I’m a neurologist and former teacher, and one of my focus areas is the neuroscience of learning—especially motivated and successful learning. Students’ levels of intrinsic motivation—the inherent satisfaction of the activity itself, rather than an outside reward—directly correspond with increased effort and with seeing the effectiveness of their behavior, choices, focus, and performance.

Intrinsic motivation is promoted by dopamine, a brain chemical that gives us a rush of satisfaction upon achieving a goal we’ve chosen. When dopamine levels rise, so does one’s sense of satisfaction and desire to continue to sustain attention and effort. Increased dopamine can  also improve other mental processes, including memory, attention, perseverance, and creative problem-solving.

The Value of Choice

Dopamine release is promoted by meeting desired challenges, interacting with peers, movement, humor, and listening to music, among other things. Knowing what boosts students’ dopamine levels can help you in your quest to maintain or reboot their motivation. One dopamine booster that I’ve found especially effective is choice, which appears to increase students’ levels of intrinsic motivation , supporting their sustained effort and persistence in academic tasks.

Choice shifts responsibility for their learning to students and builds their judgment and decision-making. Some students may feel anxious about having too much freedom, fearing they won’t do the right thing. By starting with small choices first, you can help your learners develop skills of evaluating, selecting, and following through with good choices. As you offer more opportunities for choice and expand students’ boundaries as self-directed learners, you’ll see further increases in their confidence and motivated effort toward their chosen goals.

Some Classroom Examples

Here are some ways to provide choice to invigorate students’ motivation, engagement, and effort in their learning beyond the first weeks.

World languages: As students learn vocabulary in the target language, you can offer them choices regarding how they build mastery and self-assess their progress. Curiosity and personal relevance for this type of task can start with your showing a short humorous video in the target language. Look for clips that show positive emotions, laughter, and people and places to which your learners will relate. Their goal is to explain—in a manner of their choosing—why they think the clip is funny. You may allow them to use dictionaries, provide guidance to the appropriate textbook material, or have them work in flexible groups with you or peers.

You can give them guided choice in demonstrating their achievement: Allow them to write or speak about the humor they found, to draw a cartoon strip reflecting something in the video, or to make their own videos on the humorous topic emphasized in the video.

Language arts: To motivate students to learn the essentials of punctuation, have them choose a book they love, which will become a punctuation learning tool.

Ask students to choose a favorite section of their chosen text and have them copy it without the punctuation. You then make anonymous copies of these unpunctuated documents and place them in boxes labeled with the level of challenge (as you determine it). You can add information about the topic to guide the new “punctuators” to select a topic of interest. You can also allow them a choice in the level of challenge—they can progress at their own comfort level through increasing levels of challenge.

The students’ job is to make the chosen text understandable by adding punctuation. You should note that the original author’s punctuation choices are not the only valid ones, and when students make different choices the class can discuss those differences. Your students will get feedback that they’re building mastery as they use punctuation to make sense of increasingly challenging texts.

After you’ve done this once, you’ll have samples of student work you can share in subsequent years—ideally examples showing a progression from a text with no punctuation to one with incorrect or incomplete punctuation, and then on to a readable text with appropriate punctuation.

Math: Metric system boring? Let students choose something that interests them, such as recipes they want to make or sporting statistics, and have them convert the standard values involved into metric measurements.

Look to help learners recognize the pleasurable emotional experiences that occur through their learning and sustained effort. Remind them of these experiences—you may want to show students photographs of themselves smiling during such experiences—when they need a boost of motivated enthusiasm and effort for subsequent goals.

Motivation has a major impact on students’ effort, academic success, and joy of learning. Providing choices for your learners to engage with new learning and to progress through achievable challenges, with feedback on their progress toward their chosen goals, will make a difference in sustaining their motivated effort throughout the school year ahead.

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Global Cognition

7 ways to improve your motivation to study (backed by science).

by Winston Sieck updated September 18, 2021

Just about everyone who has ever been in school knows what it feels like to sit in front of the computer, staring at a blank screen. Hoping their term paper would write itself.

Or tried reading a textbook only to find that they have read the same paragraph ten times and still don’t know what they read.

Or decided they would rather clean the clutter out from under their bed than study in the first place.

Bottom line, studying can be kind of a drag. When you have a hundred other things you would rather do and an overwhelming amount of work to do, it is hard to get started and even harder to finish.

Fortunately, there are some simple, scientifically proven ways you can find your motivation and keep it.

What is Motivation to Study?

Motivation comes from a Latin word that literally means “to move.” But what causes someone to be motivated to study has been a hot topic in the world of science.

Researchers believe that your motivation to study can either come from inside you or outside of you. You can be motivated by an internal drive to learn as much possible. Or, you might be motivated to study by an external reward like a good grade, or a great job, or someone promising you a car.

Recently, researchers have discovered that your motivation to study is rooted in lots of factors, many of which we have control over. Rory Lazowski of James Madison University and Chris Hulleman of the University of Virginia analyzed more than 70 studies into what motivates students in schools. They published their paper , “Motivation Interventions in Education: A Meta-Analytic Review, in the journal Review of Educational Research .

Lazowski and Hulleman found that a number of ways to improve motivation consistently yield positive results. Here, I describe seven of the techniques that you can most readily use on your own to power through your own study barriers, and move your learning forward.

1. Set Clear Goals

You may think to yourself, “My goal is to graduate and get a good job and be rich.” While that’s a fine ambition, by itself it probably won’t help you in school day-to-day.

In order to improve your motivation to study, your goals have to be a little closer to home. In fact, setting clear academic goals has been scientifically linked to higher grade point averages than students who set vague goals, like, “I’ll just do the best I can.”

Set a goal to earn an “A” on a particular test in a particular subject. Or, decide to learn everything you can about a concept because it will help you in the real world. Set a deadline for homework that will force you to finish a task before it is due so you can review it before handing it in. Whatever the goal is, be sure it is specific, relevant, and timely.

2. Don’t Just Shoot For Performance, Go For Mastery

There is nothing more frustrating than studying hard for a test only to get a grade that is less than what you were expecting. At that point, lots of students throw their hands in the air and say, “If this is what happens when I study, why study?”

Resist that urge.

The grades you receive on a test are examples of performance goals. If you set a goal to get an “A”, and stop there, you may only study the things that you think will be on the test, but not necessarily the things that will give you mastery of the concept.

Students who consistently strive for mastery , really learning what they are studying, almost always see their grades improve as a result.

Mastery goals also help with your motivation to study. If you want to learn everything there is to know, you are less likely to put off starting that process.

3. Take Responsibility for Your Learning

It’s tempting to blame your grades on other people. The teacher doesn’t like you. They never taught what you were tested on. Your homework assignment doesn’t apply. When you blame others for your performance, you are more likely to do poorly on tests, assignments and projects.

Taking responsibility for your own learning can make a world of difference when it comes to getting yourself motivated to study. Recognizing that you are in charge of what you learn can help you start studying, but it can also keep you going when other distractions threaten to take your attention away.

Next time you are tempted to stop in the middle of an assignment and do something else, pause. Take a breath. Then, say out loud, “No one is going to learn this for me.” You might be surprised at how hearing those words affect your focus.

4. Adopt a Growth Mindset

Some people still believe that you’re either born smart (or not). And there’s not much you can do about it. However, research has shown that successful people tend to believe that intelligence is something you build up over your life. These folks have a growth mindset.

When your intelligence is challenged by hard assignments or difficult concepts, people with a growth mindset tend to think, “I don’t know this yet, but if I work hard, I will learn it.”

Researchers found that believing your brain can get stronger when you tackle hard things not only improves your mastery of what you are learning, it also improves your grades and increases your motivation to study.

The next time you are faced by a blank screen or hard textbook chapter remember, “I don’t know this yet, but if I work hard, I will learn it.”

5. Find the Relevance

If you ever want to annoy your math teacher, tell them algebra has no relevance in the real world. Alternatively, try to figure out how what you are studying relates to your life. Studies have shown that high school students who were asked to write down how their subject matter related to their everyday life saw a significant jump in their GPA.

Before you start studying, try jotting down a few ways this information will come in handy in the future. Making this connection will help you see value in what you are doing and get you started on an assignment or topic.

Sometimes, the connection between what you are learning and how it applies to your life is not easy to see. Try searching the web for applications of your topic to help you see the real-life relevance of what you are learning.

6. Imagine Your Future Self

Imagine what your life will be like in 10 years. Are you successful? Do you have a great career that you love? Are you living in the best city in the world?

Now, imagine how you are going to get there.

Some people automatically connect the school work they are doing now with getting into a good college or training program that will lead to their desired future. Other students have difficulty making that connection.

Having the ability to imagine your future self is a skill that has been shown to improve motivation to study. It has also been linked to higher grades, lower cases of truancy and fewer discipline problems in school.

Next time you are faced with a particularly daunting assignment, close your eyes and picture what you want your life to be like. Then, recognize that in order to have the life you want, you have to do the assignment in front of you.

7. Reaffirm Your Personal Values

What do you value most? What are the two or three most important qualities you can possibly develop? Do you strive to be honest in everything you do? Do you value kindness? Is success the most important value in your life?

Taking a few minutes now and again to reaffirm your values by writing in a journal or meditating about them can help you focus your efforts in other areas of your life.

If you value family over everything, your ability to take care of your family will motivate you to study and do well in school. If you value honesty, you will never feel inclined to cheat on a test, but will work hard to study.

Ultimately, finding the motivation to study is less about going on a treasure hunt and more about changing the way you think about learning. Even implementing a few of these seven tips can help you stay focused and keep going.

Image Credit: PublicDomainPictures

Lazowski, R. A., & Hulleman, C. S. (2016). Motivation interventions in education: A meta-analytic review. Review of Educational research , 86(2), 602-640. DOI: 10.3102/0034654315617832

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About Winston Sieck

Dr. Winston Sieck is a cognitive psychologist working to advance the development of thinking skills. He is founder and president of Global Cognition, and director of Thinker Academy .

Reader Interactions

October 2, 2018 at 4:59 pm

Thanks for sharing this post. I plan to share it with my students this week. We’re implementing some growth mindset and mindfulness practices this year. This will be a good reinforcement of some of those ideas and will provide some new insight as well. I think it will be well-received. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how open they’ve been to these ideas so far. Thanks again.

October 2, 2018 at 5:24 pm

That’s great, Tony. Excellent to hear the success you’re having with these ideas in your class. Thanks for stopping by..

October 25, 2021 at 12:51 pm

Thanks for posting this . I felt it after reading it and I think that if I prepare it today tomarow will be good . From this I’ll stay motivated .

October 2, 2018 at 6:54 pm

Thank greatly for this post. I’m studying at college at 45yrs ,sometimes want to give up studying but you came along with this great post. Great assurance and encouragement for young and old students alike.

Will have to share with my students as well,

kind regards,

clotilda Claudia Harry Solomon islands.

October 2, 2018 at 7:14 pm

Yep, we all need a little motivation boost at any age. Way to keep learning, Clotilda.

November 16, 2018 at 12:08 am

Thanks for providing a resource for our children to grow in knowledge. Seems that no matter what the age, we all struggle with these issues.

November 17, 2018 at 4:39 pm

No doubt, Michael! Managing motivation is a life-long skill we can teach our kids. Good to see you here – thanks for stopping by..

October 6, 2020 at 4:23 am

Thank you so much for motivating, the point you are mentioned such as set goal and go for mastery, be responsibility for learning, etc. all these points are really very helpful and they are very useful for study thank you so much for sharing

February 3, 2021 at 5:18 am

Thank you! Without following all of these steps, it’s hard to have any significant academic success, I think. It helps me not to lose motivation with step-by-step planning: I divide the global goal into several small short-term goals and achieving even minimal results makes me happy and motivates me to try harder. Of course, there are also bad periods, when I feel exhausted and overwhelmed. But a little rest allows me to get back on track.

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Teachers know that motivation matters. It is central to student learning; it helps determine how engaged students are in their work, how hard they work, and how well they persevere in the face of challenges. Though we hear mostly about the “achievement gap” between demographic groups, researchers have also identified an “engagement gap,” which the High School Survey of Student Engagement calls “both more pernicious and potentially more addressable.”

Despite its obvious importance, student motivation is not a focus of today’s education system. Motivation is hard to characterize and quantify, and it is influenced by many factors outside the classroom. Partly because of these challenges, many teachers feel they can do little to improve motivation. But a growing body of research shows that they can: teachers can employ a number of strategies that have been proven to enhance students’ engagement in learning.

In a recent  Carnegie report, “ Motivation Matters: How New Research Can Help Teachers Boost Student Engagement ,” Susan Headden and Sarah McKay look at the new psychological and behavioral research focused on building motivation—how students respond to incentives to learn, how they see themselves as learners, and what they consider to be their place in school. As the report shows, educators can fortify the non-instructional side of student success in three essential ways: encouraging positive behaviors by offering rewards and emphasizing the value of students’ work, improving their academic mindsets, and enhancing their sense of connectedness with their teachers and their peers.

Teachers can employ a number of strategies that have been proven to enhance students’ engagement. Twitter

Rewards and Value

Teachers have long offered incentives for directing student behavior. Gold stars, detentions, grades—all can light fires under students. But research shows that these sorts of extrinsic rewards can also undermine students’ intrinsic motivation for learning. For example, in an oft-cited 1973 study, preschoolers were promised and received a reward for drawing. The children later chose to spend less of their free time drawing than they had prior to receiving the reward. The findings don’t mean, however, that incentives have a universally negative effect on intrinsic motivation. In the same study, students who initially showed little inherent interest in drawing, and who then received an un expected reward for doing so, later chose to spend more of their free time on that activity.

An additional problem with rewards, says Chris Hulleman, a research associate professor at the University of Virginia, is that they offer the teacher an “out”—they allow him to disregard his role in making a lesson more meaningful. A better motivation-booster, says Hulleman and other experts, is to focus on the value of the task. This requires educators to provide meaningful activities explicitly connected to things students care about. For example, in a 2009 study, Hulleman and Judith Harackiewicz assigned over 250 high schoolers to two groups; one group regularly wrote summaries of the science material they were learning in class, and the other wrote about the usefulness of this material to their lives. In this latter group, students who had started with low expectations of their success in the course reported a higher interest in science and higher grades in the course than similar students in the group that only wrote summaries.

Extrinsic rewards can produce results, particularly if they are unexpected, prize mastery of skills over absolute performance, or encourage identifiable behaviors rather than outcomes. But getting students to see the value in their schoolwork by connecting concepts to their lives may be a more effective way for teachers to boost student engagement.

Getting students to value their schoolwork may be a more effective way to boost engagement. Twitter

Student Mindsets

Evidence is mounting that academic mindsets are extremely important to student success.  Students’ sense of belonging in their learning environment, their perceptions of how or whether “kids like them” succeed academically, and the extent to which they believe that hard work and persistence pay off—all of these have a powerful effect on student motivation.

In a 2011 study, for instance, freshman at a selective college were given reports ostensibly compiled from a survey of older students at the school. One group’s report showed that these older students had initially worried about whether they belonged in college, but that these concerns dissipated over time; the other group’s report did not address the issue of social belonging. Both groups wrote essays and gave speeches describing how their own college experiences related to the survey results. African-American students who read and reflected on how belonging uncertainty is both common and temporary had dramatically higher GPAs over the course of three years than the control group (who read surveys and wrote essays about topics other than belonging, such as social-political attitudes), cutting the achievement gap between black and white students by 79 percent.

The good news for teachers is that student mindsets aren’t set in stone; educators have the power to positively influence students’ perceptions of themselves as learners. Research findings like the above show that even relatively simple classroom interventions can have a large effect.

The good news for teachers is that student mindsets aren’t set in stone. Twitter

Student Relationships

Students care when they believe that other people care about them. They are less likely to drop out, and more likely to feel positively about school, when they have ongoing connections with teachers. Likewise, when they associate with highly-engaged peers, they become more engaged themselves.

Schools can do a lot to ensure that students feel cared about in the learning environment. Check & Connect, a program used by Chicago Public Schools, carefully monitors students’ grades, attendance, and performance data to identify those most at risk of disengaging from school. Each of these students is paired with a trained mentor who helps him with personal and academic issues. In one study, chronically-absent elementary students participated in the program for two years, and at the end of that time, 40 percent were engaged in and regularly attending school. That outcome represents a 135 percent improvement over baseline behavior.

Even smaller-scale classroom interventions can make a big difference in promoting positive school-based relationships. Teachers can hold morning meetings and encourage students to work in groups in order to foster environments in which students feel safe and supported.

An Issue of Scale

None of these strategies for boosting motivation is necessarily new; good teachers have always incentivized productive behaviors, encouraged positive mindsets, and created caring and connected classroom environments. But the new research adds evidence that these factors are vital to student success, and they show that, through practical interventions, they can be changed. The challenge now is to extend best practices beyond isolated classrooms, making the work systematic and sustained.

The barriers to scaling are many. Measurement , in particular, is a significant problem. Tools like Angela Duckworth’s Grit Scale and the KIPP character growth card assess non-cognitive skills and dispositions, but even experts concede that measurement is difficult to do reliably and validly. Professional support for teachers is another issue. Educators need to be trained on how to incorporate motivation-boosting strategies into their everyday instruction. And the education system as a whole must do a better job of translating research findings into practice.

Though challenges remain, researchers and practitioners are conducting promising experiments aimed at identifying and scaling the most effective strategies for improving student motivation. Read the full report to learn more about these efforts.

Permanent link to page: https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/blog/using-new-research-to-improve-student-motivation/

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10 ways to generate study motivation

10 February 2020

If you have exams and essay deadlines piling up but you just can't seem to focus - here are 10 ways you can help yourself get motivated!

This is the time of the year when courseworks and dissertations are due and for some of you, exam time is looming. Sometimes having to do all that studying and catching up with reading feels like a drag. It can be overwhelming because together with the studying can come a wave of questions where you doubt yourself on a personal level with thoughts such as:

" ‘Do I even understand these readings?’… ‘Am I going to be able to write something interesting and relevant?’…  ‘Am I going to do the right thing?’… ‘Am I good enough to do this?’… ‘Others seem to be more on top of things than I am’… ‘What if I do badly?’...  

These thoughts are subtle, but can lead to difficult feelings that interfere with motivation. So try out these 10 ways that you could help yourself to generate that motivation!

• Acknowledge your resistance and difficult feelings with motivation. It may be helpful to write these feelings or thoughts down and then leave these on the side so you can then study.
• Do not run away. Avoiding work can make you feel deflated. This is emotionally more draining than having to go through the frustration of reading for your paper.
• Do not blame yourself for procrastinating now and then. Try to become aware of the habit and gently make yourself to go back to the task sooner rather than later. 
• Try to understand your studying style better. What will make it easier for you to work? We are all prone to pleasant experiences and it is natural that we tend to avoid uncomfortable, dry chores and duties.  So try to make your study experience as interesting as possible.
• Don’t question your abilities.  Don’t put yourself down by comparing yourself to others.
• Visualise yourself starting. Make yourself sit down and work even if this is for just 20 minutes. See starting as a parallel process like a plane on a runway. You may start slow but you will still take off! 
• Focus on the task at hand and prioritise the most important tasks.  Avoid multitasking.
• Communicate to others any difficulties and/or what you intend to do. This can help you engage with the process and identify the important tasks. Communication / externalisation can help you to commit with immediate goals and you could also find out others points of view and tips. 
• Take a time limited approach in which you schedule your tasks.  Ask yourself  ‘how much can I achieve in the next 2 hours?’ instead of ‘Can I complete all tasks?’ In this way you do not get as easily overwhelmed by the volume of study you need to do.  

By Zoi Kontakou, Counselling Psychologist in UCL Student Support and Wellbeing 

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Five ways to boost student motivation

A framework for creating motivationally supportive learning environments. 

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One of the biggest challenges when teaching is trying to motivate students. In addition, covid -induced shifts to remote instruction (Fong, 2022) might have exacerbated students’ already declining motivations, even after beginning the “new normal.” Despite these dips in motivation, some educators may believe that students are solely responsible for motivating themselves. However, research has emphasized how educators can create motivationally-supportive environments (Robinson, 2023) to engage students while learning.

A dominant theory of academic motivation is situated expectancy-value theory (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020). This theory describes a complex series of factors that motivate achievement-related choices. Learners’ motivation is shaped by three factors, captured by the following questions: Can I do this? Do I want to do this? And, what are the costs? In other words, motivation depends on whether students feel confident to engage in a task, find value in it, and perceive minimal costs during the learning process. Using this framework as a guide, we share five ways educators can boost student motivation in their classes.

Scaffold and build confidence

Construction workers use scaffolding to reach higher elevations in a safe and secure manner, and educators can employ similar methods to help learners grow in confidence (Fong & Krause, 2014). Students may lack confidence in learning because they may have not yet mastered certain academic skills and strategies. Because previous failure and the fear of it can hinder future learning opportunities, students need to experience success—even small successes—to uplift their confidence. Scaffolding involves designing tasks that start at the students’ skill level, and gradually increasing the difficulty of the task once the learner reaches the next level. A series of prior successes can have a cascading effect on learners’ confidence to keep making progress.

Discover and connect to future goals

Learners want to engage in class when the material is useful for their future goals (Hulleman et al., 2010). Discovering what students find the most useful or relevant in the class is essential for building connections between the course content and students’ short-term and long-term goals. Students might want to pursue careers in politics or forensics, for example, so an instructor might want to tailor particular examples from social psychology or research methods to make connections with these subfields, or even current events that pertain to these topics. Recognizing connections to real-world applications, future-oriented plans, and the course content makes learning relevant to students’ goals.

Emphasize personal importance

Students are motivated not only by how useful it may be for their future but also by how personally important the course material is to them (Fong & Kremer, 2020). Educators can emphasize aspects of the course material that have salient connections to students’ personal and social identities. For example, students from racially minoritized communities may find that content about the psychology of race and racism resonates with them. Or students who grew up in a family of counselors may readily identify with content about psychopathology. Whatever course material students find personally important can serve as a critical touchstone that anchors a motivationally-supportive curriculum.

Instill true curiosity

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but being curious is truly one of the most sustainable sources of motivation. When students are genuinely interested in what they are learning, the sky’s truly the limit. To fan curiosity into flame, educators may consider the situations that trigger students’ interest (Hidi & Renninger, 2006) and be mindful of what might catch their attention. These instances become the initial sparks that educators can use to build upon and allow students to cultivate their own enduring sense of interest. For instance, students might respond enthusiastically to an in-class experiment about cognitive perception. Students might enjoy doing in-class replications of experiments or find interest in perceptual processes. Now that students’ interests are triggered, providing additional activities or exposure and a chance for them to explore similar activities on their own can nurture personal interest.

Acknowledge and reduce cost perceptions

Lastly, educators can consider how to minimize students’ perceptions of cost, defined as the negative aspects of engaging in an academic task. When students face a challenge in an academic task, they might find it effortful or frustrating. One way to reduce effort and emotional costs (Rosenzweig et al., 2020) is to help students reinterpret cost perceptions in a more positive way, such as acknowledging that challenges are mostly temporary and common to other students. Also, if educators establish appropriate expectations for how much effort is required for a task, students may calibrate how effortful a task might be, rather than overestimating how much effort is needed.

Concluding thoughts

Student motivation is an extremely complex process and depends quite a bit on the learner’s goals, contexts, or tasks. A one-size fits all approach may not always work, but we hope these five strategies can be starting points for educators to think through when creating motivationally supportive learning environments.

About the authors

Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2020). From expectancy-value theory to situated expectancy-value theory: A developmental, social cognitive, and sociocultural perspective on motivation.  Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61,  Article 101859.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101859

Fong, C. J. (2022). Academic motivation in a pandemic context: A conceptual review of prominent theories and an integrative model. Educational Psychology . Advance online publication.  https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2022.2026891

Fong, C. J., & Krause, J. M. (2014). Lost confidence and potential: A mixed methods study of underachieving college students’ sources of self-efficacy.  Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 17 (2), 249–268.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-013-9239-1

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Understanding and Supporting Student Motivation for Learning

• First Online: 21 July 2018

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• Linda Gilmore 2  

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This chapter highlights the importance of motivation for children’s learning, and describes the ways in which motivation may be strengthened. We begin by discussing the construct of motivation and the various theories that have attempted to explain why some students are more highly motivated than others. Drawing on the framework of mastery motivation, we describe developmental aspects of the drive for mastery, highlighting the ways in which this drive increasingly becomes differentiated and affected by the interplay of individual child characteristics, such as self-efficacy and self-regulation, and contextual factors, such as cognitively stimulating environments, optimal challenge, and support for autonomy. The contexts in which children live and learn have important implications for motivation. We discuss motivation in children with learning and developmental disabilities, considering the experiences that potentially undermine their engagement with learning. The final part of the chapter focuses on strategies for promoting and sustaining motivation. In particular, we emphasize the importance of providing optimal challenge, experiences of success, and support for autonomy, as well as the benefits of positive strategies for developing self-regulatory skills.

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Gilmore, L. (2018). Understanding and Supporting Student Motivation for Learning. In: Deb, S. (eds) Positive Schooling and Child Development. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0077-6_4

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How to Motivate Students: 12 Classroom Tips & Examples

Inspire. Instill drive. Incite excitement. Stimulate curiosity.

These are all common goals for many educators. However, what can you do if your students lack motivation? How do you light that fire and keep it from burning out?

This article will explain and provide examples of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the classroom. Further, we will provide actionable methods to use right now in your classroom to motivate the difficult to motivate. Let’s get started!

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Education Exercises for free . These ready-made tools are perfect for enhancing your teaching approach, making it easier to engage students in meaningful, student-centered learning.

This Article Contains:

The science of motivation explained, how to motivate students in the classroom, 9 ways teachers can motivate students, encouraging students to ask questions: 3 tips, motivating students in online classes, helpful resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

Goal-directed activities are started and sustained by motivation. “Motivational processes are personal/internal influences that lead to outcomes such as choice, effort, persistence, achievement, and environmental regulation” (Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2020). There are two types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation is internal to a person.

For example, you may be motivated to achieve satisfactory grades in a foreign language course because you genuinely want to become fluent in the language. Students like this are motivated by their interest, enjoyment, or satisfaction from learning the material.

Not surprisingly, intrinsic motivation is congruous with higher performance and predicts student performance and higher achievement (Ryan & Deci, 2020).

Extrinsic motivation is derived from a more external source and involves a contingent reward (Benabou & Tirole, 2003).

For example, a student may be motivated to achieve satisfactory grades in a foreign language course because they receive a tangible reward or compliments for good grades. Their motivation is fueled by earning external rewards or avoiding punishments. Rewards may even include approval from others, such as parents or teachers.

Self-determination theory addresses the why of behavior and asserts that there are various motivation types that lie on a continuum, including external motivation, internal motivation, and amotivation (Sheehan et al., 2018).

• Relatedness

Student autonomy is the ownership they take of their learning or initiative.

Generate students’ autonomy by involving them in decision-making. Try blended learning, which combines whole class lessons with independent learning. Teach accountability by holding students accountable and modeling and thinking aloud your own accountability.

In addressing competence, students must feel that they can succeed and grow. Assisting students in developing their self-esteem is critical. Help students see their strengths and refer to their strengths often. Promote a kid’s growth mindset .

Relatedness refers to the students’ sense of belonging and connection. Build this by establishing relationships. Facilitate peer connections by using team-building exercises and encouraging collaborative learning. Develop your own relationship with each student. Explore student interests to develop common ground.

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Motivating students while teaching a subject and providing classroom management is definitely a juggling act. Try introducing a few of the suggestions below and see what happens.

Relationships

First and foremost, it is critical to develop relationships with your students. When students begin formal schooling, they need to develop quality relationships, as interpersonal relationships in the school setting influence children’s development and positively impact student outcomes, which includes their motivation to learn, behavior, and cognitive skills (McFarland et al., 2016).

Try administering interest inventories at the beginning of the school year. Make a point to get to know each student and demonstrate your interest by asking them about their weekend, sports game, or other activities they may participate in.

Physical learning environment

Modify the physical learning environment. Who says students need to sit in single-file rows all facing the front of the room or even as desks for that matter?

Flexible seating is something you may want to try. Students who are comfortable in a learning space are better engaged, which leads to more meaningful, impactful learning experiences (Cole et al., 2021). You may try to implement pillows, couches, stools, rocking chairs, rolling chairs, bouncing chairs, or even no chairs at all.

Include parents

Involve parents and solicit their aid to help encourage students. Parents are a key factor in students’ motivation (Tóth-Király et al., 2022).

It is important to develop your relationship with these crucial allies. Try making positive phone calls home prior to the negative phone calls to help build an effective relationship. Involve parents by sending home a weekly newsletter or by inviting them into your classroom for special events. Inform them that you are a team and have the same goals for their child.

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The relevance of the material is critical for instilling motivation. Demonstrating why the material is useful or tying the material directly to students’ lives is necessary for obtaining student interest.

It would come as no surprise that if a foreign language learner is not using relevant material, it will take longer for that student to acquire the language and achieve their goals (Shatz, 2014). If students do not understand the importance or real-world application for what they are learning, they may not be motivated to learn.

Student-centered learning

Student-centered learning approaches have been proven to be more effective than teacher-centered teaching approaches (Peled et al., 2022).

A student-centered approach engages students in the learning process, whereas a teacher-centered approach involves the teacher delivering the majority of the information. This type of teaching requires students to construct meaning from new information and prior experience.

Give students autonomy and ownership of what they learn. Try enlisting students as the directors of their own learning and assign project-based learning activities.

Find additional ways to integrate technology. Talk less and encourage the students to talk more. Involving students in decision-making and providing them opportunities to lead are conducive to a student-centered learning environment.

Collaborative learning

Collaborative learning is definitely a strategy to implement in the classroom. There are both cognitive and motivational benefits to collaborative learning (Järvelä et al., 2010), and social learning theory is a critical lens with which to examine motivation in the classroom.

You may try assigning group or partner work where students work together on a common task. This is also known as cooperative learning. You may want to offer opportunities for both partner and small group work. Allowing students to choose their partners or groups and assigning partners or groups should also be considered.

Alternative answering

Have you ever had a difficult time getting students to answer your questions? Who says students need to answer verbally? Try using alternative answering methods, such as individual whiteboards, personal response systems such as “clickers,” or student response games such as Kahoot!

Quizlet is also an effective method for obtaining students’ answers (Setiawan & Wiedarti, 2020). Using these tools allows every student to participate, even the timid students, and allows the teacher to perform a class-wide formative assessment on all students.

New teaching methods

Vary your teaching methods. If you have become bored with the lessons you are delivering, it’s likely that students have also become bored.

Try new teaching activities, such as inviting a guest speaker to your classroom or by implementing debates and role-play into your lessons. Teacher and student enjoyment in the classroom are positively linked, and teachers’ displayed enthusiasm affects teacher and student enjoyment (Frenzel et al., 2009).

Perhaps check out our article on teacher burnout to reignite your spark in the classroom. If you are not enjoying yourself, your students aren’t likely to either.

Aside from encouraging students to answer teacher questions, prompting students to ask their own questions can also be a challenge.

When students ask questions, they demonstrate they are thinking about their learning and are engaged. Further, they are actively filling the gaps in their knowledge. Doğan and Yücel-Toy (2020, p. 2237) posit:

“The process of asking questions helps students understand the new topic, realize others’ ideas, evaluate their own progress, monitor learning processes, and increase their motivation and interest on the topic by arousing curiosity.”

Student-created questions are critical to an effective learning environment. Below are a few tips to help motivate students to ask questions.

Instill confidence and a safe environment

Students need to feel safe in their classrooms. A teacher can foster this environment by setting clear expectations of respect between students. Involve students in creating a classroom contract or norms.

Refer to your classroom’s posted contract or norms periodically to review student expectations. Address any deviation from these agreements and praise students often. Acknowledge all students’ responses, no matter how wild or off-topic they may be.

Graphic organizers

Provide students with graphic organizers such as a KWL chart. The KWL chart helps students organize what they already Know , what they Want to learn, and what they Learned .

Tools such as these will allow students to process their thinking and grant them time to generate constructive questions. Referring to this chart will allow more timid students to share their questions.

Although intrinsic motivation is preferred (Ryan & Deci, 2020), incentives should also be used when appropriate. Token systems, where students can exchange points for items, are an effective method for improving learning and positively affecting student behavior (Homer et al., 2018).

Tangible and intangible incentives may be used to motivate students if they have not developed intrinsic motivation. Intangible items may include lunch with the teacher, a coupon to only complete half of an assignment, or a show-and-tell session. Of course, a good old-fashioned treasure box may help as well.

If students are unwilling to ask questions in front of the class, try implementing a large poster paper where students are encouraged to use sticky notes to write down their questions. Teachers may refer to the questions and answer them at a separate time. This practice is called a “parking lot.” Also, consider allowing students to share questions in small groups or with partners.

Student motivation: how to motivate students to learn

Just as in the face-to-face setting, relationships are crucial for online student motivation as well. Build relationships by getting to know your students’ interests. Determining student interests will also be key in the virtual environment.

Try incorporating a show-and-tell opportunity where students can display and talk about objects from around their home that are important to them. Peer-to-peer relationships should also be encouraged, and accomplishing this feat in an online class can be difficult. Here is a resource you can use to help plan team-building activities to bring your students together.

Game-based response systems such as Kahoot! may increase motivation. These tools use gamification to encourage motivation and engagement.

Incentives may also be used in the computer-based setting. Many schools have opted to use Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Rewards . This curriculum nurtures a positive school culture and aims to improve student behavior. Points are earned by students meeting expectations and can be exchanged for items in an online store.

To further develop strong relationships with students and parents, remark on the relevancy of the materials and instill a student-centered learning approach that addresses autonomy. You may also wish to include alternative means of answering questions, vary your teaching methods, and implement collaborative learning.

Top 17 Exercises for Positive Education

Use these 17 Positive Education Exercises [PDF] to enhance student engagement, resilience, and wellbeing while also equipping students with valuable life skills.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

We have many useful articles and worksheets you can use with your students. To get an excellent start on the foundations of motivation, we recommend our article What Is Motivation? A Psychologist Explains .

If you’re curious about intrinsic motivation, you may be interested in What Is Intrinsic Motivation? 10 Examples and Factors Explained .

Perhaps using kids’ reward coupons such as these may help increase motivation. Teachers could modify the coupons to fit their classroom or share these exact coupons with parents at parent–teacher conferences to reinforce children’s efforts at school .

For some students, coloring is an enjoyable and creative outlet. Try using a coloring sheet such as this Decorating Cookies worksheet for when students complete their work or as a reward for good behavior.

If you want to integrate the evidence-based principles of positive psychology into the classroom, consider this collection of 17 validated positive education exercises . Use them to enhance student engagement, resilience and wellbeing while also equipping students with valuable life skills.

“The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.”

C. S. Lewis

While we know how challenging it is to motivate students while teaching our specific subjects and attending to classroom management, we also understand the importance of motivation.

You will have some students enter your classroom with unequivocally developed intrinsic motivation, and you will have students enter your classroom with absolutely no motivation.

Teachers have to be able to teach everyone who walks into their classroom and incite motivation in those who have no motivation at all. Motivating the difficult to motivate is challenging; however, it can be done.

As Plutarch asserted, it is better to think of education as “a fire to be kindled” as opposed to “a vessel to be filled.” In addressing the needs of students with little to no motivation, it will take more time, patience, and understanding; however, implementing a few of these strategies will put you on the fast track to lighting that fire.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Education Exercises for free .

• Benabou, R., & Tirole, J. (2003). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The Review of Economic Studies , 70 (3), 489–495
• Cole, K., Schroeder, K., Bataineh, M., & Al-Bataineh, A. (2021). Flexible seating impact on classroom environment. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET , 20 (2), 62–74.
• Doğan, F., & Yücel-Toy, B. (2020). Development of an attitude scale towards asking questions for elementary education students. Ilkogretim Online, 19 (4), 2237–2248.
• Frenzel, A. C., Goetz, T., Lüdtke, O., Pekrun, R., & Sutton, R. E. (2009). Emotional transmission in the classroom: Exploring the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment. Journal of Educational Psychology , 101 (3), 705–716.
• Homer, R., Hew, K. F., & Tan, C. Y. (2018). Comparing digital badges-and-points with classroom token systems: Effects on elementary school ESL students’ classroom behavior and English learning. Journal of Educational Technology & Society , 21 (1), 137–151.
• Järvelä, S., Volet, S., & Järvenoja, H. (2010). Research on motivation in collaborative learning: Moving beyond the cognitive–situative divide and combining individual and social processes. Educational Psychologist , 45 (1), 15–27.
• Kippers, W. B., Wolterinck, C. H., Schildkamp, K., Poortman, C. L., & Visscher, A. J. (2018). Teachers’ views on the use of assessment for learning and data-based decision making in classroom practice. Teaching and Teacher Education , 75 , 199–213.
• McFarland, L., Murray, E., & Phillipson, S. (2016). Student–teacher relationships and student self-concept: Relations with teacher and student gender. Australian Journal of Education , 60 (1), 5–25.
• Peled, Y., Blau, I., & Grinberg, R. (2022). Crosschecking teachers’ perspectives on learning in a one-to-one environment with their actual classroom behavior: A longitudinal study. Education and Information Technologies , 1–24.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology , 61 , 101860.
• Schunk, D. H., & DiBenedetto, M. K. (2020). Motivation and social cognitive theory. Contemporary Educational Psychology , 60 , 101832.
• Setiawan, M. R., & Wiedarti, P. (2020). The effectiveness of Quizlet application towards students’ motivation in learning vocabulary. Studies in English Language and Education , 7 (1), 83–95.
• Shatz, I. (2014). Parameters for assessing the effectiveness of language learning strategies. Journal of Language and Cultural Education , 2 (3), 96–103.
• Sheehan, R. B., Herring, M. P., & Campbell, M. J. (2018). Associations between motivation and mental health in sport: A test of the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Frontiers in Psychology , 9 , 707.
• Tóth-Király, I., Morin, A. J., Litalien, D., Valuch, M., Bőthe, B., Orosz, G., & Rigó, A. (2022). Self-determined profiles of academic motivation. Motivation and Emotion , 1–19.

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Center for Teaching

Motivating students.

Introduction

• Expectancy – Value – Cost Model

ARCS Model of Instructional Design

Self-determination theory, additional strategies for motivating students.

Fostering student motivation is a difficult but necessary aspect of teaching that instructors must consider. Many may have led classes where students are engaged, motivated, and excited to learn, but have also led classes where students are distracted, disinterested, and reluctant to engage—and, probably, have led classes that are a mix. What factors influence students’ motivation? How can instructors promote students’ engagement and motivation to learn? While there are nuances that change from student to student, there are also models of motivation that serve as tools for thinking through and enhancing motivation in our classrooms. This guide will look at three frameworks: the expectancy-value-cost model of motivation, the ARCS model of instructional design, and self-determination theory. These three models highlight some of the major factors that influence student motivation, often drawing from and demonstrating overlap among their frameworks. The aim of this guide is to explore some of the literature on motivation and offer practical solutions for understanding and enhancing student motivation.

Expectancy – Value – Cost Model

The purpose of the original expectancy-value model was to predict students’ achievement behaviors within an educational context. The model has since been refined to include cost as one of the three major factors that influence student motivation. Below is a description of the three factors, according to the model, that influence motivation.

• Expectancy refers to a student’s expectation that they can actually succeed in the assigned task. It energizes students because they feel empowered to meet the learning objectives of the course.
• Value involves a student’s ability to perceive the importance of engaging in a particular task. This gives meaning to the assignment or activity because students are clear on why the task or behavior is valuable.
• Cost points to the barriers that impede a student’s ability to be successful on an assignment, activity and/or the course at large. Therefore, students might have success expectancies and perceive high task value, however, they might also be aware of obstacles to their engagement or a potential negative affect resulting in performance of the task, which could decrease their motivation.

Three important questions to consider from the student perspective:

1. Expectancy – Can I do the task?

2. Value – Do I want to do the task?

• Intrinsic or interest value : the inherent enjoyment that an individual experiences from engaging in the task for its own sake.

• Utility value : the usefulness of the task in helping achieve other short term or long-term goals.

• Attainment value : the task affirms a valued aspect of an individual’s identity and meets a need that is important to the individual.

3. Cost – Am I free of barriers that prevent me from investing my time, energy, and resources into the activity?

It’s important to note that expectancy, value and cost are not shaped only when a student enters your classroom. These have been shaped over time by both individual and contextual factors. Each of your students comes in with an initial response, however there are strategies for encouraging student success, clarifying subject meaning and finding ways to mitigate costs that will increase your students’ motivation. Everyone may not end up at the same level of motivation, but if you can increase each student’s motivation, it will help the overall atmosphere and productivity of the course that you are teaching.

Strategies to Enhance Expectancy, Value, and Cost

Hulleman et. al (2016) summarize research-based sources that positively impact students’ expectancy beliefs, perceptions of task value, and perceptions of cost, which might point to useful strategies that instructors can employ.

Research-based sources of expectancy-related beliefs

Research-based sources of value

Research-based sources of cost

• Barron K. E., & Hulleman, C. S. (2015). Expectancy-value-cost model of motivation. International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8 , 503-509.
• Hulleman, C. S., Barron, K. E., Kosovich, J. J., & Lazowski, R. A. (2016). Student motivation: Current theories, constructs, and interventions within an expectancy-value framework. In A. A. Lipnevich et al. (Eds.), Psychosocial Skills and School Systems in the 21st Century . Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

The ARCS model of instructional design was created to improve the motivational appeal of instructional materials. The ARCS model is grounded in an expectancy-value framework, which assumes that people are motivated to engage in an activity if it’s perceived to be linked to the satisfaction of personal needs and if there is a positive expectancy for success. The purpose of this model was to fill a gap in the motivation literature by providing a model that could more clearly allow instructors to identify strategies to help improve motivation levels within their students.

ARCS is an acronym that stands for four factors, according to the model, that influence student motivation: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction.

• Attention refers to getting and sustaining student attention and directing attention to the appropriate stimuli.
• Relevance involves making instruction applicable to present and future career opportunities, showing that learning in it of itself is enjoyable, and/or focusing on process over product by satisfying students’ psychological needs (e.g., need for achievement, need for affiliation).
• Confidence includes helping students believe that some level of success is possible if effort is exerted.
• Satisfaction is attained by helping students feel good about their accomplishments and allowing them to exert some degree of control over the learning experience.

To use the ARCS instructional design model, these steps can be followed:

• Classify the problem
• Analyze audience motivation
• Prepare motivational objectives (i.e., identify which factor in the ARCS model to target based on the defined problem and audience analysis).
• Generate potential motivational strategies for each objective
• Select strategies that a) don’t take up too much instructional time; b) don’t detract from instructional objectives; c) fall within time and money constraints; d) are acceptable to the audience; and e) are compatible with the instructor’s personal style, preferences, and mode of instruction.
• Prepare motivational elements
• Integrate materials with instruction
• Conduct a developmental try-out
• Assess motivational outcomes

Strategies to Enhance Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction

Keller (1987) provides several suggestions for how instructors can positively impact students’ attention, perceived relevance, confidence, and satisfaction.

Attention Strategies

Incongruity, Conflict

• Introduce a fact that seems to contradict the learner’s past experience.
• Present an example that does not seem to exemplify a given concept.
• Introduce two equally plausible facts or principles, only one of which can be true.
• Play devil’s advocate.

Concreteness

• Show visual representations of any important object or set of ideas or relationships.
• Give examples of every instructionally important concept or principle.
• Use content-related anecdotes, case studies, biographies, etc.

Variability

• In stand up delivery, vary the tone of your voice, and use body movement, pauses, and props.
• Vary the format of instruction (information presentation, practice, testing, etc.) according to the attention span of the audience.
• Vary the medium of instruction (platform delivery, film, video, print, etc.).
• Break up print materials by use of white space, visuals, tables, different typefaces, etc.
• Change the style of presentation (humorous-serious, fast-slow, loud-soft, active-passive, etc.).
• Shift between student-instructor interaction and student-student interaction.
• Where appropriate, use plays on words during redundant information presentation.
• Use humorous introductions.
• Use humorous analogies to explain and summarize.
• Use creativity techniques to have learners create unusual analogies and associations to the content.
• Build in problem solving activities at regular interval.
• Give learners the opportunity to select topics, projects and assignments that appeal to their curiosity and need to explore.

Participation

• Use games, role plays, or simulations that require learner participation.

Relevance Strategies

• State explicitly how the instruction builds on the learner’s existing skills.
• Use analogies familiar to the learner from past experience.
• Find out what the learners’ interests are and relate them to the instruction.

Present Worth

• State explicitly the present intrinsic value of learning the content, as distinct from its value as a link to future goals.

Future Usefulness

• State explicitly how the instruction relates to future activities of the learner.
• Ask learners to relate the instruction to their own future goals (future wheel).

Need Matching

• To enhance achievement striving behavior, provide opportunities to achieve standards of excellence under conditions of moderate risk.
• To make instruction responsive to the power motive, provide opportunities for responsibility, authority, and interpersonal influence.
• To satisfy the need for affiliation, establish trust and provide opportunities for no-risk, cooperative interaction.
• Bring in alumni of the course as enthusiastic guest lecturers.
• In a self-paced course, use those who finish first as deputy tutors.
• Model enthusiasm for the subject taught.
• Provide meaningful alternative methods for accomplishing a goal.
• Provide personal choices for organizing one’s work.

Confidence Strategies

Learning Requirements

• Incorporate clearly stated, appealing learning goals into instructional materials.
• Provide self-evaluation tools which are based on clearly stated goals.
• Explain the criteria for evaluation of performance.
• Organize materials on an increasing level of difficulty; that is, structure the learning material to provide a “conquerable” challenge.

Expectations

• Include statements about the likelihood of success with given amounts of effort and ability.
• Teach students how to develop a plan of work that will result in goal accomplishment.
• Help students set realistic goals.

Attributions

• Attribute student success to effort rather than luck or ease of task when appropriate (i.e., when you know it’s true!).
• Encourage student efforts to verbalize appropriate attributions for both successes and failures.

Self-Confidence

• Allow students opportunity to become increasingly independent in learning and practicing a skill.
• Have students learn new skills under low risk conditions, but practice performance of well-learned tasks under realistic conditions.
• Help students understand that the pursuit of excellence does not mean that anything short of perfection is failure; learn to feel good about genuine accomplishment.

Satisfaction Strategies

Natural Consequences

• Allow a student to use a newly acquired skill in a realistic setting as soon as possible.
• Verbally reinforce a student’s intrinsic pride in accomplishing a difficult task.
• Allow a student who masters a task to help others who have not yet done so.

Unexpected Rewards

• Reward intrinsically interesting task performance with unexpected, non-contingent rewards.
• Reward boring tasks with extrinsic, anticipated rewards.

Positive Outcomes

• Give verbal praise for successful progress or accomplishment.
• Give personal attention to students.
• Provide informative, helpful feedback when it is immediately useful.
• Provide motivating feedback (praise) immediately following task performance.

Negative Influences

• Avoid the use of threats as a means of obtaining task performance.
• Avoid surveillance (as opposed to positive attention).
• Avoid external performance evaluations whenever it is possible to help the student evaluate his or her own work.
• Provide frequent reinforcements when a student is learning a new task.
• Provide intermittent reinforcement as a student becomes more competent at a task.
• Vary the schedule of reinforcements in terms of both interval and quantity.

Source: Keller, J. M. (1987). Development and use of the ARCS model of instructional design. Journal of Instructional Development, 10 , 2-10.

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro-theory of human motivation, emotion, and development that is concerned with the social conditions that facilitate or hinder human flourishing. While applicable to many domains, the theory has been commonly used to understand what moves students to act and persist in educational settings. SDT focuses on the factors that influence intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, which primarily involves the satisfaction of basic psychological needs.

Basic Psychological Needs

SDT posits that human motivation is guided by the need to fulfill basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

• Autonomy refers to having a choice in one’s own individual behaviors and feeling that those behaviors stem from individual volition rather than from external pressure or control. In educational contexts, students feel autonomous when they are given options, within a structure, about how to perform or present their work.
• Competence refers to perceiving one’s own behaviors or actions as effective and efficient. Students feel competent when they are able to track their progress in developing skills or an understanding of course material. This is often fostered when students receive clear feedback regarding their progression in the class.
• Relatedness refers to feeling a sense of belonging, closeness, and support from others. In educational settings, relatedness is fostered when students feel connected, both intellectually and emotionally, to their peers and instructors in the class. This can often be accomplished through interactions that allow members of the class to get to know each other on a deeper, more personal level.

Continuum of Self-Determination

SDT also posits that motivation exists on a continuum. When an environment provides enough support for the satisfaction of the psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness, an individual may experience self-determined forms of motivation: intrinsic motivation, integration, and identification. Self-determined motivation occurs when there is an internal perceived locus of causality (i.e., internal factors are the main driving force for the behavior). Integration and identification are also grouped as autonomous extrinsic motivation as the behavior is driven by internal and volitional choice.

Intrinsic motivation , which is the most self-determined type of motivation, occurs when individuals naturally and spontaneously perform behaviors as a result of genuine interest and enjoyment.

Integrated regulation is when individuals identify the importance of a behavior, integrate this behavior into their self-concept, and pursue activities that align with this self-concept.

Identified regulation is where people identify and recognize the value of a behavior, which then drives their action.

When an environment does not provide enough support for the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, an individual may experience non-self-determined forms of motivation: introjection and external regulation. Introjection and external regulation are grouped as controlled extrinsic motivation because people enact these behaviors due to external or internal pressures.

Introjected regulation occurs when individuals are controlled by internalized consequences administered by the individual themselves, such as pride, shame, or guilt.

External regulation is when people’s behaviors are controlled exclusively by external factors, such as rewards or punishments.

Finally, at the bottom of the continuum is amotivation, which is lowest form of motivation.

Amotivation exists when there is a complete lack of intention to behave and there is no sense of achievement or purpose when the behavior is performed.

Below is a figure depicting the continuum of self-determination taken from Lonsdale, Hodge, and Rose (2009).

Although having intrinsically motivated students would be the ultimate goal, it may not be a practical one within educational settings. That’s because there are several tasks that are required of students to meet particular learning objectives that may not be inherently interesting or enjoyable. Instead, instructors can employ various strategies to satisfy students’ basic psychological needs, which should move their level of motivation along the continuum, and hopefully lead to more self-determined forms of motivation, thus yielding the greatest rewards in terms of student academic outcomes.

Below are suggestions for how instructors can positively impact students’ perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Strategies to Enhance Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness

Autonomy strategies.

• Have students choose paper topics
• Have students choose the medium with which they will present their work
• Co-create rubrics with students (e.g., participation rubrics, assignment rubrics)
• Have students choose the topics you will cover in a particular unit
• Drop the lowest assessment or two (e.g., quizzes, exams, homework)
• Have students identify preferred assignment deadlines
• Gather mid-semester feedback and make changes based on student suggestions
• Provide meaningful rationales for learning activities
• Acknowledge students’ feelings about the learning process or learning activities throughout the course

Competence Strategies

• Set high but achievable learning objectives
• Communicate to students that you believe they can meet your high expectations
• Communicate clear expectations for each assignment (e.g., use rubrics)
• Include multiple low-stakes assessments
• Give students practice with feedback before assessments
• Provide lots of early feedback to students
• Have students provide peer feedback
• Scaffold assignments
• Praise student effort and hard work
• Provide a safe environment for students to fail and then learn from their mistakes

Relatedness Strategies

• Share personal anecdotes
• Get to know students via small talk before/after class and during breaks
• Require students to come to office hours (individually or in small groups)
• Have students complete a survey where they share information about themselves
• Use students’ names (perhaps with the help of name tents)
• Have students incorporate personal interests into their assignments
• Share a meal with students or bring food to class
• Incorporate group activities during class, and allow students to work with a variety of peers
• Arrange formal study groups
• Convey warmth, caring, and respect to students
• Lonsdale, C., Hodge, K., & Rose, E. (2009). Athlete burnout in elite sport: A self-determination perspective. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27, 785-795.
• Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7, 133-144.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness . New York: Guilford.

Below are some additional research-based strategies for motivating students to learn.

• Become a role model for student interest . Deliver your presentations with energy and enthusiasm. As a display of your motivation, your passion motivates your students. Make the course personal, showing why you are interested in the material.
• Get to know your students.  You will be able to better tailor your instruction to the students’ concerns and backgrounds, and your personal interest in them will inspire their personal loyalty to you. Display a strong interest in students’ learning and a faith in their abilities.
• Use examples freely.  Many students want to be shown why a concept or technique is useful before they want to study it further. Inform students about how your course prepares students for future opportunities.
• Teach by discovery. Students find it satisfying to reason through a problem and discover the underlying principle on their own.
• Cooperative learning activities are particularly effective as they also provide positive social pressure.
• Set realistic performance goals  and help students achieve them by encouraging them to set their own reasonable goals. Design assignments that are appropriately challenging in view of the experience and aptitude of the class.
• Place appropriate emphasis on testing and grading.  Tests should be a means of showing what students have mastered, not what they have not. Avoid grading on the curve and give everyone the opportunity to achieve the highest standard and grades.
• Be free with praise and constructive in criticism.  Negative comments should pertain to particular performances, not the performer. Offer nonjudgmental feedback on students’ work, stress opportunities to improve, look for ways to stimulate advancement, and avoid dividing students into sheep and goats.
• Give students as much control over their own education as possible.  Let students choose paper and project topics that interest them. Assess them in a variety of ways (tests, papers, projects, presentations, etc.) to give students more control over how they show their understanding to you. Give students options for how these assignments are weighted.
• Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• DeLong, M., & Winter, D. (2002).  Learning to teach and teaching to learn mathematics: Resources for professional development . Washington, D.C.: Mathematical Association of America.
• Nilson, L. (2016). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors  (4 th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass.

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Motivation comes and goes. Learn how you can increase and maintain your motivation to study.

Motivation and study

Motivation feels good, energising, and drives us to get things done. But it doesn’t always come naturally, and we all face challenging or slow periods when motivation feels hard to come by. During these times, we can find it difficult to attend class, complete assignments, or study for exams.

Strategies to improve motivation

Fortunately, there are many effective ways to increase and maintain motivation to achieve what we want to while studying at university.

Reconnect with your 'why'

One of the most powerful ways to find motivation is to reflect on the reasons why you chose to study in the first place. You could:

• Write a list of the 3 main reasons you decided to study this course and stick it on your wall
• Write a list of your values and remind yourself of them regularly
• Imagine your life in the future and how your degree will help you (e.g., job, skills, opportunities). Keep this future version of you in your mind and use it to motivate you now (e.g., “I don’t enjoy statistics, but I need to develop these skills so that I can effectively do research" ).

Understand different types of motivation to make it work for you

Positive motivation focuses on the positive things that can happen from taking action. This might look like: “In the process of writing this essay, I’m learning new things that will be useful in the future.”

Negative motivation focuses on the negative consequences that might happen from not taking action. For example, “My parents will be disappointed in me if I don’t get a certain mark.”

Positive and negative motivations can be effective in different circumstances. Try and notice the effects of different motivators on you. Generally, it can be easier to pursue a goal that you are genuinely interested in or enjoy, rather than to avoid a negative outcome, which can make us feel helpless or overwhelmed.

Act first and motivation will follow

Many people fall into the trap of thinking that we need to feel “motivated enough” before doing something. Psychological research shows the converse -  it’s action that leads to motivation , which in turn leads to more action . This means that at times, we need to start even if we don’t feel ready, trusting that motivation will follow, which will then enable us to take more action.

Set goals that motivate you

Starting before you feel motivated is easier said than done, but there are strategic ways that we can set up our goals to help us generate and keep motivation.

• Break down big tasks into tiny steps. Instead of telling yourself to ‘write your essay’ , a tiny step could be that ‘review one relevant journal article and note two or three points you want to cover in the first paragraph’ . Taking one step at a time can help us focus and feel less overwhelmed.
• Set specific, measurable, and time-limited goals. Being as clear as possible about what you want to achieve can go a long way in increasing your chances of following through.
• Be realistic. Making goals as realistically achievable as possible is important so that you don’t set yourself up for disappointment. Try asking, “How much can I achieve in the next hour?” instead of “I need to complete all these tasks.”

Create an encouraging work environment

Some people study better with a routine, whereas others need change and variety to stay motivated. Consider trying a new study location such as the library, your favourite café, or experiment with different methods such as listening to instrumental music while studying or the Pomodoro Technique . See what works for you.

Remember that you don’t need to do it alone – if you are someone who feels motivated by working with others, join a study group or surround yourself with supportive friends who encourage (rather than distract!) and help you keep on track.

Balance your life

• Celebrate the small wins. Planning small rewards (a break or a treat) after you’ve accomplished a task can help keep your spirits up. It can also make it easier to get back to studying after a brief, refreshing break, and to anticipate another reward around the corner after you get the next thing done.
• Prioritise self-care. We all know that if we don’t plug in our phone to charge, it will run out of battery. It’s the same for us. So take time to recharge – schedule regular breaks, time to meet friends, exercise, listen to your favourite song, or get enough sleep. You may feel like you don’t have the time, but you’ll be surprised how much clearer you can think and work after a restful or fun break.

What can I do next?

• Feeling unmotivated can lead to procrastination. If this is getting in the way, read more about what can help you overcome procrastination .
• Explore resources on developing your study skills at Academic Skills . You can also attend workshops or make an appointment with an Academic Skills Adviser.
• Speaking to a CAPS counsellor can help you develop individualised strategies to address low motivation. We also offer workshops to develop a range of skills to enhance your learning throughout the semester.

If you'd like more support, come along to one of our workshops or make an appointment for individual counselling.

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Motivation Essay | Essay on Motivation for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

Motivation Essay:   Motivation is important in life because it helps us gain valued results like personal growth, better well-being, enhanced performance, or a sense of confidence. Motivation is a road to improve our way of feeling, thinking, and behaving. The advantages of motivation are seen in our way of living life.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Long and Short Essays on Motivation for Students and Kids in English

If you are searching for an essay on motivation, you will find below two different articles that you can use to complete your class assignments. Here is the best long essay on motivation for the students of classes 7, 8, 9, and 10. Short essay on Motivation is helpful for students of classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6.

Long Essay on Motivation 500 Words in English

Motivation is an essential factor that changes positive thought into instant action. It switches a great idea into action and can undoubtedly affect the world around you. However, not all are born with motivation. People sometimes have disbelief in themselves; they often say, “I can’t do that” or “the timing is not right.” Being demotivated means living a life as a worn-out machine. Your life will become dull without any spark. So, to gain inner peace and satisfaction in life, you must always stay motivated.

Motivation is a force to push you closer toward your dream. If Steve Jobs lacked the motivation to launch Apple, you would not get an iPhone or iPad. It gives you a purpose to live you with a forever smile on the face. Thus, realizing and working on your self-motivation skills will make you capable of taking control of different aspects of life.

The critical elements of self-motivation are resilience and optimism. The former will help you bounce back during difficult times, whereas later, you will show you a brighter side ahead. This way, you will be able to control your emotions that are holding you back.

You need to locate the right motivation for you to get your spark back. You can find motivation from a wide range of effective sources, for example, from quotes, books, videos, parents, teachers, and even nature. Ultimately, you’ll learn rational thinking to overcome negative emotions when you are motivated in life.

Motivation also helps in making you active in life. You will struggle more to fulfill your goals. A self-motivated person always discovers a way to understand the issues hindering the path to complete a task. Moreover, they do not require other people’s support to accomplish a challenging task close to them.

Hence, motivation is one of the vital factors to be successful in any phase of your life. Whether personal or professional events both demand a person to stay positive to achieve the goals. As a motivated person, you will always try to push your limits and develop your performance level every day.

Moreover, you will continuously thrive on giving your best during every task. You will see that you remain dedicated and progressive towards the objectives of life. Lastly, your dreams and goals will come true as you always aimed.

So, always stay motivated in life without losing hope. When you stay motivated each day, it’ll push you closer to your goals. Learn to remain calm when you go through any hard day. It’s an excellent habit and must be applied in life. As a result, all your negative thoughts will start fading away.

Short Essay on Motivation 200 Words in English

No doubt, a person goes through many types of difficulties in life. Some people lose hope and think of quitting. But is this the right step? Absolutely not. Failing once does not mean there is nothing left in life. There is always a way to fight back the hard times to achieve what you desire.

Whether you’re a school-going kid or a business owner, you lose the track and feel demotivated somewhere in life. But never lose hope, you can work towards your betterment by regaining your motivation.

If anytime in life, you feel hard to fight back and lose motivation, read positive quotes, or watch motivational videos online. You can even put the inspirational quotes on your walls. All you need is positivity and motivation in life. You’ll see soon after that you start tackling challenges one step at a time. Slowly you will reach the destination of success and will feel proud of yourself.

We will typically do our best when we have enough motivation. Motivation makes us do things correctly and perform well. You have higher odds of succeeding when you are fully inspired and put effort. It’ll help you give your best during every situation of life. So always work on your motivation.

10 Lines on Motivation Essay

• Motivation is significant for the overall growth of your mind as well as personality.
• It helps you focus on your goals based on values and skills.
• Motivation is a necessary resource to improve and work productively during changing times as well as threats.
• It boosts your desire to achieve a meaningful life goal.
• You can listen to speeches, videos, read books, or quotes from inspirational people to rework on your lost motivation.
• You will learn to fight your fears and negative thoughts when you are motivated.
• Motivation helps professionals to be positive and happy while working hard to achieve goals.
• When you are motivated, you learn to organize and prioritize your life.
• Motivation help students to concentrate and work hard in the class.
• It awakens the sense of meaning in life.

FAQ’s on Motivation Essay

Question 1. Why do we need motivation in life?

Answer: Motivation is vital because it helps you achieve your goals and become the happiest person by never losing hope.

Question 2. What does motivation teach us?

Answer: You will learn to be self-confident, patient, optimistic, skills, time management, and fighting against your fears.

Question 3. How can I regain motivation in life?

Answer: You can read inspirational books, listen to seminars, and put inspirational quotes on the wall or desk to stay motivated in life.

Question 4. What are the benefits of staying motivated?

Answer: Motivation gives job satisfaction, boosts student engagement, improves relationships, and makes you successful.

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Motivation in Learning

• September 2020
• Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies 10(4):16-37
• 10(4):16-37

• Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Adamawa State
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• Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Adama

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How to Motivate Yourself and Get in the Mood for Studying

Last Updated: July 22, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jai Flicker and by wikiHow staff writer, Annabelle Reyes . Jai Flicker is an Academic Tutor and the CEO and Founder of Lifeworks Learning Center, a San Francisco Bay Area-based business focused on providing tutoring, parental support, test preparation, college essay writing help, and psychoeducational evaluations to help students transform their attitude toward learning. Jai has over 20 years of experience in the education management industry. He holds a BA in Philosophy from the University of California, San Diego. There are 22 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 2,620,977 times.

When you have mountains of homework and studying ahead, getting started can seem like an impossible task. We’ll teach you how to get into the right frame of mind before you start studying and shake yourself out of a motivation slump. Read on to learn how to stop procrastinating, focus even when you're tired, and get into the mood for a great study session!

Silence or shut off your cell phone.

Start with the easiest task.

• Once you’ve decided what order to complete your tasks in, try writing them down somewhere. You can use an academic planner , or just jot them down on a spare piece of paper or sticky note.
• Having this to-do list will lower the effort of making decisions, and you’ll find it easier to shift from one task to the next.

Break tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks.

• Instead of trying to read a whole book for English class at once, set small daily goals. For instance, you could plan to read 1-2 chapters per day until you finish the book. [4] X Trustworthy Source Harvard Business Review Online and print journal covering topics related to business management practices Go to source
• When prepping for a test or final exam , start by reviewing your lecture notes from just the first week of the semester. Then, for your next study session, focus on your notes from the second week, and so on. This will help you dive into each specific topic without getting too overwhelmed.

Reward yourself when you complete a task.

• If you decide to reward yourself with a quick break from studying, remember that you will eventually have to get back to work.
• Set a reasonable time limit for your break, and don't listen to the voice in your head pleading for "just a few more minutes."

Stay hydrated and keep a snack on hand.

• Although it’s important to eat energizing snacks, avoid studying right after a big meal; you’ll just feel drowsy and will want to relax.
• Try to avoid overly sugary snacks—these foods will give you a short energy rush that quickly turns into sleepiness.

Study during the times when you’re most productive

• Think back to past study sessions to assess which factors help and hinder your progress.
• For example, you might realize that your morning study sessions are always the most productive, while your evening study sessions are less fruitful because you’re groggier.
• The more specific and intentional you can be about scheduling out your study tasks, the more success you’ll have with your studies and improve your time management .

Tidy up your workspace.

• Consider making your home study space warm and inviting, so you look forward to spending time there.
• Decorate the walls with photos of you and your friends, place a cheerful house plant on your desk, and choose a comfy chair to sit in.

Take a break to move around.

• These activities will give you a burst of energy and boost your mood. Plus, they’ll help get your brain into a receptive state, which will make your studying more effective. [11] X Research source

Look up podcasts or videos on the topics you're studying.

• For example, if you’re having a hard time with your math homework, try searching for an explanatory video on YouTube. You’ll likely be able to find several videos that break down example problems step-by-step.
• Or, say that you’re writing an essay about a historical period, and you want to take a deep dive into the era. There are likely a ton of podcasts on the topics you’re interested in—check them out for some fascinating info!

Crank up your favorite study tunes.

• If you find songs with lyrics to be a bit too distracting, try listening to classical music, instrumental movie scores, piano covers of your favorite songs, or music ina. foreign language.
• You can also try playing nature sounds or ambient noise if music is too distracting in general. [14] X Research source
• This livestream shows an animated girl working on something at her desk, and it plays ambient music in the background.

Work with your friends or a tutor.

• In a study group, each person can volunteer to tackle a different sub-topic, and then you can all share your study materials with each other. This saves everyone time and promotes teamwork! [16] X Research source
• You can also reserve a study room, bring snacks, or gamify your studying to make the work more enjoyable.
• If you’re hoping to find a tutor, try asking around at school or consulting a private tutoring agency.

Create visual aids for a fun, efficient study tool.

• For example, rather than re-reading vocab words from your textbook, try making a handwritten, color-coded study sheet with the words and their definitions.
• Writing the information down in your own handwriting will help you retain the information better, and you’ll also have a great, visually appealing study sheet to review in the future.

Use classic study tricks to memorize facts.

• For example, you may be familiar with the acronym PEMDAS, or the expression “Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally.”
• These mnemonic devices represent the order of operations in math (parentheses, exponents, multiply, divide, add, and subtract). [20] X Research source
• If you’re having trouble coming up with your own mnemonic devices, try searching “how to remember [subject]” online for some inspiration.

Motivate yourself by making a personal connection to your work.

• If you’re hoping to attend college or earn a scholarship, think about how each small study session will get you one step closer to your dreams.

Try freewriting or journaling to identify why you procrastinate.

• Once you’ve gotten these stressors out of your system, take a deep breath and tell yourself it’s time to shift your frame of mind and get to work. You got this!

Try the Pomodoro Technique.

• Each 25-minute block is called a Pomodoro. These study sessions go by quickly, and as you complete each one, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment, which can motivate you to keep going.
• You’ll also feel like you’re getting a fresh start with each new session, and research suggests that this can help you overcome a lack of motivation. [24] X Research source
• For maximum effectiveness, do something productive during the 5-minute breaks between each Pomodoro, rather than scrolling on your phone or zoning out. Instead, try taking a walk, stretching, or making a nutritious snack. [25] X Research source

Be kind to yourself about your procrastination habits.

• Avoid comparing yourself to other classmates who seem to be doing well. Everyone learns and works differently, so focus on your own needs and capabilities!
• Instead of thinking, “I can’t believe I procrastinated so much. I’m the worst student ever,” try reframing this in a more positive way.
• For example, you could think: “I have a lot to do, but I’ll persevere until I finish it all. I’m doing the best I can, and I should be proud of that.”

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• Make an effort to take good notes during class and keep them in an organized notebook or binder. Use these to help you with homework, projects, and upcoming exams. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0
• Sometimes it can be about changing your perspective—try framing your thoughts as you get to study, rather than you have to study. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask your teacher or professor. Visit during their office hours or ask if you can set up a time to speak with them about the subject. Make sure you ask questions in class, too. If you ask questions, it will show that you’re motivated and want to do well in their class. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• Sometimes, motivation can come after you've already started studying. If you don't feel like studying, just try doing it for five minutes, and check in with how you're feeling after that.
• Be sure to get a good night's sleep to help you retain the information you’ve studied. Aim to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night.

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Jai Flicker. Academic Tutor. Expert Interview. 20 May 2020.
• ↑ https://graduate.rice.edu/news/six-strategies-staying-motivated-during-covid-19-pandemic
• ↑ https://help.open.ac.uk/study-goals
• ↑ ​​ https://hbr.org/2020/08/your-to-do-list-is-in-fact-too-long
• ↑ https://cps.unh.edu/blog/2018/10/self-care-tips-increase-your-student-bandwidth
• ↑ https://share.upmc.com/2019/08/healthy-snacks-to-power-studying/
• ↑ https://hbr.org/2019/03/the-case-for-finally-cleaning-your-desk
• ↑ https://www.edology.com/blog/study-and-careers-advice/effective-study-space/
• ↑ https://health.cornell.edu/about/news/study-breaks-stress-busters
• ↑ https://healthybrains.org/pillar-physical/
• ↑ https://www.oxford-royale.com/articles/tips-studying-motivation.html
• ↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21508527/
• ↑ https://www.vaughn.edu/blog/best-study-music-and-benefits/
• ↑ https://www.imc.edu.au/news-archive/8-benefits-of-studying-with-friends
• ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5256450/
• ↑ https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02522/full
• ↑ https://opentextbc.ca/studentsuccess/chapter/memory-techniques/
• ↑ https://psychcentral.com/lib/memory-and-mnemonic-devices#examples
• ↑ https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/why-wait-the-science-behind-procrastination
• ↑ https://www.asundergrad.pitt.edu/study-lab/study-skills-tools-resources/pomodoro-technique
• ↑ https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901
• ↑ https://psychcentral.com/blog/psychology-rewarding-yourself-with-treats

About This Article

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The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, examination, diagnosis, or treatment. You should always contact your doctor or other qualified healthcare professional before starting, changing, or stopping any kind of health treatment.

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If you’re having trouble getting motivated to study, find a quiet place where you won’t be distracted, and turn your phone on silent or place it out of sight so you won’t be tempted to look at it. Set concrete goals for each study session, like learning how to solve a specific math problem or reading and comprehending a complete chapter in your textbook. Reward yourself with a snack or a break when you meet your goal. For tips on making a study schedule, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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30+ Inspirational Quotes on Education for Students

• Updated on  
• Aug 24, 2024

In the field of education, finding inspiration is as valuable as acquiring knowledge.

Here are a few inspirational quotes about education to keep you motivated:

• “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
• “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B. King
• “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – W.B. Yeats
• “Education is a learning experience. Everything else is just information.” – Derek Bok
• “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey

Thought of the Day: 30 Monday Motivation Quotes

• “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” – Alvin Toffler
• “The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.” – Carl Rogers
• “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar
• “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford
• “The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be ignited.” – Plutarch (Highlights the importance of igniting a passion for learning)
• “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X (Focuses on education as preparation for a brighter future)
• “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” – Chinese Proverb (Emphasizes the lasting value of education)
• “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein (Encourages students to be curious and ask questions)
• “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” – Sydney J. Harris (A metaphor for education opening up new perspectives)
• “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis (Inspirational for students of all ages)
• “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.” – Frederick Douglass (Connects education to personal empowerment)
• “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss (A fun and catchy quote that emphasizes the power of reading)
• “Don’t be afraid to ask questions, for ignorance is the enemy of learning.” – Confucius (Encourages students to overcome the fear of asking questions)
• “The only true wealth is knowledge, and the only true education is self-education.” – Napoleon Hill (Highlights the importance of taking ownership of your learning)
• “Education is a progressive discovery of our ignorance.” – Will Durant (A thought-provoking quote about the ongoing nature of learning)
• “Learning never exhausts the mind.” – Leonardo da Vinci (Dispels the myth that learning can be tiring)

Today’s Thought in English: 50 Meaningful, Positive,   Inspirational Quotations

• “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller (Reminds students of the emotional and inspirational aspects of learning)
• “To learn and not to think is waste. To think and not to learn is dangerous.” – Confucius (Emphasizes the balance between acquiring knowledge and critical thinking)
• “Mistakes are a part of learning. Don’t let them discourage you.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (Offers encouragement for students who make mistakes)
• “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu (Motivational quote about starting the educational journey)
• “Education is the foundation of everything.” – Nelson Mandela (Reinforces the foundational role of education in life)
• “The man who does not read good books is no better off than the man who cannot read.” – Mark Twain (Highlights the importance of reading quality literature)
• “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” – Jim Rohn (Connects education to personal and professional success)
• “Education is the path from darkness to light.” – Empowerment and progress through learning.
• “The brain is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets.” – Brainpower analogy for the benefits of consistent learning.
• “The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn … and change.” – Carl Rogers (Repeat, but emphasizes adaptability as a key learning skill)
• “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” – Jimmy Johnson (Focuses on the power of dedication and effort)
• “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use it, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou (Highlights the limitless potential of learning and creativity)
• “Education is a continual process, it does not stop in the classroom.” – George M. Clausen (Reminds students of lifelong learning)
• “Learning without reflection is a waste of energy; reflection without learning is dangerous.” – Confucius (Reemphasizes the importance of both knowledge and critical thinking)
• “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln (Connects education to shaping one’s destiny)
• “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry Adams (A quote to ponder for students who might someday become educators)
• “Learning is the greatest gift. Knowledge is the best friend. Creativity is the biggest power. Imagination is the brightest light.” – APJ Abdul Kalam (A beautiful and uplifting quote that celebrates all aspects of learning)

50 Thought-Provoking Quotes by Socrates

Now you have read it! The best and the most inspiring quotes on leadership for students. Write these quotes down or share them with anyone who needs an added dose of inspiration. You can also follow our page for more motivation.

Anjali Chowdhury

An enthusiastic content writer with a total experience of almost 2.7 years. Dedicated to help students with study abroad.

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