Motivational Theory

Motivation is used in education to energize and direct student behavior. It points students in the right direction and attempts to keep them going in that direction. Because students are not always interally motivated, they sometimes need situated motivation, which is found in environmental conditions that the teacher creates. There are two different kinds of motivation. The first one is intrinsic motivation, and the other is extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic occurs when an individual is interally motivated to do something because it either brings them pleasure, they think it is important, or they feel that what they are learning is morally significant. Extrinsic motivation comes into play when a student is compelled to do something or act a certain way because of factors external to themself (like money or good grades.)