The Motivation To Learn

Motivation to learn is one of the essential aspects that must be taken into consideration within any educational system. It will help students cope with daily tasks and challenges. It is therefore a necessary element to ensure quality education.

The existence of high interpersonal variability is the first aspect to keep in mind when talking about learning motivation . Each student, in fact, has his own motivation and a system of approach to education. For this reason, there is no one-size-fits-all magic recipe that motivates all students equally. A study of the variability factors, however, can help address the problem.

In this article we will explain three fundamental aspects of motivation to learn: interest, self-efficacy and goal orientation.

Interest-based learning motivation

The student’s interest in the study content is an essential aspect. On many occasions this variable is underestimated. It is assumed that what is truly important is the effort students make to learn, along with their level of resilience.

But it is a serious mistake, because if a content is boring and heavy, the effort made by the student will be largely unproductive. Conversely, when the matter is perceived as interesting, the effort is classified as positive and satisfying for the individual.

On the other hand, to understand the “interesting” variable in depth, it is important to consider it from two points of view. First of all, interest in a subject can be treated on an individual level, focusing on the particular passions and inclinations of each individual. Or, in a situational way, focusing on how interesting the way of teaching the subject is.

When it comes to individual interest, the conclusions are generally obvious. When a topic or theme attracts the student, its performance increases dramatically. This is because interest promotes exploration and leads constructive reasoning to understand and deepen what is generated by this pleasant curiosity.

If we talk about situational interest, everything looks a bit more confusing. How do you make a topic more interesting? The philosopher and pedagogist John Dewey (1859 – 1952) argued that subjects do not become interesting by embellishing them with irrelevant details. In order for a topic to be considered interesting, it is necessary to carry out an instruction that allows students to understand its complexity, since the mere fact of being able to understand something is fascinating to any human being.

The problem arises when a topic is not suitable for the student who cannot decipher it. With the risk that the information transmitted to it will lose its usefulness.

Motivation for learning based on self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is another of the central aspects regarding the motivation to learn. It is intended as a personal expectation or judgment on the ability to perform a task. In other words, the belief that he is competent or not. It is important not to confuse the concepts of self-efficacy and self-concept. The first is the specific judgment on a given matter. The second is a generic idea about one’s characteristics and capabilities.

The high self-efficacy helps the student to be more motivated to learn. This happens because being good at something causes a highly rewarding feeling. On the other hand, low self-efficacy can be very negative on a motivational level, as the brain acts as a defense mechanism. He will try to keep his self-esteem high. For example, the student will lose interest in doing those homework in which he cannot give his best.

In our educational system, too much importance is given to error, along with the habit of contextualizing success. Regarding the first aspect, it must be borne in mind that, underlining failures and mistakes, punishment takes on a lot of importance. And this can trigger a severe decline in long-term self-efficacy.

When success is rewarded in reference to others (“Luca wrote the best essay in the class, you have to learn from him”), less good pupils are humiliated, damaging their self-efficacy.

The best way to manage self-efficacy is to carry out an education based on empowering students’ strengths and improving weak ones. A self-improvement assessment of success should also be promoted.

Motivation for learning based on goal orientation

The student’s motivation coincides with the orientation of the objectives. These are precisely the reasons or reasons why the student develops his learning behavior. On this aspect, it must be kept in mind that the motivational process can change according to the pupil’s goals. In the educational context we can identify 3 different objectives:

• Performance Approach : In this category, students stand out for trying to get the best grades in the class.

• Avoidance approach : students have the goal of not failing or failing.

• Competence : refers to students who seek to understand the subject in depth to be competent.

It is precisely in this dimension that another serious flaw in the educational system is highlighted. Students with performance approach goals tend to get the best grades. Their motivation drives them to strive to achieve maximum results. On the contrary, those who aim for competence are not looking for the best grades, but for a qualitative learning result.

But how is it possible that those who care about understanding the subject don’t always get better grades?

The answer lies in the fact that,  according to the current assessment system, it is easier to resort to rote learning than to deep understanding to do so. And this principle is soon learned by those students who have performance goals. Inevitably, those seeking competence will have to make an extra effort.

Motivation is a key aspect to consider if you want to provide quality education. However, it is not enough to know the subject, but an adequate application of the appropriate strategies and knowledge is needed. Motivation to learn does not only mean stimulating inspiration and interest in students, it must also make them feel capable and able to fully understand the different subjects.