We seek it here!  We seek it there!  We seek motivation  everywhere!   With all this searching, what is it we are truly  looking for?  Simply put, motivation "...is what causes us to act".  An act could be stimulated by or caused by a basic need, for example, getting a glass of water to quench your thirst or even getting off the couch to rummage through the pantry because you are hungry.  It is also the reason behind why people study, work, travel etc.  In a nutshell, it is what spurs us on to achieve an outcome. 

So why does motivation seem to be so elusive to some and others have MOJO to burn?  Is someone wielding  a big stick to get those with the MOJO to burn, to complete tasks?  Actually, being pressured to complete a task will get a person motivated, to a point, but the desired outcome may not be exactly what the stick wielder was after.  This form of negative extrinsic motivation can be found throughout schooling, training and work environments.  Just because it is used frequently, is it the most productive way to motivate a learner or employee?  I'm sure you know the answer to that one - NO.  So why is it implemented so frequently and in so many different situations and
environments?

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation

Let's look at two forms of motivation -intrinsic and extrinsic.  Definitions for these two types of motivation abound across the internet (286,000 from a Google search). Basically, intrinsic motivation is when you decide to do or achieve an outcome.  Extrinsic motivation on the other hand is when someone else decides that you will achieve an outcome.  From my Six Degrees of Contemplation™ teaching practices, motivation is the only element which weaves its way through and supports the other five elements.  Intrinsic motivation involves an individual challenging themself to complete a task and setting goals to achieve the desired outcome e.g. to become the Guinness Book of Records hotdog eating champion will require daily training by consuming a given number of hotdogs.  Whereas, extrinsic motivation relies on a system of reward or punishment e.g. completing a set of tasks in the workplace to a predetermined level will be rewarded with a bonus or reprimand maybe even dismissal if unable to complete tasks successfully.

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Think long and hard about classes you enjoyed during your schooling.  Why did these classes and / or teachers get your learning juices flowing?  From my schooling years, only two teachers fit these basic criteria - a Year 7 teacher who actually explained mathematical processes by using concrete materials, and my Year 12 Economics teacher who related the theories to practical applications and current situations.  In hindsight, I find it disappointing that only two out of thirty teachers from my twelve years of schooling rated using this criteria.  From my experience and the completion of learning style questionnaires, I have established that I'm a multi-modal / multi-sensory learner and it has been this knowledge that has been the burr beneath my teaching saddle.

The saying "a picture paints a thousand words" could be modified to "painting a picture develops a thousand words".  Physical involvement is a key  learning style, (another element of my Six Degrees of Contemplation™), that underpins my delivery of learning materials for learners of all ages.   We all have different methods of processing and retaining information (the latter seems to become harder with every passing year) and they generally fall into three categories - auditory, visual and kinaesthetic.  Most learners have a dominant learning style, and I believe the core to successfully assisting learners to achieve their goals is offering a multi-modal approach in every learning situation.  Before you can put this into practice, why not have your students understand their preferred learning style.  Helping learners to understand how they learn best gives them learning ammunition, that is, they can develop and implement strategies that support their learning style e.g. use art projects to create representations of the content you are learning or apply what you are learning to hands-on models or in-practice examples (Cited: www.edutopia.com).

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