Thought on 'Thought for the day'

This blog is a reflection on my last blog - 'Thought for the day'

In my previous blog I suggested that perhaps intrinsic and extrinsic motivations were not overly relevant to my inquiry analysis as the effect of external events could be said to have the same outcome on both:

 The question of intrinsic or extrinsic motivational state in the student, therefore, could be almost irrelevant to the outcome of motivation in the learning environment (in this case, the dance class). The rate of increase or decrease could well be affected depending on which underlying factor is stronger in the student, for example, is it quicker to demotivate a student with negative feedback if achievement is the motivator versus a student who still derives pleasure from dancing even though the teacher is not very complimentary?

From the point of view of my inquiry then it is likely that, wherever each participant gets their motivation from, a majority of the causes of increasing or decreasing motivation will be something that the teacher affects. (Robinson, 2013)

On further reflection (or more accurately by letting it roll around in my brain for a while) I think that perhaps this statement might only apply to reducing motivation; it doesn't matter where your motivation originates, intrinsic or extrinsic or both, it can all be diminished by negative environmental factors.
I think my focus was on the negative aspects of external factors because I am, in my daily practice, concerned about reducing, or removing, these from my classes. However, it is the purpose of my inquiry to gain a better understanding of what student's feel increases their motivation and it is this aspect of motivation that I will now consider relative to intrinsic and extrinsic desires.

So, if I have two hypothetical students - one is intrinsically motivated by a love of dance, and the other by a desire to improve and gain proficiency in examinations - then my approach to each student cannot be the same. Can it?
Student 1 might enjoy the freedom dance lessons give to explore and move, and the opportunity to gain a greater vocabulary of movement. Student 2, in contrast, might enjoy the focus on technical improvement and correction, and the feeling of perfecting a movement before moving on to another one.
If these two students are in the same class then the teacher will need to engage both students by understanding their psychological needs and planning the lesson to include aspects that satisfy both students.
Therefore, it could be said that in order to develop an inquiry such as my own, and the use it could have to professional practice (both my own and others), I should include aspects in my methodologies and analysis that look at motivating through the lense of the differing types of intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

Any thoughts?

S




Bibliography
Reeve, J. (2005). Understanding Motivation and Emotion. 4th Ed. USA: John Wiley & Sons.
Robinson, S. 2013. Thought for the day. BAPP, [blog] 30th September, Available at: http://seraclops.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/thought-for-day.html [Accessed: 3 Oct 2013].