Types of Motivation

So what exactly is motivation and how can I harness it to help me succeed in an online environment?

In it's simplest terms, student motivation is your desire to involve yourself in the process of learning.

Student motivation usually takes one of two forms, intrinsic and extrinsic:

• Intrinsically motivated students are motivated from within. These students learn for the sake of learning and the feeling that it gives them afterwards

• Extrinsically motivated students are motivated by outside influences. The most common of these are grades or instructor approval

Knowing your student motivation style will help determine how you can stay motivated in your online courses.

To test your level of motivation, take this self-scoring motivation from the University of Minnesota.

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Page last updated May 8, 2006
Site authored by Jeff Getchell