Intrinsic Motivation Matters
You know the feeling when your whole being wants to wonder about something? When all you want to do is find out more and tell everyone you know about what you’re learning and why it matters? When your questions tumble out without trying and you savor deeply digging into them as you read, write, draw, play, build, talk, invent, create, and share with others?
This is learning. This is intrinsically motivated and sustained learning. It is not romantic. It is not a far-away, unrealistic dream. It is not extra-curricular enrichment. It is not only for some people or only for some of the time.
Learning grows from inside us. We all have an intrinsic desire to explore, wonder, and connect with others. We all want to find, be, and express who we are. We all care about things in our lives and the world around us. We all want to create and contribute.
I’ve been writing and speaking about intrinsic motivation for a long time, and upon reflection, here are two significant things I notice:
This piece of my work has mostly felt like a fight. I have spent lots of energy framing arguments for why intrinsic motivation matters and how we must stop the programs, products, and ways of teaching that push against intrinsic motivation.
Time and time again I observe people who love the idea of intrinsic motivation and want it for their children and students (and themselves), yet after learning more about the conditions that support intrinsic motivation, begin to turn against themselves with excessive judgment of things they do “wrong” and things that seem “impossible” to change.
From here onward, I release the fight and I invite you to release any judgment of yourself. I believe there is a way for us to explore intrinsic motivation beautifully and lightly and oh-so-much-more powerfully. Let’s look simply at what it is and find easy, small ways to bring more of it to our lives and the lives of children in our care.
Think of a pile of stones.
A child decides when to go to the stones and when to leave. A child may sort or stack or spin or carry them to another place. A child might like the stones or not; may feel bored or grow tired of the stones. Maybe a child ignores the stones for a few days and then returns. One day a child pretends the stones are a squirrel family, another day they are boats, another day they are used to design a picture of a cat. A child remembers finding a stone at the park and finds a tiny scratch on one stone that looks like a nose. A child gives a favorite stone to Grandpa as a birthday present and keeps one in a pocket for daydreaming. Sometimes a child sits next to the stones and does nothing. When this happens, the stones also do nothing. The stones don’t tell a child “good job,” keep track of how long a child plays, or suggest a particular game. With a pile of stones, a child decides what to focus attention on, what kinds of stories to tell, what to pretend, what questions to ask, what matters, and what does not.
Let’s zoom in on four ways this small example shows supportive conditions for intrinsic motivation of learning:
Enter and leave as you wish. A child decides when to engage with the stones and how much engagement there will be. A child has an opportunity to try things out and not doing anything. The agency for learning is with the child.
Space to wander and wonder. A child has been invited to learn with the stones, but no set pathway is given. This allows a child to feel a range of feelings and find ways to be interested (and not interested) in the stones. It allows a child to play with what’s easy, what’s a challenge, and find what feels best. A child finds questions based in who they are and what they care about.
Endless opportunities for connections. A child can create any narrative of play and purpose with a pile of stones. This allows a child to invent from within and tell stories from experience and knowledge that already exist. It allows a child to be themselves and connect from wholeness with family, friends, and various communities as part of learning.
Learning for learning’s sake. A pile of stones does not insist on a particular kind of learning or focus on how well or how much a child is learning. A child may explore whatever presents itself and dig into what matters to the child. This is liberating and allows learning to grow as itself from the child’s own inner knowing and loving.
A pile of stones—as physical material and idea—is everything we need to nurture intrinsically motivated learning. Its image is an anchor, reminding us that simplicity invites depth. Its metaphor is expansive, allowing us to find unlimited joy and wonder in the ordinary all around.
When we can see the layers of potential learning from a pile of stones, we hold a clear and wide lens that allows us to notice for what’s possible in other contexts and with other materials. Inside such possibility, there is no need to fight against anything or judge ourselves.
We may move lightly to find new questions, notice more in what we see in learning, wonder what we might take away or re-arrange, take small steps and make small shifts here and there as we continue to play, connect, and enjoy our learning about learning.
Small things you can do to help children see value in learning for its own sake:
Talk with children about what they are learning (instead of how well or how much).
Expand what learning is. Help children see the learning in all that they do—building a fort, tying shoes, setting the table, measuring a cup of water in a recipe, singing a song, skipping.
How did that feel? Ask children to share how it felt on the inside when they rode their bike, played dress-up, read a book, drew a picture, took care of their pet. Helping children notice and name these feelings helps them learn what learning has the potential to feel like.
Questions to ask when considering digital applications/games/programs for learning:
Once it’s open (or on) is the child encouraged to stay inside it?
Is it designed with set steps/paths for a child to take?
Is there a particular narrative framed with set characters/roles/themes?
Does it use beeps, symbols, points, etc. to encourage children to focus on how “well” or how “much” they are learning?
Other posts related to intrinsic learning motivation:
Please reach out if you’d like to discuss additional ways to nurture intrinsic motivation for curious, joyful learning for your children, students, and/or yourself.
