How Can Students Be Motivated:
A Misplaced Question?
RICHARD F. BOWMAN JR.
Abstract: Great teachers understand the fundamental dif-
ference between motivation and inspiration: motivation is
self-focused and inspiration is other focused. Exceptional
teachers guide students to greatness by inspiring them to dis-
cover where their talents and passions intersect. For today’s
besieged classroom teacher, the desire to motivate students
often springs from a place of self-concern: “I want to change
your behavior with a reward or incentive so that, if you meet
the targets or goals I set for you, this will help me meet my
own needs and goals.” Students are highly motivated to
perform when they first come to school. The question is
not “how can students be motivated?” but rather, “how can
educators be deterred from diminishing—even destroy-
ing—student motivation and morale through their policies
and practices?”
Keywords: extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, motivation
G reat teachers understand the fundamental differ-
ence between motivation and inspiration in the
classroom: “Motivation is self-focused; inspiration is
other focused” (Secretan 2005, 14). Characteristically,
providing motivation is something that a teacher does
to a student; inspiration is something that is a result
of a trusting, caring, mentoring relationship with a
student. Inspiration is something that an extraordinary
individual lives, not something that he or she simply
does. The image of Lance Armstrong streaking across the
French countryside in search of his seventh straight Tour
de France title inspired millions of cancer patients by
giving new meaning and hope to their lives. In The 8th
Habit, Covey (2004) argues that the crucial challenge for
individuals and organizations in moving from effective-
ness to greatness is to discover one’s own voice and to
inspire others to find their’s. For the besieged classroom
teacher, however, the desire to motivate students often
Richard F. Bowman Jr., PhD, is a professor emeritus in the College of Education at
Winona State University, Minnesota.
Copyright © 2007 Heldref Publications
81
springs from a place of self-concern: “I want to change
your behavior with a reward or incentive, so that, if you
meet the targets or goals I set for you, this will help me
meet my own needs and goals” (Secretan, 14).
In an era of accountability and high-stakes testing,
teachers are becoming adept at manipulating students’
personalities through extrinsic rewards and incentives.
When students are extrinsically motivated, external
forces often determine their emotions and behaviors.
When students are inspired, however, forces within
determine their emotions and behaviors. Anyone who
has worked with a trusted mentor, for example, senses
deeply that the mentor is not seeking personal gain but
is offering a heartfelt gift of caring and service (Secre-
tan 2005). Relatedly, Schlechty (2002) argues that the
primary function of a teacher as a leader is to “inspire
others to do things that they might otherwise not do
and encourage others to go in directions they might not
otherwise pursue” (xviii).
Exceptional teachers guide students and colleagues
to greatness by inspiring them to discover where one’s
talents and passions intersect. Specifically, teachers
inspire students by channeling students’ energy and
passion toward their strengths. Although students need
to be clear about their weaknesses and what makes
them afraid, they need to be clearer about those per-
sonal strengths that will result “in an increase in per-
formance, service, and life-satisfaction” (Secretan 2005,
14). In a truly productive classroom, a generosity of
spirit, a sense of perceived interdependence, and a
shared reverence for the gift of learning also inspire—
both teacher and student.
Yet, there is a pervasive institutional belief that moti-
vating one’s students and colleagues is an essential role
82 The Clearing House
of teachers and administrators as leaders. Whether it is
merit pay, stickers placed on students’ papers, bonus
points, or formal recognition ceremonies, consider-
able energy and organizational resources are expended
to execute this perceived leadership task. The refrain,
“how can our students and staff be motivated?” punc-
tuates collegial conversations daily in diverse settings,
including staff lounges, in-service programs, and parent-
teacher conferences.
Thirty years of research related to motivation and
performance, however, suggests that there is only one
problem with that question: “It is the wrong one”
(Sirota, Mischkind, and Meltzer 2005, 24). Although
motivation and morale are important to performance
in the classroom and the workplace, the query is mis-
placed because students, faculty, and workers in diverse
settings are already highly motivated to perform well
when they first come to school or the workplace
(Sirota, Mischkind, and Meltzer). Kindergarten chil-
dren, for example, are typically excited and enthusiastic
about going to school each day. Not so, however, for
many third and fourth graders. In studies, research-
ers suggest, “something or someone is decreasing the
high levels of motivation” that students and employ-
ees bring with them to the classroom and workplace
(Sirota, Mischkind, and Meltzer, 25). The pertinent
question for educators and parents is not “how can
students be motivated?” but rather, “how can educators
be deterred from diminishing—even destroying—student
motivation and morale through their policies and
practices?” (Sirota, Mischkind, and Meltzer).
What can teachers and administrators do to sus-
tain initially high levels of morale, motivation, and
performance for students and colleagues alike? First,
educators must understand what students and col-
leagues want; then, they must give it to them (Sirota,
Mischkind, and Meltzer 2005). Researchers pinpoint
three overarching factors that have the most dra-
matic and positive impact on classroom and workplace
morale: equity, achievement, and camaraderie (Sirota,
Mischkind, and Meltzer). Students want to be treated
justly and respectfully in their classroom setting. Many
educators, for example, mistakenly apply restrictive
policies—meant to rein in toxic behaviors of 5 percent
of their students—to the 95 percent of students who
are motivated to achieve. Not surprisingly, doing so
has a negative impact on student morale and intrinsic
motivation. Moreover, students want to take pride
both in their individual accomplishments and in the
achievements of their classmates by engaging collab-
oratively in a constant reorganizing and reconstructing
of meaningful experiences. Dewey (1916) framed the
challenge compellingly: “The aim of education is to
enable individuals to continue their education and
that the object and reward of learning is the continued
capacity for growth” (117). Additionally, students want
November/December 2007
to live out the belief that learning is a relational event
by having genuine, interesting, and collaborative rela-
tionships with their peers and teachers. Importantly,
students sense that any process that enhances learning
has two sides: psychological and sociological (Mason
1975). In Best Practice: New Standards for Teaching and
Learning in America’s Schools, Zemelman, Daniels, and
Hyde (1998) discovered an unrecognized consensus
regarding learners’ needs for equity, achievement, and
camaraderie: “Virtually all the authoritative voices in
each field are calling for schools that are student-
centered, active, experiential, democratic, collabora-
tive, and yet rigorous and challenging” (viii).
Katzenbach (2006) argued that pride is what ulti-
mately motivates individuals both in the classroom
and the workplace to excel at what they do. Spe-
cifically, he contends that more than half a century
of clinical and academic research by scholars such as
Maslow, Herzberg, and Csikszentmihalyi points the
motivational compass in one direction: pride in the
work itself is the most powerful agent of change and
performance. Moreover, pride is the most easily recog-
nizable descriptor of what motivates artists, musicians,
athletes, executives, and students to excel at what they
do. Compellingly, Katzenbach asserts, “the peak per-
formers in life are seldom in pursuit of money or for-
mal advancement except as validation of the pride they
feel in their workplace achievements” (59).
From that perspective, the real work of teachers as
leaders is that of functioning as pride builders in the
classroom. Successful teachers, for instance, sponta-
neously instill pride in students on a daily basis by
honoring Csikszentmihalyi’s “discovery that people are
most highly energized about their work when their mix
of skills closely matches their individual and teamwork
challenges” (ctd. in Katzenbach 2006, 62). Relatedly,
productive teachers are adept at getting students to
anticipate how proud they will be when their behavior
or achievements ultimately mirror class and societal
expectations. U.S. Marine Corps drill instructors, for
example, are masters of instilling pride in recruits on a
daily basis by making soldiers “anticipate how proud
they will feel when their behavior and results conform
to the implications of the USMC values” (Katzenbach,
60). The motivational power of anticipation in daily
life is hard to overestimate.
A growing number of contemporary educators, none-
theless, are committed to the use of tangible classroom
rewards as a motivational strategy. Those rewards, how-
ever, can ultimately limit students’ ability to unleash
their aspirations and excel at what is meaningful to
them individually and collectively. Specifically, when
teachers and students perceive daily class work as a
source of points, grades, and treats—as opposed to a
source of learning and deep fulfillment—they are blind-
ed to the other reasons students may want to excel,
Vol. 81, No. 2 How Can Students Be Motivated?
including an internal desire to create meaning and
significance. So, what happens when educators provide
both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards in the classroom?
Designing a stimulating and productive learning
environment draws on one’s beliefs about human
nature, the nature of learning, and the passions, inter-
ests, and needs of one’s students. Ironically, designing
a successful video game system draws on the same con-
siderations. Admittedly, analogies fall short because
the resemblance between cases is not inexhaustible.
Resemblance between the motivational supports in a
productive learning environment and a video game
system are clearly constrained by differences in mis-
sion, resources, and legal statue. Yet, the similarities
are striking. In truth, both academically engaging class-
rooms and video game systems exhibit a common,
unmistakable ethos or ambiance:
Each is steeped in (a) clarity of task, (b) clear awareness
of participant roles and responsibilities, (c) choice in
the selection and execution of problem-solving strat-
egies, (d) potentially-balanced systems of skills and
challenges, and (e) a progressive hierarchy of challenges
to sustain interest. Moreover, each reflects (a) unam-
biguous feedback, (b) affirmation of the instructive-
ness of error, (c) seemingly infinite opportunities for
self-improvement, (d) provision for active involvement
in tasks which are rooted in the high probability of suc-
cess, (e) freedom from fear of reprisal, ridicule, or rejec-
tion, and (f) an overarching recognition of the need for
learners to enjoy what they experience in the classrooms
of life. (Bowman 1982, 16)
Characteristically, the motivational supports of elec-
tronic amusement systems and academically engag-
ing classrooms are both extrinsically and intrinsically
rewarding. At the cosmetic level, video games assault
the senses with an endless series of kaleidoscopic
sights, sounds, and figures. Video games provide play-
ers with an undeniable visual and aural sense of
momentary triumph and accomplishment. Addition-
ally, video games provide a socially uniting context for
displaying one’s evolving electronic prowess for friends
and family. Yet, these familiar extrinsic motivational
supports “fail to account fully for either the intense
concentration or the intoxicating sense of power that
arcadians experience. A more plausible explanation
appears grounded in the domain of intrinsic rewards”
(Bowman 1982, 14). Probing the question of what
makes a classroom or video activity so enjoyable that it
is intrinsically rewarding, Csikzentmihalyi and Larson
(1980) propose a balanced state of interaction—a flow
state. In this state, students and players find themselves
in a peculiar, dynamic experience:
Flow is described as a condition in which one concen-
trates on a task at hand to the exclusion of other inter-
nal and external stimuli. Action and awareness merge,
so that one simply does what is to be done without
a critical, dualistic perspective on one’s actions. Goals
83
tend to be clear, means are coordinated to the goals, and
feedback to one’s performance is immediate and unam-
biguous. In such a situation, a person has a strong feel-
ing of control—or personal causation—yet, paradoxi-
cally, ego involvement is low or nonexistent, so that one
experiences a sense of transcendence of self, sometimes
a feeling of union with the environment. The passage of
time appears to be distorted: Some events seem to take
a disproportionately long time, but in general, hours
seem to pass by in minutes. (64)
Although some researchers argue that intrinsic
and extrinsic rewards are negatively related and may
impede one another (Deci and Flaste 1995; Deci,
Koestner, and Ryan 1999; Kohn 1993), there is argu-
ably room for both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards in a
caring, engaged classroom in which students respond
productively to a variety of incentives. Admittedly, in
many instances, rewards in the classroom have con-
flicting effects and can be experienced as controlling
(undercutting the learner’s need for autonomy) or as
informational (satisfying the learner’s need for com-
petence). In daily practice, however, effective teachers
can learn to use both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards
in personal, thoughtful, and complementary ways to
heighten students’ academic engagement.
Researchers in human motivation contrast two moti-
vational states—extrinsic and intrinsic (Deci and Flaste
1995). Students often perform in school, for example,
to receive rewards if they succeed or avoid punish-
ment if they fail. Acting a certain way because one feels
compelled to by social controls characterizes extrinsic
motivation. In contrast, acting a certain way because
of an internal desire constitutes intrinsic motivation.
Research suggests that “external motivation is more
likely to create conditions of compliance or defiance”
and that individuals who “are externally controlled
are likely to stop trying once the rewards or punish-
ments are removed” (Kouzes and Posner 2002, 112).
Researchers also suggest that self-motivated individuals
persist in working toward a meaningful goal in diverse
activities involving play, exploration, and challenge
seeking, even when little likelihood of an external
reward exists. Video game players, for example, typically
derive neither material gain nor profit from their activi-
ties. Intrinsically motivated students, moreover, tend to
have an overarching sense of purpose that is larger than
they and goes beyond their classroom teacher. Tellingly,
intrinsically motivated students confront the uncertain-
ties of life from the inside out, as they search for what
is rewarding rather than what is rewarded.
To be successful in school, students need to feel
that they belong there, are accepted and valued, and
have the skills and inner resources needed to be pro-
ductive (Kouzes and Posner 2002). Intrinsic rewards
are personal gestures that deepen students’ sense of
belonging, accomplishment, and efficacy. Intrinsic
rewards invite students to develop a deeper aware-
84 The Clearing House
ness of their work and how that work contributes to a
larger outcome. More important, intrinsic rewards in
the classroom speak to the human thirst for a coherent
purpose in daily classroom activities and school events.
When students sense that their work is not trivial, they
become reenergized in discovering what is worthy of
their shared attention (Wheatley 1999).
The art of good teaching, therefore, lies in designing
systems and incentives in such a way that students will
naturally do the right thing for themselves and for the
common good. Admittedly, motivating one’s students
is as simple as the components of the human body
and as complex as the spirit. At issue, then, is how
educators can design schools and classrooms so that
students are intrinsically motivated to be their best.
The classroom-tested approaches that follow represent
neither a theoretical framework nor an emergent moti-
vational paradigm. Rather, they represent an exposition
of the insights and practices of classroom practitioners
in response to the question, “is it possible for effective
teachers to use both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards in
personal, thoughtful, and complementary ways?”
Say thank you. Emotion deepens learning. Saying thank
you reveals a teacher’s genuine care and respect for stu-
dents and their work. Simple, sincere gratitude makes
students feel noticed, recognized, and appreciated.
For students, a thank you not only serves as a form of
encouragement to sustain performance but also deep-
ens trust by shortening the symbolic distance between
teacher and student. Research suggests that conveying
appreciation for a task well done with an occasional
unexpected thank you enhances students’ intrinsic
motivation and keeps them alert and interested in
what the teacher and their peers have to say (Deci,
Koestner, and Ryan 1999).
Recognize students’ actions. Noticing students’ actions
that make a difference in attaining class or individual
goals helps learners understand how to achieve a high
standard. Moreover, providing specific examples helps
students build a cognitive map that they can draw on
when facing similar challenges or situations in the
future. Public recognition or praise signals to other
students that their contributions also will be noticed
and appreciated.
Research suggests that recognition given informa-
tionally has a more positive effect on intrinsic motiva-
tion than recognition given in a controlling manner
(Deci, Koestner, and Ryan 1999). Students can inter-
pret classroom rewards as controllers of their behavior
or as indicators of their competence. When rewards are
given in a controlling manner, those rewards thwart
students’ needs for autonomy and undermine intrinsic
motivation. As much as students value the intrinsic sat-
isfaction of genuine accomplishment, they also value
November/December 2007
noncontrolling extrinsic symbols of success, such as
a choice in how to approach tasks and projects (Deci,
Koestner, and Ryan). Choice deepens students’ per-
ceived self-determination and competence. The best
kind of recognition publicly and informationally cel-
ebrates the effort and determination it took for a stu-
dent to excel in a project or activity and sustains intrin-
sic motivation. Specifically, informational recognition
satisfies the student’s need for competence. In short, if
educators use tangible rewards in the classroom, they
incur a professional obligation to be mindful about
the intrinsic motivation and task persistence of the
students they reward.
Foster positive expectations. Inviting students to take the
lead in setting their own goals develops positive stu-
dent expectations. It instills a belief in students that
they can go beyond what they once thought possible.
Efforts to foster that belief show students that their
teacher has confidence in their ability to shape their
own destiny. For example, teachers who use a Socratic
method of leading students through a series of ques-
tions allow students “to find their own way to the
answers and bolsters their confidence in decision mak-
ing” (Kouzes and Posner 2002, 343). Research suggests
that students act in ways that are consistent with teach-
ers’ expectations of them. Adept teachers are aware
that reinforcing processes, such as the Pygmalion effect
(self-fulfilling prophecy), can amplify small actions
into larger consequences for students (Merton 1968).
Effective teachers, therefore, purposefully help students
shatter belief barriers and self-doubts. In a moment of
disarming honesty, if a teacher can genuinely support
a student in making a “true commitment not to lead
a little life, then most other things will fall into place”
(Redmond, Tribbett, and Kasanoff 2004, 13).
Provide precise feedback incrementally. This helps students
sense their progress in reaching their goals and lessens
stress and anxiety. Purposeful feedback functions as
recognition, allowing students to sense that “I can do
it” and that “the teacher knew I could do it.” Such
feedback also shows students that, much like learning
to ride a bicycle, trial and error are an inevitable part of
a steep learning curve. More important, research shows
that teachers’ “best opportunity to reinforce or change
behavior is very close to the time that the behavior
occurs” (Allen and Allen 2004, 32). Timely feedback,
therefore, is a natural and necessary part of learning.
Goals without feedback and feedback without goals,
however, have only a negligible effect on student moti-
vation (Bandura and Cervone 1983). Oral and written
feedback helps students become self-corrective as they
pursue goals. It also helps them feel interconnected
as they reach out for encouragement and assistance
in building their capabilities. In short, “the art of bal-
Vol. 81, No. 2 How Can Students Be Motivated?
ance is essential to effective feedback” (Allen and Allen
2004, 24). That is, suggestions for improvement must
be balanced with compliments. Allen and Allen’s 2 + 2
feedback system, for example, has two equally resonant
objectives: “First, recognize successes so that they can
be reinforced and repeated, and second, encourage
improvement in areas that are most in need of change”
(26). The intent in the classroom is to make compli-
menting and encouraging one another informationally
the norm. In contrast, teaching by primarily correcting
problems without informationally complimenting suc-
cesses is not balanced feedback. Moreover, to enhance
credibility and trust, teachers’ “compliments should
not be used simply as a prelude to suggestions for
improvement” (Allen and Allen, 26).
Aid students in finding meaning. Getting students to
work productively is a key responsibility in a teacher’s
professional life. Rather than focus on what it is the
student is to do or how the student is to do it, the
exemplary teacher focuses on why the meaningful work
is to be done (Collins 2001). Adept classroom teachers
recognize that a student’s commitment to learning is
a product of confidence, autonomy, and motivation.
Self-assured students sense that they have the ability to
complete a project without significant supervision. In
addition, autonomously motivated students feel driven
to do their best in completing a particular task or proj-
ect. A student could, however, exude confidence in his
or her abilities but still lack enthusiasm for tackling an
assigned task. Without teacher support, the subsequent
disillusionment could undercut a student’s committed
performance (Zigarmi et al. 2005).
Put a human face on opportunities. Classroom stories cre-
ate a readiness for responsibility. They put challenges
in a real-life context. Stories make achievements visible
to others and enable students to share in the lessons
learned. When teachers share stories with a class, the
stories provide inspiration and direction to students
facing complex, challenging situations. A story is “not
only easier to remember and recall than a set of facts, it
translates more quickly into action” (Kouzes and Pos-
ner 2002, 363.) In his research about how individuals
make decisions in emergency conditions, Klein (1998)
discovered that the rational model of decision making
gives way to intuition, metaphors, analogies, and sto-
ries. For students, well-told stories reach inside them
and pull them along.
Show values as a source of self-motivation. Values are
“deep-seated beliefs about the world and how it oper-
ates” (Freiberg and Freiberg 1997, 146). Values are
the emotional rules that govern students’ attitudes,
choices, and behavior in the classroom. Contextually,
values are the foundation of rules that make a class-
85
room work. Intrinsically motivated behavior is a pur-
poseful action that is intimately connected to one’s core
beliefs. Encouraging students to rediscover and honor
the beliefs that form the basis of their relationships,
such as a genuine care and concern for others and for
the common good, helps them to focus behavior and
energy toward a desired instructional end. Classroom
norms are a living expression of individual and collec-
tive values. Without clear end values, however, “pur-
poseful action is limited to transitory adaptation to the
environment” (Zigarmi et al. 2005, 125).
Provide new perspectives. Diversity produces the healthi-
est classroom environment. For students in an inter-
connected world, a diversity of thought, belief, opin-
ion, and cultural perspective is essential to civic success
and long-term survival. In a classroom that embraces
and cultivates alternative perspectives, students are
intrinsically motivated to open up to various points of
view in preparation for a world that is endlessly mul-
tifaceted. Students who live out the desire and willing-
ness to open themselves to diverse points of view are
understandably better prepared to work through the
challenges of a multicultural environment. Thus, the
student “who embraces diversity is embracing oppor-
tunity” (Redmond, Tribbett, and Kasanoff 2004, 179).
In conclusion, parents, teachers, and students sense
that the need for autonomy, encouragement, and rec-
ognition is a fundamental human drive. Moreover,
each senses that success both in the classroom and life
is kindled and sustained through intrinsic motivation.
To stimulate and motivate students’ internal drive,
exemplary teachers focus on clear standards, high
expectations, acknowledgment of feelings, the provi-
sion of choice, and spontaneously instilling pride in
their students. Successful teachers recognize that stu-
dents’ values are a source of self-motivation, classroom
stories put a human face on opportunities and propel
students, balanced feedback, including complimenting
and encouraging, is central to self-corrective learning,
a diverse perspective is intrinsically motivating in an
interconnected world, and developing students’ capac-
ity for meaning making and discernment is the moti-
vating force in learning. In his stunning presentation
of logotherapy, Frankl (1959) underscored the core
challenge confronting teachers and students: “Man’s
search for meaning is the primary motivation in his
life” (105).
Finally, for caring, competent, contemporary educa-
tors who are committed to the use of tangible class-
room rewards as a motivational strategy, the issue is
how to teach and reward in ways that do not discour-
age capable students. Research has shown that there are
conditions in which extrinsic rewards do not necessar-
ily undercut intrinsic motivation: provision of choice,
86 The Clearing House
unexpected and task-noncontingent rewards (unrelated
to the target activity), rewards given informationally
rather than in a controlling manner, and emphasizing
the interesting or challenging aspects of a task (Deci,
Koestner, and Ryan 1999). Ultimately, great teaching
is something that one lives; it is not something that
one does through rewards and incentives. By focus-
ing on the talents, passions, and natural curiosities of
one’s students, teachers inspire students to share with
the world the “music that lies inside them” (Secretan
2005, 14).
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