The Use of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivations to Enhance Student Achievement in Educational Settings

In order to help students acquire more knowledge and improve their skills, it is vital to understand motivation. It is not possible to expect unmotivated students to achieve their goals. Motivation is an indispensable reason in fostering student achievement. It should be noted that motivation has the key role in establishing a platform in which learning is permanent. Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations have the potential to encourage students to strive for learning. Although the use of external rewards in the classroom has been criticized for diminishing intrinsic motivation of students, quite many studies suggest that the implementation of external rewards has no detrimental influence on students. Intrinsic motivation on the other hand enables students to work independently and enthusiastically. This paper defines extrinsic and intrinsic motivations and puts forward some strategies to enhance motivation of students in the classroom.