Interest Helps Boost Motivation to Learn

There are many factors that influence success in learning. All things ranging from external rewards, personal goals and interests or a change in a school’s environment. One of those factors include being able to use what one has learned and apply it to real life situations. Regardless of the circumstances, if someone applies themselves and possesses strong motivation to learn, they can achieve anything. But what other factors keep someone focused and determined? Looking at students in particular, can peer pressure be applied or does parental influences effect a student’s ability to learn? What about personal attributes, gains or losses? Can a student find the drive in themselves to achieve their academic goals or do they rely on the influences of others? “Motivation takes place at every point in the learning and achievement process,” (Lin-Siegler, Dweck, & Cohen, 2016, p. 295). There are several different types of motivation that come into play when it comes to motivation and learning such as intrinsic motivation – an internal source or controlled from within, extrinsic motivation – an external source, autonomous motivation, and autonomy support in the classroom – support from teachers or aides. Although teachers are there to assist students in their journeys, they may not be able to control all aspects of motivation, but they can help guide students to develop the motivation and drive to learn new things. Along with this comes obstacles a student goes through such as transitions from one grade level to the next. This paper will explore the importance of motivation and interest by discussing the different factors that influence the success of how a student learns inside the classroom. Other factors will also be covered such as transitions during different grade periods, as well as family and peer influences. Personal attributions or goals will also be explored. This paper closes with ways to assist with how to stay motivated to learn, whether it be to assist oneself or assist another person.

According to Dasakalovska, Gudeva, and Ivanovska, (2012) motivation is one, if not the most important factor that influences the success of learning. They believe that it is not clear to define motivation and whether it leads to successful learning, or in some cases, the opposite, if successful learning leads to motivation. Dasakalovska, Gudeva, and Ivanovska, (2012) defined motivation as “an inner drive, impulse, emotion or desire that moves one to a particular action,” (Dasakalovska, Gudeva, & Ivanovska, 2012, p. 1187). Anyone who is motivated is a person who wants to achieve a goal and are willing to invest the time or whatever it takes to accomplish that goal. Everyone has a need or something that drives them, but the environment around them also plays a role. Dasakalovska, Gudeva, and Ivanovska, (2012) listed several characteristics that are important factors to motivation. The first characteristic is positive task orientation. This is when the person is willing to deal with challenges and is confident in his or her success at getting the job done. The second characteristic is ego-involvement. Ego-involvement is when the person finds it is important for them to succeed so they may maintain a positive image. The third characteristic is the need for achievement; a person has to have the desire to achieve and get through the challenges of what they wish to accomplish. With this comes the fourth and fifth are high aspirations and goal orientation which is similar to positive task orientation when it comes to going for the challenges and overcoming obstacles, but also makes the person aware of their goal and directs their energy toward achieving it. Perseverance and tolerance of ambiguity complete the list of characteristics by a person being consistent and not letting anything stand in their way, even if there are set backs during their journey. They also learn to be patient and know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, all set backs have major come backs. Dasakalovska, Gudeva, and Ivanovska, (2012) also mentioned that there was a relationship between extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. “External motivation is the influence by some kind of external incentive such as money, prize, grades, and desire to please parents, and peer influences,” (Dasakalovska, Gudeva, & Ivanovska, 2012, p. 1189). While intrinsic motivation “comes from the learners and their attitudes towards their learning aims and goals, their emotions, their ambitions and so on.” Activities that are geared towards intrinsic motivation do not really have a reward or physical incentive, it leans more toward the person engaging in the activity because it makes them feel better about themselves personally, which can be a reward in itself. With this being said, can others have influence on these types of motivation?

Research from Jang (2008) supported this by conducting a study that explains how students bring their own influential characteristics into a classroom environment, but characteristics that are within a learning environment also affect their motivational states, such as their interest and engagement in what is being presented. Voke (2002) stated that younger children naturally learn when there are no external pressures or need for improvement, they are just trying to make sense of the world around them. As students make the transition from elementary school to middle school and from middle to high school, things like their workload and the need to do better becomes greater, with that comes more stress. “Students’ academic motivation steadily declines following this transition, as children’s’ mostly intrinsically motivated orientation gives wat to the adolescents’ most extrinsically motivated orientation,” (Jang, 2008, p. 798). Research from Allen and Robbins (2010) claimed that students who graduate within a certain time, or within the time they are supposed to graduate, are more likely to benefit in the long run, but unfortunately, few students in the United States are obtaining their degrees within that allotted timeframe. They also claimed that in order for students to improve the time they obtain their degree, they must first understand what is keeping the students from reaching that goal (Allen & Robbins, 2010). They suggested that students would be perform better academically if they chose the environment that agreed with their interests. Another study from Dotterer, McHale and Crouter (2009) supported this by studying the changes in adolescent’s academic orientations during high school years by measuring their interest. Their results indicated that even though students began high school at a decent level of academic orientation, they still declined over the course of the school years. Many students struggle with transitioning from middle school to high school; a few examples are: the change of school setting, their roles as students and as peers in their environment. Students go from elementary school which is more personalized and tight knit to middle school and high school, which can be considered neutral and detached. Regarding their roles as students and peers, the teachers’ expectations change and increase during these transitions as well as expectations from peers. During this time, specifically during middle school, students are going through puberty so the need to find themselves is at a higher level, so their focus is deterred and grades begin to decline. Dotterer, Mchale and Crouter (2009) studies showed that even though there were no gender differences in the level of academic interests, by the age of 13, female students seemed to be more interested in their studies than male students. By the time they were 18, both males and females showed recovery in interest in academics, but females were still slightly higher than male students.

Dotterer, McHale and Crouter (2009) also included the idea that parents play a role in academic motivation, interest and achievement. In their study, they examined the extent in which mother’s and father’s interest in academics predicted their student’s level of interest throughout middle childhood through adolescence and how it made a positive impact on the student. “Both parents’ socialization practices and their education levels are important for youth’s academic motivation and achievement” (Dotterer, McHale, & Crouter, 2009, p. 511). They found that when a mother held high expectations for their child, the student had higher levels of academic interests. Consistent with their hypothesis, the father’s level of education had an impact on the student. If the father had a high level of education, the student’s academic interest showed less levels of decline. “We found that father’s education level and mother’s education expectations were important predictors of adolescents’ interest in academics.” (Dotterer, McHale, & Crouter, 2009, p. 517). The roles a mother and father play within the household may have different effects with a student’s academic interest. Voke (2002) claimed that the child’s home environment shapes the attitudes that they may develop toward academic interests and learning as well as their views of competence and engagement. Many parents are aware of the challenges students face when transitioning from elementary school to middle school and high school or even college, but some may not be aware of the ways they can help their child through this challenging experience, which included their own interest in their child’s academic success.

In the classroom, students usually show different attitudes from when they are at home. They may display themselves as cooperative and open-minded, and others may show themselves to be passive and unwilling. Voke (2002) claimed that student engagement is one to is motivated to learn, has a good understanding of learning and rather than do things for approval of others. “Engaged students experience greater satisfaction with school experiences, which may in turn lead to greater school completion and student attendance rates as well as lower incidences of acting out behaviors,” (Voke, 2002). Research from Nunez and Leon (2015) focuses on autonomy support within the classroom and how intrinsic and extrinsic motivation come into play. Nunez and Leon (2015) stated that intrinsic motivation is characterized by satisfaction, pleasure and interest when performing an activity whereas extrinsic motivation shows low levels of satisfaction and involves the engagement of behaviors due to external reinforcement. They also defined autonomous motivation as voluntary engagement in the process of learning, in this case from the student. “Autonomy is not the same as independence because a person may be voluntarily dependent or force to rely on or depend on others,” (Nunez & Leon, 2015, p. 276).

They claimed that people who had low autonomy had a lower level of personal choice and initiative, making their behavior respond to peer pressure or their own inner expectations. Nunez and Leon (2015) found that students would only be intrinsically motivated in an activity if the student found it to be interesting, or even challenging to them, but many schools do not possess these conditions. In this case it is important for teachers and schools to know how to motivate students. One important aspect teachers should be mindful of is the importance of supporting student’s autonomy. It allows them to feel a form of independence and also slows them to feel like their ideas and lives matter. Students are not pressured to feel or act a certain way, but instead are encouraged to be themselves. Another important aspect teachers should follow is the importance of building a rapport with students and making sure that clear communication on why certain lessons or activities may have personal utility as well as the acknowledgement of negative feelings or tension. Nunez and Leon (2015) listed three basic psychological needs that if are supported by the environment, will have a positive effect and are essential for personal growth and social development. The first is autonomy and “the need for autonomy refers to the experience of will and psychological freedom and is determined by the level of external pressure when performing an action,” (Nunez & Leon, 2015, p. 277). Second is the need for competence which suggests that people want to interact effectively with others in their environment. And the third is the need for relatedness which refers to the need or desire to feel connected with others. These psychological needs can assist with the prediction of whether or not the social environment will encourage autonomous behavior.

Bursztyn and Jensen (2015) stated that “adolescence is believed to be the period of greatest vulnerability to peer pressure, during which the desire to be popular or fit in is felt most acutely” (Bursztyn & Jensen, 2015, p. 2). People have the need to feel secure with others and connected so they may experience a sense of belonging and respect. Adolescence specifically are in the age group of finding who they are or who they are meant to be personally and professionally, so they are most vulnerable to peer pressure. One developmental task that students face is to identify and reinforce their interests as they select their path. Research from Harachiewicz, Durik, Barron, Linnenbrink-Garcia and Tauer (2008) suggest that a student’s achievements play an important role in shaping their academic motivation because they reflect on the purpose of their behavior and why they are interested. In peer groups, these achievements or reflections on behavior can be negatively or positively clouded by the influence of their peers. Viewing the negative aspect, being focused on your goal or appearing smart could be “looked down upon”. In a negative peer group, academic achievement is not as high and the need to feel like they fit in is tremendous. In a different perspective, positive peer groups encourage each other to do better and achieve their goals and then some. Being a positive role model can help solidify a student's path on the road to academic achievement. Students who believe that their education is valuable and show high levels of interest academically and personally will surround themselves with others who think and feel the same, and are less likely to let negative factors stand in their way of achieving their goals.

In conclusion, ffective learning requires self-regulation through the learning process. Not only so students have to be prepared and focused on executing their goal, but they also have to obtain a level of interest so they may resist the distractions that may come in their path. Motivation and interest takes place in every level of the learning and achievement process. Motivation has been a topic of interest in educators and psychologists, and continues to be studied throughout the years. There are many factors that influence the success of learning, but the most important is a student’s motivation to learn. Not all students come with strong motivation or set goals for themselves which may stem from previous experiences, their home environment, their peers or educators. When a student labels a task as interesting, they can become motivated, but that interest may also factor into their mental and emotional engagement.

“The ‘whys’ (i.e. reasons) behind achievement goals can be conceptualized in many ways, however in recent years, researchers have focused mostly on reasons derived from self-determination theory,” (Sommet & Elliot, 2017, p.1141). As mentioned before, there are suggestions where teachers may assist with student motivation like: setting goals, creating a safe and appropriate learning environment, and creating a variety of interesting topics and activities so help keep students focused and engaged in the activity at hand. Investing time and effort in preparing for such classes and activities may influence a student’s motivation and interest, but it is also important to remember that not all students come from the same background and have the same interests. For example some students may be more extrinsically motivated and have a need for feedback or reward in order for them to stay engaged and motivated while others naturally have the interest to learn and do not have the desire to be rewarded. Teachers who encourage and make connections with their students and hold them accountable for their actions and the regulation of their own learning experience are more likely to see successful outcomes in their students. Teachers who encourage and make connections with their students and hold them accountable for their actions and the regulation of their own learning experience are more likely to see successful outcomes in their students. Parents should also be mindful of their interests as well as the interest of their students’ academic success for this is the stepping stone to a student’s social relationship, career, and overall future.