From Carrots to Curiosity: Transforming Student Motivation

ASMSA Executive Director Corey Alderdice dives into the transformative power of intrinsic motivation in education, exploring how fostering a love of learning can lead to deeper engagement, creativity, and long-term success. Drawing on insights from Larry Ferlazzo's The Student Motivation Handbook, we discuss the conditions teachers can create to inspire students from within, including autonomy, competence, relatedness, and relevance. We also tackle the delicate balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, offering practical strategies to make learning a rewarding experience in itself. Tune in for thoughtful reflections and actionable ideas to inspire the next generation of learners.

For additional thoughts from Director Alderdice, visit coreyalderdice.com.

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Learn more about ASMSA at asmsa.org/thrive.

Transcript

Today, we’re talking about a topic that sits at the very heart of effective teaching and learning: intrinsic motivation.

Now, let’s start with this simple yet powerful truth: no matter how brilliant a lesson plan or how engaging a teacher’s delivery, learning doesn't happen unless students are motivated to engage. And motivation, as Larry Ferlazzo puts it in The Student Motivation Handbook, is one of the keystones of teaching. The big question isn’t just how we teach but how we inspire our students to want to learn.

We’ve all been there—trying to spark interest in students with a mix of grades, gold stars, or maybe even the occasional pizza party. Those strategies work, but only for a moment. They fall under the umbrella of extrinsic motivation, where the energy to act is tied to an external reward or the avoidance of punishment. While effective in the short term, extrinsic motivation often doesn’t hold up when we’re asking students to engage in tasks that demand higher-order thinking or creativity.

Instead, the goal should be to cultivate intrinsic motivation—that inner drive where the act of learning itself becomes the reward. It’s the kind of motivation that leads to deeper engagement, greater creativity, and, ultimately, a richer sense of well-being. Think about it like this: as teachers, we’re not forcing plants to grow. Instead, we’re creating the right conditions—good soil, plenty of water, the right light—so growth can happen naturally.

But let’s be real. Creating these conditions isn’t always easy. In fact, it can feel downright messy. Ferlazzo talks about balancing “the world as it is” with “the world as we’d like it to be.” In the real world, sometimes you might need to use a carrot or a stick—offering extra credit or even having tough conversations about consequences for poor behavior. And that’s okay. The key is to approach these moments thoughtfully, using them as stepping stones toward a bigger vision: a classroom where students are motivated because they find value in the learning itself.

So, what does it look like to cultivate intrinsic motivation? Researchers point to four core elements that can create these conditions: autonomy, competence, relatedness, and relevance. Let’s unpack these, not as a checklist but as a mindset.

First, autonomy. This doesn’t mean letting students run the classroom, but it does mean giving them meaningful choices. When students feel a sense of control over their learning—whether it’s choosing a project topic or deciding how to tackle a task—they’re far more likely to take ownership.

Next, competence. Students need to feel that they’re capable of succeeding. This is where scaffolding, feedback, and celebrating small wins come into play. Ferlazzo draws attention to this in his book, highlighting how small moments of success can build the confidence students need to tackle bigger challenges.

Then, there’s relatedness. This is about connection—feeling cared for and part of a community. As Ferlazzo notes, classrooms built on mutual respect and a sense of belonging aren’t just more harmonious; they’re also more effective in fostering motivation.

And finally, relevance. If students don’t see the value in what they’re learning—how it connects to their lives now or their dreams for the future—it’s a hard sell. Relevance is the bridge between the classroom and the real world, and it’s up to us as educators to build that bridge.

One of the most striking points Ferlazzo makes is that intrinsic and extrinsic motivations don’t have to be at odds. Instead, they can coexist. He talks about the concept of “baseline rewards,” like a caring teacher, engaging lessons, and fair grading. These are extrinsic in nature but lay the foundation for intrinsic motivation to flourish. Without them, students might be too preoccupied with unfairness or instability to engage meaningfully with learning.

So where does this leave us as educators? It leaves us in a space of creative tension, navigating between the immediate demands of the classroom and the long-term goal of inspiring students to love learning for its own sake. It’s not about perfection—it’s about progress. Every time we create a lesson that sparks curiosity, every time we connect with a student on a personal level, we’re planting the seeds of intrinsic motivation.

Let me leave you with this: fostering intrinsic motivation isn’t just a teaching strategy. It’s a mindset. It’s about believing in your students’ potential to find joy in learning and doing the often hard, often messy work of creating a classroom environment where that joy can take root. It won’t happen overnight, but as Ferlazzo reminds us, it’s always worth striving for the world as we’d like it to be.