When looking at motivation, it is important to as questions, my question is regarding intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation, in my mind goes hand in hand with creativity due to the fact that someone is creating, problem solving, exploring because the knowledge they gain is done for their own personal benefit. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, can be a little bit of a trickier subject when combined with creativity. What is the driving force behind the lessons or the research? Is it to gain knowledge and know more about a topic of interest, or is it to get the gold star, the prizes and acolades? Does the reward become the purpose of the activity?

Bringing personalized learning into the classroom in the form of creative or project based learning in my mind, is a positive tool teachers can use to get their students to learn and retain information. If it is a topic of student interest, the student will more likely be interested in the lessons, in their research and want to share and teach others about what they are learning. When a student has something they are excited to teach, it means they are excited to learn. Motivating our students to want to learn and be at school can be a daunting task for teachers, how do we create lessons that are engaging? My idealistic nature tells me that the answer to this question is – let them explore what interests them and they will be motivated to learn.

What about those students who have trouble finding their creative flair due to the fear or failure? Might a reward system for that student be beneficial? By this I mean, encouraging the students to take risks, fail and be rewarded for their efforts rather than someone who is cautious and successful. When a students idea or project fails, what can we do for them that encourages them to keep trying? If doing something for the reward to learning isn’g going to be enough, perhaps a reward system should be implimented as a means of encouragement and motivation.

Reference:

Starko, A. J. (2014). Creativity in the Classroom: Schools of Curious Delight (5th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. Retrieved February 10, 2016, from https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=WVciAQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=how to incorporate creativity in the classroom&ots=PetEmz3qu7&sig=ECVxZvtigXL-BrLruHFkbnakRm8#v=onepage&q=how to incorporate creativity in the classroom&f=false.