Feedback and Student Motivation - Research Paper Example

This is so because when the students get the right feedback, they realize that their hard work has been acknowledged and appreciated by the teacher whereas their wrong behaviors have been discouraged or condemned. Every student knows what behaviors and attitudes are appreciable and which are considered bad in the educational setting. When the teacher’s assessment coincides with the students’ expectations, students realize that the teacher does encourage the right behaviors and discourages the wrong behaviors.

So in an attempt to improve their performance, they exactly know on what lines they have to work. This in turn motivates the students to execute the right behaviors that include but are not limited to working hard, submitting assignments on time, behaving well in the class, and maintaining discipline into the class. Intrinsic motivation vs extrinsic motivation Intrinsic motivation is driven by an individual’s personal interest in an activity. The intrinsic motivation is spurred by an individual’s personality or behavior rather than external pressure.

The intrinsically motivated students are willingly involved in the activities. They have an internal locus of control and are aware that they can control their grades if they want. Intrinsic motivation fundamentally comes from confidence. . -internalized extrinsic motivation refers to the engagement in an activity for which people have accepted the personal relevance for their own self” (Mouratidis et al., 2008, p. 241). Extrinsic motivation in an activity comes from external influences to obtain a desired outcome.

Common sources of external motivation include but are not limited to money, and higher position. Extrinsic rewards cause overjustification as well as a reduction in the intrinsic motivation. Feedback methods A teacher can use different kinds of feedback methods for the students and each feedback method has a different kind of effect on the students’ motivation i.e. the effect can be intrinsically motivating or extrinsically motivating. The three feedback methods are as follows: Praise Teachers should tell the students what they did well.

For example, the teacher should tell the students, “Your essay was the best because…” or “I was impressed by your approach” etc. Praise makes the students aware of what behaviors are appreciated by the teacher and what is qualified as a praiseworthy performance. Praise has an intrinsic motivating effect on the students because all students want to be praised. “[P]raise fosters intrinsic motivation and adaptive behaviors to a greater extent when it is perceived as informational as opposed to controlling” (Corpus, Ogle, and Love-Geiger, 2006, p. 335). Criticism This is the opposite of praise but has a similar effect on students’ motivation as medals have.

In criticism, the teacher gives feedback by criticizing the wrong work. For example, “I was very disappointed with the way the paragraph was ended” etc. This feedback motivates students to do good so that they are not criticized.