What is the right balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations?
Research has shown that athletes who have the best motivational outcomes, such as persistence, a positive attitude, and unflinching concentration, tend to be both extrinsically and intrinsically motivated. Athletes who are predominantly extrinsically motivated tend to become discouraged when they do not perform to expectations and can experience a downturn in form. Conversely, athletes who are predominantly intrinsically motivated often do not have the competitive drive to become champions. This is because they tend to enjoy mastering the tasks that comprise their chosen discipline, but they lack a strong competitive streak in their personalities.
We can conclude similarly that educators / instructors should work to create a positive motivational climate for their students. Research has shown that the motivational climate can be performance oriented, which means focused on social comparison and ranking, or mastery oriented, which means focused on self-referenced goals and feelings of competence. Though there are many resources for coaching athlets efficiently with balancing intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, there's not much reliable resources for other type of teaching / learning relationship. Whatever is available, is suggestions and comments based on personal experience and theories and ideas.
