Free AIOU Solved Assignment Code 8601 Spring 2024

Free AIOU Solved Assignment Code 8601 Spring 2024

Download Aiou solved assignment 2024 free autumn/spring, aiou updates solved assignments. Get free AIOU All Level Assignment from aiousolvedassignment.

Course: General Methods of Teaching (8601)
Semester: Spring, 2024
ASSIGNMENT No. 1

Q.1

(i) Define teaching and elaborate old and new aspects of teaching.

Teaching is one of the instruments of education and is a special function is to impart understanding and skill. The main function of teaching is to make learning effective. The learning process would get completed as a result of teaching. So, teaching and learning are very closely related.

Teaching is a process in which one individual teaches or instruct another individual. Teaching is considered as the act of imparting instructions to the learners in the classroom situation. It is watching systematically. Dewey:- considers it as a manipulation of the situation, where the learner will acquire skills and insight with his own initiation.

(1) H C Morrison:- Teaching is an intimate contact between the more mature personality and a less mature one.

(2)  Jackson:- Teaching is a face to face encounters between two or more persons, one of whom ( teacher) intends to effect certain changes in the other participants ( students).

(3)  J B Hough and James K Duncan:- Teaching is an activity with four phases, a curriculum planning phase, an instructing phase, and an evaluating phase.

This definition presents the organizational aspect by which we can describe and analyze the teaching process.

(4) N.L.Gage ( Democratic point of view ):- Teaching is interpersonal influence aimed at changing the behavior potential of another person.

(5) Clerk:- Teaching refers to activities that are designed and performed to produce in students behavior.

We can define teaching according to the following three viewpoints.

(a) Authoritarian

(b) Democratic

(c) Liassez faire.

(a) Authoritarian:-

According to this viewpoint-

  • Teaching is an activity of memory levelonly
  • This teaching does not develop thoughts and attitude in the students.
  • Is known as thoughtless teaching
  • This teaching is teachers centric criticism of the teachers.

(b) Democratic teaching:-

According to this-

  • Teaching is done at understanding level.
  • Memory level teaching is the prerequisite (concept) is first memorized and then understand
  • Such teaching is known as thoughtful teaching.
  • According to this point of view, teaching is an interactive process, primarily involving classroom talks which takes place between teachers and student.
  • Here students can ask questions and criticize the teachers.
  • Here students can ask the questions and self-disciplined is insisted.

(c) Laissez Faire Attitude:-

  • It is known as reflective level teaching.
  • It is more difficult then memory level and understanding level of teaching.
  • Memory level and understanding level teaching are must for the reflective level of teaching.
  • It is highly thoughtful activity.
  • In this level both students and teachers are participants.
  • This level produces insights.

(ii) Highlight the principles of effective teaching.

Effective teaching is the designed goal of every teacher. In effective teaching, the teacher uses certain approaches and tools to help the student learn and flourish. Those of us who were fortunate enough to have personal experience with effective teachers can learn from them if we are to go on as teachers ourselves. In this lesson, you’ll find several strategies and methods that your favorite teachers probably used to make your class time memorable.

Strategies

Get to Know Your Students

Effective teaching begins, most importantly, with a knowledge of your students. Where are they academically at this point? What is appropriate material for their grade level? Are there any students with ADHD in the class who need unique assistance? Have any gone through a recent trauma or tragedy? By knowing where they’re coming from, you can know better how to guide and assist them from there.

Explain Material Clearly, Break Down Bigger Concepts

Students learn best when the teacher explains the material well. It’s important to have a good grasp yourself on the subject, to teach patiently, to watch for confused looks or questions from students, and to go step by step on the harder material.

Promote Student Independence

One purpose of teaching is to build up the students’ abilities to remember the material learned and figure things out for themselves. Effective teaching, then, includes giving students the chance to work independently in a way that builds up their own critical thinking, as well as their confidence in the material. When going over homework assignments, make sure students know they have to work independently rather than getting help from parents or peers.

Get Students Interested and Engaged with the Material

The best teaching makes students curious and motivated to learn more. Are there interesting stories or examples you can provide? Is there a guest speaker you can invite? It’s important for teachers to be creative and apply the material to the students’ lives, as well as give them opportunities to do various projects that will get students interacting with the lessons.

Provide Immediate Feedback to Students

Effective teaching involves consistent, valuable interactions with students that bring them guidance. Students need to know where they need help and what they are doing well. It is important for teachers to be quick to offer the direction and encouragement that students need.

Monitor Student Progress and Get Feedback from Students

1. Visualization

Bring dull academic concepts to life with visual and practical learning experiences, helping your students to understand how their schooling applies in the real-world.

Examples include using the interactive whiteboard to display photos, audio clips and videos, as well as encouraging your students to get out of their seats with classroom experiments and local field trips.

2. Cooperative learning

Encourage students of mixed abilities to work together by promoting small group or whole class activities.

Through verbally expressing their ideas and responding to others your students will develop their self-confidence, as well as enhance their communication and critical thinking skills which are vital throughout life.

Solving mathematical puzzlesconducting scientific experiments and acting out short drama sketches are just a few examples of how cooperative learning can be incorporated into classroom lessons.

3. Inquiry-based instruction

Pose thought-provoking questions which inspire your students to think for themselves and become more independent learners.

Encouraging students to ask questions and investigate their own ideas helps improve their problem-solving skills as well as gain a deeper understanding of academic concepts. Both of which are important life skills.

Inquiries can be science or math-based such as ‘why does my shadow change size?’ or ‘is the sum of two odd numbers always an even number?’. However, they can also be subjective and encourage students to express their unique views, e.g. ‘do poems have to rhyme?’ or ‘should all students wear uniform?’.

4. Differentiation

Differentiate your teaching by allocating tasks based on students’ abilities, to ensure no one gets left behind.

Assigning classroom activities according to students’ unique learning needs means individuals with higher academic capabilities are stretched and those who are struggling get the appropriate support.

This can involve handing out worksheets that vary in complexity to different groups of students, or setting up a range of work stations around the classroom which contain an assortment of tasks for students to choose from.

Moreover, using an educational tool such as Quizalize can save you hours of time because it automatically groups your students for you, so you can easily identify individual and whole class learning gaps (click here to find out more).

5. Technology in the classroom

Incorporating technology into your teaching is a great way to actively engage your students, especially as digital media surrounds young people in the 23st century.

Interactive whiteboards or mobile devices can be used to display images and videos, which helps students visualize new academic concepts. Learning can become more interactive when technology is used as students can physically engage during lessons as well as instantly research their ideas, which develops autonomy.

Mobile devices, such as iPads and/or tablets, can be used in the classroom for students to record resultstake photos/videos  or simply as a behaviour management technique. Plus, incorporating educational programmes such as Quizalize into your lesson plans is also a great way to make formative assessments fun and engaging.

6. Behaviour management

Implementing an effective behaviour management strategy is crucial to gain your students respect and ensure students have an equal chance of reaching their full potential.

Noisy, disruptive classrooms do no encourage a productive learning environment, therefore developing an atmosphere of mutual respect through a combination of discipline and reward can be beneficial for both you and your students.

Examples include fun and interactive reward charts for younger students, where individuals move up or down based on behaviour with the top student receiving a prize at the end of the week. ‘Golden time’ can also work for students of all ages, with a choice of various activities such as games or no homework in reward for their hard work.

Free AIOU Solved Assignment 1 Code 8601 Spring 2024

Q.2

(i) Describe the teacher’s personality traits to create and maintain a classroom/ learning environment.

By definition, a conducive learning environment is a platform devoid of both physical intimidation and emotional frustration, which allows for a free exchange of ideas.

The key proponents of the learning process are teachers and learners, as such their freedom of interaction, safety and respect should be equally guaranteed within the physical and emotive environment they find themselves in.

The first port of learning is the physical environment, which includes, but is not limited to classrooms.

The classroom should be neat, well ventilated and spacious to allow for free movement.

The chairs and desks should be arranged neatly to give the teacher a clear view of the class, with learners facing the chalkboard.

All learning and teaching materials like chalks, books and charts should be at hand. The classroom should be safe to both the teacher and the learners.

The smaller the classes, the more effective teacher pupil interaction is, and the more rewarding teaching becomes. Most learners also feel weighed down by larger numbers in classrooms.

Emotions play a crucial role in both teaching and learning and therefore should be harnessed and embraced.

Mutual respect is an indispensable ingredient in the recipe of learning, (Stronge: 2002; Wilen et al: 2004). A teacher who feels disrespected easily gets frustrated and is likely to deliver dismally; similarly a disrespected learner disengages himself/herself from the learning process. The learner should feel relaxed, respected, trusted, accepted and safe when his or her teacher is around.

The teacher, therefore, should always be unintimidating, friendly, respectful, tolerant and accommodating for learners to warm up to him or her.

He/she should be respected and not feared. Younger learners, especially the lower forms, tend to withdraw into their shells if the teacher exhibits aspects of intimidation and patronization.

Under no circumstances should the teacher use disparaging remarks even to those physically or intellectually challenged, neither should he/she allow such remarks in the classroom.

A marketer is quick to remind his customers that a good product sells itself, but its reputation is heightened through repackaging and constant advertising; and it is also indisputable that an experienced captain or pilot is a safety assurance to passengers.

Credibility sells, thus the competent teacher should be aware that learners are not dullards, as they can easily discern mediocrity from excellence.

The effectiveness of any learning method applied depends largely on the teacher and its worth is determined by results. If the results are always poor, then the trainer’s reputation dips, and the opposite is always true. His or her credibility both in deportment and delivery heightens reputation.

As is the case with passengers on a plane, learners feel secure in hands they can trust, and that in itself regulates their behaviour and learning patterns. It is perilous therefore, for one to walk into a classroom clueless and ill prepared.

Learning is an interaction of ideas whose effectiveness lies in the consideration of both the teacher and the learners as they all contribute to the outcome. The teacher may be the source of knowledge but is certainly not the only one, as learners also have access to other sources of information like textbooks, journals and the internet.

In today’s globalised world the teacher should be the custodian of the knowledge that learners acquire as raw data elsewhere, guide them in the acquisition of such information and hone it, so that it becomes effective as academic knowledge.

“Learners are conscious of what they want to achieve, and although they may not be certain of the how part of it, they definitely know what interests them as such the teacher should be privy to their goals so as to be able to “influence the nature of the activities they undertake, engage seriously in their study, regulate their behaviour, and know of the explicit criteria and high expectations of what they are to achieve,” (Queensdale Department of Education, 2005).

What is of interest to learners is what appeals to them more, so they should be given a reason to listen, otherwise their attention will be drawn elsewhere.

Active learning thrives on questions because questions are more important than answers (Terry Heich: 2014); as the philosopher Socrates posits that the best way to answer is to ask questions, and the scientist Albert Einstein concurs that the best strategy in the acquisition of knowledge is to keep asking questions. The competent teacher, therefore, should not force his or learners to ask questions, but should encourage them to freely ask them according to their understanding of the concepts taught.

Learners who ask intelligent questions are encouraging as they propel the lesson forward, as opposed to passive absorbers of information. There are a plethora of reasons why learners may not ask questions which include lack of understanding of the objectives outlined because of poor delivery on the part of the teacher, lack of interest from the learners, or satiation; the presumed satisfaction of the learner.

Good questions will always lead to discussions and interaction of ideas between the teacher and the learners and hence, should be paramount in the learning process.

The classroom functions as a community, where everyone plays a part, with the teacher being the head; in control and commands respect. Free interaction should be the hallmark, so that every member is given a chance to air his or her ideas. Regardless of their different backgrounds, learners are equal, as should be reflected through group work and emphasised through-out the learning process. All contributions should be respected to encourage participation and foster a sense of belonging.

Use of the same learning models time and again, reduces the classroom to a cell of monotony and boredom. Suspense and surprise are key elements in the attention span of the human mind; hence, every lesson should be a new experience.

Learning should not always be direct instruction based; neither should the same sources of information used over and over again. Textbooks, especially those that learners take home, usually rob the learning process of ingenuity and novelty, not that they are bad; far from it, but they do not bring anything fresh. They should be complemented by other sources of information like magazines, newspapers, journals and up to date online websites.

As has been discussed earlier on, the teacher is not the only source of information in the modern classroom, but is the one whose knowledge of information use and dissemination is vital. Learning can be inquiry based, project based, presentation based, peer to peer inclined or school to school based, because the whole idea is to keep it as interesting as possible. With lower forms it can also be game-based as learning through play engages and consumes their young minds.

Learning is not only about talking and asking questions, but also involves answering them. Some learners may ask intelligent questions but find it tasking to answer them, because of lack of answering skills, notwithstanding the vast information they may have on a particular subject area. Some need more time than others to internalise information, thus, practice becomes imperative.

Cognitive and non-cognitive behaviours apply differently in different situations; as such the teacher should be sensitive to the intellectual abilities of his or her learners. Although practice may be said to make anything perfect, it should not reduce individuals to automatons, who behave in certain ways at the touch of a button. Areas visited should be revisited until all concepts are internalised and objectives met.

However, too much of anything may become poison so information overload should be avoided, as concentration span of the human mind is not elastic. One should know when to call it a day and when to push on.

Assessment is important in gauging progress, and can only be ignored at the learning process’ peril. Whatever the outcome, assessment should not put a damper on the learners’ enthusiasm to learn. Marks may be low, but the individual learner may exhibit noticeable improvements in some areas; and it is on such areas that encouragement should be, though weak aspects should be pointed out, albeit, in an encouraging way.

Learners should also be rewarded for outstanding performance, improvement and consistence as a way of motivating them. The prizes may not be that fancy, but simple ones like sweets, chocolates, popcorn, exercise books or the like, but their prestigious value far outweigh any monetary value that one may think of. It is the reason for being rewarded that is important and not the value of the prize.

Classroom environment is one of the most important factors affecting student learning. Simply put, students learn better when they view the learning environment as positive and supportive (Dorman, Aldridge, & Fraser, 2006). A positive environment is one in which students feel a sense of belonging, trust others, and feel encouraged to tackle challenges, take risks, and ask questions (Bucholz & Sheffler, 2009). Such an environment provides relevant content, clear learning goals and feedback, opportunities to build social skills, and strategies to help students succeed (Weimer, 2009).

We all know the factors that can threaten a positive classroom environment: problems that kids bring from home, lack of motivation among students whose love of learning has been drilled right out of them, pressures from testing, and more. We can’t control all these factors, but what if we could implement some simple strategies to buffer against their negative effects?

The good news is that we can. We can foster effective learning and transform the experience of our students every day by harnessing the power of emotions. If you’re already objecting that you don’t have time for that kind of thing, don’t worry: I’m not talking about holding a daily class meeting to talk about feelings. The strategies I offer in this publication can be easily integrated into your instruction. What’s more, they are not a luxury or a frill: we ignore the power of emotions at our peril. When we dismiss the effects—both positive and negative—that emotions have on learning, we make our jobs much harder for ourselves.

A bounty of research outlines the impact emotions have on learning. Stress, for example, has a significant negative effect on cognitive functioning (Medina, 2008). Unfortunately, when it comes to learning processes, the power of negative events greatly outweighs the power of positive events (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, & Vohs, 2001). As a result, we need to prepare ourselves with an arsenal of strategies that inoculate our students against the power of negativity. By providing enough positive experiences to counteract the negative, we can help students avoid getting stuck in a “negative spiral” (Fredrickson, 2001), which can be set off by something as seemingly innocuous as a critical comment from a peer or a stressful test moment. Being caught up in negative emotions in this way impairs learning by narrowing students’ focus and inhibiting their ability to see multiple viewpoints and solve problems.

This publication is not a cheat sheet, a “happyology” manual, or a Band-Aid that will fix that distressed kid and send him to a magical haven of learning. Instead, it is a guide to simple routines, strategies, and structures that take little time to implement yet yield immeasurable results. Creating a positive environment produces a powerful ripple effect that continually enhances learning: when students can see the humor in their mistakes, celebrate their successes, and feel empowered as change agents, they will actively engage in learning and, consequently, learn more effectively. Far from promising easy solutions and instant results, these strategies will increase students’ capacity to tolerate the discomfort that comes with working hard and to accept that there are no easy answers—that only critical thinking and perseverance lead the way to mastery.

The principles and strategies that follow will help you evaluate the challenges you face in the classroom and address them by infusing your practice with positive elements like humor, novelty, and fascination. The first step is to examine the current state of your learning environment and assess how effective it is.

(ii) Enlist the role of a primary teacher.

  • teaching all areas of the primary curriculum
  • taking responsibility for the progress of a class of primary-age pupils
  • organising the classroom and learning resources and creating displays to encourage a positive learning environment
  • planning, preparing and presenting lessons that cater for the needs of the whole ability range within the class
  • motivating pupils with enthusiastic, imaginative presentation
  • maintaining discipline
  • preparing and marking work to facilitate positive pupil development
  • meeting requirements for the assessment and recording of pupils’ development
  • providing feedback to parents and carers on a pupil’s progress at parents’ evenings and other meetings
  • coordinating activities and resources within a specific area of the curriculum, and supporting colleagues in the delivery of this specialist area
  • working with others to plan and coordinate work
  • keeping up to date with changes and developments in the structure of the curriculum
  • organising and taking part in school events, outings and activities, which may take place at weekends or in the evening
  • liaising with colleagues and working flexibly, particularly in smaller schools
  • working with parents and school governors (in England, Northern Ireland and Wales) or parent councils (in Scotland) to maximise their involvement in the school and the development of resources for the school
  • meeting with other professionals such as education welfare officers and educational psychologists, if required.

Free AIOU Solved Assignment 2 Code 8601 Spring 2024

Q.3 Why is outlining of goals/objectives necessary before planning a lesson?

Although formal training provided me with the basic tools of teaching, I have found that understanding the needs of my students ahead of mine is the most important aspect to take into consideration when planning any lesson. Every class is different! As teachers it is vital for us to identify the type of learners we have (i.e. visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) before planning a lesson as it makes work a little easier. Visual learners prefer using images, pictures, colours, and maps to organize information and communicate with others, while auditory learners are able to learn better by hearing information and kinesthetic learners study best when they are moving, or doing physical activities or working with their hands. Try to pick a topic that will appeal to everyone in class (teacher included) and one with which you are able to be flexible. Even if your lesson topics come a textbook and the text dictates a certain theme try to personalize the lesson as much as possible so that you hold the students attention for the entire lesson. Assuming your class is 45 minutes long, you will need to have enough prepared to fill that time without becoming repetitive or redundant. You will also want to make sure that your lesson covers the four basic learning skills, i.e. reading, writing, listening and speaking as these are important when teaching a second language. The following six steps have been a real treasure in my box of teaching tools. You may encounter a few problems during your execution; however, proper classroom management should iron out those issues. Executing this lesson planning strategy in my classroom as brought amazing results. I hope that you and your students will have the same level of success and mine.

Apply These 6 Stages in Your Successful Lesson Planning

  1. 1Lead-in (3 minutes)

This is where you will introduce your topic to the class. Audio-visual aids such as a music video are an excellent lead-in tool. The lead-in should be 5 minutes or less as it is just a warm-up. For example: the famous nursery rhyme “Old McDonald had a farm”, could be a fun lead-in for a lesson on animals. Your objective here is to lay the foundation for your lesson. You don’t want it to be too long as it should not overshadow your lesson.

After listening to the song/watching the video you can ask the students to make a prediction on what topic the lesson would be based on for the day, it gives them a little thrill when they make the correct predication.

  1. 2Elicitation (5 minutes)

Elicitation is basically ‘extracting’ information. At this step, you want to test the students’ current knowledge on the topic. A good way to elicit information from the students is to show them a prop, flashcards or a PowerPoint presentation. Each image or prop will get the students talking and more engaged in your lesson. For example, in a lesson on animals you will show the class images of different animals and get the students to identify the animals. You can take it a step further with higher level students and try to get them to name the offspring. Another fun idea is to play sounds of different animals and have the class identify the creature from just the sound; this would be an excellent way to practicing listening. Your aim here is just to test the students’ knowledge on the topic.

  1. 3Presentation (7 minutes)

In this step you will be presenting the main topic. So, if you chose the theme of animals you should have a ‘focus area’ such as animal homes. During your presentation you will talk about this topic. PowerPoint presentations; Flashcards or Charts are great for this stage of your lesson. Using your students’ current knowledge on the theme will be useful at this stage of the lesson. At this point of the lesson it would be appropriate to introduce the class to new vocabulary and key phrases. The objective of this step should be for the students to learn the appropriate use of key terms and phrases and how to use them in the proper context. It will also broaden their current knowledge on the topic.

  1. 4Controlled Practice (10 minutes)

After presenting your lesson and teaching new vocabulary, you would want the students to put into practice everything they have studied. The best way to test their knowledge on the day’s lesson is through a worksheet. Another great tool is doing a role-play in which the students can act out different social situations while using the key phrases and vocabulary taught for the day. Most often your topic will dictate the type of activity most suited for the lesson. The activities done at this stage should be able to help sharpen the four basic language learning skills. Try to get all the students involved and assist them where necessary.

  1. 5Freer Practice (15 minutes)

Once again you will be testing the students’ knowledge on the lesson just taught; however, with this step you can be more flexible. Games are great for this as it creates a “freer” learning environment. It’s both entertaining and educational. With this step you can do more than one activity depending on your time. Encourage peer teaching, that is, get the students to help each other.

  1. 6Review and Follow up (5 minutes)

Towards the end of the lesson it’s good to do a quick review to tie up the lesson and at the same time check of the students’ was able to grasp all the concepts taught. It’s a good idea to go over the new vocabulary and key phrases taught. Review could also be done in the form of a short worksheet like a word-search which they can complete in class or something longer if you wish to give the students homework for the day.

AIOU Solved Assignment Code 8601 Spring 2024

Q.4

(i) Highlight the Hunter’s seven steps of lesson planning.

I. Getting students set to learn

Step 1: Review — Typically at the beginning of the lesson, review previous material that is relevant to this lesson.

Step 2: Anticipatory Set — Getting students to focus their attention on the material to be presented — getting them interested or prepared for what they are about to learn.

Step 3: Objective — State the objective for the lesson.

 

II. Instruction

Step 4: Input and Modeling — Presenting new information to students. Once the material has been presented, using them to show students examples of what is expected as an end product of their work.

 

III. Checking for understanding

Step 5: Checking Understanding — Determining whether or not students are making sense of the material as the material is being presented.

Step 6: Guided Practice — Immediately after instruction students are given the opportunity to apply or practice what they have just learned and receive immediate feedback.

 

IV. Independent practice

Step 7: Independent Practice — After students appear to understand the new material, they are given the opportunity to further apply or practice using the new information. This may occur in class or as homework, but there should be a short period of time between instruction and practice and between practice and feedback.

(ii) How is 5E’s model of lesson planning different from the others models?

Every teacher needs a carefully drawn lesson plan, irrespective of the training, experience or competency. A lesson plan is required to assist the students in achieving the learning objectives, on the short term and long term as well. Having a lesson is exactly like having a complete and clear picture of how a learning process is going to take place and how students are able to grasp and retain what is being taught to them.

1. Inspiration

A thorough lesson plan inspired the teacher to improve the lesson plan further. You can make it better for the purpose of achieving the lesson plan in a better way.

2. Evaluation

A lesson plan helps the teacher to evaluate his teaching and to compare it with set objectives. This evaluation will help you in achieving the set targets in a better way .

3. Self-confidence

These lesson plans develops self-confidence in the teacher and make them to work towards definite goal.

4. Previous Knowledge of the Students

A teacher can take a proper care by considering the level and previous knowledge of the students in your class.

5. Organized Matter

A teacher will be able to finish a particular lesson in a limited time frame. This will help him or her to make the students learn a better and precise manner.

AIOU Solved Assignment Code 8601 Autumn 2024

Q.5 Explain different theories of motivation.

Motivation is the word derived from the word ‘motive’ which means needs, desires, wants or drives within the individuals. It is the process of stimulating people to actions to accomplish the goals. In the work goal context the psychological factors stimulating the people’s behaviour can be – desire for money. success.

When you’re intrinsically motivated, your behavior is motivated by your internal desire to do something for its own sake — for example, your personal enjoyment of an activity, or your desire to learn a skill because you’re eager to learn.

Examples of intrinsic motivation could include:

  • Reading a book because you enjoy the storytelling
  • Exercising because you want to relieve stress
  • Cleaning your home because it helps you feel organized

When you’re extrinsically motivated, your behavior is motivated by an external factor pushing you to do something in hopes of earning a reward — or avoiding a less-than-positive outcome.

Examples of extrinsic motivation could include:

  • Reading a book to prepare for a test
  • Exercising to lose weight
  • Cleaning your home to prepare for visitors coming over

At first glance, it might seem like it’s better to be intrinsically motivated than extrinsically motivated. After all, doesn’t it sound like it would be ideal if you didn’t need anyone — or anything — motivating you to accomplish tasks? But, alas, we don’t live in such a motivation-Utopia, and being extrinsically motivated doesn’t mean anything bad — extrinsic motivation is just the nature of being a human being sometimes. If you have a job, and you have to complete a project, you’re probably extrinsically motivated — by your manager’s praise or a potential raise or commission — even if you enjoy the project while you’re doing it. If you’re in school, you’re extrinsically motivated to learn a foreign language because you’re being graded on it — even if you enjoy practicing and studying it. So, intrinsic motivation is good, and extrinsic motivation is good. The key is to figure out why you — and your team — are motivated to do things, and encouraging both types of motivation. Research has shown that praise can help increase intrinsic motivation. Positive feedback that is “sincere,” “promotes autonomy,” and “conveys attainable standards” was found to promote intrinsic motivation in children.

But on the other side of that coin, external rewards can decrease intrinsic motivation if they’re given too willy-nilly. When children received too much praise for completing minimal work or single tasks, their intrinsic motivation decreased.

The odds are, if you’re reading this blog post, you’re not a child — although children are welcome subscribers here on the HubSpot Marketing Blog. But the principles of this study are still sound for adults.

If you’re a people manager, be intentional with your praise and positive feedback. Make sure that it’s specific, empowering, and helps your direct reports understand your expectations and standards. But make sure you aren’t giving too much praise for work that’s less meaningful for your team, or they might lose intrinsic motivation.

If you’re an individual contributor, tell your manager when their feedback is motivating — give them positive feedback, too. By providing positive feedback to your manager when they give you praise that keeps you motivated, you, in turn, will extrinsically motivate them to keep managing you successfully. (Meta, huh?)

Extrinsic rewards don’t just involve bribery (although bribery can work). In some cases, people may never be internally motivated to complete a task, and extrinsic motivation can be used to get the job done.

In fact, extrinsic rewards can promote interest in a task or skill a person didn’t previously have any interest in. Rewards like praise, commissions, bonuses, or prizes and awards can also motivate people to learn new skills or provide tangible feedback beyond just verbal praise or admonishment.

But tread carefully with extrinsic rewards: Studies have shown that offering too many rewards for behaviors and activities that people are already intrinsically motivated to do can actually decrease that person’s intrinsic motivation — by way of the overjustification effect.

In these cases, offering rewards for activities the person already finds rewarding can make a personally enjoyable activity seem like work — which could kill their motivation to keep doing it.

If you’re a people manager, use extrinsic rewards sparingly to motivate your team to take on new responsibilities or achieve lofty goals. Bonuses, commissions, recognition prizes, and promotions can be an effective way to motivate or reward your team for learning new skills, taking on new challenges, or hitting a quarterly goal. But make sure you’re giving your team members the time and resources to explore skills and projects they’re already excited about independently — without making them a part of their regular responsibilities, which could demotivate them.

If you’re an individual contributor, work for the rewards you want, but don’t over-exhaust yourself in the pursuit of extrinsic prizes. Make sure you’re taking time, in your job or in your personal life, to explore activities that you enjoy just for the sake of doing them, to keep yourself balanced.

 

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