Nurturing Motivation – From Natural Curiosity and Interest to Sustained, Broad Motivation

Motivation to learn is a natural process. From infancy, children are spontaneously curious about their world and they want to learn. Extrinsic rewards have little value as children spontaneously explore their world, ask questions, and revel in every bit of newfound knowledge. Motivation to learn at this stage of life is natural. To varying degrees, this form of intrinsic, natural curiosity continues lifelong. Yet the breadth of learning and knowledge that is required to live a full and productive life extends beyond what a child will or can master when left solely to his or her natural curiosity. 

Curiosity needs to be nurtured and cultivated so that it reaches beyond the scope of likes and dislikes. Good education, therefore, should introduce children to a broad spectrum of knowledge domains and a wide range of opportunities. But it must do so in a manner which incites their interest and curiosity. 
Good education meets this demand in two ways. 

First, good education provides authentic experiences in specific domains of knowledge or skill. By authentic, I mean real-world participation in sports or music or writing or science in the same manner as that of the accomplished athlete, musician, writer, or scientist. Let me use a simple illustration to explain my point. Consider the process of learning to play baseball. On the one hand, aspiring ball players must learn skills. They practice throwing, catching, and batting. But merely learning skills is not the same as playing in a baseball game … now that is fun! That sparks enthusiasm, especially if it is played at a level where children have success being a baseball player. Having the chance to play baseball at a successful level introduces children to the joy of baseball. And if they are given enough authentic experiences and enough success baseball can become an interest lifelong. 

It is not just in sports. If children have similar, authentic experiences in their academic studies, whether in writing or in reading or in science or in history; if they get to “play the game” the way a writer, a scientist, or a historian plays the game, they will discover the intrinsic joy in these subjects and their motivation will be stirred. Great education stimulates interest and love for all subjects, even if by a child’s disposition, he or she never had such inclinations. 

The second category of learning experiences addresses progress. Natural curiosity, in any subject and for any child, invariably hits a learning obstacle when progress requires hard work, self-discipline, and perseverance. At this point, intrinsic motivation needs to take on new dimensions. 

Often, deeper or advanced learning challenges the limitations of natural curiosity and intrinsic motivation. If children hope to make significant advancements in subject matter, or if they hope to participate in learning tasks that are new and more challenging then natural curiosity may not provide the willpower to address these aspirations. Naturally, children are curious about one subject over another. Some children naturally enjoy mathematics or reading or science. This is wonderful, and wise educators and parents should use these interests to start building a good education. Yet it is foolish to think that natural curiosity alone will provide the impetus to meet the breadth of content required to gain a high quality education. No parent or educator can build a child’s education around what the child likes or does not like. The purpose of education is to broaden educational horizons for children and broaden their opportunities for growth.
 
Children are not going to be naturally curious and intrinsically motivated to learn everything that will lead to a rich and fulfilling life. There is a vast and wonderful world for children to experience, understand, and know. A world in which they can find their highest calling and most worthwhile life. But if a child’s education stops at natural curiosity alone, or if expectations for a child’s intellectual engagement stop at his or her intrinsic motivation, the potential for growth can be limited. 

Many intellectual and non-intellectual pursuits, which at first do not attract a child’s interest or attention, might prove very exciting once the child has a positive experience. Intrinsic motivation is not only innate and spontaneous, it is also something that can be stimulated and cultivated. It would be short-sighted if parents and educators expect natural, intrinsic motivation to be sufficient impetus for children to embrace the breadth and wealth of knowledge that will help them realize their human potential. 

It is in this second category of learning experiences that children’s motivation must incorporate a higher level of reasoning. Embracing challenging work or exploring a new interest can have very little to do with liking or disliking the activity. Now motivation must include value clarification. It comes from a history of parents and educators showing children how to approach challenges, how to persevere toward higher levels of achievement. 

While we should value and honor the importance and power of natural curiosity and intrinsic motivation, we should modify these definitions because natural curiosities and intrinsic motivation are not static. They can be enriched and expanded through good education.