Motivation

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Gamification and it's application to learning environments is not without a bit of controversy. The area of controversy surrounding gamification is the argument of intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic motivation. It is argued that gamification relies too much on external factors to motivate learners and not enough on internal factors. So let's back up a moment and define both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is when someone is motivated by internal factors,such as wanting to partake in an activity because it provides satisfaction. Or taking part in an activity, because it provides an opportunity to learn or for the feeling of accomplishment that the activity evokes. Intrinsic motivation in gamification would come from a learner mastering new content, feeling a sense of accomplishment and having a sense of control over their own actions. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is when an activity isundertaken simply to earn a reward or to avoid punishment. With extrinsic motivation, a person is not motivated by internal factors. Instead, they are motivated solely by the prospect of earning a reward at the end of an activity.Extrinsic motivation consists of the learner receiving points, earning badges and gathering trophies for learning, content and feeling good about the reward, but not about the learning.Extrinsic rewards tend to work best, when the learners do not have an inherent interest in the subject matter or don't see the initial value of the learning content. Critics of gamification argue that gamification is all about external rewards, the extrinsic motivation. And therefore, after the external motivation goes away, the learner will stop being interested.Because a reward no longer exists and if gamification is only focus on external rewards that can indeed be the case. However, it's not as simple as extrinsic motivation is bad and intrinsic motivation is good. They are not polar opposites as many people think. And in fact, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation coexist in many educational settings. For example, if someone is studying to become a certified computer operator, they might be doing it. Because being certified, looks good on a resume and they'll get a raise at their job. So we could say, they are extrinsically motivated. But they might also be studying, because they enjoy mastering the content. Engaging with the subject matter and feel good about improving themselves. These are all intrinsic elements of motivation. When designing effective instruction using gamification, the best approach is to craft both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards into the experience. As you are implementing gamification, strive for a balance between extrinsic and intrinsic motivational elements in the following ways. Use a point or reward system to both motivate the learner and to give them feedback as to how well they perform a task. The points or rewards, will be extrinsic motivation and the feedback on performance will be the intrinsic motivation. If a task or activity is seen as having low initial value or interest for the learners, rely more heavily on extrinsic motivation.

If the activity is of initial high value, use feedback, sense of accomplishment and self- confidence to motivate the learner. Whenever possible, combine both intrinsic motivational elements like mastery, opportunities for a series of small successes and a sense of accomplishment with extrinsic elements, such as points, badges and trophies. Keep in mind that different learners may be motivated differently to approach the content. Some may be intrinsically motivated and some extrinsically motivated. So having both elements, increases the likelihood of engaging the learners. The proper balance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation will balance your gamification efforts and keep learners motivated to learn.