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Motivation to Learn: Annotated Bibliography

Albert, D. H. (2003). Homeschooling and the voyage of self-discovery: A journey of original seeking. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press. Although this book addresses homeschooling rather than public schools, it provides a very eloquent description of intrinsically motivated learning. The author describes his daughters’ learning experiences, and his own,

Deci, E. L. (1995). Why we do what we do: Understanding self-motivation. New York: Penguin. - an excellent, inexpensive book that lays out the general difference between being motivated by external controls and being truly self-motivated. Written by a leading motivation researcher, based on lots of research, it provides a very readable explanation of how and why controlling efforts to motivate others backfire so often.

Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset. New York. Random House. An excellent and very readable book by a leading motivation researcher on the issue of whether people see ability or intelligence as something that is unchangeable (i.e., an “entity” or “fixed” mindset), or whether they see ability and intelligence as something that can be improved with effort. Identifies lots of powerful consequences of holding one view or the other—for learning, pro-social/anti-social behavior, leadership style, etc. Uses stories from sports and business as well as from classrooms.

Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A's, praise, and other bribes. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. - outlines the arguments and research suggesting that rewards not only often don't work, but are counterproductive. Talks about motivation to learn, to behave in class, and workplace motivation. Very readable, though Kohn states his beliefs strongly. Cites hundreds of references to back up his conclusions.

Kohn, A. (1993). The brighter side of human nature: Altruism and empathy in everyday life. USA: Basic Books. This book outlines the research suggesting that humans are not "naturally" selfish, and that pro-social, altruistic behaviors may be just as natural. Kohn challenges common myths about human nature, and the optimistic conclusions Kohn reaches may help you adopt a more positive approach in dealing with behavioral issues with children. Again, hundreds of research citations are provided to support his conclusions.

Kohn, A. (1992, 1986). No contest: The case against competition--Why we lose in our race to win. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. The classic book on the problems with competition. Outlines four common American myths regarding competition--that is it human nature, is more fun, yields better performances, and builds character. Cites lots of research (on learning, behavior, and workplace performance) that refutes these beliefs fairly thoroughly. Quite readable, and based on a lot of research.

Littky, D. (2004). The BIG picture: Education is everybody’s business. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Written by a renowned principal of many high schools, this books describes how meaningful, intrinsically motivated learning can occur even in a high school serving many students who were previously struggling in school. Very inspiring, it addresses the need for schools to be more democratic, to create caring communities, and for families to have more input into what happens in school.