Intrinsic motivation is the act of doing something without any obvious external rewards. You do it because it is enjoyable and interesting. This is a cornerstone of Montessori education. Why do children learn or want to learn? I believe it is because we as humans are hard-wired for curiosity and learning! Children come into this world curious about the world around them and it is our prime job as the adults in their lives to keep this curiosity burning and alive.
A Montessori education when delivered with authenticity, delivers just this. I am attaching a couple of articles here that also discuss this:
So what can parents do to cultivate and nurture this quality?
Acknowledge effort not product: You can say to a child, “I noticed how hard you worked on that, how do you feel?” instead of “Good job” or “I’m proud of you.”
Follow their interests: If you find your child is curious about sea animals, get books, visit aquariums and feed their curiosity. Support their curiosity.
Share what you are learning: One overlooked tool is modeling. Model for your child what you get from learning yourself. The joy of learning becomes contagious.
Honor mistakes: Mistakes are an important step in the learning process. Honor it. Be curious about what they learned, instead of getting things right. Focus on learning over memorization.
Give time: Allow your children to have some long stretches of time to just explore things without interference or questions from you or anyone else. Honor and allow struggles. Do not step in too quickly. Give them time to approach you for help and when they do, give the smallest help possible. I often find (even for me) this is the most difficult part. We as parents do not enjoy watching our children struggle, but it is in the struggle real learning happens.
Reflection time: Make sure you allow time for self reflection by asking questions that invite this. “Can you teach me how you did that?” “I noticed that was tough, what did you learn about this?”
Those of you who are even more curious about this topic, I recommend the book, Drive by Daniel Pink and Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn.
