When it comes to motivation, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Different groups of students, different subjects, different classroom settings, and different individual teachers all play a role in choosing the right strategy. Before exploring all specific good practices, it is beneficial to first review the general guidelines provided below. You can apply these to your own case-specific professional experiences and insights to give you a starting point.

Note that there is some overlap between the categories.

Factors in choosing a strategy

	When	Disadvantages	Examples
Extrinsic motivation	Rote tasks Anything that emphasises repetition and practice rather than understanding	Focus not on content Not memorised long-term Some forms perceived as childish	Rewards Punishments Gamification
*Intrinsic motivation*	Higher-level thinking skills Promoting autonomy and responsibility Long-term growth	Difficult reaching students in larger groups Individual student differences Can be (much) more work for teachers	Offering choices Voluntary assignments/activities Relating subjects to students’ own life
*Internalised motivation*	Changing students’ perspective on topics and tasks “Teaching” enthusiasm Promoting autonomy	Individual student differences Can be difficult in larger groups Rivalling internalisation from other sources (friends, culture, family, media)	Relating subjects to students’ own life Use of cliff-hangers Use of humour
*Autonomy support & relatedness*	Promoting autonomy and responsibility Supporting need for relatedness Learning to connect course to own life (helpful) student perspectives in course evaluations	Not suitable for all students Often not suitable for fitst-year students May lead to time-consuming discussions about course structure Depends on subject (methods courses less suitable)	Peer-feedback on assignments (See Teacher story by Toni Pape) Providing reasons for assignments and course components Putting students in charge of processes (emphasis on end result)
*Autonomy support & competence*	Promoting autonomy and responsibility Supporting need for competence	Not suitable for all students Often not suitable for first-year students Can mean more work for the teacher if things go wring Only suitable for stand-alone assignments	Offering choices Voluntary assignments/activities Putting students in charge of processes (emphasis on end result)

How to foster motivation and autonomy

Choosing your motivation strategies

Factors in choosing a strategy

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