Incorporating student interests into daily instruction is vital for student learning. Naturally, people are more motivated to learn about things they can relate to or things they find intriguing. As Medina (2008) explains, attending to the most important, relevant, and novel stimuli within an environment is a natural human instinct. Therefore, instructors must be intentional to craft lesson plans that include elements of student interest to capture students' attention.
By including student interests in instruction, teachers will not only be able to capture students' attention, but they will also increase students' motivation to learn. As Goodwin and Hubble (2013) explain, many teachers focus their efforts on things that increase extrinsic value rather than intrinsic value (p.67). However, extrinsic motivation tends to be short-term and less effective than intrinsic motivation, therefore, teachers should focus their efforts on increasing intrinsic motivation instead of extrinsic motivation. Incorporating student interests into instruction is a great way to boost intrinsic motivation, which is likely to lead to greater learning results.
By including student interests in instruction, teachers will not only be able to capture students' attention, but they will also increase students' motivation to learn. As Goodwin and Hubble (2013) explain, many teachers focus their efforts on things that increase extrinsic value rather than intrinsic value (p.67). However, extrinsic motivation tends to be short-term and less effective than intrinsic motivation, therefore, teachers should focus their efforts on increasing intrinsic motivation instead of extrinsic motivation. Incorporating student interests into instruction is a great way to boost intrinsic motivation, which is likely to lead to greater learning results.