Intrinsic Motivation vs Extrinsic motivation

(Attribution: Source: www.ted.com CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

In this TED talk by Dan Pink, "The puzzle of motivation" he creates a compelling argument that claims extrinsic motivators no longer work. The old dangle the carrot, punishment/reward type of motivation only works for problems with a clear cut solution not requiring critical and creative thinking. In fact, money motivators can decrease productivity. In this day and age we need creative and critical thinkers and the only way to do that is to maximize intrinsic motivation.

What I really appreciated in this video was that he proposes a new method. He claims the way to increase intrinsic motivation is to focus on offering opportunities for:
Autonomy: The urge to direct our own lives
Mastery: The urge to get better and better at something that matters.
Purpose: Yearning to do what we do in service of something bigger than ourselves.

He speaks of changing the motivators to make business' more productive, but I believe it also applies to teaching and even parenting. It makes sense to me that creativity is blocked by monetary motivator, and definitely by fear of punishment. I think in those cases, by nature, we shoot for the quickest solution, not wanting to invest too much time or energy. Whereas when we're internally motivated, we are more inclined to enjoy the journey, which opens up creativity. 

In teaching it is important to make learning relevant to the student's personal goals, offer encouragement along the way, and offer autonomy wherever we can.  I think this would help to encourage intrinsic motivation, and maximize the creative and critical thinking skills that will benefit students for the rest of their lives and satisfy employer's demands of these skills to be developed.