The Motivation Factor

According to NBC news, there are 3 main motivating factors that human beings rely on. They are:

1. Extrinsic Motivation. This means doing something for the external rewards you'll receive. For example, a child named Maria earns money doing chores to buy herself a bicycle. Maria doesn't like chores, (who does?) but she wants the bicycle enough that she is willing to work for it. 

2. Intrinsic Motivation. This means doing something for an internal reward. Let's say, Maria has bought her bicycle and is having a hard time learning to ride it. She keeps practicing because she knows it will feel good to finally achieve her goal of learning how to ride. Eventually, she learns how to ride really well and thoroughly enjoys her feeling of accomplishment. 

3. Family Motivation. If extrinsic and intrinsic motivation don't quite cut it, there is another way to be compelled to do things. We often do things for people we love, especially our family. Imagine Maria is now a bicycle-riding pro and her little brother, Marco, wants to learn. Maria will teach Marco to ride and answer his questions because she loves him and wants to help him. 

At Mathnasium of Cottage Grove, we understand the powerful element of motivation. In fact, family-based motivation is usually what brings people to our door. Imagine a parent who wants to help his/her child be successful in math, that parent is using family motivation when they bring his/her student to Mathnasium. 

When our students begin at Mathnasium, we offer incentives to keep their motivation high. Some of our favorite extrinsic motivators are new games and toys. Our students can select a particular toy or game, and then work to earn it. (We offer a wide variety of incentives appealing to elementary, middle, and high school-aged students). We love the smiles and satisfaction that come when our students finally earn their prizes. Rewarding kids for their hard work makes their math journey even more fun!

A recent Harvard study from the Center on the Developing Child has found that once a child has had a good experience, that child will want to repeat the sequence again. The study explains that "We are motivated to repeat those experiences that make us feel good". So if your child is motivated to complete a hard task (learning a difficult math concept) and they accomplish it (mastering the concept at Mathnasium), that child will be very motivated to do it again (continue to work hard and learn new math concepts). Pretty motivating, right?

Let's get your child started today.