Life beyond Grades: Designing College Courses to Promote Intrinsic Motivation

This book raises the question of whether or not educators can promote intrinsic motivation among college students when they seem overwhelmingly focused on grades. Indeed, can there be life beyond grades? The answer is 'Yes'. A love of learning can coexist, even thrive, in the face of competing pressures from grades. Drawing on recent, ground-breaking classroom research, the authors articulate a new understanding of the causes of the stalemate between intrinsic and external motivation, so that a reconciliation between them can be achieved. Then the authors apply a powerful set of motivational and pedagogical principles to lay out a step-by-step blueprint for designing and teaching college courses that promote intrinsic motivation as a primary educational goal in its own right, above and beyond knowledge and skill acquisition. This practical blueprint draws on authentic case study examples from a variety of subject-matter disciplines.

Martin V. Covington is Professor of the Graduate School (Psychology Department), University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of eight books, and is the senior author of the Productive Thinking Program, a school-based instructional curriculum designed to teach effective problem-solving techniques to upper-elementary and middle-school grades.

Linda M. von Hoene is Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Professional Development and Director of the Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Teaching and Resource Center at the University of California, Berkeley. She co-directs Berkeley's Summer Institute for Preparing Future Faculty and Berkeley's Student Mentoring and Research Teams (SMART).

Dominic J. Voge is Associate Director of Princeton University's McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning where he leads the undergraduate learning program and conducts faculty development. He was awarded the K. Patricia Cross Leadership award (American Association of Colleges and Universities) among other accolades.