The Connection between Mindfulness and Intrinsic Motivation

Can purposefully teaching students to be more mindfulopen to novelty, attentive of distinctions, considerate of contexts, appreciative of multiple perspectives, and focused on the present result in a higher level of student motivation, specifically intrinsic motivation? Being more mindful can open communication, reduce situation anxiety, and increase enjoyment of learning activities, which, in turn, can set the stage for increased effort and interest in activities/content simply for the sake of doing and learning. The connection between mindfulness and intrinsic motivation has relevance to all students, particularly those who are disadvantaged in some way, whether that disadvantage be related to academic deficiencies or social/economic circumstances such as poverty. This paper presents an analysis of existing works to present evidence for a direct connection between mindfulness and intrinsic motivation and offers specific mindful strategies that could be used in a classroom to increase students\u27 intrinsic motivation