Intensifying the intrinsic motivation by differentiating the teaching strategies in higher education

Abstract

Learning motivation represents one of the most important predictors of academic achievement in higher education. In this empirical study, we have implemented a formative program to improve the university students’ academic achievement and their intrinsic learning motivation. To fully use their intellectual potential, students were treated according to their learning style, throughout one academic year. When we considered the within-subject design, both intrinsic motivation and academic achievement significantly increased at the end of the study. Only intrinsic motivation proved to be significantly higher for the between-subject comparison. Because our formative program proved to have a significant impact on students’ learning motivation, we recommend differentiated teaching strategies to improve academic achievement in higher education.