ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some basic information about motivation and emotions, and suggests steps that we can take to maximize our own motivation and learning. Optimal learning requires a partnership between teachers and learners; similarly, behavior that increases or decreases student motivation can come from instructors or students. The chapter discusses the obstacles to student success from each side of the partnership. When instructors’ expectations of students are unclear, student motivation suffers because without clear learning goals, students cannot effectively plan a course of action to meet those goals. Eric Hobson studied sources of positive and negative motivation among a population of students at a college of pharmacy.
