Fostering the Integration of Extrinsic Motivation in an Online Graduate Nursing Education Course

Research indicates that academic performance is increased when intrinsic factors motivate students. Although students may be intrinsically motivated to attend a graduate program, not all topics will be inherently interesting, leaving students to rely on extrinsic factors for motivation. This article proposes that educators use Ryan and Deci's organismic integration theory to design assignments that foster the integration of extrinsic motivation. We describe how a virtual poster session assignment was created in an online nursing education course using the principles of organismic integration theory.