3.1 What is motivation?

“Motivation is probably the most important factor that educators can target in order to improve learning” (Olson, 1997). The term motivation derives from the Latin verb movere, which means to move, so it is possible to define motivation as the process that moves individuals to some particular goal. This process includes a number of forces, such as cognitive, emotional, biological and social ones. Motivational theories attempt to answer questions about what exactly gets individuals moving and toward what activities or tasks.