Four years ago, Professor Nic Weststrate offered several interactive workshops on academic motivation for Innis College students. The workshops, entitled “What Motivates You”, were held eight times over a two-year period and each session was met with overwhelming attendance and praise.

The workshops were developed with the help of the Innis College Registrar, Donald Boere, who pinpointed the biggest issues students face that Professor Weststrate could address in his workshops. This included concerns about getting into medical and graduate school, desires to

switch into a different program, distractions from studying, as well as several other anxieties that students face on a daily basis. Ultimately, all of these issues were related to motivation.

As an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a member of the Chicago Center for Practical Wisdom, Professor Weststrate has a respectable background in the topic of psychosocial development in adults. He was able to utilize motivational psychology to address these student concerns in the workshops. 

The result was a 90-minute workshop where students could learn the basic theories of motivation psychology, identify their motivators, and learn how these insights could help them academically and professionally.

Nearly every student that attended stayed for the duration of the workshop (a rare occurrence in most workshops of this length). Students noted in particular Professor Weststrate’s ability to create a welcoming environment, his friendliness, and his passion for the topic. “Great food and great speaker…didn’t look at my phone once,” said one student. Almost every student attendee said they would recommend these workshops to a friend.

A learning strategist heard of the workshops and reached out to the registrar. “I’ve heard extremely positive feedback…[The students] called the workshop enlightening—extremely high praise from this particular student. I hope the turnout was good—I think motivation is such a stumbling block for so many students and they would benefit from this excellent work[shop].”

This year, Professor Weststrate is returning to offer four sessions of his “What Motivates You?” workshop in March. The Innis Herald reached out to Professor Weststrate for an interview.

The Innis Herald: Have you always been interested in motivation? Is Innis the only place you’ve given these sessions or have you held these sessions elsewhere?

Nic Weststrate: Motivation has always fascinated me. I tend to be drawn to big questions such as why people do what they do, and not just in the academic context, but in many domains. This is probably why I turned to psychology during my undergraduate studies. I vividly remember learning about motivation in those early years, and realizing I could apply this new knowledge to my own practice as a student. From those courses, I learned lessons and developed habits that had a significant positive impact my educational experience. I want to help students make those same connections. Given that most research in psychology is conducted on samples of college and university students on North American campuses, we know a heck of a lot about this community of learners. In my workshop, I share key research findings about motivation and learning that can help students to be happy, healthy, and successful at university. I’ve included elements of this session in courses I’ve taught to undergraduate students and to students in teacher training programs. Facilitating these sessions at Innis allows me to bring this message to a broader audience, which I am very thankful for.

IH: Why do you think students should go to these sessions?

NW: My goal in offering these sessions is to provide students with an opportunity to self-reflect on their reasons for being where they are today—at the University of Toronto, enrolled in a particular program, and pursuing a particular career. Students make these decisions for many different reasons—curiosity, enjoyment, passion, necessity, money, social status, parental pressure, etc. From a motivational perspective, these reasons are not all equal. In the language of motivational psychology, some of these reasons are extrinsic (i.e., learning as a means to some other end, like getting a high-paying job) and others intrinsic (i.e., learning as an end in itself, because, for example, learning itself is enjoyable). It’s important for students to understand how their motivational orientation toward their studies is connected to their well-being and academic success. By now, there is overwhelming evidence indicating that intrinsically motivated students are happier, healthier, and more successful than others. 

Any academic advisor or personal counsellor will tell you that many students find themselves slogging through school, studying something that at some point for some reason seemed appealing to them, but maybe not anymore. Many of those decisions were made years before attending university, with little information, and maybe even by someone else. Also, interests change and new information becomes available that might shift a student’s career pathway. I’m here to encourage students to ask themselves, maybe for the first time, why they are doing what they’re doing. Depending on the answer to that question, it might be time for some students to make a small or big change. In fact, the change might simply be in terms of how they make meaning of their academic experience. Students sometimes fail to realize that motivation is often just a matter of perspective, and the point of this session is to help students shift their perspective in a positive direction. 

Just one more thought: Part of my motivation for facilitating workshops on motivation is that I’m discouraged by the narrow definition of success that university systems tend to overvalue, because such a definition of success undermines authentic motivation. Success is all too often defined in terms of how students perform on tests rather than on how well students have actually learned or developed. Those aren’t always the same thing. In my sessions, I encourage students to question what success means and to define it for themselves, while still meeting conventional standards of success that might be important for other reasons (e.g., maintaining a financial award, getting into graduate school). 

IH: What aspects of your sessions do you think are the reason for its overwhelming success among students?

NW: Ultimately, this session empowers students. It gives them permission to ask big questions they may not have thought to ask before. It also provides information and strategies that students can implement in their daily lives to promote their satisfaction and success at university. In these research-informed workshops, the focus is squarely on the students in the room, not on some distantly removed theory, which I think students appreciate. 

IH: If students only remembered one thing [from your sessions], what do you hope they take away?

NW: My message, in oversimplified terms and with plenty of caveats, is: The secret to academic success is loving what you study. If you don’t love it, either change what you study or find a way to value what you study for reasons that emanate from your own authentic sense of self, not because it makes other people happy or will help you to achieve some external reward, like status or a high-paying job. So many students are looking to the horizon, to what comes next after university. I fear that those students are missing out on the incredible joy that can come from learning and developing in the now, while at university. What students don’t realize is that enjoying the now might actually make them more competitive or better prepared for what comes next. 

IH: What’s one word of advice you have for students that won’t be able to attend your sessions?

NW: My advice would be this: Despite all of the pressure to perform and achieve, don’t forget that learning can be fun. You pay a lot of money for your education, so you should walk away with something more than just good grades. Find a way to fall in love with what you’re learning. If what you’re learning is unlovable, then make a change. That sounds like a bad romance to me.

As it is approaching the time of year for students to begin thinking about summer jobs, internships, and graduation plans (for those who haven’t already started), Professor Weststrate’s workshop offers a critical moment of reflection and empowers students to make the best decisions for themselves. 

The upcoming “What Motivates You?” workshops will be held at the Innis Events Room on March 10, 16, and 18 at 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM. A session on March 13 will be held at 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM. Each session is free of charge and includes a meal. You can pre-register at https://innis.utoronto.ca/what-motivates-you.