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Motivation
Dichev and Dicheva have defined motivation as, “the actual driving force which makes individuals want to do something and helps them continue doing it” (Dichev & Dicheva, 2017). Motivation plays a major role in adult learning, particularly for learners who do not struggle with the knowledge or skills. Dirksen made an interesting point in Chapter 2 of her book (Dirksen, 2015, p. 41) by emphasizing the importance of getting out of the way of bright learners so that they can progress quickly. However, those instructions seem to be well suited only for motivated learners. What can instructors do to remove barriers for learners who have the knowledge and skills but are not intrinsically motivated to learn?
Lepper's Instructional Design Principles
Lepper’s Instructional Design Principles for intrinsic motivation state that including areas of inconsistency or incompleteness in lessons can arouse curiosity in learners. When applying this to my own learning experiences, I feel that if the ‘areas of incompleteness’ in a lesson are too big, I lose interest. Berlyne (as cited in Malone, 1981) has also stated, “there are limits to the amount of complexity people find interesting” (p. 338). It would be similar for learners who begin to feel disengaged due to significant gaps in their understanding. As instructors, we should maintain the right balance to ensure that the efforts to increase motivation do not become counterproductive.
Taxonomy of Intrinsic Motivation
Malone and Lepper (1987) listed cooperation, competition, and recognition as three interpersonal tools for motivation. According to Malone and Lepper (1987), peer recognition does not fall under intrinsic or extrinsic motivation but rather under the title of interpersonal motivation. I would argue that peer recognition creates intrinsic motivation for learners since it gives learners a sense of accomplishment which motivates them to work harder for continued recognition. Malone and Lepper (1987) also advocated including choice and power in learning. As an adult learner, this would definitely increase my motivation. True power is revealed when real choices are offered in learning. This could be flexibility in submission deadlines or allowing a variety of final products, but it needs to be something that adult learners choose independently. It should allow learners to make real impacts in their own lives, which is eventually the goal of learning. Malone & Lepper (1987) seemed to have figured this out a long time ago in their research when they stated, “creating environments where student actions have powerful effects…..have particularly potent effects on subsequent motivation” (p.239). We need to stop using norm-based assessments and comparable artifacts for assessing student learning to encourage the motivational cycle and increase engagement in the learning process.
References
Chapter 3: Theories behind gamification of learning and instruction. [Presentation file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~rguo/2017_Spring/CGDD4303/Slides/Chapter_3.pdf
Dichev, C., & Dicheva, D. (2017). Gamifying education: what is known, what is believed and what remains uncertain: a critical review. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education 14 (9). DOI: 10.1186/s41239-017-0042-5
Dirksen, J. (2015). Design for how people learn (2nd Ed.). Berkeley, CA: New Riders.
Malone, T. W. (1981). Toward a theory of intrinsically motivating instruction. Cognitive
Science 5 (4). DOI: 10.1207/s15516709cog0504_2
Malone, T. W. & Lepper, M. R. (1987). Make learning fun: A taxonomy of intrinsic motivations for learning. In Snow & Farr (Ed. 3), Aptitude, learning, and instruction: Conative and affective