One theoretical framework I am interested in including in my applied research project is motivational theory. Key theoretical concepts of motivational theory examine the individual’s beliefs and contextual factors that influence their motivation or impetus to learn (Park, 2018). Researchers have studied motivation from various perspectives, and I am interested in motivational theory because of the many ways that researchers interpret motivational theory within their research context. The Keller’s Arcs model of motivational theory includes the four categories: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. The first category states that the learner’s attention is required before any learning can take place. Another common motivational theory called self-determination theory explores the two orientations of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Park, 2018).
One topic I am interested in is how motivational theory relates to engagement theory. Engagement theory postulates that students that are engaged in learning have more success in learning (Kearsley et al, 1998). I view engagement theory and motivational theory as closely related, and the question I have is how to apply one or the other within a research context. Engagement is a key factor in both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and since most learning activities are not intrinsically interesting to students (Park, 2018), I view engagement as a strong component of learning. Engagement is also incredibly similar to attention, a pillar of the Keller’s Arcs model.
References
Kearsley, G. & Shneiderman, B. (1998). Engagement theory: A framework for technology-based teaching and learning. Educational Technology, 38(5), 20-23
Park, S. (2018). Motivation Theories and Instructional Design. In West, R (Ed.), Foundations of learning and instructional design technology: Historical roots and current trends. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/lidtfoundations&nav_pos=0&nav_pos=0
Hi Emma, interesting theoretical framework to explore. I mentioned how I have been finding, over the MALAT program, various theoretical models that overlapped with one another, like a Vinn diagram. When you said that you were looking into the links between motivation and engagement, I started to look into this myself. I was curious (yes, let’s toss in another theory, shall we) about how cognitive load (theory) could be applied to these two theories. Could avoiding the overloading of learners maybe aid in motivating and ultimately engaging them? Thank you for getting me thinking on this! Good luck !
Thanks for these thoughts Emma. Engagement in students is so hard to influence. I’ve seen variations in levels of engagement in the classroom over the years that I’ve been facilitating and I’ve always been curious about how to influence it.
I love how Ash pointed out the overlap between your two theory ideas. Do you think there’s a way of using both of the theories in your ARP?
Such interesting options, Emma! I don’t think you can go wrong with either engagement or motivation theory, and I fully agree that there is overlap between many of the theories we have touched on. I appreciate the broad applicability of engagement theory and I believe it would be a great fit for your research.
I found myself struggling to commit to just one theory myself, but ultimately, I realized that any of those I had shortlisted would be valuable, and I went with the one I was most familiar with. I also tried to picture which had the greatest potential to guide and support my research. Maybe that will help if you’re still deciding.
I agree that engagement and or motivation theory run quite close to one another. Keller’s first category – learner’s attention is needed for learning to take place – seems like an obvious element. However, in the context of teaching and learning, it is such a critical piece and sometimes it is not present.
I believe, we can be too close to our teaching methods/content or devoted to a line of thought or way of knowledge sharing that we forget about our learner.
When I see a student sleeping in my class I pause for a moment and wonder – am I that boring? I quickly answer myself (excuse myself!) by saying – no, these students run crazy hours shooting and editing a variety of assignments, non stop until winter break. It’s not me. They’re actually tired!
Katia –
Hi Emma,
I absolutely love your research question and topic on humour and I thing both your chosen theories are the great one to support your research in the field. Humour can certainly support engagement (just finished a client project using humour at the core of the learning to engage the group), but I found it was a great motivator to pursue learning as well. Good luck with the assignment 2! – Stephanie