Module 1- Part 1 Reading Discussions....
As I have read some articles and skimmed through the others I have found myself wanting to go back and read through each one in parts and comment on them. So be ready for a few different blogs posts on my understanding of the readings for module 1.
Keller's article- "Motivational Design of Instruction"
This article goes through so many different ideas and how motivation is a difficult thing to define as well as how it is some what missing in a lot of theories and models. The difficulty comes in when deciding what motivation really means to instructional design. A big thing that jumped out to me was how most of us say the goal is to create effective and efficient instruction. I know that I always have that embedded into my head when I think about instructional design and for a good reason- BUT we are missing how motivation plays a role.
2 problems we face:
1.) First problem that is discussed is how we define things which has to do with what I talked about above. Assumptions that effective instruction means that motivation happened creates a mishap. In coaching we see this a lot. We may have a drill that when done correctly and efficient is seems to be that the girls were motivated. The problem is a drill can be done correctly but going through the motions and lack of effort can be seen. Motivation is the driving force in sports that we find to be the wild card or the one thing that can change an outcome, or increase/ decrease something that may be working.
2.) The second problem discussed is the lack of accurate measurement of motivation. Keller talks about how the also relates to the measurement of ability.
-"motivation is what a person will do"
- choices people make- goals, approach/avoid something, and effort
- " ability is what a person can do"
A point that comes across is the problem of measuring academic motivation. With direct measurements they will be able to focus more on the specific problems and how to change instructional technologies to assist in the motivational problems.
When thinking about all this what comes to mind is individual motivation. Each person is effected differently by their environment, extrinsic, and intrinsic factors. Not only that but we also have learned in past that we have different types of learners. The problem that I think arises as well in a academic setting, as well in other areas is the question of how to create instructional that will motivate everyone?
...Kellers chapter will continue
Hello Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteI love how you couched your response in the overarching goal of ID: to create effective and efficient instruction. Motivation does need to be taken into consideration when it comes to those goals. You raise two very important ‘problems.’ The first that if instruction is effective, it must also be motivational. But, what this also assumes is that the some of objectives of the instruction include a measure of motivation. Unless one includes motivational objectives that also include measures to ensure those objectives are achieved, we can’t now that. The second, how do we measure achievement of motivational objectives. Many students will comment that these measures are too subjective. They can be difficult to measure. They are, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. For example, for Math. Let’s say you come up with a measure at the start of the year to determine student interest and confidence in mathematics. Some of that would be self-report. What behavior changes could you look for? For some, like confidence, it could be looking at students desire to share with the class. Long term, do they choose to major in Math in college? Or take a college-level math class while still in HS?
:-)
rob
Hi Lindsay & Rob,
ReplyDeleteI think your point about including motivational objectives is interesting- I feel like this gets at the percentage of engage students within a lesson as well as those scoring at the mastery level on assessments. One of the ways I think motivation is increased is by the relevancy factors within the concepts being taught. How can the math being studied be connected to real world use of those same math concepts- getting students involved in teaching each the concepts is another strategy I like. This gives an immediate purpose to learning the concept- to teach classmates.