Motivation in Instructional Settings

As I read this week’s readings, and watch the video lesson, one thought kept running through my head.  Learners (and people in general) seem to live by an “Economy of Effort” generalization, applying their time and energy to tasks or other functions which they believe will benefit them, interest them, or be necessary to their survival.  This is where motivation comes into play in designing instruction- designers ultimately want their product to be used and lead to the successful education of the learners.  As such, designers must keep in mind the following concepts in developing the training (these were derived from a combination of Keller and Burkman (1993) and Dr. Glazewski’s online presentation:

•  Selective Attention of the learner
• What information will they use, and what will they use it for
• What are they interested in
•  What drives the learner
• What are the learning goals
•  What does the learner need to know
• What our resources
• What are our constraints
• Who are the learners

Clearly, the designer must take a keen interest in knowing the intended audience.  But a designers sphere of influence is much broader- a key take away from this week’s lesson is that motivation does not rest solely with the learner; Instructional Designers can play a significant role in inspiring motivation through design and content decisions.  As Keller and Burkman (1993) stated in the very introduction to their article, motivational factors fall into two categories:

• Motivating the student: understanding motivational factors internal to the student
• Design elements which can stimulate attention, and increase learner awareness of how the information fits their motivations

There is some overlap between these two factors, especially in using learning theories such as Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, self-efficacy, learner control, etc.  (See Epilogue below)  

As a novice designer (novice may actually be giving myself too much credit), I am borderline overwhelmed with the actual design elements, and the prescriptions/principles thereof that exist for effective design.  These can be leveraged to help engage an otherwise unmotivated learner, both in the way the material is presented (why this is important) and the subliminal (avoiding overwhelming designs that deter learners).

The 4 factors which Dr. Glazewski discussed (Interaction, Engagement, Structure, Complexity) each exist on a sliding scale that are independently adjusted given the specific scenario.  Those factors dictate the content, which in turn dictates the format.  As the format comes together, tools such as font, color, layout, graphics, photos, text guidelines (10-12 words per line, etc.), writing style, and so on, each vary on their own sliding scale. Even this week’s and last week’s lesson had some overlap, but variations as well.  

I suspect that this is only the tip of the iceberg, and am wondering if there is some sort of design checklist or flowchart that can help budding designers with quick references as to commonly accepted or recommended design principles for various situations.  I might try to put one together on my own, but if anyone has any useful links, I would be grateful!

-Bryan

Epilogue

We live in a revolutionary time in which many of the learner centered design elements, such as learner control, pacing, difficulty level, etc. no longer must be designed to fit the masses, though that is prevalent in many educational and professional training sessions.  But web access, online training, and other digital resources have provided tools to learners to have more control over their learning experience.  This really relies on the learners own motivation.  In my experience with these tools, because there are no requirements for the audience to engage in learning in these forums, the design must be effective in maintaining the learners attention.  A few free examples that come to mind are:

•  Khan Academy:  http://www.khanacademy.org  (Wide array of subjects)
•  LiveMocha:  http://www.livemocha.com (Language Learning)
• 43 Things: http://www.43things.com (Goal Setting)

(These are just a few, there are hundreds more, and even more if you are willing to pay)