Dimension: Motivation to learn
Jutta Rump; Imke Buß; Janina Kaiser; Melanie Schiedhelm; Petra Schorat-Waly
"Learning motivation is generally understood as a person's willingness to engage actively, more or less permanently, and effectively with certain content areas in order to build knowledge and improve one's skills" (Müller 2006, p. 39). Research on motivation and motivation to learn has a long tradition. It deals with different forms of motivation (e.g., self-attribution and attribution of success, control, performance goals), motivational processes (feelings, self-control), or the role of the social environment (Shah and Gardner 2008). For motivation in higher education, individual interesting approaches are summarized below, but due to the breadth of the research field, they do not claim to be exhaustive. Basically, students are more motivated if the learning outcome is desirable to them and they see its achievement as realistic: "(1) the more they value the outcome and (2) the more they expect to achieve it" (Fiske 2008, p. 9).
Achievement goal theories address, among other things, why some students are highly engaged and others tend to avoid tasks that are difficult for them. The question of students' achievement motivation or engagement is relevant to many instructors because students sometimes differ greatly in this regard. Theories of achievement motivation (e.g., according to Atikson 1964) postulate that students examine their performance in comparison to other fellow students (performance goals or achievement motive) or against normative standards (mastery goals or subject interest) (Senko et al. 2008, p. 100; Viebahn 2008, p. 73 ff.). Thus, an important difference in learner motivation lies in the difference between achievement motive versus subject interest or, in other words, intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.
Intrinsically, i.e., motivated by subject interest, students primarily want to gain new knowledge and are interested in learning itself. For these students, it is important to receive regular feedback on their competence growth. Freedom for competence development in the course itself or through elective options enables these students to maintain their motivation and further develop their competences in a self-directed manner (Viebahn 2008, p. 75; Pfäffli 2005).
Students who are motivated extrinsically or by performance motives are less likely to associate the acquisition of competencies with a subject interest. Rather, learning and studying serve another goal (e.g., taking up a profession, social recognition, earning money). Since taking (successful) exams is important to them, they ask more frequently "What is being tested?" In order for them to experience success, their studies should offer subject challenges and provide regular performance feedback (Viebahn 2008, p. 75). However, performance feedback is also highly relevant for primarily intrinsically motivated students. Another area of motivation that is important for studying is the ability self-concept, which includes aspects such as subjective competence, performance-related self-confidence, self-efficacy, and expectations of success (for more on this, see Helmke and Schrader 2001). Students with a low ability self-concept need special support to build reliable basic skills and self-confidence, at least in the initial phase, through structured small-step instruction. If students cannot build self-efficacy, incentives and their own motivation cannot have their effect.
Literature
Atikson, J. W. (1964): An introduction to motivation. Princeton, New York: Van Nostrand.
Fiske, S. (2008): Core social motivations. In: J. Shah and W. Gardner (Eds.): Handbook of Motivation Science. New York: Guilford Press.
Helmke; Schrader (2001): Determinants of school performance. In: Rost (Ed.): Handwörterbuch Pädagogische Psychologie, 81-91: Psychologie Verlag Union.
Müller, F. (2006): Interest and learning. In: REPORT 1/2006 (29). Available online at www.die-bonn.de/id/3340, last checked 12/13/2015.
Pfäffli, B. (2005): Teaching at universities. A university didactics for building knowledge and competencies. Bern, Stuttgart, Vienna: Haupt Verlag.
Senko et al. (2008): Historical Perspectives and New Directions in the Achievement Goal Theory: Understanding the Effects of Mastery and Performance-Approach Goals. In: J. Shah and W. Gardner (Eds.): Handbook of Motivation Science. New York: Guilford Press.
Viebahn, P. (2008): Learning differences and social diversity in higher education: differential higher education didactics from a psychological perspective. Bielefeld: UVW Webler.
Citation
Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra (2017): Dimension: motivation to learn. In: Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra: Toolbox for good teaching in a diverse student body. Working Papers of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, No. 6. www.hwg-lu.de/arbeitspapiere
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