Exploring how high school students experience intrinsically motivating elements in a science communication lecture on research in chemistry

Abstract

ABSTRACT Motivation is a key aspect of learning, and the degree of motivation is primarily dependent on the environment in which the learning process takes place. This article employs a museum-based framework to study the design of intrinsically motivating science communication lectures. The analysis was conducted based on the motivational components of the Selinda Model of Visitor Learning (SMVL) proposed by Perry [Perry, D. L. (2012). What makes learning fun?: Principles for the design of intrinsically motivating museum exhibits. Altamira Press]. Using qualitative and quantitative analytical techniques, this study examines the experience of high school students regarding intrinsically motivating elements during their participation in science communication lectures on Chemistry research in Brazil. Two hundred and fifty-eight high school students from six public schools took part in this study, which was primarily based on their visit to a public university. The results obtained showed that the students had a positive perception about the factors that make a lecture intrinsically rewarding and helped identify the specific elements that enhanced students’ motivation. Considering that this is the first attempt to apply the SMVL framework in Brazil, the findings suggest that interactive lectures are an important strategic tool that researchers can use to communicate science and their scientific research to the people outside the confines of the university environment and beyond the exchanges that occur between their peers.