Psychometric Testing of a Value-Achievement-Cost Motivation Survey for 12th Grade Health Sciences Students for Use in Simulation-Based-Games

Abstract

Background. There is a gap in our understanding of the determinants of individual student variation of perceived cost longitudinally in high-effort educational activities within self-selected, context-specific academic domains using the Expectancy-Value framework. At present, an instrument to conduct such research on the motivational dynamics of students who choose to persist in high cost behaviors to achieve mastery in health sciences multi-level simulation-based-games is lacking. Method. In this study, a 10-construct, 46-item Value-Achievement-Cost (VAC) student motivation survey was administered on two separate occasions to 44 12th grade students who had self-selected to participate in a year-long, dual enrollment, health-sciences, Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. The VAC survey was used to measure motivation associated with science in general, health sector science learning, and playing health sciences-related games. Results. Convergent validity was established in five of the ten constructs by comparing the α coefficients of the modified 10-construct, 46-item VAC survey compared to three source instruments previously tested in dissimilar STEM student populations. Internal consistency for each of the 10 VAC survey constructs were strong with α coefficients between 0.82 and 0.90. The VAC survey exhibited reliability between the two administration timepoints with statistically significant nonparametric correlation coefficients in forty-four of the 46-items tested displaying strong monotonic relationships between 0.30 and 0.79. Conclusion. This study has provided the psychometric evidence needed so that the VAC survey can be confidently used to assess cost-related motivational dynamics in longitudinal health science multi-level simulation-based-games. An experimental intervention correlating VAC survey measures with health-science students’ achievement in a simulation-based, multi-level game is proposed. Students’ value, achievement, and cost motivation, related to level achievement, may lead to a better understanding of which health-science game design elements encourage learners to independently persist to mastery.