Four-phase Model Of Interest Development Research Articles

“Was that interesting?” & “Does it matter?”: The implications of on-task learning experiences

Interest is a critical fuel for and outcome of learning. Building on and refocusing the Four-Phase Model of interest development, this study provides a window into the ecology of the learning experience and interest it generates. This research uses a novel mobile assessment platform to test learning experiences in three university courses (Organic chemistry, biochemistry, and introduction to physics for non-majors) and pilots a micro-analytic approach to capturing these experiences during lectures/tutorials. Students' interest in tasks, a single class, and the domain of study were collected with short surveys through an online mobile platform during class, immediately following task experiences. Latent variance-based modelling suggested strong forward connections between interest in most tasks. The connections between prior knowledge and interest with a future interest in course tasks varied strongly and were dependent on the nature of the tasks. The nuance of these connections and their implications for mobile assessment are discussed.

What if becoming information literate were an adventure?

What if becoming information literate were an adventure? This question was posed in a keynote for the Creating Knowledge Conference 2021. It was answered in a thought piece by examining adventure-based ways to prepare students to be information literate adults through the principles and mechanisms that people find arousing and pleasurable and that are not classically a part of university pedagogy. How might these mechanisms be used to engage students more in the IL learning process and to encourage them to pursue being an information literate person as a lifelong endeavor? Adventure is presented as an experience that is situated, soft or hard, emotionally charged, challenging and rewarding. The risk aspect of adventure, often linked to danger, is also examined. Some of the dangers that exist in the management of information are explored (e.g., traps in sharing practices, seductive novelty and bypassing reason) as well as the personal costs of not managing information literacy well. How we nevertheless find danger alluring is explained in terms of arousal, as well as how we navigate zones of danger and delight with the help of protective frames. In order to arouse and sustain student engagement in becoming information literate adults, the value of interest is also introduced with the four-phase model of interest development. Suggestions for where to get started in translating the mechanisms of adventure, danger and interest into theoretically motivated and enjoyable teaching in order to support student growth as lifelong information literate adults are woven into the text for reflection.

From Personal to Empirical Interests in the Light of the Four‑Phase Model by Suzanne D. Hidii and Ann K. Renninger and Selected Narratives of Qualitative Research Participants

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The scientific aim of the article is to improve understanding of the process of developing interests from personal to empirical ones with reference to the four-phase model of interest development by Suzanne D. Hidi and Ann K. Renninger.
 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The research problem is included in the question: What is the process of the development of interests from personal to empirical ones with reference to the model of interest development by Suzanne D. Hidi and Ann K. Renninger in the light of selected narratives of qualitative research participants? The research method is the method of biographical narrative analysis: thematic analysis of the collected material (Riessman, 2008) with the help of a digression-reflective essay.
 THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The research process was theoretical-cognitive and empirical in nature. The first step was developing theoretical foundations for understanding the problem. Then, we focused on the concept of interests according to the four-phase model of interest development by Suzanne D. Hidi and Ann K. Renninger. The next stage was the analysis and interpretation of the collected research material with the use of the narrative technique called a reflective-digression essay. The last step was drawing conclusions and suggesting postulates.
 RESEARCH RESULTS: The analysis of the collected material showed the importance of the development of personal interests for professional development. The stages of development of these interests proceed in different ways, but individual (personal) interests are explored in an interdisciplinary dimension, which facilitates personal and social development of a human being.
 CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: There is a need to correlate the above-mentioned interests, which may stimulate the development of all educational entities remaining in specific interpersonal relationships. Therefore, their specific features in the individualization of the educational process, especially at the academic level, should be reflected in educational curricula.

The Influence of Comprehensibility on Interest and Comprehension

Abstract. Comprehensibility (readability) is understood as the ease with which a certain reader can conduct the processes needed to comprehend a certain text in a certain situation. Comprehensibility is a special form of fluency and has been shown to have a considerable influence on comprehension. Based on fluency theory and the four-phase model of interest development, hypotheses are derived regarding the positive influence of comprehensibility on comprehension, interestingness, and interest. A study with N = 302 university students and 15 texts showed substantial effects of comprehensibility on all dependent variables, regardless of which of three instruments was used to assess comprehensibility: one of two comprehensibility questionnaires or the LIX readability formula. The results highlight the importance of fluency for the design of learning materials.

Here’s the TRIQ: The Tromsø Interest Questionnaire Based on the Four-Phase Model of Interest Development

The Tromsø Interest Questionnaire (TRIQ) is the first suite of self-report subscales designed for focused investigations on how interest is experienced in relation to Hidi and Renninger’s four-phase model of interest development. In response to the plethora of varied interest measures that already exist in terms of theoretical grounding, form, and tested quality, the TRIQ subscales were designed with a consistent form to measure general interest, situation dependence, positive affect, competence level, competence aspirations, meaningfulness, and self-regulation answered in relation to some object of interest. Two studies testing the subscales’ performance using different objects of interest (self-chosen “object-general,” and prespecified “object-specific”) provide evidence of the subscales’ internal consistency, temporal reliability, and phase-distinguishing validity. Patterns across the two studies demonstrate that the TRIQ is a sufficiently reliable and valid domain-tailorable tool that is particularly effective at distinguishing phase 1 (triggered situational) from phase 4 (well-developed individual) interest. The findings raise interesting questions for further investigation about the distinction and distance between all interest phases, the push-pull factors that influence how interests evolve and additional subscales to add to the suite.

PODCASTS E O INTERESSE PELAS CIÊNCIAS

Este artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa a respeito do interesse pelas ciências e a contribuição de podcasts de divulgação científica para o desenvolvimento desse interesse. As pessoas que participaram como depoentes para a realização desta investigação eram consumidores de alguns podcasts e seus relatos foram obtidos por meio da resposta a questionários online com questões de múltiplas escolhas e dissertativas, divulgadas nos podcasts e em seus websites e nas redes sociais, pelos pesquisadores. Os dados foram analisados segundo os procedimentos da Análise Textual Discursiva, fazendo uso do Modelo de Quatro Fases de Desenvolvimento do Interesse (MDI) adaptado e assumido por categorias a priori. Após o movimento analítico foi possível identificar nas declarações dos respondentes: níveis diferentes de interesse pelas ciências; a relação entre os podcasts de divulgação científica e o desenvolvimento do interesse pelas ciências; algumas características que tornam estes podcasts atraentes para o público. As análises ainda mostraram que, para muitos dos casos em que o interesse pelas ciências era evidente, os podcasts tiveram papel importante na intensificação do interesse e em decisões tomadas por esses sujeitos em relação à profissão a ser escolhida e à formação relacionada aos conteúdos dos podcasts.

Preservice teachers’ ideas about how to enhance pupils’ long-term interest in science

ABSTRACTBackground: The four-phase model of interest development is a widely accepted theoretical perspective on the development of long-term interest. Our future teachers will be faced with the task of developing their students’ long-term interest in science. Yet it is not known whether they have workable ideas for how to achieve this.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify preservice teachers’ ideas about how to increase students’ long-term interest in science.Sample: The participants were 235 preservice primary teachers and 33 preservice secondary science teachers.Design and Methods: Data collection was by questionnaire, interview and classroom observations.Results: It was found that participants in both primary and secondary groups had very similar ideas about how to develop pupils’ long-term interest in science. These ideas mainly involved the use of hands-on activities, making science relevant, and using student-centred strategies or electronic media to make lessons fun and to enhance engagement. These can be interpreted as representing sources of situational interest (i.e. short-term interest arousal). These ideas broadly parallel the current theory on interest development, such that long-term individual interest is thought to develop from repeated experiences of short-term, situational interest.Conclusion: The participants’ ideas in this study were intuitive, because they were not derived from an understanding of theory, but rather from their personal experiences of interest arousal at university, school and practicum. Nevertheless, their ideas were workable for a practitioner, because they broadly paralleled current theory on interest development.

Achieving digital inclusion of older adults through interest-driven curriculums

One outcome of increased life expectancy is that older adults are leading active lives in their third age as they seize opportunities to learn new skills, pursue new interests and hobbies to challenge themselves. However, there are many misconceptions about older adults’ capabilities and aspirations, especially their attitudes towards technology. They are often misunderstood and seen to lack interest and motivation in the use of technology. Thus, this article examines interest-driven curriculums in order to achieve digital inclusion for older adults. Investigation methodology into this dilemma was best served with a mixed methods approach because, to date, there has been very little research about how technology could support older adults’ interests. The majority of the existing studies consulted were focused on school children in a classroom setting. Older adults can differ greatly in their general background and level of technical experience and knowledge. Consequently, it would be very difficult to conduct quantitative research with control groups to investigate single variables. In compensation, 131 older adults, five staff members and eight teachers participated in this study. Qualitative methods such as observations and interviews (one-on-one and focus group) provided a deeper insight into teachers’ experiences and teaching. Older adults were not always able to articulate their attitudes and problems with technology and consequently, observations were often a more effective means of data gathering. Finally, an Action Research approach was taken to trialling the concepts developed in the course of the investigation. This research comprised of four studies looked at expanding and extending on The Four-Phase Model of Interest Development by Hidi and Renninger (2006). The results show that when older adults are taught according to requests based on their pre-existing interests, it encourages long-term engagement of technology and ability to integrate technology into their everyday lives, thereby achieving digital inclusion amongst older adults.

Making Learning Personally Meaningful: A New Framework for Relevance Research

ABSTRACTPersonal relevance goes by many names in the motivation literature, stemming from a number of theoretical frameworks. Currently these lines of research are being conducted in parallel with little synthesis across them, perhaps because there is no unifying definition of the relevance construct within which this research can be situated. In this paper we propose a new framework to synthesize existing research on relevance and provide a common platform for researchers to communicate and collaborate. In light of this new framework we review the role of relevance in three prominent theories in the motivation literature: the four-phase model of interest development, expectancy-value theory, and self-determination theory. We then explore eight relevance constructs commonly used in the literature and the educational interventions that derive from them. Finally, we offer a synthesis of these constructs and suggest some directions for future research.

Interest development: Arousing situational interest affects the growth trajectory of individual interest

Interest has become a central topic in the educational-psychology literature and Hidi and Renninger’s (2006) four-phase model of interest development is its most recent manifestation. However, this model presently enjoys only limited empirical support. To contribute to our understanding of how individual interest in a subject develops in learners, two studies were conducted with primary school science students. The first study (N=187) tested the assumption that repeated arousal of situational interest affects the growth of individual interest. Latent growth curve modeling was applied and the results suggest that the arousal of situational interest has a positive effect on the development of individual interest and significantly influences its growth trajectory. The second study tested the assumption that engaging students with interest-provoking didactic stimuli, such as problems, is critical to triggering situational interest and increasing individual interest. To test this assumption, four classes of primary school students (N=129) were randomly assigned to two conditions in a quasi-experimental setup. The treatment condition received four situational-interest-inducing science problems as part of a course whereas the control condition did not, all other things being equal. The results of latent growth curve modeling revealed that only the group receiving problems experienced repeated arousal of situational interest and its related growth in individual interest. Implications for, and amendments to, the four-phase model of interest development are proposed.

Towards an Understanding of Interest Development: Challenges and Opportunities for Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools

Many studies have examined the psychology of interest and interest development, with these studies spanning various fields such as educational psychology, personality development, and vocational guidance. However, the pragmatic benefit of being able to accurately measure interests has often overshadowed the broader potential benefits of research into interest development. Drawing from research across different fields, this article summarises the historical evolution of research into interest development, culminating with the four-phase model of interest development as advanced by Hidi and Renninger (2006). It proceeds to examine the impact of this research on the work of psychologists and counsellors in schools. Finally, this article concludes by problematising the current dominance of assessment services and the use of interest inventories, while exploring potential opportunities to better support student engagement through a broader understanding of interest development.

Interest Matters

Interest is a powerful motivational process that energizes learning, guides academic and career trajectories, and is essential to academic success. Interest is both a psychological state of attention and affect toward a particular object or topic, and an enduring predisposition to reengage over time. Integrating these two definitions, the four-phase model of interest development guides interventions that promote interest and capitalize on existing interests. Four interest-enhancing interventions seem useful: attention-getting settings, contexts evoking prior individual interest, problem-based learning, and enhancing utility value. Promoting interest can contribute to a more engaged, motivated, learning experience for students.

How situational is situational interest? Investigating the longitudinal structure of situational interest

Interest theory adopts a person-in-context perspective. In this view, a momentary experience of interest is shaped by environmental circumstances and stable personal preferences. According to the Four-Phase Model of Interest Development, environmental factors are important in defining the concept of situational interest (SI). This study investigates this assumption. Repeated measurements of SI collected from a sample of 327 high school students during problem-based learning activities were analyzed using Latent-State Trait (LST) theory. LST models allow identification of situation-specific and consistent components in repeated measurements. Results show that situation-specific effects had a strong influence on self-reported SI. Further analysis revealed that substantial variance components in SI were unconfounded with preexisting individual interest. Based on these two criteria, the findings support defining the psychological state of interest as “situational interest”.

Student engagement with science in early adolescence: The contribution of enjoyment to students’ continuing interest in learning about science

Recent research has expanded understanding of the contribution of emotions to student engagement and achievement. Achievement emotions can be conceptualized as general ways of responding to achievement settings or specific emotional states aroused during a specific learning activity. Emotion processes can be distinguished as positive or negative, activating or deactivating. Using data from an international survey of science achievement (PISA 2006; N > 400,000 15-year-old students from 57 countries), relations between the positive, activating achievement emotion of enjoyment and a number of variables that combine with enjoyment to define students’ engagement with learning science are examined. Previously, we reported that enjoyment is central to relations between interest in science, value and knowledge, and students’ reported current and future engagement. The embedded attitudinal items from PISA 2006 allow testing of how enjoyment contributes to a more direct measure of engagement with science by assessing students’ interest in finding out more about the specific topics used to measure their science achievement. In this investigation, structural equation modeling is used to test predictions based on Hidi and Renninger’s (2006) four-phase model of interest development, and Pekrun’s (2006) control-value theory of achievement emotions.

The Four-Phase Model of Interest Development

Building on and extending existing research, this article proposes a 4-phase model of interest development. The model describes 4 phases in the development and deepening of learner interest: triggered situational interest, maintained situational interest, emerging (less-developed) individual interest, and well-developed individual interest. Affective as well as cognitive factors are considered. Educational implications of the proposed model are identified.