Intrinsic Motivation For Learning Research Articles

A comprehensive assessment of self-leadership among students in China’s ethnic regions: insights and implications for higher education

ABSTRACT In modern society, individuals are granted greater autonomy, amplifying the significance of self-leadership. The cultivation of self-leadership stands as a pivotal determinant in the holistic development of college students. Despite its importance, higher education’s role in fostering self-leadership has been comparatively overlooked, with empirical examinations using validated models in this domain remaining scarce. This research delves into the self-leadership attributes of students in Chinese ethnic region universities, utilizing the College Student Self-leadership Assessment (CSSA) and enriching the study with semi-structured interviews with students and educators. Drawing on responses from 2,578 participants across thirteen ethnic region universities in China, and insights gleaned from interviews, students’ self-leadership was evaluated across nine dimensions. The results illuminated that students generally exhibited commendable self-leadership attributes, particularly excelling in value selection and self-perception. Nevertheless, deficiencies were noted in their intrinsic learning motivation, goal management, and independent decision-making. Additionally, significant variances in self-leadership were detected across variables such as gender, grade and institutional tiers. These findings underscores the essential need for educational strategies that strengthen students’ self-leadership. Key recommendations involve adopting project-based learning that incorporates cultural engagement, and developing interdisciplinary curricula, which together enhance student autonomy and community involvement, thereby fostering a robust self-leadership foundation. This study provides key insights into pedagogical and assessment methods to develop self-leadership among students, filling a crucial gap in higher education research, especially in ethnic region universities, and underscores the need for specialized support for their developmental needs.

A study on the influence of learning space on students' intrinsic learning motivation

AbstractFollowing the continuous reform and innovation of classroom teaching methods and pedagogy in higher education, the support provided by traditional classrooms for new classes seems to be insufficient. Empirical exploration into the impact of learning spaces on student learning motivation, particularly in terms of how and to what extent, has been limited. This study focuses on student intrinsic learning motivation as the dependent variable and constructs an influence model incorporating factors such as learning space, pedagogy and classroom relationships. A comparative analysis is conducted to assess the differential influence between two learning space types: active learning spaces and traditional classrooms. Utilizing a convenience sampling method, students engaged in coursework at University A's ‘Future Learning Experience Center’ and traditional multimedia learning spaces over three academic terms were selected. Differential tests were performed on data collected from various learning environment types, and the impact of learning space, teaching methods and social relationships on students' intrinsic learning motivation was validated using structural equation modelling. Results indicate that scores in the dimensions of learning space, teacher–student relationships, student–student relationships and student intrinsic learning motivation were significantly higher in the active learning space compared to traditional classrooms. Surprisingly, learning space exhibited no significant direct effect on student intrinsic learning motivation but demonstrated a significant indirect effect. The influencing factors model presented in this study sheds light on the type of learning space's impact on student intrinsic learning motivation, offering theoretical guidance and practical data for future research endeavours.

Effects of heterogeneous complex-task sequencings on extraneous collective cognitive load, intrinsic motivation, and learning transfer in computer-supported collaborative learning

Computer-supported collaborative learning is an instructional technique to solve complex tasks. One of the key factors to enhance collaboration is increasing the level of interdependence among the collaborators. This study was conducted to examine if the heterogeneous knowledge held by each member promoted by heterogenous instructional sequencings enhances the level of interdependence during collaboration. A quasi-experiment was conducted with college seniors preparing for their careers in a Shinhan University located in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. The experiment consisted of two phases: one was, where students gained prior knowledge using homogeneous or heterogeneous complex-task sequencing. The other was, where they collaborated with each other using a computer-supported tool. The results showed the statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of extraneous collective cognitive load, intrinsic motivation, and learning transfer. The collaborative groups of members, which utilized heterogeneous instructional sequencings during the individual learning phase showed relatively lower extraneous collective cognitive load, and higher intrinsic motivation in three consecutive collaborative sessions except for the first. As well as groups of members had higher learning transfer results. Implications and limitations were further discussed on results.

Autonomy-Supportive, External-Focus Instructions Optimize Children’s Motor Learning in Physical Education

An external focus of attention and autonomy support are identified as key factors to optimize motor learning; however, research in children is limited. Moreover, research has failed to examine these factors in ecologically valid motor learning settings, like physical education. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of external focus of attention when delivered using autonomy-supportive or controlling instructional language on children’s motor learning. Thirty-three novice participants (10.30 ± 0.52 years) practiced a land-based curling task under supportive (external-focus instructions delivered with supportive language), controlling (external-focus instructions delivered with controlling language), or neutral (external instructions embedded in the task aim) conditions before completing a retention and transfer test. The supportive group produced higher positive affect after practice and greater accuracy in the retention test compared with the other groups. The findings provide support for the OPTIMAL (optimizing performance through intrinsic motivation and attention for learning) theory of motor learning that combining an external focus and autonomy support conditions improves motor learning.

Motivation and preferences for learning of patients with COPD or asthma and their significant others in pulmonary rehabilitation: a qualitative study

IntroductionIn depth understanding of educational needs from the perspective of the learners in pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is lacking. To improve learning in PR, understanding of factors that induce or enhance intrinsic motivation in both patients and their significant others is needed. Therefore, this study aims to gain in-depth understanding of what motivates patients with COPD and asthma referred for PR and their significant others to learn and what their preferences are for education.MethodsFor this qualitative study, a sample was taken from a previous quantitative study. Data was collected through a one-time face-to-face semi-structured interview. The interviews were transcribed and independently analysed by two researchers using thematic analyses.ResultsTwelve patients and four significant others (56% female; age: 63±11 years) have been interviewed. Participants expressed a variety of information needs and learning preferences. Subthemes that emerged within the theme of motivation for learning were: 1) curiosity, such as knowledge gaps and hope for new information; and 2) values and goals, such as own health, caring for loved ones and spending time with family.DiscussionTo enhance intrinsic motivation for learning within PR, autonomy of individuals should be supported by offering several learning topics and education adapted to preferences, while curiosity should be fostered by targeting information needs. Moreover, health education programs should match with the personal values and goals of individuals, such as own health, caring for loved ones and spending time with family.

A Microlearning-Based Self-directed Learning Chatbot on Medication Administration for New Nurses: A Feasibility Study.

New nurses must acquire accurate knowledge of medication administration, as it directly affects patient safety. This study aimed to develop a microlearning-based self-directed learning chatbot on medication administration for novice nurses. Furthermore, the study had the objective of evaluating the chatbot feasibility. The chatbot covered two main topics: medication administration processes and drug-specific management, along with 21 subtopics. Fifty-eight newly hired nurses on standby were asked to use the chatbot over a 2-week period. Moreover, we evaluated the chatbot's feasibility through a survey that gauged changes in their confidence in medication administration knowledge, intrinsic learning motivation, satisfaction with the chatbot's learning content, and usability. After using the chatbot, participants' confidence in medication administration knowledge significantly improved in all topics (P < .001) except "Understanding a concept of 5Right" (P = .077). Their intrinsic learning motivation, satisfaction with the learning content, and usability scored above 5 out of 7 in all subdomains, except for pressure/tension (mean, 2.12; median, 1.90). They scored highest on ease of learning (mean, 6.69; median, 7.00). A microlearning-based chatbot can help new nurses improve their knowledge of medication administration through self-directed learning.

The Influence of High School Students' Learning Motivation on Learning Burnout

Nowadays, high school education has become more important. However, learning burnout is a problem influencing students' study in many aspects. The study talks about the correlations between learning burnout and learning motivation of high school students in order to correctly comprehend the situation of students and try to find reasonable suggestions and measures to solve the problems. Quantitative research methods are used in the study to not only collect but also analyze the data. Two scales are used to evaluate the situation of 100 testees who are studying in a high school in Yangzhou. The results show that students in high school have a high level of learning burnout and a low level of learning motivation. The learning motivation of students in high school is negatively correlated to learning burnout. Teachers and parents should take measures to stimulate the student's extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in learning.

Influence of Cooperative Learning on Foreign Language Anxiety and Intrinsic Motivation of English Major Freshmen in China

In China, the English major freshmen can be easily influenced by anxiety, and the major choosing of higher education is made by students, for the learning of English speaking, whether it is stimulated by intrinsic motivation and its effect on learning is worth to explore. In foreign language learning field, the foreign language anxiety (FLA) and intrinsic motivation (IM) are extensively researched, but studies focus on English major students are few, methods to reduce the foreign language anxiety and promote the intrinsic motivation are also limited. Cooperative learning is widely used in foreign language teaching and learning, but few research focus on its influence on the affective factors of learners. As it is proved that the foreign language anxiety have negative influence on English learning and the intrinsic motivation is of positive effects, for Chinese students, the English speaking is the most difficult practical ability for them to learn. Therefore, helping them to reduce the foreign language anxiety and promote the intrinsic motivation is of significance. The current study involved a total of all 100 English major freshmen (from 2 classes, each 50 students) from one public university in China. Using a questionnaire aimed to explore their level of foreign language anxiety and intrinsic motivation and a cooperative learning course construction as research instruments. All students will be asked to do the questionnaire before and after a 10-weeks’ English speaking course, and all the 100 students will be divided into two group---experimental group (Group A) and control group (Group B), with the experimental group using the cooperative learning course construction in the English speaking course and the control group using the traditional teacher-centered teaching method. The main finding of this study is that the cooperative learning method can reduce the foreign language anxiety and promote the intrinsic motivation in the English speaking learning.

A Study on the Change in Motivation for Physics Learning among Engineering Freshmen through General Physics Lectures Considering the Enhancement of Intrinsic Learning Motivation

A Study on the Change in Motivation for Physics Learning among Engineering Freshmen through General Physics Lectures Considering the Enhancement of Intrinsic Learning Motivation

Interplay of intrinsic motivation and well-being at school

Feeling well at school is crucial for both young people’s healthy self-development and their intrinsic learning motivation. Both concepts, subjective well-being and intrinsic motivation, are central to self-determination theory, but their reciprocal relationship is not studied very well. We hypothesized that the concepts affect each other directly: Students who are intrinsically motivated feel well at school due to positive emotions and the strive for understanding the learning content, which is an intrinsic motivation immanent. Beyond, students who feel well at school are intrinsically motivated, because subjective well-being represents an intrinsic value of the learning situation. This hypothesis is tested using a sample of 773 secondary school students (mean age: 12.7 years, SD = 1.8), who were answering questionnaires at the beginning (T1), at mid (T2) and at the end (T3) of a school year. The data were analyzed using a cross-lagged panel model. The results gave evidence on cross-lagged effects and an indirect effect from subjective well-being to intrinsic motivation to subjective well-being.

Attitudes and Perceptions of English as a Foreign Language Students on Blended Learning and Learner Autonomy in a Private University of China

Blended learning (BL) is becoming increasingly popular and a trend in higher education in the twenty-first century. The purpose of this study was to explore the attitudes and perceptions of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners toward the current implementation of BL and their learner autonomy (LA) development in a private university in China. It employed a qualitative case study, and the data was collected from five undergraduate students majoring in English through interviews, observations and reflective journals. Through thematic analysis of the data, the study concluded that EFL students at this university generally held negative attitudes toward the BL model and perceived the development of LA in this model as ineffective. Four themes related to the negative attitudes and perceptions emerged. First, a shortage of time was a common issue among students, and they felt mentally and physically overwhelmed by the blended tasks. Second, there was a lack of complementarity and integration between online and face-to-face instruction in the BL model. Third, students noted a lack of support and timely feedback from teachers in the online part of the BL model. Finally, more supervision was needed in terms of student characteristics. The findings have implications for future BL curriculum design and delivery, pedagogical adjustments and support for autonomous learning. More empirical studies focusing on the pedagogical design and the cultivation of EFL learners’ intrinsic motivation for autonomous English learning in the BL environment are essential to address the current situation.

Task-Based Instruction in Enhancing Conversational Skills of Thai Students at Grade 11, YouTube as Teaching Media

Students' English communication abilities in Thailand remain poor due to a lack of a wide range of activities to practice English. Learning English in authentic contexts enables students to develop intrinsic motivation and demonstrate acquired language competency. This study aims to enhance English conversational performances and investigate students' motivation after receiving instruction by integrating TBI and YouTube. The design of this study was pre-experimental research, which used the one-group and pretest-posttest analysis. The sample group included 39 eleventh-grade students from a government senior high school in Mahasarakham province, Thailand chosen by a purposive sampling process. The listening and speaking tests, as well as the intrinsic motivation scale, were used in this study. Data were analyzed by the paired-sample t-test and descriptive statistics (i.e., the arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and percentage). The results revealed that combining TBI with YouTube improved students' English communication skills, and intrinsic motivation in learning. Based on the findings of this study, the researchers recommended that teachers employ the TBL approach and YouTube videos in class as instructional mediums. Furthermore, future studies could combine TBL with other forms of multimedia to help students learn more effectively and enjoyably.

Language learning among higher education students: an analysis on motivation

Intrinsic motivation in language learning is ideal to attain successful foreign language learning according to experts (Del Castillo, 2010; Gilakjani et al.,2010). In order to measure its impact at university level, this paper shows the results of a quantitative study conducted at KU Leuven during the academic year 2021-2022 on motivation in foreign language learning. A total of 479 students participated in a survey designed for this purpose. The methodology was based on a multivariate analysis using the statistical package SPSS v. 25. The research findings show that university students have essentially instrumental motivation for learning foreign languages (FL), which implies that their desire to acquire a second language (L2) is limited to practical purposes. On the other hand, the study has identified a representative segment of students, referred to as “incidental students”, who are characterised by not having any clear motivation (neither instrumental nor integrative) for FL. The results lead to recommendations for curricular adaptation to enhance intrinsic motivation in foreign language teaching and learning at university level.

Investigating Intrinsic Motivation for Learning among Singaporean Youths: A Mixed Methods Study

Investigating Intrinsic Motivation for Learning among Singaporean Youths: A Mixed Methods Study

An Empirical Study on English Learning Motivation among Chinese Senior High School Students

&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;Motivation research in foreign language learning is booming, and self-determination theory (SDT) has attracted wide attention. This study used mixed methods with 410 Chinese senior high school students as participants. The study aimed to answer the following three main questions: (1) What are the levels of Chinese senior high school students’ English learning motivation (ELM)? (2) Do the students’ ELM levels differ by gender? (3) What are the influencing factors of the students’ ELM? The following conclusions were drawn from the data analysis. First, the participants had a median level of ELM. Second, their ELM was more inclined towards self-determination. Third, girls’ levels of intrinsic regulation and identified regulation were significantly higher than those of boys. Fourth, anxiety and negative peer influence were two factors that contributed to a decline the students’ ELM. Cooperative learning and teacher support could improve students’ intrinsic learning motivation. The satisfaction of these three basic psychological needs promoted the internalization of external motivation. Based on the above findings, we offer the three following insights: it is crucial to maintain students’ autonomous ELM level; it is imperative to create a relaxed and positive classroom atmosphere; and teachers should try to meet students’ basic psychological needs.&lt;/p&gt;

Effects of Using Immersive Virtual Reality for Science Education on Learning Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Immersive virtual reality (IVR) technology influences students cognitive process and affective experience according to previous research findings. Yet empirical studies that investigate the impact of immersive virtual reality (IVR) on science education in secondary schools are limited. This article reports a pilot study that has two objectives: 1) To investigate whether learning science with IVR leads to more positive learning outcomes than that with a traditional video-viewing activity; 2) To investigate whether corrective feedback produces more positive learning outcomes than explanatory feedback in IVR-mediated contexts. A randomized controlled pilot trial was designed during a school year at a secondary school in western China. Forty-seven participatory students were randomly assigned to a control group (learning with instructional videos, n = 17), an intervention group 1 (learning with IVR with corrective feedback, n = 15), and an intervention group 2 (learning with IVR with explanatory feedback, n = 15). We evaluated an array of student learning-related outcomes, including extraneous and germane cognitive load, intrinsic learning motivation, academic self-efficacy, learner satisfaction, and academic achievement. The results revealed significant difference in intrinsic learning motivation, academic self-efficacy, learner satisfaction, and academic achievement and insignificant difference in extraneous and germane cognitive load when students learned with video and IVR. In terms of the type of feedback provided in IVR-mediated environments, students who were prompted with corrective feedback and explanatory feedback showed little difference in their learning outcomes. Reasons related to the findings and limitations are discussed.

Learning motivation and environmental support: how first-generation college students achieve success?

With the continuous expansion of higher education worldwide, the academic performance of first-generation college students has become an essential topic in the scope of international educational research. This study examines the impact of learning motivation (i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) and environmental support (i.e., instructional, relational, and campus support) on the academic outcomes of first-generation college students based on the Cultural Mismatch Theory and Self-Determination Theory from both individual and environmental perspectives. A two-stage stratified sampling strategy was adopted to guarantee that the samples were representative of the national populations of college students in mainland China. 87418 data were collected from the China College Student Survey (CCSS) 2020, among which 58,864 were first-generation college students. This study primarily employed descriptive statistical analysis and regression analysis methods. Data analysis revealed that intrinsic learning motivation, relational support, campus support, and academic performance of first-generation college students are significantly lower than those of non-first-generation students. However, this study found no significant differences concerning external learning motivation and teaching support. Regression analysis showed that both learning motivation and environmental support positively predicted learning outcomes, with intrinsic learning motivation having the most substantial influence. Moreover, learning motivation and environmental support interact in jointly promoting the student's academic success. This study highlighted that the academic development of first-generation college students results from the interplay between individual characteristics and the surrounding environment. Postnatal factors, particularly individual learning motivation, and institutional environment support, play a crucial role in their academic achievements.

Correlation among game addiction, achievement emotion, and learning motivation: A study of Indonesian youth in the context of e-learning system

This study investigated the correlation between game addiction, achievement emotions, and motivation in the e-learning context. This research collected data through an online questionnaire that briefly explained the study’s aim, demographic questions, the Game Addiction Scale (GAS), the e-Learning Achievement Emotion Questionnaire (eLAEQ), and the e-Learning Motivation Scale (eLMS). 607 high school, undergraduate, and graduate students participated in this study — Data analysis involved the utilization of structural equation modeling. The study findings reveal that game addiction substantially impacts positive and negative emotions and intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivations. Moreover, positive emotions significantly affect intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivations. Conversely, negative emotions have a substantial impact on intrinsic learning motivation but not on extrinsic learning motivation.

Engaging Young Students in Effective Robotics Education: An Embodied Learning-Based Computer Programming Approach

Robotics education has received widespread attention in K-12 education. Studies have pointed out that in robotics courses, learners face challenges in learning abstract content, such as constructing a robot with a good structure and writing programs to drive a robot to complete specific learning tasks. The present study proposed the embodied learning-based computer programming approach and applied it to the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robotics course. To evaluate its effectiveness, a quasi-experiment was conducted in one public primary school to explore its effects on students’ learning achievement, learning motivation, learning attitudes, learning engagement, and cognitive load. The experimental group (40 students) adopted the embodied learning-based computer programming approach, while the control group (40 students) adopted the conventional computer programming approach. The results showed that the experimental group had significantly better learning achievement in robotics than the control group, and that there was no significant difference in the cognitive load of the two groups. In terms of learning motivation, although both groups showed improvement, the experimental group had higher intrinsic learning motivation. In addition, the experimental group outperformed the control group with regard to learning attitudes and learning engagement (including cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement). Accordingly, this study could contribute to future research for developing more effective robotics teaching approaches and computer programming activity design.

Integrating mobile-assisted learning for a dynamic blended approach in higher education

&lt;span&gt;This research investigates the effectiveness of blended learning with mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) in english courses at Borneo University Tarakan. An experimental design was used with 80 english as a foreign language (EFL) student randomly assigned to an experimental group (EG) receiving blended learning with MALL and a control group (CG) receiving traditional instruction. The results demonstrate that blended learning with MALL significantly improves language learning outcomes and increases motivation, engagement, and satisfaction. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting language learning outcomes from a blended approach using MALL and emphasizes the importance of innovative teaching methods and technology integration. The findings have practical implications for educators, suggesting that incorporating MALL in blended learning enhances language learning outcomes and student engagement. Further research can explore the impact of MALL on different language skills and strategies to enhance intrinsic motivation in MALL-blended learning. &lt;br /&gt; This research provides valuable insights for improving language instruction through blended learning approaches.&lt;/span&gt;