Browsing by Subject "Motivation in education"
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Item Achievement motivation processes and the role of classroom context(1992) Hagen, Anastasia Steffen, 1958-; Wicker, Frank; Weinstein, Claire E.An integrated model of achievement motivation was proposed that included mastery and performance goal orientation, self-efficacy, test-anxiety, and self-regulated learning. There were two studies performed to evaluate this model. The purpose of the first study was to examine the ways in which the variables in the model contribute to academic achievement. The subjects in this study were college students enrolled in two introductory statistics courses. The measures were also administered at two different times over the course of the semester to test for reciprocal relationships among the variables over time. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Because the subjects in the first study were all enrolled in the same type of course, with similar course requirements and grading policies, the purpose of the second study was to determine how the relationships among the variables in the model might differ as a function of classroom context. The subjects in the second study were enrolled in one of two different College of Business Administration courses. One of the courses placed a greater emphasis on mastering the material (low competitive context), while in the other course the students competed with one another for high grades (high competitive context). The model was first solved separately for each group and then the fit of the model was compared across the two classroom contexts. The findings from the two studies indicated consistent positive relationships among mastery goal orientation, self-efficacy, and self-regulated learning. This suggests that being mastery-oriented results in higher self-efficacy and increased use of self-regulated learning strategies. Another consistent finding was that performance goals were positively related to test anxiety in both studies. This suggests that students with performance goals may also be more likely to experience higher test anxiety. Finally, the fit of the model was significantly different across the two classroom contexts, but only with respect to the relationships between mastery-goal orientation and achievement, performance-goal orientation and achievement, and self-regulated learning and achievement. These differences suggest that mastery and performance goal orientation and use of self-regulated learning strategies contribute to achievement in different ways depending on the classroom contextItem The effects of a problem based learning digital game on continuing motivation to learn science(2008-05) Toprac, Paul K., 1960-; Liu, Min, Ed. D.The purpose of this study was to determine whether playing a problem-based learning (PBL) computer game, Alien Rescue III, would promote continuing motivation (CM) to learn science, and to explore the possible sources of CM. Another goal was to determine whether CM and interest to learn science in the classroom were identical constructs. CM was defined as the pursuit of academic learning goals in noninstructional contexts that were initially encountered in the classroom. Alien Rescue was played for a total of 9 hours in the seventh grade of a private middle school with 44 students, total, participating. The study used a design-based research approach that attempted to triangulate quantitative and qualitative methods. A science knowledge test, and two selfreport questionnaires--one measuring motivation and one measuring CM--were administered preintervention, postintervention, and follow-up. Qualitative data was also collected, including student interviews, classroom observations, written responses, and a science teacher interview. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to determine any significant changes in scores. A multiple regression analysis was used to explore whether a model of CM could be determined using the Eccles’ expectancy-value achievement motivation model. The constant comparative method was used to obtain relevant information from the qualitative data. Based on contradictory quantitative and qualitative findings, results were mixed as to whether students exhibited an increase in CM to learn space science. Students continued to freely engage Alien Rescue during the mid-class break, but this does not strictly adhere to the definition of CM. However, many students did find space science more interesting than anticipated and developed increased desire to learn more in class, if not outside of class. Results also suggest that CM and interest in learning more in class are separate but related constructs. Finally, no satisfactory model emerged from the multiple regression analysis but based on students’ interviews, continuing interest to learn is influenced by all the components of Eccles’ expectancy-value model. Response effects may have confounded quantitative results. Discussion includes challenges of researching in classrooms, CM, and Eccles’ motivational model, and the tension between PBL and game based approaches. Future design recommendations and research directions are provided.Item Examining the experiences of students enrolled in small community colleges by time of enrollment(2007-12) Head, Traci Lynn, 1969-; Roueche, John E.The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of students enrolled in small community colleges to determine if there was a difference in the degree to which students were engaged based upon their primary enrollment in day or in evening courses. Specifically, the study investigated the amount of time and effort students dedicated to their academic pursuits and the degree to which institutional policies and practices supported them in their efforts to determine whether time of enrollment was a significant factor in predicting engagement. The primary goals of the study were to contribute to the understanding of students' experiences and to provide empirical evidence that might serve as the foundation for program development and reform. The findings from the quantitative analysis revealed a significant predictive relationship between time of enrollment and five of the fourteen engagement variables considered in the study. Enrollment in evening courses was linked to lower levels of engagement in each of these five areas: student effort, academic challenge, support for learners, academic preparation, and school opinions. The results of the study supported the development of a theoretical model that depicts student engagement based upon primary enrollment in evening courses. The model places support for learners at the forefront. Students' opinions are the end result, with each of the other engagement variables being affected by the levels of support perceived by evening students.Item The impact of popular culture fandom on perceptions of Japanese language and culture learning: the case of student anime fans(2006) Williams, Kara Lenore; Moore, ZenaThis research examines the impact of popular culture fandom on perceptions of foreign language and culture learning within a Japanese studies context, using the example of student ‘anime’ (Japanese animation) fans. Anime, described by Tominaga (2002) as “presently one of the most popular expressions of Japanese culture in America,” was chosen for its apparent popularity among students of Japanese. This dissertation presents the results of a study that qualitatively describes the phenomenon of anime fandom as it relates to a sample of ten Japanese language students’ perceptions of the Japanese language and culture and of language learning. The results of the study have implications for the language classroom in terms of how instructors might use popular culture to encourage motivation and self-directed learning, and in terms of teaching culture and using authentic video materials in the classroom. This phenomenon also suggests the possibility that generating or capitalizing on interest in the popular culture of the target language group may be a useful tool in the recruitment of and retention of language students, given the challenges many language programs face in attracting and retaining students.Item An integrative cultural view of achievement motivation in learning math : parental and classroom predictors of goal orientations of children with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds(2008-05) Kim, Jung-in, 1978-; Schallert, Diane L.With the remarkable increase in immigration since the passage of the 1965 Immigration Act, approximately one in five children in the United States has at least one foreign-born parent (Hernandez & Charney, 1998). This study was an investigation of how students’ perceptions of their parents shaped the kind and degree of motivational goal orientations that they adopted in their mathematics classroom taking students’ different cultural and ethnic backgrounds into account. In this study, students of different ethnic backgrounds enrolled in an American high school reported their achievement goal orientations and self-regulated motivations for their math class, as well as their perceptions of parents’ goals for them, parents’ motivating styles, and the classroom’s goal structures. A total of 138 9th grade Anglo American students and Asian American students were included in the data analyses. In path analyses, Anglo American and Asian American students’ goal orientations were predicted by their perceptions of their parents’ goals for them as well as their parents’ motivating styles, mediated by the students’ self-regulated motivation. For both Anglo American and Asian American students, autonomous self-regulated motivation predicted mastery goal orientation, and less autonomous self-regulated motivation predicted performance goal orientations. However, the students’ perceptions of parental influence from different ethnic/cultural backgrounds were different in predicting students’ self-regulated motivations. Interestingly, Asian American children’s perceptions of parents’ controlling style as well as parents’ autonomy support could predict their mastery goal adoption via identified regulation, and their perception of parental control even predicted their intrinsic regulation. It was also interesting to note that Asian American students’ perceptions of parents’ goal orientations for them predicted their own goals not only directly but also mediated by their self-regulated motivations, unlike Anglo American students whose perceptions of parents’ goals predicted their own goals only mediated by their self-regulated motivations. An integration of self-determination theory and goal theory is offered, broadening the application of these two theories to students of different ethnic/cultural backgrounds.Item Learning goals and a continuum of epistemological beliefs about ability(1995-12) Paredes, Vicente; Not availableItem Using a game template as a multimedia-based cognitive tool to facilitate novices' conceptual understanding of object-oriented programming(2008-12) Yuen, Timothy Tung-Ming, 1978-; Liu, Min, Ed. D.This study examined how a multimedia-based cognitive tool (MCT) facilitates novices' conceptual understanding of object-oriented programming (OOP). The tool used in this study was CSNüb, a game template created in Adobe Flash. The MCT design framework guided CSNüb's design. The MCT design framework was synthesized from literature on constructivist, multimedia, and motivation learning theories and computer-based cognitive tool design principles. Students worked with CSNüb to develop a simple role-playing game (RPG). Through clinical interviews and process tracing methods, it was found that CSNüb affected novice computer science students' conceptual understanding of OOP through five cognitive processes and factors: cognitive disequilibrium evoked through multimedia-based feedback, exploring for resources that scaffold understanding, changing the level of awareness of the "bigger picture" and ability for higher-level thinking, and consistent refinement of solutions and mental models within the problem space. The five cognitive processes and factors were found to be the result of three levels of interaction with CSNüb. At the Tool Level, students received conflicting information, generally through multimedia-based feedback from the CSNüb, which placed students in states of disequilibrium. At the Interaction Level, students interacted with the CSNüb to resolve their disequilibrium through exploring resources within the tool and refining their solution. They were able to experiment and test out their understanding on OOP. At the Cognitive Level, students used the resources as cognitive scaffolds found through exploration, which in turn, increased the degree of awareness and influenced the level at which they understood the object-oriented system. The five cognitive processes and factors through the three levels of interaction were formed into one model--the MCT Interaction Model (MCTIM)--as a general explanation for how MCTs, such as CSNüb, affects novice students' conceptual understanding.Item Using authentic multi-media material to teach Italian culture : student opinions and beliefs(2008-05) Joynt, Rose Ellen; Moore, ZenaThis qualitative research aims to present students' beliefs about the role that culture plays in language learning and to understand their responses towards the use of authentic multi-media materials. Based on the results of the study, this dissertation describes the impact that authentic multi-media materials had on students' cultural knowledge and their overall language learning experience. The implications discussed in this study are based on students' responses and are relevant to foreign language instructors who are interested in the areas of culture teaching, authentic multi-media materials, students' perspectives, and autonomous learning. In particular, the dissertation presents a link between authentic multi-media materials and motivation based on Ryan and Deci's Self-Determination Theory (2000). The results found in this study suggest that authentic multi-media materials are resources that could be utilized in the early stages of instruction in order to capitalize on students' inherent interest in the Italian culture, which in turn serves to motivate students to persist in their language study.