A Reflective Study of Motivation in Distance Education

The paper calls attention to two prominent views about online learners’ motivations. What are they? What theoretical framework did they use for this study? As we learned in this unit, what is the principal assumption of this theory?

The two prominent views about motivation of online learners that the paper called attention to are (1) the view that online learners are intrinsically motivated, that motivation is a relatively stable personal characteristic of the learner; (2) the view that the design of online learning environments encourages optimal learner motivation. The study used the self-determination theory as a framework, which assumes that “man has a natural basic need for competence, autonomy and relatedness”. Thus, teachers with self-determination theory in mind should design challenging tasks and make performance expectations clear and achievable (feeling of competence), allow students to exercise choice and some degree of control and autonomy (feeling of control and capacity for self-determined choices), and hold students to high standards (feeling of relatedness).

Briefly describe the four patterns of extrinsic motivation. Cite examples, preferably from personal experience that would elaborate each.

1. External regulation – motivation that results from the offer of rewards and/or threats of punishment.

Example: When I was still a grade school student, my mother would reward us monetarily (me and my siblings) whenever we get a perfect score in each of our periodical exams, or when I feel the need to do my assignments here at UPOU for fear of receiving a failing mark

2. Introjection – motivation that arises from trying to live up to the expectations of other people

Example: When I do my best to write good papers because I believe that my professors are expecting them from their students

3. Identified regulation – motivation that results from the personal value that an individual places on an activity because he considers it worthwhile. This is still considered as an extrinsic regulation because the said activity is valued for its usefulness, or for its personal importance, or for its relevance to the person.

Example: When I finish my college studies so that I could get a job, or when I took up masters studies so that I could get better employment benefits, or when I am taking up this course in UPOU so that I could take up the LET

4. Integration – motivation that arises from the significance of the activity to the person’s sense of self

Example: When I enroll in the PTC program at the UPOU because I think it will enhance my identity as a teacher or when I read theological books/articles because it keeps me abreast with my role as a pastor

What research question did the authors try to address? What procedure did they use and what kinds of data did they get to answer this question?

The study aims to determine “the nature of motivation to learn in online contexts” – whether and what kind of different motivations existed in the participants; and whether this motivation is one-dimensional (arising from either the learner’s intrinsic motivation or from the design of the educational course activities) or multi-dimensional (arising from a combination of sources). There were two groups of participants from a pre-service teacher education program at a New Zealand tertiary institution. The first group had twelve participants who were in the 3^rd and final years in a compulsory integrated science and technology course. The second had nine who were in the 2^nd year in a compulsory introductory social studies curriculum course. The researchers obtained consent from the participants. Then data from online questionnaires, interviews, archived online data, achievement data and course resources were collected. Learner motivation was measured using the self-reported situational motivational scale (SIMS) that measures the situational intrinsic motivation, extrinsic forms of motivation, and amotivation. Participants were asked to respond to questions in relation to a specified assignment (problem-based learning assignment for the first group while microteaching and reflection assignment for the second), and its associated online activities within each course. For each participant, the subscale scores were tabulated and then used to compute a single motivation score called the self-determination index (SDI). Both the individual SDI score as well as the subscale scores were analyzed to determine the motivation of the learner.

Consider the first paragraph of page 32. Reflect about motivation in microteaching circumstances.

Motivation in the micro-teaching circumstances might have stemmed from the participants view of its relevance to their future role as teachers. In my opinion, the individual microteaching assignment is more practical and situational in nature, providing the learner with the opportunity to assess his/her own teaching practices, and being able to receive feedback that might help him/her improve. Also, these are done individually, and so, much easier to accomplish (as opposed to collaborative assignments which in my experience here in UPOU, are more draining psychologically and emotionally).

Consider the second paragraph of page 32. Do you feel that your own goals and interests align with the topics in this course?

My expectations from this course was to be able to understand how people learn – what causes them to learn, what are the factors that affect their learning, what are the different ways they learn, and how we as educators could help our students to learn. In general, I believe that my goals are in alignment with the topics in this course, though I wish that there were more in-depth materials as well as more learning activities that would enable us to explore learning in individuals as well as to come up with ideas on how we can facilitate learning in them in our respective subject expertise.

Consider the third paragraph of page 32. Assess the range of your personal motivations for distance learning. Do you find that your motivations are also multi-dimensional? How so?

I believe that my personal motivations for distance learning are multi-dimensional. I enrolled in the PTC program of UPOU in order to earn the requisite 18 units of education for the LET, which is a type of identified regulation. I also want to be able to improve my teaching practices (identified regulation) as well as to develop my identity as a teacher (integration). Also, there are some nagging questions/issues concerning our educational system and practices that I wish to find some resolution to (identified regulation). In each of the courses I have taken, I tried my best to do the requirements because I do not want to receive a failing mark (external regulation) as well as I want to live up to the expectations of my professors as well as of other people like classmates or friends (introjections), aside from the desire to understand more about teaching and learning so that I can become a better teacher (identified regulation). I guess that in a lot of our activities/endeavors, there is always an inter-play of the various types of motivation, making it multi-dimensional.

Consider the fourth paragraph of page 32. In what ways do you find the various aspects of your own motivations to have counter-balancing effects?

I find that there is a counter-balancing effect between my external regulation and my identified regulation/integration (and intrinsic?) types of motivation in relation to my studies here at UPOU (as well as in my previous learning opportunities). Time is a constraint for me as I have to juggle various responsibilities (taking care of my ailing father, earning a living by tutoring, meeting my pastoral as well as social obligations, etc.) together with my studies. I feel that the combined workloads from the two UPOU courses I’m in right now are way too much for me to handle. And having to meet deadlines or at least submit the requirements within a reasonable or allowable time frame affected my desire to make a more in-depth study/reflection or to come up with a better assignment. Truth to tell, I felt unsatisfied with the group work that we had submitted as I think it was haphazardly done (but I commend my group mates for their hard work and their contributions). But deadlines are deadlines, especially in a group work. So I just went along with the group’s decision to submit our work. I did think about taking up the alternative option given by our professor, but then assessing my situation and the difficulty of getting permission to do classroom observations, I thought it would be better to just stick with my group. However, in general, I felt quite uneasy if I just do the requirements just for the sake of the grade as not only do I want to somehow live up to the expectations of my professors and classmates, but also I want to learn something worthwhile in doing the readings/assignments. As such, I have to read slower or re-read articles in order for me to understand what they were trying to convey, or take several hours/days to write and/or re-write my reflections.

Study the conclusion. What were the major conclusions posited by the authors? What recommendations did they make, if any? What conclusions can you make about the nature of your own personal motivations?

The authors concluded that online learners are both extrinsically and intrinsically motivated. Their motivations are “highly sensitive to situational influences”. The perceived importance, relevance and utility value of an activity were just as important as the interest or enjoyment of the task. The findings regarding the multi-dimensional characteristic of the motivation of online learners led the authors to make the following recommendations:

1. Online teachers need to come up with learning activities that their learners would perceived as relevant and valuable, and to communicate (in the learning objectives) to their students “how a certain learning activity can help in the realization of their personal goals, aspirations, and interests” in both short- and long-term.
2. Online educators are encouraged to “offer meaningful choices (not just option choices) to learners that allow them to pursue topics that are of interest to them so that the perceived value of the activity is further enhanced”.
3. Online educators should “establish frequent, ongoing communication with learners, where these learners feel able to discuss issues in an open and honest manner so the educators can accurately monitor and respond to the situational factors that could potentially undermine learner motivation”.

Using theoretical lenses, why do you consider your goals and motivations not optimal? What strategies can you make to modify your motivations? Pay attention to using theories for this task.

According to the “flow experience” theory posited by Mikhail Csikszentmihalyi as featured in the video found in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwngIuplE5g&feature=related, optimal motivation is achieved doing the activity for the enjoyment of the activity itself, not for any other reason. It requires a focused attention on a limited stimulus field where full concentration and complete involvement are possible. Action and awareness are merged, while self-consciousness disappears. This frees the person from the worry of failure. Also, according to the Self-Determination Theory of Motivation, the person’s need for competence, autonomy and relatedness must be satisfied in order for him to be optimally motivated (http://www.talentmgt.com/articles/optimal-motivation-from-theory-to-practice). Judging from these theories, I can say that my goals and motivations are not completely optimal. The reasons being

1. I do not feel totally immersed in the learning activities that my self-consciousness disappears and I lose track of time. I still get distracted by other people, activities and responsibilities. And I feel the constraints imposed by time, reminding myself of the deadlines as well as the time budgeted by such activities. As such, there are numerous instances where I skipped re-reading the required materials so I can understand them better or I submitted written works even though I think there is still room for improving them.
2. Getting a failing mark worries me from time to time. Though I remind myself that learning something is far more important than getting a passing mark (and the teacher is more concerned about me learning from the activities than giving me a numerical score), still I get bothered by the thought of not being able to pass the course.
3. Most of the time, I do not do the learning activities for the sheer pleasure and enjoyment of doing them. Rather, I am treating the process in a utilitarian way – to pass the course, to earn the twelve units, and to gain the knowledge needed to pass the LET. Though there are instances where I long for the opportunity to reflect on certain educational issues and discuss them with the professor/s and classmates, still these instances too far few in between. I remind myself that I need to finish the twelve units by the end of this school year so that I can take the LET by the end of the year, according to the time frame that I have set for myself.
4. I also feel that some of the given tasks (like the collaborative assignment) are distantly related to the goals that I have for this course, and that I was hoping that there would be some learning activities that would enable me to achieve my goals (such as designing a lesson for a certain type of learners). Also I was hoping that we would be given real choices for some of the tasks as well as be provided with feedbacks on our written works/reflections (though I understand the constraints that our teacher are facing, such as the large number of students in the class as well as the difficulty of assessing the students’ learning when their choice of tasks varies one from the other).

Some strategies that I think that I can implement in order to modify my motivation:

1. Remind myself of my goal of learning what it means to be a teacher. Thus, I need to focus more on more on learning rather than on my plans to finish the PTC program within a year.
2. Remind myself that the teacher is more concerned with the actual learning that I am able to attain through the lessons/activities than on giving me a numerical mark.
3. Look for an education mentor with whom I could meet on a regular basis to discuss the questions/issues that I may encounter in the readings or assignments, and who could provide me with immediate feedback on my written works/journals.
4. Lessen my load and/or lessen my commitments that can take a back seat for the time being so that there would be less distractions, allowing me to the luxury to immerse more time in learning.