Abstract
Successful online students must learn and maintain motivation to learn. The Self-regulation of Motivation (SRM) model (Sansone and Thoman 2005) suggests two kinds of motivation are essential: Goals-defined (i.e., value and expectancy of learning), and experience-defined (i.e., whether interesting). The Regulating Motivation and Performance Online (RMAPO) project examines implications using online HTML lessons. Initial project results suggested that adding usefulness information (enhancing goals-defined motivation) predicted higher engagement levels (enhancing experience), which in turn predicted motivation (interest) and performance (HTML quiz) outcomes. The present paper examined whether individual interest in computers moderated these results. When provided the utility value information, students with higher (relative to lower) individual interest tended to display higher engagement levels, especially when usefulness was framed in terms of personal versus organizational applications. In contrast, higher engagement levels continued to positively predict outcomes regardless of individual interest. We discuss implications for designing optimal online learning environments.
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Acknowledgments
This project was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (DRL # 0735264). The contents of this research are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of NSF. Special thanks to Robert Kent for his invaluable assistance organizing and managing the lab, and research assistants Tonee Peterson, Cassandra Hansen, and Crystal Richardson. Thanks also to William Thompson for his feedback and advice in planning the research project.
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Sansone, C., Fraughton, T., Zachary, J.L. et al. Self-regulation of motivation when learning online: the importance of who, why and how. Education Tech Research Dev 59, 199–212 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-011-9193-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-011-9193-6