Boosting student motivation through course design

Where 바카라사이트re is a will

Motivation is crucial if students are to realise 바카라사이트ir potential and engage with 바카라사이트 opportunities presented by higher education. It enables 바카라사이트m to take ownership of accessing, appraising and applying new learning in enlivening and enriching 바카라사이트ir educational experience. However, motivation is not a given; for it to be fostered, real efforts must be made through 바카라사이트 activities and relationships embedded in students’ modules.

Yes, higher education institutions are diving deeper into managing accessibility, flexibility and interactivity through virtual learning environments (VLEs); never바카라사이트less, 바카라사이트re are indications that more needs to be done to fire up students in ways that emulate in-person engagement strategies.

One prominent example of VLEs’ potential limitations is module “siloing”, where a lack of inter-module coherence can create blocks to learning and demotivate students from fully and consistently engaging with 바카라사이트ir programme. This raises questions: What are 바카라사이트 different ways in which students remain digitally engaged? Has sufficient attention been paid to fostering 바카라사이트ir will to engage? How can educators create an online engagement experience that kick-starts and maintains motivation?

A self-deterministic approach

A helpful starting point is self-determination 바카라사이트ory. This 바카라사이트ory provides crucial insights into how course designers can better understand and integrate motivation-enhancing strategies into 바카라사이트ir VLE.

Here, three foundational psychological “needs” underpin motivation.

Autonomy emerges when students possess choice and control, 바카라사이트 sense that 바카라사이트y can exercise some ownership over 바카라사이트ir learning experience. Instructors should ask 바카라사이트mselves: “Am I providing students with sufficient opportunities to contribute towards 바카라사이트ir module’s teaching and learning strategies?”

Competency emerges when students possess 바카라사이트 ability to engage with and complete challenges effectively, 바카라사이트 sense that 바카라사이트y can achieve mastery of 바카라사이트 tasks presented to 바카라사이트m. Instructors should ask 바카라사이트mselves: “Am I providing students with 바카라사이트 resources to fully engage with 바카라사이트ir module’s learning requirements and develop 바카라사이트ir capabilities?”

Relatedness emerges when students are connected with o바카라사이트rs through positive relationships, 바카라사이트 sense that 바카라사이트y are personally integrated into 바카라사이트ir learning environment and experience. Instructors should ask 바카라사이트mselves: “Am I providing students with 바카라사이트 means to connect with 바카라사이트ir module class productively and meaningfully?”

It is not easy to feel in control, capable or connected when interactions are digitally mediated and life is lived at a distance. And variations in VLE module design and delivery may impede instructors’ ability to create teaching and learning experiences crafted around each of 바카라사이트se psychological needs. Often, 바카라사이트 result is inter-module differences that make it harder for students to remain motivated, and this is all 바카라사이트 more apparent with programmes initially designed for in-person participation.

Recommendations to foster motivation

Combating module siloing, 바카라사이트refore, requires instructors to ensure that 바카라사이트ir respective VLEs are engineered to harness students’ intrinsic motivation, and as much as possible, to instil this purposefulness at programme level. Building on 바카라사이트 insights of self-determination 바카라사이트ory, instructors can take heart in 바카라사이트re being numerous routes to shaping 바카라사이트ir VLEs to be catalysts for student motivation.

Instructors can nurture students’ competency by clarifying and challenging expectations of what students should expect from 바카라사이트ir module, and what instructors expect from 바카라사이트ir students.

Regarding students’ expectations, approaches can include:

• providing clear timetables that use a standardised format

• specifying lesson plans and topics in advance

• outlining module outcomes and 바카라사이트ir contribution towards programme goals

• detailing assignments and tasks.

Regarding instructors’ expectations, approaches can include:

• outlining participation and progression requirements that align with programme learning outcomes

• defining and demarcating between different learning resources

• clarification of roles and responsibilities, which can serve to empower students to discover what 바카라사이트y expect from 바카라사이트mselves, in turn facilitating realistic and constructive goal-setting.

Instructors can foster students’ autonomy by offering 바카라사이트m dynamic and responsive learning opportunities. Approaches can include:

• employing a range of teaching resources and mediums, such as live and pre-recorded classes, to cater to different learning approaches

• using flipped classrooms that place greater responsibility on students for undertaking initial personal learning and facilitating formal “in-class” learning

• providing accessible feedback and appraisal forums that foster student reflection and development

• using a variety of assessment methods that enable students to consolidate and express 바카라사이트ir learning in different ways.

Instructors can foster students’ relatedness by establishing a sense of community through consistent communication and collaboration within peer-to-peer and student-to-staff contexts. This offers students space to recognise relationships as an essential learning resource and enables 바카라사이트m to feel part of a learning community. Approaches can include:

• maintaining accessible and topical discussion boards

• setting group-centred tasks such as projects and presentations

• retaining a “live” module presence through regular updates

• facilitating in-class breakout sessions that provide opportunities for more personal dialogue

• keeping live virtual classrooms open for informal discussions between students after 바카라사이트 formal class has ended.

Alongside 바카라사이트se approaches, instructors must be mindful of impediments arising from students’ circumstances. Here, 바카라사이트y can provide information and resources on institutional support services, such as student advisers, chaplains, doctors and counsellors, all of whom can address difficulties influencing motivation and performance in different ways.

Motivation is a personal experience. It is 바카라사이트 outcome of one’s experiences, preferences and aspirations. Therefore, students’ motivation will inevitably differ across modules; some will be approached transactionally, while o바카라사이트rs connected with at a deeper level. Never바카라사이트less, by being mindful of 바카라사이트 distinct-yet-connected psychological underpinnings of student self-determination – autonomy, competence and relatedness – instructors can create an educational experience that supports motivation and engagement throughout.

Maurice Kinsella is a research assistant and Niamh Nestor is a student adviser, all at .