Motivation Theory

There are many theories of Motivation, however, I would only focus on Keller's ARCS Model.

1. Attention

• Keller attention can be gained in two ways: (1) Perceptual arousal – uses surprise or uncertainly to gain interest. Uses novel, surprising, incongruous, and uncertain events; or (2) Inquiry arousal – stimulates curiosity by posing challenging questions or problems to be solved.
• Methods for grabbing the learners’ attention include the use of:
  • Active participation -Adopt strategies such as games, roleplay or other hands-on methods to get learners involved with the material or subject matter.
  • Variability – To better reinforce materials and account for individual differences in learning styles, use a variety of methods in presenting material (e.g. use of videos, short lectures, mini-discussion groups).
  • Humor -Maintain interest by use a small amount of humor (but not too much to be distracting)
  • Incongruity and Conflict – A devil’s advocate approach in which statements are posed that go against a learner’s past experiences.
  • Specific examples – Use a visual stimuli, story, or biography.
  • Inquiry – Pose questions or problems for the learners to solve, e.g. brainstorming activities.

2. Relevance

• Establish relevance in order to increase a learner’s motivation. To do this, use concrete language and examples with which the learners are familiar. Six major strategies described by Keller include:
  • Experience – Tell the learners how the new learning will use their existing skills. We best learn by building upon our preset knowledge or skills.
  • Present Worth – What will the subject matter do for me today?
  • Future Usefulness – What will the subject matter do for me tomorrow?
  • Needs Matching – Take advantage of the dynamics of achievement, risk taking, power, and affiliation.
  • Modeling – First of all, “be what you want them to do!” Other strategies include guest speakers, videos, and having the learners who finish their work first to serve as tutors. 
  • Choice – Allow the learners to use different methods to pursue their work or allowing s choice in how they organize it.

3. Confidence

• Help students understand their likelihood for success. If they feel they cannot meet the objectives or that the cost (time or effort) is too high, their motivation will decrease.
• Provide objectives and prerequisites – Help students estimate the probability of success by presenting performance requirements and evaluation criteria. Ensure the learners are aware of performance requirements and evaluative criteria.
• Allow for success that is meaningful.
• Grow the Learners – Allow for small steps of growth during the learning process.
• Feedback – Provide feedback and support internal attributions for success.
• Learner Control – Learners should feel some degree of control over their learning and assessment. They should believe that their success is a direct result of the amount of effort they have put forth.

4. Satisfaction

• Learning must be rewarding or satisfying in some way, whether it is from a sense of achievement, praise from a higher-up, or mere entertainment.
• Make the learner feel as though the skill is useful or beneficial by providing opportunities to use newly acquired knowledge in a real setting.
• Provide feedback and reinforcement. When learners appreciate the results, they will be motivated to learn. Satisfaction is based upon motivation, which can be intrinsic or extrinsic.
• Do not patronize the learner by over-rewarding easy tasks.