{"id":79,"date":"2024-01-05T14:36:41","date_gmt":"2024-01-05T19:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/teachingonlineatbcit\/?post_type=chapter&p=79"},"modified":"2024-12-05T15:01:44","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T20:01:44","slug":"student-motivation-to-engage-with-and-complete-courses","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/teachingonlineatbcit\/chapter\/student-motivation-to-engage-with-and-complete-courses\/","title":{"raw":"Student Motivation to Engage With and Complete Courses","rendered":"Student Motivation to Engage With and Complete Courses"},"content":{"raw":"For learning to take place, students need to be motivated to engage in the work of the class. One of the principal jobs of an educator is to create learning environments that encourage student motivation. Motivation, at the heart of learning, requires our attention regardless of our approach to delivery (online, blended, or in-person).\r\n\r\nAnd we don\u2019t want to confuse student engagement with student\u2019s ability to manage themselves.\r\n
\u201cThe students who are the best at navigating distance learning environments are not necessarily the most tech-savvy. Instead, they are the most self-directed. They are the students who have developed the soft skills needed to be self-starters and self-managers. These students engage in project management and time management. They problem-solve when tasks get challenging. They find necessary scaffolds when they need help, and they engage in meaningful peer collaboration. These students are constantly engaging in peer and self-assessment.\u201d\r\n

Spencer, J. (2020) The Real Issue Isn\u2019t Student Engagement[footnote]Retrieved November 1, 2023 from http:\/\/www.spencerauthor.com\/student-ownership-online\/[\/footnote]<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nAssigning good grades to those who perform well is one approach to motivation, tapping into our learners\u2019 extrinsic motivation by rewarding their behaviour with external rewards. But when we tap into our learners\u2019 intrinsic motivation drivers, the results are more effective. When we tap into our learners\u2019 internal need for autonomy (choosing pathways and behaviours), competence (succeeding at existing tasks and mastering new skills) and relatedness (connecting with others socially), we respect the drive for self-determination and self-direction (Ryan and Deci, 2020).\r\n

Getting out of the way of student\u2019s desire to learn<\/h6>\r\nDespite our best intentions, we may do things while we are facilitating a course, or have inadvertently built issues into the design of our online courses\u2019 elements that get in the way of our students' desire to learn. You might see some students stop participating in discussions or missing assignments. As we first discussed at the beginning of this unit, students must juggle their life and study responsibilities, learn to manage their time, and stay on track with their course. We can help them by building elements into our course design and using teaching techniques that are flexible enough to accommodate their challenges while at the same time keeping them engaged.\r\n\r\nBut when we, for example, dump large amounts of content on them (creating cognitive overload), without giving them sufficient time to interact with the material, nor with you, nor with other students, or when we give them online activities that do not seem to have meaning or urgency, especially in terms of getting better grades, we start to inhibit their motivation for completing our courses. We de-motivate them.\r\n
What is Required to Motivate Learners<\/h6>\r\nLet's look at what is required to motivate learners. The role of the online facilitator, as content expert and motivational coach, is directly connected to student success. Facilitation and motivation may, depending on the context, seem easier to accomplish in a face-to-face environment.\r\n\r\nJohn Keller<\/a>[footnote]http:\/\/www.arcsmodel.com\/#!motivational-design\/c2275[\/footnote]\u00a0delineated the motivational elements of instruction as encompassing four necessary components:\r\n