Predictors and outcomes of situational interest during a science learning task

In this study we examined change in students’ situational interest as a function of student and task characteristics. Fifth- and sixth-graders (n = 52) were assigned to one of two task conditions that used a different version of a science simulation. The versions differed in how concrete vs. abstract the simulation elements were. Students’ prior knowledge, achievement goal orientations, and subject-specific interest were assessed before the task and situational interest was measured repeatedly in different phases of the task. Post-task performance was assessed 1 day after the task. The results showed different mean-level changes in situational interest in the two task conditions; students working with the more concrete version of the simulation reported increase in their interest while the opposite was true for students working with the more abstract version. The ratings of situational interest were nevertheless rather stable over time, regardless of the task condition. Students’ situational interest at the beginning of the task was predicted by mastery-intrinsic goal orientation and subject-specific interest. Post-task performance was predicted by prior knowledge and the task condition; students working in the more concrete task condition performed better. The importance of acknowledging both individual characteristics and task elements in the emergence of students’ situational interest is discussed.     

How individual interest influences situational interest and how both are related to knowledge acquisition: A microanalytical investigation

The extent to which a student experiences situational interest during a learning task is dependent on at least two factors: (1) external stimuli in the learning environment that arouse interest and (2) internal dispositions, such as individual interest. The objective of the present study was to disentangle how both factors influence situational interest during task engagement. Two data sets were collected from primary school science (N = 186) and secondary school history students (N = 71). Path analysis was used to examine the influence of individual interest on seven situational interest measurements and knowledge acquisition. The results suggest that individual interest has only a significant influence on situational interest at the beginning of a task and then its influence fades. In addition, individual interest is not a significant predictor of learning. Only situational interest predicts knowledge acquisition. Implications of these findings for interest research are discussed.     

Context characteristics and their effects on students’ situational interest in chemistry

ABSTRACT

Many studies in science education acknowledge the positive effects of context-based learning on students’ interest and attitudes. However, little is known about the design criteria of contextual situations generating these effects and how facets of students’ situational interest are affected while learning in a contextualised setting. This paper ties in with this initial situation and reports results of two projects analysing the influence of context characteristics on students’ situational interest, referring to contexts as task parameters in the first project and as learning activities in the second. In the first project, everyday related and unique contexts are compared, and the effects of different contextual topics on student learning are investigated. Particularly, regarding the feeling- and value-related valence of situational interest, the results of different studies will be compared and interpreted. The second project investigated structures of interest related to activities along an adapted version of the ‘RIASEC’-model for different content areas and age groups. The chosen contents were embedded in personal as well as societal and professional context settings. Finally, we summarise the relevance of the different models, results and instruments to better understand different notions of interest and outline implications for further studies about teaching that improves student learning.     

Effects of Classroom Structure on Student Achievement Goal Orientation

Abstract

The authors assessed how classroom structure influenced student achievement goal orientation for mathematics. Three elementary school classes were assigned randomly to 1 classroom structure condition: token economy, contingency contract, or control. Students in each condition were required to set individual achievement goals on a weekly basis. The authors assessed differences in goal orientation by comparing the number of learning vs. performance goals that students set within and across classroom structure conditions. Results indicated that students in the contingency-contract condition set significantly more learning goals than did students in other classroom structure conditions. No significant differences were found for performance goals across classroom structure conditions. Within classroom structure conditions, students in the contingency-contract group set significantly more learning goals than performance goals, whereas students in the token-economy condition set significantly more performance goals than learning goals.     

Perceptions of Learning Environment and On‐Task Orientation Among Students Reporting Different Achievement Levels: A Study Conducted Among Norwegian Secondary School Students

The aim of this study was to explore students’ perceptions of their learning environment and on‐task orientation across different achievement levels. Data were gathered in two independent cross‐sectional studies of Norwegian students in grades 8, 9, and 10 (n = 3453 in 2001 and n = 2987 in 2004). Students within the middle achievement levels reported more positive perceptions of learning environments than the high and low achievers. The amount of variance in on‐task orientation that was accounted for by the learning environment was higher for low achievers than for the rest of the students. Furthermore, students in the 2004 sample gave a more positive report of their learning environment and their on‐task orientation than students in 2001. Finally, we found that the improvement in the perceptions of learning environment was stronger for those students who reported low and high achievement than for the rest of the students.     

Eliciting Mathematics Interest: New Directions for Context Personalization and Example Choice

Building on common assumptions in theories of interest and mathematics education, this experimental study examined the effect of context personalization based on individual preferences, group personalization, and example choice with preselected popular examples on middle school students' situational interest and performance in mathematics. Participants (N = 713) learned a principle in probability calculus in one of four instructional conditions. Individual interest and perceived competence were examined as moderators on triggered and maintained situational interest, perceived value, task effort, and performance. Results showed that example choice triggered situational interest in the learning activity and that context personalization influenced perceived value and effort, contingent on students' perceived competence and individual interest in mathematics. We discuss results in relation to previous findings on interest-based interventions and the theoretical and practical implications.     

Adult students' achievement goal orientations and evaluations of the learning environment: a person-centred longitudinal analysis

This study focused on the stability and change in students' achievement goal orientations and whether the students' perceptions of the learning environment vary as a function of their achievement goal orientations. Participants were 169 students of the Finnish National Defense University. The students' goal orientations and their evaluations of the learning environment were assessed twice, approximately four months apart. Four groups of students were identified based on their achievement goal orientation profiles, and 60% of the participants displayed identical profiles in both measurements. Students with different goal orientation profiles differed in their evaluations of the quality of pedagogical materials, effort and attainment, and participation. Students oriented towards an increase of competence and mastery or towards normative performance and success were most positive in their evaluations. Students oriented towards avoidance of effort or display of incompetence gave less positive ratings. The relation between motivation and perceptions of learning environment is discussed.     

The relation between students’ motivational beliefs and their use of motivational regulation strategies

The goal of this study was to investigate the relation between a set of pre-decisional beliefs including students’ task value, self-efficacy, and learning and performance goal orientations and five post-decisional, implementation strategies students use to regulate their effort and persistence for the academic tasks assigned for a specific class. A group of eighth grade students (N=114) completed a self-report survey that assessed these four motivational beliefs and the frequency that they used five motivational regulation strategies including self-consequating, environmental control, interest enhancement, and mastery and performance self-talk. Results from a series of multiple regressions indicated that the motivational beliefs, as a group, could be used to explain students’ reported use of each of the regulatory strategies examined. Further, results indicated that task value, learning goal orientation, and performance goal orientation individually explained three or more of the regulatory strategies, whereas self-efficacy was not related significantly to any of the five regulatory strategies studied. Findings are presented and interpreted in light of their significance for models specifying both motivational and volitional aspects of self-regulation.     

Exploring the Development of College Students' Situational Interest in Learning Science

This quasi-experimental study explores how student cumulative situational interest, short-term preference generated by particular conditions such as novel experiences can be developed into better individual interest, an enduring predisposition to engage in certain activity such as chemistry lessons. A continuous intervention of integrating novelty and aesthetic experience into teaching was used for the experimental group (n?=?64) while another class of 105 students studying another course of physical science without the intervention of novelty and aesthetics served as a comparison group. The analysis of covariance comparing the two group students' pre- and post-test perceptions of learning science revealed that the experimental group outperformed the comparison group in their perceptions of interest, enjoyment, and aesthetics. The weekly assessment of student situational interest indicated that the experimental group students' situational interests were well maintained by two leading learning activities: demonstrations and hands-on experiments with novelty and aesthetic experience. The above results provide empirical evidence to support the theory of interest development, which proposes that the development goes through a cumulative and progressive procedure.     

Goal orientations, coping with school failure and school achievement

The present study examined the relationship between goal orientation, coping with school failure and school achievement. Two questionnaires, Goal Orientation (Niemivirta, 1996a) and The School Failure Coping Scale (Rijavec & Brdar, 1997), were administered to 1057 high school students (aged from 15 to 17 years). The first goal of this study was to explore whether students can be classified in groups according to their goal orientation. The results identified four clusters of students with different achievement profiles: learning oriented, work-avoidance oriented, both performance and learning oriented and both performance and work-avoidance oriented group. Learning oriented group used emotion-focused coping the least frequently while students with combined performance and work avoidanc orientation used this kind of coping the most frequently.     

Influence of Psychosocial Classroom Environment on Students’ Motivation and Self-Regulation in Science Learning: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

The primary aim of this study was two-fold: 1) to identify salient psychosocial features of the classroom environment that influence students’ motivation and self-regulation in science learning; and 2) to examine the effect of the motivational constructs of learning goal orientation, science task value and self-efficacy in science learning on students’ self-regulation in science classrooms. Data collected from 1360 science students in grades 8, 9 and 10 in five public schools in Perth, Western Australia were utilized to validate the questionnaires and to investigate the hypothesized relationships. Structural Equation Modeling analysis suggested that student cohesiveness, investigation and task orientation were the most influential predictors of student motivation and self-regulation in science learning. In addition, learning goal orientation, task value and self-efficacy significantly influenced students’ self-regulation in science. The findings offer potential opportunities for educators to plan and implement effective pedagogical strategies aimed at increasing students’ motivation and self-regulation in science learning.     

Mindfulness and situational interest

In an attempt to exploit the concept of mindfulness for educational contexts, we investigated the role of dispositional mindfulness as an internal resource for the development of situational interest. Using an online questionnaire, we assessed participants’ (N?=?161, mean age?=?30.4 years, 74% female, 66% university students) mindfulness, presented them with a text on bionics, and asked them to indicate their situational interest regarding the material (t1). One week later, they indicated their maintained situational interest (t2). Findings reveal a positive relationship between mindfulness and situational interest at t1, especially with regard to participants’ ability to be momentarily ‘present’ and affective aspects of situational interest. Furthermore, we found an indirect effect of mindfulness on maintained situational interest at t2 via participants’ interest at t1. These findings were independent from participants’ initial interest and knowledge. Contrary to our expectation, we did not find a moderation effect for mindfulness on the relation between situational interest at t1 and t2. We discuss these findings in terms of implications for formal learning contexts.     

Understanding motivational structures that differentially predict engagement and achievement in middle school science

Middle school has been documented as the period in which a drop in students’ science interest and achievement occurs. This trend indicates a lack of motivation for learning science; however, little is known about how different aspects of motivation interact with student engagement and science learning outcomes. This study examines the relationships among motivational factors, engagement, and achievement in middle school science (grades 6–8). Data were obtained from middle school students in the United States (N?=?2094). The theoretical relationships among motivational constructs, including self-efficacy, and three types of goal orientations (mastery, performance approach, and performance avoid) were tested. The results showed that motivation is best modeled as distinct intrinsic and extrinsic factors; lending evidence that external, performance based goal orientations factor separately from self-efficacy and an internal, mastery based goal orientation. Second, a model was tested to examine how engagement mediated the relationships between intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors and science achievement. Engagement mediated the relationship between intrinsic motivation and science achievement, whereas extrinsic motivation had no relationship with engagement and science achievement. Implications for how classroom practice and educational policy emphasize different student motivations, and in turn, can support or hinder students’ science learning are discussed.     

The role of teachers in facilitating situational interest in an active-learning classroom

The study sought to explore whether interactional teacher characteristics such as social congruence, subject-matter expertise, and cognitive congruence increase situational interest in students. Correlational and path analyses were conducted on a sample of 498 polytechnic students to assess potential differences in situational interest based on these three teacher characteristics and how well these characteristics predicted situational interest. Results revealed that students supported by teachers who scored high on these characteristics reported significantly higher levels of situational interest. Cognitive congruence was the most significant predictor of situational interest. Overall, the findings suggest that teachers play an influential role in increasing students’ situational interest in the active-learning classroom.     

Examining ‘active’ procrastination from a self-regulated learning perspective

This study examined the notion that active procrastinators are a positive type of procrastinators who possess desirable characteristics similar to non-procrastinators, but different from the traditional passive procrastinators. A two-step procedure was followed to categorise university students (N?=?125) as active procrastinators, passive procrastinators and non-procrastinators. The results show that active procrastination was related mostly with the maladaptive motivational and behavioural characteristics described in the self-regulated learning literature. Active procrastinators reported low mastery-approach goal, high performance-avoidance and work-avoidance goal, and low intrinsic motivation and task value. They selected less effective strategies and performed the lowest on tests among the three groups. The results challenged the notion that active procrastination is conducive to learning. Future research directions and implications to teaching and learning are discussed.     

Motivational profiles as a combination of academic goals in higher education

The aim of the current study was to obtain information from students in higher education on different motivational profiles that resulted from the combination of three academic goals (i.e. learning goals (LG), performance-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals). Moreover, information related to the relevance of each goal within each motivational profile was explored to explain conditions closely related to the academic engagement. The sample consisted of 2556 students from five Spanish universities. Motivational profiles were obtained by using cluster analysis followed by a relevance analysis of each goal within each motivational profile. The results support the hypothesis concerning motivational profiles, and further suggest for motivational profiles with a predominance of LG to be more adaptive. According to our findings, high level of LG in one’s motivational profile appear to be a powerful protective factor in maintaining high interest in academic work, as well as high control beliefs and self-efficacy.     

从英语演讲中探究情境体验式英语教学

教学方法是激发学生学习兴趣的重要手段之一,英语演讲已经成为一种重要情境体验式教学方法。针对大学英语教学存在的问题,提出英语情境体验式教学目标,探讨英语演讲情境体验式教学的具体措施。     

The influence of achievement goal orientation on plagiarism

This investigation considered how undergraduate students with different achievement goal orientation profiles view plagiarism. Thai student volunteers (N = 867) completed an achievement goal survey [Niemivirta, M. (1998). Individual differences in motivational and cognitive factors affecting self-regulated learning — A pattern-oriented approach. In P. Nenninger, R. S. Jäger, A. Frey, & M. Woznitza (Eds.), Advances in motivation (pp. 23–42). Landau, DE: Verlad Empirische Pädagogik] and a “Dimensions of Plagiarism” survey [Koul, R. (2007). Dimensions of Plagiarism. Downloaded April 8, 2008 from http://dimensions-of-plagiarism.wikispaces.com/]. Mixed analysis of variance of attitudes towards plagiarism with goal orientation and gender showed several significant findings: high performance oriented students were substantially stricter than low performance orientated students in evaluating all Dimensions of Plagiarism. Low mastery oriented students were stricter regarding the “motive” dimension of plagiarism while high mastery oriented students were stricter regarding the “source” dimension of plagiarism. Significant differences between females and males were observed across the six factors of the Dimensions of Plagiarism survey. These results are interpreted within the framework of social comparison theory in respect to competitive learning environments.