Five factors that affect student motivation

Rob Kelly comments on an interview with Brett Jones, associate professor of educational psychology at Virginia Tech who has developed a MUSIC model of student motivation – eMpowerment, Usefulness, Success, Interest, and Caring.

Students need to feel that they can succeed in the course if they make a reasonable effort. The instructor can help students succeed by setting expectations, providing feedback, and facilitating the course so that students have access to additional resources if needed. “What resources do you have available for them to succeed? If you thought ahead you can know what problems students typically run into. A lot of times you can create additional documents or videos that explain the more difficult concepts,” Jones says.

In full,

Also Engagment and Motivation in MOOCs by Stephen Downes who looks at whether the choice of an educational path is sufficient to support motivation in MOOCs.