Using ARCS to address motivational levels in an online classroom

The information from the “Current Scenario” column was taken from an example used in Keller’s article, “Using ARCS motivational process in computer-based instruction and distance education” (Keller, 1999).  The second column gives several ways to increase the motivational level of the students in each of the following areas: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. 

	Current Scenario	Plan to change motivation level
Attention	This novelty of the online class has worn out because of lack of variety in material and learning strategies (Keller, 1999).	Use personal information and student’s name to communicate with individual students (Keller, 1999).  Make effort to communicate with student on a consistent yet unexpected basis.   “When information is emotional charged, we are more likely to pay attention to it” (Ormrod, Schunk, & Gredler, 2008).  Use case-studies that catch the attention of the learners through their emotions.
Relevance	Students are taking the course voluntarily.  Low motivation may be due to inability to see how course material can be applied to current job (Keller, 1999).	Provide extra material that students can browse through that will help them see how the class material can be applied (Keller, 1999).   Allow students to have a feeling of self-determination by having them choose topics of projects and assignments (Ormrod, Schunk, & Gredler, 2008).
Confidence	Students new to the online classroom who did not score well on the first few assignments have low confidence.  Feedback is not helpful because is it too vague (Keller, 1999).	Provide personal encouragement and show empathy for amount to time and effort being put forth (Keller, 1999).   Occasionally provide credit/non-credit assignments to boost the confidence of struggling students.  Remind and provide contact information for course tutors.   Respond to discussion posts by giving individual and constructive feedback, including positive comments as well.
Satisfaction	Completion of course is satisfactory to students.  However, most students are discouraged by the lack of communication amongst peers (Keller, 1999.	Shorten turn-around time for assignments (Keller, 1999).  Focus on intrinsic motivation by modeling personal satisfaction in the absence of external motivators, talking about being motivated intrinsically, and relating projects to student’s jobs, experiences, and interests (Ormrod, Schunk, & Gredler, 2008).   Encourage peer interaction by creating smaller discussion groups and having students grouped together based on jobs and/or interests.

Resources

Keller, J. M. (June 1, 1999).  Using ARCS motivational process in computer-based instruction and distance education.  New Directions for Teaching & Learning.  Retrieved from: http://library.waldenu.edu

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2008).  Learning Theories and Instruction.  

(Laureate Custom Edition). New York, NY: Pearson. 

Revisiting My Learning Style

Six weeks ago I described my personal learning style as consisting of two main factors: a quiet, calm learning environment and the relevance of the material.  If both of these components were present, I believed my ability to learn was maximized.  This conclusion, however, was made without much knowledge of the current learning theories that impact today’s education: behaviorism, cognitive, constructivism, social learning, connectivism, and adult learning.  Looking back I also realize that I made my learning style assessment based on what worked for me as an adolescent learner throughout high school and college and not what currently works as an adult learner.  

Although the learning environment and relevance of material do improve my learning, they cannot explain what triggers my long-term memory or retrieval.  After comparing and contrasting the different learning theories I have come to the same conclusion that Bill Kerr came to in his blog post when he stated that, “each _ism is offering something useful without any of them being complete or stand alone in their own right” (Kerr, 2007).  Even though each theory has produced several learning strategies that have been helpful for me, combining the cognitivism and connectivism learning theories best explain my personal learning preferences.   

A few weeks ago I created a Mind Map of Connections.  The diagram depicts where I turn to when I need help learning new material.  Connectivism is an ever-evolving theory because my network of connections is also always changing.  My network consists of two main branches: technology and people.  Technology plays a large role in my network.  Social networking, blogs, search engines, online encyclopedias and databases, and the walden library are just a few of my connections that help me gather information.  Once I have gathered information, I often rely on people in my network of connections to help me sort through relevant versus extraneous information.  

Cognitivism maintains that memory only retrains information that has been stored in an organized manner and holds some personal significance to the learner (Ertmer & Newby, 1993).  Technology has helped me become an efficient and organized learner with the use spreadsheets, tables, or word documents.  Looking back, I had trouble differentiation between the six learning theories.  It wasn’t until I struggled through filling in the learning theory matrix that I was able to grasp the similarities and differences between each theory.  The matrix forced me to take large amounts of information and summarize it in a few short sentences.  

Connectivism explains how I collect and sort through information while cognitivism explains how I organize and store that information.  With the help of technology, forgetfulness is taken out of the equation once the information is organized and stored.  Of course, I still have to remember where I decided to save the file!

Resources

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50–71.

Kerr, B. (2007).  [Blog]. Retrieved from: http:billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Self-Directed Learning

This entire blog post is taken from the article, "Adult Learning" by Julie Conlan, Sarah Grabowski, and Katie Smith.  

Self-Directed Learning

"Informal and incidental learning is at the heart of adult education because of its learner-centered focus and the lessons that can be learned from life experience (Marsick, 2001, p.25)." Self-directed learning in an example of informal learning. It is defined as the process in which individuals take on the responsibility for their own learning process by diagnosing their personal learning needs, setting goals, identifying resources, implementing strategies and evaluating the outcomes. In 1999, more than 95% of adults participated in self-directed learning. Typical learners spend an average of 15 hours per week on a self-directed learning project (Rager, 2003).

There are three categories involved with self-directed learning: the goals, the process, and the learner. In an adult learning context, the goals are generally self-determined, as is the process. Self-directed learning can be enhanced with facilitation, particularly through providing resources. Motivation is key to a successful self-directed learning experience. This is very similar to the motivation that takes place in children during a self-regulated learning experience as mentioned in the Motivation Chapter of the ebook.

Adult Learners are motivated by the opportunity to:

• Gain new skills, knowledge, and attitudes to improve their work performance
• Improve family life and health, enjoy the arts and physical recreation, participate in a hobby, or simply increase their intellectual capital

Case Study: 183,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. For many, self-directed learning becomes a means to learn about their condition and provides a method for coping with it. Resources obtained through doctors, support groups, libraries and the Internet facilitate their learning. From this information, the learners gain a sense of control and direction over their own well-being, and are able to make informed decisions about treatment options.

Advantages/Strengths:

• Integrated with daily routines
• Triggered by an internal or external motivation
• An inductive process of reflection and action
• Linked to learning of others

Disadvantages/Weaknesses:

• Learners are self-directed depending on the situation. They will not necessarily be self-directed in all situations.
• Not all adults prefer the self-directed option, and even the adults who practice self-directed learning also engage in more formal educational experiences such as teacher-directed courses.
• Because it is unstructured, learners can easily be distracted by their own needs, assumptions, values, and misperceptions.
• Research has shown that some adults are unable to engage in self-directed learning because they lack independence, confidence, or resources.
• In recent years, less research has been conducted on self-directed learning.

Reference

Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith, K. (2003). Adult Learning.  In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Technology.  Retrieved from: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning


References used in above article


Marsick, V. J. & Watkins, K. E. (2001). Informal and incidental learning. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, v. 89, p. 25-34.


Rager, K. B. (2003). The self-directed learning of women with breast cancer. Adult Education Quarterly. v. 53, no. 4, p. 277-293.

Project-Based Learning

This entire blog post is taken from the article, "Adult Learning" by Julie Conlan, Sarah Grabowski, and Katie Smith.  

Project Based Learning

In Project Based Learning, students work in groups to solve challenging problems that are authentic and often interdisciplinary. Learners decide how to approach a problem and what activities to pursue. This is comparable to the project based learning strategies as discussed in the ebook chapter Constructionism, Learning by Design, and Project Based Learning.

• The learners gather information from a variety of sources and synthesize, analyze, and derive knowledge from it.
• The learning is inherently valuable because it is connected to something real and involves adult skills such as collaboration and reflection.
• At the end, the learners demonstrate their newly-acquired knowledge and are judged by how much they have learned and how well they communicate it.
• Throughout this process, the teacher's role is to guide and advise, rather than to direct and manage student work.

Case Study: The instructor of a pre-GED class wanted to get her students motivated to become involved in their communities. Their first step was to discuss and write about what a community was. They talked about the issues that affected the students' communities. The students took turns stating problems they thought were affecting the community the most. Through group discussion the list was narrowed down the most pressing problems. The class then put together a survey to get input from the community on these topics. This group work helped the students develop not only literacy but also social skills. The class compared the answers from neighborhood to neighborhood, looking for the biggest issues. The students decided that they would like to put together a forum for the junior high school students.

Advantages/Strengths:

• PBL gives the learner a chance to work on real-life scenarios that would be implausible on a real scale. (i.e. management training in restructuring corporations)
• It allows for cooperative learning situations which build teamwork and collaboration skills important in many adult learning situations.

Disadvantages/Weaknesses:

• PBL might not always be the best learning method when dealing with many different cultures and backgrounds because problem solving methods vary from culture to culture.

Reference

Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith, K. (2003). Adult Learning.  In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Technology.  Retrieved from: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning

Experiential Learning

This entire blog post is taken from the article, "Adult Learning" by Julie Conlan, Sarah Grabowski, and Katie Smith.  

Experiential Learning

"Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand." Confucius, circa 450 BC

Experiential learning is a learning theory that is learner-centered and operates on the premise that individuals learn best by experience. A good way to describe this theory is "learning by doing". Experiential learning thus has the learner directly involved with the material being studied instead of just thinking and talking about that material.

Experiential learning:

• Is a cyclic process involving setting goals, thinking, planning, experimenting and making decisions, and finally action, followed by observing, reflecting and reviewing
• Uses participants' own experience and their own reflection about that experience, rather than lecture as the primary approach to learning. Experiential learning theory allows for the generation of understanding and allows for the transfer of skills and knowledge.
• Involves doing something and discovering what it is like, how it made the learner feel, what it meant to the learner, i.e. experiential learning is their experience and no one else's.
• Is, therefore, particularly effective in adult education as it addresses the cognitive, emotional and the physical aspect of the learner

Case Study: A group of oncology nurses is participating in a three day in-service training course. The nurses' training sessions were conducted using the experiential learning theory. The nurses were each presented with a real-life scenario involving a challenge that an oncology nurse might face. The problem is presented to them in a real-life simulation. Once the challenge has been laid out for them each nurse must search out resources for information that might help them deal with the particular situation. Once each nurse has done the research to his/her satisfaction he/she must then face the scenario and deal with the challenge as effectively as he/she can. When each nurse has completed the scenario, the group comes back together for a group discussion about what methods worked and what methods did not work. The nurses then evaluate themselves on the effectiveness of their research as well as the effectiveness of the implementation of the research. On the final day of the in-service each nurse is given the chance to face the challenge again after the discussion and reflection.

Advantages/Strengths:

• Experiential learning theory builds on experience. This is especially important in adult learning because simply by living, adults bring a wealth of experience to every learning situtation they face.
• Experiential learning theory is a holistic learning approach
• Experiential learning theory is most effective when the learning has intrinsic motivation which is a common characteristic in adult learning

Disadvantages/Weaknesses:

• Experiential learning theory does not take into account differences in cultural experiences or conditions
• It is less clear where elements of learning such as goals, purpose and intentions fit into experiential learning theory
• It may not help us understand and explain change and new experiences

Reference

Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith, K. (2003). Adult Learning.  In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Technology.  Retrieved from: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning

Action Learning

This entire blog post is taken from the article, "Adult Learning" by Julie Conlan, Sarah Grabowski, and Katie Smith.  

Action Learning

"Emphasize action learning. Classroom training is inefficient. Half the people in the room are secretly working on their "real" jobs; half are so relieved not to be doing their real jobs, they've turned their minds entirely off. Half already know half the stuff being taught and are playing Buzzword Bingo on their Palms; half will never need to know more than half of it (Stewart, 2001, p.184)."

Action learning is a commonly used term in many discussions regarding adult learning in a variety of business settings. It holds many similarities to learning communities, discussed at length in the ebook chapter on Learning Communities. If it is to be distinguished, action learning is basically the small components that create the main team involved in a learning community. Action learning has been compared with project work, learning communities and various forms of simulation used in management development. It has been more widely used recently for organizational problems (Yorks, 2000).

"Action learning is defined as an approach to working with, and developing people, which uses work on a real project or problem as the way to learn. Participants work in small groups or teams to take action to solve their project or problem, and learn how to learn from that action. A learning coach works with the group in order to help them learn how to balance their work, with the learning from that work (O'Neil, 2000, p.44)."

Components of Action Learning:

• The first part of action learning is creating action groups based on programmed learning, "the expert knowledge" and learning or real world experiences. These are small groups, generally consisting on 3 or 4 people.
• Emphasis is placed on diversifying these small groups so that each group is best equipped to contribute to the learning community.
• A learning coach is designated for each group. Together, the learning coaches also form a group.
• From there, a project group leader is chosen. Both the project group leader and the learning coaches act as organizers, facilitators and overall motivators for the action groups (O'Neil, 2000).
• Action learning involves learning from experience through reflection and action with the support group.
• It is important that the groups remain constant and have duration, meaning the opportunity to establish themselves over a solid time period (Wade, 1999).

Case Study: Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G), the nation's sixth largest combined electric and gas company, developed an action learning program in order to help the distribution department learn how to be successful in the new competitive environment that was quickly replacing its former regulated world.

The following objectives were established for the program:

• Enhance the way people communicate and interact with one another
• Weave quality tools and behaviors into the fabric of the organization
• Develop and use problem-solving and coaching skills
• Develop an environment of openness and trust, and get conflict on the table

Over two years, there were nine separate sessions with more than 250 participants. Each session averaged 28 participants, formed into four action learning groups of 7 participants each. A learning coach worked with each group. The four learning coaches also formed a learning coach team. Each action learning group addressed an actual business project, sponsored by a senior leader in the organization. During the program, the action learning groups met for a minimum of six and a half days over a six-week period with their learning coach and additional days on their own. At the end of the session, each action learning group proposed recommendations to the entire senior leadership team. Many of these groups were involved in the implementation of their recommendations after the end of the session. Some of the outcomes included savings in the hundreds of thousands of dollars through work restructuring, improved relationships with the community through outreach programs, and a transformed view of company-customer interactions, from providing customer satisfaction to that of building customer loyalty (O'Neil, 2000).

During the beginning of these sessions, participants were overwhelmed and apprehensive about the learning approach. After working through sessions, by the end, participants were surprised at the revelations that occurred during the learning process. They reported being challenged by the learning coach and establishing a rich camaraderie with their team members.

Advantages/Strengths:

• Process used in forming groups
• Balanced and diverse groups enhance the learning process and allow significant contributions to the learning community
• Utilization of group dynamics

Disadvantages/Weaknesses:

• Struggle constantly with the balance between accomplishing their task and learning from it
• Difficult to ensure consistency across groups and across sessions of any program
• Challenge of group dynamics

[edit]

Reference

Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith, K. (2003). Adult Learning.  In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Technology.  Retrieved from: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Adult_Learning

References used in above article 

O'Neil, J. & Lamm, S.L. (2000). Working as a learning coach team in action learning. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, v. 87, p. 43-52.

Stewart, T. (2001). Mystified by training? Here are some clues. Fortune, v. 143, p. 184.

Wade, S. & Hammick, M. (1999). Action learning circles: Action learning in theory and practice. Teaching in Higher Education, v. 4, p. 163-179.

Yorks, L. (2000). The emergence of action learning. Training and Development, v. 54, p. 56.

Reflections on my Mind Map

       As a young learner, my learning was dependent on my teachers.  If I had a ‘good’ teacher I would learn a lot.  If I had a ‘bad’ teacher, I believed the learning experience to be a waste of my time.  Learning outside the confines of the traditional classroom, however, has taught me to rely on many different resources.  

     When creating my mind map, I broke my connections into two subgroups: people and technology.  Although people are behind the creation of technology, I decided to split my connections into these particular branches after realizing that each of my connections could be traced back to either a person or a type of technology.  

     I believe the people that surrounding me have had the most impact on not only what I have been exposed to, but also motivating me to learn new material.  Adult learner’s can be motivated in many different ways.  Lieb outlines several of them in his article, “Principles of Adult Learning” (1991).   

1. Social relationships: to make new friends, to meet a need for associations and friendships. 

2. External expectations: to comply with instructions from someone else; to fulfill the expectations or recommendations of someone with formal authority. 

3. Social welfare: to improve ability to serve mankind, prepare for service to the community, and improve ability to participate in community work. 

4. Personal advancement: to achieve higher status in a job, secure professional advancement, and stay abreast of competitors. 

5. Escape/Stimulation: to relieve boredom, provide a break in the routine of home or work, and provide a contrast to other exacting details of life. 

6. Cognitive interest: to learn for the sake of learning, seek knowledge for its own sake, and to satisfy an inquiring mind.

     What I find interesting about this list is that the first four mentioned are directly related, not with the individual learner, but with people surrounding the learner.  Meeting new people, impressing someone, improving the quality of life for a stranger, or competing against another.  It is all about people.  I have found this is true of myself as well.  As an adult, I have come to learn the value of the resources I have surrounding me.  Each person I interact with has a certain level of expertise in a particular area.  When I do not have the prior knowledge required to complete a task, I often seek help from family, friends, mentors, classmates, professors, or co-workers.  Sometimes, I learn through conversation and observation.  Other times, my resources act as guides and will point me in the correct direction.  Quite often the direction is in the field of technology.  

     Technology is a way for me to be in control of my own learning.   Ten years ago technology would not have played such a large role in my network of connections.  Technology enhances my learning for several reasons: convenience, speed, and the plethora of resources available.  As a teacher, I have found that educational blogs have become a convenient way for me to connect and learn from other educators looking to improve their teaching style as well.  As a student trying to balance work, family and school, the speed of the internet and search engines makes it possible to learn in a limited amount of time.  

    In the article, “Connectivism,” the authors explain how the learning experience is not complete as an individual.  There is no way one learner can experience everything a network of people and technology could collectively experience (Davis, Edmunds, & Kelly-Bateman, 2008).  My ability to learn has increased as my network of connections has grown.  With each new job that I have, each new piece of technology that I learn, I become a more efficient and effective learner.  

Resources

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism.  In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging Principles on Learning, Teaching, and Technology.  Retrieved from: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism

Lieb, S. (1991).  Principles of Adult Learning.  Retrieved from: http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/adults-2.htm