Psychological Focus Points

ARCS Model – A well know theory in the field of  instructional design, and is used as framework for creating e-learning and courseware.

• Relevance (making the experience feel relevant)
  • Goal orientation – orienting the learner towards the goal by describing how, and by illustrating the importance of reaching the goal, and how  the goal will help the learner
    
  • Familiarity, showing how new knowledge is related to existing knowledge of the learners
    
• Confidence (make the learners confident)
  
  • Learners like to be successful and success builds on success. Create small opportunities of success along the way by completing small milestones.
    
• Satisfaction (learners need to feel that the learning has value and is worth the continued effort)
  • Provide learners the opportunity to successfully apply their knowledge and skills in a real or simulated setting so they can “see” what they have learned being applied.
  • Provide positive encouragement and reinforcement of the new learning as a strategy to motivate them throughout the learning process.
  • Try to tap into the intrinsic motivation of the learners.
  • Maintain a sense of of equity with the learners by maintaining consistent standards and measures of success.

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Malone’s Theory of Intrinsic Motivating Instructions – In the 1980s Malone did a study of various games to find out why they were fun and motivational. From this he presented a model that includes elements of Challenge, Fantasy and Curiosity

• Challenge (challenge depend on goals with uncertain outcomes)
  • Challenges is flavored by the perception of the learner : If a user see a piece of software as a tool, he or she won’t want  the use of the tool to be difficult. But if the learner sees the software as a toy, he or she expects and is motivated by challenge and wants to try to  figure out the software. For these learners the game is a challenge.
  • Goals should be personally meaningful to the learner and should be obvious or easily generated. Provide feedback towards progress. The learning environment should enhance the players’ self-esteem ( see also ARCS)

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Lepper’s  Instructional Design Principles for Intrinsic Motivation (researcher from Stanford University who proposed some principles in instructional design to invoke Intrinsic motivation instead of relaying on extrinsic rewards)

• Control
  • Provide learners with a sense of control over the learning activity
  • Let them have some say in into when to initiate and when to terminate an activity
  • Allow the learner to make decisions independent of outside influences.
  • Create an environment that minimizes extrinsic constraints on an activity and decrease any exiting extrinsic constraints over time.
• Challenge
  • Create an activity that is continually challenging to learners.
• Contextualization
  • Use an authentic context and environment to stress the utilitarianism of the learning