ChanMin Kim

Emotions and Motivation in Learning and Performance

This chapter reviews theories and research on academic emotions and motivation that can be integrated into the processes of instructional design and development. First, we discuss the impact of emotions in learning and performance contexts. Second, we review theories describing how emotions occur. Third, we discuss how to optimize emotional experiences in learning and performance contexts and review several models and approaches that can be used in instructional design. Fourth, we review instruments and technologies measuring emotions and emotion regulation. We conclude the chapter by suggesting future research directions including reframing motivation research that considers emotions in the realm of educational communications and technology.

Technologies for intentional learning: Beyond a cognitive perspective:

The concept of intentional learning is well established in the educational community. Intentional learning implies that there is a recognized learning goal and that those involved are rational agents who can make choices with regard to achieving that goal. There are typically two different kinds of people involved in a learning situation—learners and those supporting learners (teachers, tutors, trainers, intelligent pedagogical agents, etc.). It is important to recognize that the goals of learners and those who are designated to support them may differ. Optimal learning occurs when such differences are minimized. A second well-established concept in education is that of engagement. Educational research has established time-on-task as a significant predictor of learning—the more time that a student spends on a learning task, the more likely that student is to master that task. More recently, this concept has been expanded to include initiating and sustaining engagement along with motivation and volition. According to the widely accepted constructivist epistemology, a person creates internal representations (a cognitive activity) to make sense of things that the person experiences, especially things that are new or puzzling in some way. In this paper, we review the logical landscape of the cognitive perspective of intentional learning and argue that it is incomplete without also taking into consideration a more holistic account of human learning that includes noncognitive aspects involved in human experience, somewhat akin to embodied cognition. Our review provides reminders of research-based principles that can inform technology-enhanced efforts to support intentional learning and promote engagement. We conclude with a framework for integrating technologies that are likely to engage learners taking into account a variety of learning goals, situations, and learners. This review is preliminary and intended to suggest areas worth investigating to elaborate a more complete picture of how best to promote and support intentional learning and active learner engagement using available technologies.

A Design Framework for an Online English Writing Course

This chapter proposes a design framework that applies Merrill’s first principles of instruction to an online college English writing course. The framework consists of five interrelated principles grounded in learning and instructional theories and research; it emphasizes task-centered instructional design. In addition, as a way of learners’ practice and evaluation of writing within a task-centered approach, the use of peer review is articulated in the framework. Moreover, the measurement of learners’ mental models is also described with its benefits on the provision of feedback on individual learning progression. The framework provides solid directions for research and development for the improvement of English writing.

Studies of student engagement in gamified online discussions

This article presents two trial studies using the gamification approach in online discussions to increase student engagement. A gamified online discussion tool, gEchoLu, was designed and implemented. The first trial focused on examining student engagement in online discussions. The results indicated that gEchoLu had positive influences on student behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, and cognitive engagement. The second trial aimed to investigate the effect of specific game elements implemented in gEchoLu on student motivation and engagement in online discussions. Findings from the second trial suggested that badges, thumps-ups, progress bars, and avatars in gEchoLu promoted student engagement in online discussions. The limitations and implications are discussed.

Effective Feedback Design Using Free Technologies

Feedback plays a critical role in student learning and performance. However, providing students with effective feedback is challenging in online environments because of physical separation between students and instructors. Technologies can be used to enhance the effectiveness of feedback in online courses. In this article, we propose effective feedback design for online students using freely available technologies. We first review literature on the attributes of feedback that impact its effectiveness. Then, to address such attributes, we propose effective feedback design using three types of free technologies—media sharing, collaborative, and screencasting technologies. For each type of technology, we focus on one representative technology such as VoiceThread for a media sharing tool, a wiki for a collaborative tool, and Jing for a screencasting tool. Based on the analysis of empirical studies using such technologies, effective feedback design was constructed to maximize the affordances of each technology that foster feedback dialogues, help to bring feedback from multiple sources, and encourage students to follow up with feedback.

University students’ motivation, engagement and performance in a large lecture-format general education course

We investigated how high-performers and low-performers differ with regard to motivation and engagement in a university-level, large-format general education geography course. One hundred and ten students participated in the study. A self-report measure was administered three times (at the beginning, middle and end of the semester). Performance data were obtained from final course grades. Results showed there were significant differences between the high- and low-performer groups in motivation but not in engagement. With regard to students’ perceptions of motivational aspects of the course, the low-performer group showed a significant decrease in attention but the high-performer group showed a significant increase. The relevance perceived by both groups decreased over time. The confidence and satisfaction of the low-performer group decreased whereas there was no change in those of the high-performer group throughout the semester. Findings as well as implications for teaching in a college large-format general education course are discussed.

Methods and Technologies to Promote Information-Centered Knowledge Construction

This alternative event for the 2013 iConference is a combination of lightning talks, a demonstration of an assessment technology for knowledge construction in complex domains, and a hands-on exercise in using the tools discussed. The unifying logic for this presentation is that meaningful learning often involves solving challenging and complex problems that allow for multiple solution approaches and a variety of acceptable solutions. While it is important to prepare students to solve such problems, it is difficult to determine the extent to which various interventions and programs are contributing to the development of appropriate problem-solving strategies and attitudes. Simply testing domain knowledge or the ability to solve simple, single-solution problems may not provide support for improving individual student ability or relevant programs and activities. A reliable and robust methodology for assessing the relevant knowledge constructions of students engaged in solving challenging problems is needed, and that is our focus.

Designing a Virtual Tutee System to Enhance College Student Motivation

This paper proposes a design framework of a Virtual Tutee System (VTS) that applies agent technology to improve intrinsic motivation to read. A VTS is a computer-based learning environment in which students become tutors of virtual peers. A VTS capitalizes on the motivational benefits of peer tutoring with additional strategies to support the motivational needs of individual students. The proposed framework provides four design principles and the component guidelines. The paper concludes with an example VTS implementation scenario.

Monitoring Affective and Motivational Aspects of Learning Experience with the Subtle Stone

Providing students with timely and meaningful feedback is an important part of the learning process. In providing formative feedback, it is important that the teacher take the full complexity of the student into account, examining not only what the student learned or failed to learn but also why. There are numerous factors that are associated with why students did learn or fail to learn, and affective and motivational factors are considered especially important. However, these factors are often difficult for teachers to assess in the classroom, and as such can be overlooked in efforts to promote student success. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the need for formative assessments that take affective and motivational factors into consideration. In doing so we introduce a non-commercial tool, the Subtle Stone, that can be integrated into the classroom to make the affective and motivational experience of students more readily available to teachers. We seek to explore whether the addition of such a tool to the classroom can enable teachers to take account of the holistic experience of students in their formative assessment activities.

Implementation of an Online Social Annotation Tool in a College English Course

An online social annotation tool was implemented in the context of utilizing question-answering tasks with reading documents. The tool and tasks were used in order to foster students’ cognitive development with higher-order thinking, critical analysis, and development of sophisticated arguments in English writing. The effects of the tool on students’ mental models as well as their motivation for and achievement in a college argument and persuasion course were investigated. The findings are discussed along with implications and possibilities for future studies.