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Studying Motivation of Introductory Geology Students at the College of William and Mary

Studying Motivation of Introductory Geology Students at the College of William and Mary. Catie Broznak Advisor: Heather Macdonald. (Chuck Bailey). Learning Domains. Why Study Motivation?. Affective Domain Least studied of the learning domains

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Studying Motivation of Introductory Geology Students at the College of William and Mary

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  1. Studying Motivation of Introductory Geology Students at the College of William and Mary Catie Broznak Advisor: Heather Macdonald (Chuck Bailey)

  2. Learning Domains

  3. Why Study Motivation? • Affective Domain • Least studied of the learning domains • Geoscience Affective Research Network (GARNET) • Researching introductory physical geology classes at different institutions • Motivation can promote positive academic outcomes • ~40-50% of STEM majors transfer into non-STEM programs during college (GARNET)

  4. Research Questions • What is the “motivation” and interest of students in introductory geology courses at William & Mary? • How does “motivation” change over the semester? • How does interest correlate with “motivation”?

  5. Motivation in Students I’m here for the GER. I am really interested in earthquakes! I am doing the work for an ‘A’ I’m worried I’m going to fail the midterm.

  6. Components of Motivation Intrinsic Goal Orientation Motivated by curiosity, challenges, or mastery Extrinsic Goal Orientation Motivation for external rewards Task Value Evaluation: Are tasks important or useful? Self-Efficacy Belief in level of ability to engage and succeed in a task

  7. Methods • Participants: • GEOL 101, GEOL 110, GEOL 150W • Instruments: • Two Questionnaires • Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) (n=142) • Academic Interest Survey (AIS) (n=206) • Interviews (n=8) (W&M)

  8. The MSLQ • Consent form and background information • Self Report Questionnaire • 81 questions • Motivation and Learning Strategies • Scale from 1-7 (1=not like me to 7=very like me) • Provides feedback for students Self-Efficacy: I am certain I can master the skills being taught in this class. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (Pintrich et al., 1991)

  9. Academic Interest Survey & Interviews • Academic Interest Survey (AIS) • Given in the beginning of the semester • Based on General Education Requirements (GERs) at W&M • Students rated their interest for each of 11 categories from 1-7 • Interviews • Motivation and interest questions • Based on MSLQ • 20-30 minute anonymous phone interviews

  10. MSLQ: Change in Student Motivation -0.17 -0.24 -0.4 -0.35 N=142 t-test: Extrinsic change not significant, other categories are significant

  11. Academic Interest Survey Average GER Interest Geology Classes Interest GER Category

  12. Motivation & Science Interest Intrinsic Goal Orientation Extrinsic Goal Orientation Task Value Self Efficacy

  13. Interviews: Task Value Do you find your geology class valuable? • Student G: “I think it will be very valuable it because it will give me more knowledge about things maybe not a lot of other environmental science people would know… it has put a perspective on the cycle of the Earth that I am not used to, because I [am] more into the biotic instead of the abiotic systems.” • Student K: “I’d say it’s pretty valuable. I think I’ll definitely use the material in other classes. Like over-exploitation, that tied in with my micro economics class this year.” • Student QQ: “It’s not that valuable, because…it’s not the type of thing that I think about daily, whereas with my other class, I’ll actually notice it in everyday life.”

  14. Interviews: Interest What topics do you find interesting, and why do you find them interesting?

  15. Interviews: Intrinsic & Extrinsic Goal OrientationWhy are you taking a geology class? • Student X: “it’s an area of science that I never really learned about before, and I thought it would be a good opportunity and interesting to learn about the physical part of the earth” • Student K: “I just hope to get a better understanding of extinction and conservation biology and geology.” • Student I: “ [for] the GER requirement and maybe learn a little bit about the earth.” • Student QQ: “I’m not super interested in geology, to be completely honest, I’m taking it mostly just to get the GER out of the way.”

  16. Conclusions • Student “motivation” decreased throughout the semester • Consistent with results from GARNET • Student interest correlates with self-efficacy, intrinsic goal orientation, and task value • Interviews • Provided details • Honest responses

  17. Implications • Motivation decreases throughout the semester • What can be done to address this? • Interest correlates with motivation • How can educators increase interest? • Through more interviews, what other topics are interesting to students and why?

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