Reflection five
Learner Motivation (Small, 2023).
This reflection is in response to Online Activity 3.2: Assessing motivation strategies
Artefact:
This task asked for us to identify at least three approaches or strategies proposed by Bonk & Khoo (2014) for each of the examples provided. Figure 1 demonstrates how each example measured up against the TEC-VARIETY framework. This diagram clearly shows that against the specified framework, Example 1 incorporated the most motivational strategies, Example 3 had some observed motivational strategies, and Example 2 had none. I have provided a further breakdown below:
Example 1: Build a Pterosaur (National Geographic, n.d.)
This example utilised technology to enhance the learning while still requiring that learners are physically situated in the classroom - technology was used to show images of dinosaurs, and a video resource with audio aids.
Curiosity principle - The activity requiring learners to answer higher-order thinking questions such as offering the word Pterosaur, then asking "can you identify part of that name?" - Saur. Then engaging deeper level thinking by asking "what could it mean?".
Variety principle - learners role played by having one person volunteer to become a Pterosaur - as learners learn about the characteristics of the dinosaur, parts are added to the volunteer to add a visual and kinetic dynamic. This can assist with increasing content knowledge on the subject as well as tapping into fun and fantasy to engage the learners' in a fun way.
Setting the tone/Climate principle - this is about having a psychologically safe learning environment, filled with genuine forms of learning and the freedom to learn. Use of social presence and verbal cues throughout this type of interactive learning can help with enhancing learner motivation to engage in the learning process.
Example 2: Elements and Atoms (Khan, n.d.)
This example used YouTube-style video to walk through/talk through an introduction to elements and atoms. It was a transmission-style lesson with little to no facilitation, questioning or verbal cues for the learners. I see this lesson as falling at the beginning of a learning block as a method of delivering content prior to moving into consolidation activities. I found it difficult to align this example to the strategies proposed in Bonk & Khoo (2014) when using the explanations as they stand and by viewing this example as a standalone block of learning; however, if this were part of a wider learning strategy which incorporated more strategies for student engagement with the learning this review might be more positive.
Example 3: Deploying a Hitachi Ops Centre (Hitachi Vantara, 2020)
This example utilised YouTube to present the learning entirely online. It presented an introductory segment with intended learning outcomes, and structured the learning into blocks headed by the learning outcomes, and was broken up for easy references. While this example demonstrated less consideration of motivational strategies than Example 1, there were still some evident - as outlined below.
Multimedia - learners can engage with the learning visually (video) and auditory (sound/talking through).
Goal orientation - learners have different motivations for learning. Some are intrinsically motivated and want to enhance their knowledge and skills in a particular area, while others might be extrinsically motivated and are driven by competition with peers, money, punishment avoidance or other coercion. The way that this Example is designed is very specific to a certain task which might only be utilised by someone working in a particular area. It can therefore be assumed that the target audience are extrinsically or performance motivated to complete this learning block so that they can achieve certain tasks for some kind of reward, whether it is a pay rise or other performance related perks. The learning is intentional and appears to be directly related to the task which aligns with the motivations of these target learners.
Reflection
What I noticed was that Example 1 was the most interactive and utilised the most strategies to aid in learner motivation and importantly learner engagement. For example, the learning was well structured to identify learners’ current level of understanding by first showing images of the dinosaur then asking them to identify as many as they could before going through the content. Further, chunking the learning was evident in the breaking up of dinosaurs’ technical names and asking learners if they can identify what each might mean – such as ‘Dinosaur’:
Dino = terrible
Saur – lizard
Dinosaur = terrible lizard.
Example 3 outlined clear objectives at the beginning of the video then broke the learning into the components of those objectives, while example 2 had no clear objectives, and was not broken into manageable chunks – this led to me switching off regularly throughout this presentation.
Utilizing the TEC-VARIETY framework I aim to demonstrate how I interpreted each example as having incorporated motivational principles in their content delivery (see figure 1).
Figure 1. Using the TEC-VARIETY framework to map integration of motivational principles in three online examples. 
It was also useful to reflect on the technology selection and integration for each of these examples, as the degree to which technology was used differs between each. The lens I used to review these digital technologies is the Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition (SAMR) model. SAMR is a simple to use, effective tool for determining the degree of transformation of the learning the integration of technology has (Hamilton et al., 2016).
Example 1 - Substitution - Technology as a supporting tool to the learning; where it was used it directly substituted more traditional learning aids ( using a digital image of the Pterosaur versus a drawing or print-out).
Example 2 - Substitution - Content was delivered as a pre-recorded video using a digital whiteboard tool - these technology affordances offered little alteration of the learning as compared to traditional methods.
Example 3 - Augmentation - This lesson was delivered on YouTube with some functional improvement on traditional methods by use of learning outcomes and chunking the video into blocks which can be easily accessed later.
Reflecting on this task and each of the example lessons, as learning moves online it is not be enough to simply substitute the content of face-to-face lessons with technology; rather, it is the responsibility of the educator to consider what the learners are doing and their engagement in tandem with the content that is being delivered. Further, a helpful distinction is made in Davidson-Shivers & Rand (2023) which defines online learning broadly to include open, distance, synchronous and asynchronous, formal, and informal situations. This is helpful to consider alongside the review of student engagement in the above examples as the way engagement looks will differ between each of these contexts - such as synchronous formal learning versus asynchronous informal learning. While there are still come questions around the practical value of this for my context, it is helpful to consider the diversity of online education with reference to student engagement and motivation strategies as identified in the TEC-VARIETY framework.
References:
Bonk, C. J., & Khoo, E. L. (2014). Online motivation from four perspectives. In Adding some TEC-VARIETY: 100+ activities dor motivating and retaining learners online. (pp. 1-384). Open World Books. Retrieved from http://tec-variety.com/TEC-Variety_eBook_5-4.pdf
Davidson-Shivers, G., & Rand, A. (2023). Asynchronous Tools for Interaction and Collaboration. In O. Zawacki-Richter & I. Jung (Eds.), Handbook of Open, Distance and Digital Education. (pp. 1003–1020). Retrieved from https://rdcu.be/c5egx
Hamilton, E., Rosenberg, J., & Akcaoglu, M. (2016). The Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition (SAMR) Model: A critical review and suggestions for its use. TechTrends, 60(5), 433-441.
Hitachi Vantara. (2020). Deploying Hitachi Ops Center [video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Yk5PjWQ-Iw&t=490s
Khan, S. (n.d.). Elements and Atoms. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/atomic-structure-and-properties/introduction-to-the-atom/v/elements-and-atoms
National Geographic. (n.d.). Build a Pterosaur. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/dress-a-pterosaur/
Small, L. Learner Motivation [digital visualization on the internet]. https://www.canva.com/design/DAFgLEKnYGA/X9D4YbndWhV1ZU0-eS525w/edit?analyticsCorrelationId=6b074df2-a1e1-401a-b8b9-87404d75c0d3