Motivation and Research Methods in Teaching

In reviewing the Nine Central Topics of Educational Psychology, the topic under review is - Motivation. “Why do students engage or not engage in certain activities/tasks? How can teachers use student interest to facilitate learning? How can students self -regulate their learning and behavior?” (Edmunds & Edmunds, 2010, p.11)

This topic is of particular interest to me as it relates to the instruction of adult learners. I am currently facilitating employment preparatory courses to adult students and am observing differentiated learners with a very wide range of motivation. The course outcomes are to prepare them for careers, however many have not indicated what, in fact, if any, their career goals are.

My initial question was: Does motivation precede learning or do you even need motivation to learn and, also, do you need a goal, to be motivated to learn? The question started out quite broad and as I continued course readings the first part was answered in the explanation of the Yerkes- Dodson law that describes the relationship between motivation and performance based on the motivation theory that a certain amount of motivation must exist in order for any amount of learning to occur. (Edmunds & Edmunds, 2010, p.55) The focus of the research question then narrowed to: “Do you need a goal to be motivated to learn?”

As an instructor, I have personal opinions, but in order to provide an answer to the research question there needs to be a methodology that is systematic, objective and testable (Edmunds & Edmunds, 2010, p.14) How do I find an answer that is objective, with absence of intuition and conjecture? In an androgogical context, the students are coming to the learning opportunity voluntarily, and norma...

... middle of paper ...

...d there is a legal and moral obligation to do no harm, especially when using qualitative methods. Please reference the University College of the North research policies. (Integrity in Research and Scholarly Activity, 2010)

In order to answer the research question, a predominantly qualitative form of research should be used with complementary quantitative data blended in. When the researcher’s goal is to determine if learners need a goal in order to be motivated, the inherent cognitive curiosity that provides the motivation to answer the question is optimal. (Edmunds & Edmunds, 2010, p.55)

Works Cited

Integrity in Research and Scholarly Activity. (2010, December 14). Retrieved January 18, 2014, from www.ucn.ca.

Edmunds, G., & Edmunds, A. (2010). Educational Psychology Applications in Canadian Classrooms. Don Mills, Ontario, Canada: Oxford University Press.