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 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)

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”?

Motivation in Students

I am really interested in earthquakes!

I’m here for the GER.

I’m worried I’m going to fail the midterm.

I am doing the work for an ‘A’

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

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)

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)

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

MSLQ: Change in Student Motivation

-0.24 -0.17-0.35 -0.4

N=142

t-test: Extrinsic change not significant, other categories are significant

Academic Interest Survey Average GER Interest

Inte

rest

GER Category

Geology Classes

Intrinsic Goal Orientation Extrinsic Goal Orientation

Task Value Self Efficacy

Motivation & Science Interest

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.”

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

Reason for Interest Learning new thingsRelevant to other classesLearned about it beforeSolving problems in the world Relevant to everyday lifeTopics you hear about but don’t normally experience

TopicsWater Cycle VolcanoesEarthquakes Weather and ClimateRock Cycle K-T Mass-Extinction Telling Time from Shadows Comparing Rock Ages

Interviews: Intrinsic & Extrinsic Goal Orientation

Why 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.”

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

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?