The ARCS Model of Motivational Design

QIM 501Instructional Design and Delivery

by:Thina agran Thannimalai

S-QM0036/10

Lecturer:Dr Balakrishnan Muniandy

Overview

Learners learn better when they are motivated. Keller suggests that planning for student motivation should be first and foremost.A teacher has to know his/her audience to gauge potential motivational pitfalls.

BiographyAfter graduating from high school in 1956, he went to college in California, leaving after one semester when he realized he was not ready for serious study.

Keller joined the U.S. Marines in 1957 and was assigned to an aviation wing where his responsibilities included the delivery of strict one-on-one instruction for flight simulator procedures.

B.A. degree in philosophy and English, Keller became a secondary school teacher to earn a living. From 1965 to 1971,

Keller received his Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1974 with a major in instructional systems technology

and minors in research & evaluation and organizational behavior. His doctoral research led to his being

named Outstanding Young Researcher by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology in 1975. He was the first recipient of this award. Keller was appointed as an assistant professor in instructional technology at Syracuse University in 1974

While at Syracuse, Keller developed into both a respected scholar and practitioner of instructional systems design. He was one of first to imply that designers should assume responsibility for motivation. Keller focused on motivation to account for different achievement NOT on learner ability. This was an important shift in focus.

The ARCS Model of Motivational Design

Attention

Relevance

Confidence

Satisfaction

AttentionPerceptual arousalUse novel, surprising, incongruous and uncertain events. Something as simple as slamming a book on the table can achieve this

ARCS

•Inquiry arousal Use challenging questions or problems to stimulate curiosity or information-seeking behavior; •Direct the learner to generate questions or problems to solve.

Examples

Attention

ARCS

Incongruity and conflict

Active Participation

Inquiry

Humor

Variability

Examples

Attention

ARCS

Incongruity and conflict

Attention

ARCS

ABZ2 + 2 = 9

Active participation

Attention

ARCS

Inquiry

Attention

ARCS

Humor

Attention

ARCS

Variability

Attention

ARCS

Variability—An instructor may use variability by incorporating a combination of methods in presenting instructional material.

An example would be to have the learners read an article, watch a video or TV, then divide the classroom into groups to review what had been presented and to answer questions that were presented earlier

Relevance

ARCS

Relevance

Experience

ARCS

Present worth ((What’s In It For Me))

Future usefulness

Needs matching

Modeling

Choice

Relevance

ARCS

It helps if the learners can have an opportunity to use prior knowledge in order to comprehend the new skill(s) and understand what prior knowledge is important to the current learning. 

Relevance

Present worth(What’s In It For Me) relevance strategy suggests explicitly tying

instructional goals to the learner's future activities and having learners participate in activities where they relate the instruction to their own future goals. For example: To try for a job promotion, learners are taking professional development classes to gain more skills that will qualify them for the position.

ARCS

Relevance

Future usefulnessrelevance strategy suggests explicitly tying instructional goals to the learner's future activities and having learners participate in activities where they relate the instruction to their own future goals. For example: To try for a job promotion, learners are taking professional development classes to gain more skills that will qualify them for the position.

ARCS

Relevance

Needs matchingNeeds matching relates to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs that says everyone has a graduated level of needs that range from simple survival needs (food, shelter) up to self-actualization. Once a need has been satisfied, the next higher need becomes the driving force. The instruction might address what needs the learner is trying to meet by participating in the instruction for example, a raise that results from the training would meet a security need.  

ARCS

Relevance

ModelingSome activities that use this strategy include use of graduates as guest speakers, and allowing students who finish work first to serve as tutors to their peers. The goal is to use modeling to show learners how the desired outcome relates to them.  

ARCS

RelevanceChoiceAllowing learners to use different methods to pursue their work or allowing learners a choice in how they organize the work is using choice as a relevance-building strategy.

SUMMARY

These strategies work to produce motivational effects of how something is taught, as opposed to producing effects of what’s taught.

ARCS

Confidence

ARCS

Confidence

Objectives & prerequisites

ARCS

Increasing levels of difficulty

Feedback

Learner control

ConfidencePrerequisites—Learners should have a clear understanding of what it is they are going to learn and how they will be evaluated.

Incorporating learning goals and/or objectives into lessons can help students estimate the probability of success by presenting performance requirements and evaluation criteria.

ARCS

ConfidenceProviding examples of exemplary and acceptable work along with grading criteria can also be a big help in making learning objectives more obvious.

Reduce the possibility that your learners become frustrated by ensuring that the prerequisites for your instruction are clear. An entry-level test or prerequisite course listings can often help learners determine whether or not they are qualified to enroll in a course that is built on prerequisite knowledge and skills.

 

ConfidenceDifficulty—Learners will be more motivated to continue if small successes are experienced along the way. Start with a simple, but challenging instructional elements, and continue with elements that are increasingly more difficult.

Each successive piece of the instruction can be made more challenging by building on the knowledge and skills acquired in the previous section.

Contrarily, if you make things too difficult, no one will want to continue. Small successes along with increasing levels of difficulty will build learner confidence and keep the learners engaged.

Provide plenty of opportunities for learners to practice the application of new knowledge and skills in a controlled environment with sufficient feedback before placing them in more challenging situations. It is important that they experience successes in each successive level of difficulty, as this will build self-confidence. Increasing the level of learner self-reliance in each step will also encourage learner independence.

 

ARCS

ConfidenceIncreasing levels of difficultyEach successive piece of the instruction can be made more challenging by building on the knowledge and skills acquired in the previous section.

Contrarily, if you make things too difficult, no one will want to continue. Small successes along with increasing levels of difficulty will build learner confidence and keep the learners engaged.

Confidence

Provide plenty of opportunities for learners to practice the application of new knowledge and skills in a controlled environment with sufficient feedback before placing them in more challenging situations.

It is important that they experience successes in each successive level of difficulty, as this will build self-confidence. Increasing the level of learner self-reliance in each step will also encourage learner independence.

Confidence

FeedbackUse feedback — to help learners clearly understand what information they understand and where they may need additional help. Use feedback to increase learners’ confidence in their ability to be successful.

ARCS

ConfidenceLearner control— Learners should understand that there is a direct correlation between the amount of energy put into a learning experience and the amount of skill and knowledge gained from that experience.

They should believe that their success is a direct result of the amount of effort they put forth. This is another feature that is especially important for adult learners.

ARCS

Satisfaction

ARCS

Satisfaction

Natural consequences

ARCS

Positive consequencesEquity

Satisfaction

Natural Consequences

• Provide the learner with realistic or authentic situations that require the application of the newly learned skill.

• The more immediate the opportunity is for the learner to use the new skill, the better.

ARCS

SatisfactionNatural Consequences

Some examples of this strategy would be case studies, role-plays, simulations, and games.

Simulations let students apply their newly acquired skills immediately in a semi-authentic situation.

Satisfied learners are motivated to continue learning because they see value in what they are doing.

SatisfactionPositive consequences

ARCS

Positive Consequences —Provide rewards or feedback that will encourage the learner to continue target behavior.

Motivational feedback can vary from positive comments to extrinsic rewards. Extrinsic rewards can be as varied as prizes, parties, travel awards, and even cash. Cautions:

• Don't annoy the learner by over-rewarding simple behavior.

• Don't overuse extrinsic rewards as they may overshadow instruction.

• Don't make the negative consequences too entertaining. You don't want the learner to purposely choose the wrong answer

Satisfaction

Positive consequences

SatisfactionEquity

ARCS

Design and maintain consequences and feedback that are consistent and fair. Make expectations clear so as not to disappoint or discourage learners. Feedback needs to be balanced and fair to keep students motivated to continue learning. Rewards and feedback should be provided in a timely fashion and should be appropriate to the level of difficulty of the task.  

The ARCS Model of Motivational Design

Attention

Relevance

Confidence

Satisfaction

References

Keller, J. M., (1983). Development and Use of the ARCS Model of Motivational Design (Report No. IR 014 039). Enschede, Netherlands: Twente Univ. of Technology. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 313 001) 

Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper.