24 - The Impact of Engagement with a Physically Interactive Model on Student Source of Motivation

Poster Board Number: 24
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Abstract Body : Applying educational theories to instructional tool design and implementation for life science concepts may shift student attitudes toward intrinsic motivation. These theories guide the incorporation of dynamic, tactile, and interactive elements into instructional tools. We hypothesized that engaging with a physically interactive model would have a positive, sustained influence on students’ source of motivation (internal vs. external). Therefore, our team designed a physically interactive model based on the tenets of constructivism. A study of the effect and influence of the model on students’ motivations regarding learning was conducted.

This study spanned three semesters of an undergraduate Biomedical Anatomy course for juniors and seniors. It consisted of three groups: control, activity control, and intervention. All students completed the standard dissection and lecture. Just prior to the first exam, the intervention group completed a guided interaction with the model and the activity control completed a worksheet targeting the same concepts as the model.

The model in this study was designed to demonstrate multiple life-science concepts with a primary focus on anatomical sciences. Construction combined materials such as wood and string, custom 3D-printed structures, and physical computing components.

To measure the impact of interaction with the model, students were asked to rank their primary motivations from a list of extrinsic and intrinsic sources. This occurred on day one, with each exam, and one additional time for the intervention group following interaction with the model.

The control and intervention groups began the semester more extrinsically motivated, whereas the activity control group began the course more intrinsically motivated. The control group remained more extrinsically motivated through the second exam with a shift toward intrinsic factors after the third exam. The shift, however, was not maintained through the end of the course. The activity control group shifted drastically throughout course. Like the control group, students in this group reported being more extrinsically motivated at the end of the course.

After interacting with the model, the intervention group reported being more intrinsically motivated. Although there were slight shifts, students maintained an overall higher level of intrinsic motivation. In contrast to the other groups, the intervention group reported being more intrinsically motivated at the end of the course.

Results indicate that students’ source of motivation moved toward intrinsic motivation immediately after being provided with alternative methods and approaches to the material in the form of a physically interactive model. In addition, results from the end of course reveal that more students in both the control and the activity control groups were extrinsically motivated as the final exam approached. However, the number of intrinsically motivated students in the intervention group rose as the final exam approached.

Students were asked to construct their own knowledge through experimentation and reflection by interacting with the physical model. This may have helped to spark a sense of autonomy and self-worth. In return, students likely felt better equipped to discover new material using critical thinking skills.