askvity

What are the dimensions of learning motivation?

Published in Educational Psychology 3 mins read

While the provided context mentions "motivational dimension" as one of three key dimensions of learning (cognition, metacognition, motivation), it doesn't explicitly detail the dimensions of learning motivation itself. However, drawing from established learning theories and motivational frameworks, we can understand the dimensions of learning motivation as the underlying components that influence a student's desire and drive to engage in learning.

Here's a breakdown of common and influential dimensions of learning motivation:

  • Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation: This is perhaps the most fundamental distinction.

    • Intrinsic Motivation: This refers to the motivation that arises from an internal desire to learn, often fueled by curiosity, enjoyment, or a sense of accomplishment. A student intrinsically motivated to learn history might do so because they find the stories fascinating.
    • Extrinsic Motivation: This refers to motivation driven by external rewards or pressures, such as grades, praise, or avoiding punishment. A student extrinsically motivated to learn math might do so primarily to get a good grade.
  • Self-Efficacy: This dimension refers to an individual's belief in their ability to succeed in a specific learning task. Students with high self-efficacy are more likely to persist in the face of challenges.

  • Goal Orientation: This dimension focuses on the type of goals a learner adopts.

    • Mastery-Oriented Goals (or Learning Goals): Focused on developing competence and understanding the material. Students with mastery goals are motivated to learn for the sake of learning and improvement.
    • Performance-Oriented Goals: Focused on demonstrating competence and achieving high marks or social approval. Students with performance goals are motivated to outperform others. These can further be broken down into performance-approach (seeking to demonstrate competence) and performance-avoidance (seeking to avoid demonstrating incompetence).
  • Value/Interest: The perceived value of the learning material and how interesting it is to the learner significantly impacts motivation. If a student sees the relevance of a topic to their future goals or personal interests, they are more likely to be motivated to learn it.

  • Attribution: This dimension concerns the explanations students give for their successes and failures. Attributing success to internal, controllable factors (e.g., effort, strategies) promotes motivation, while attributing failure to external, uncontrollable factors (e.g., luck, teacher bias) can undermine it.

  • Task Value: Linked to Expectancy-Value Theory, task value has four sub-components:

    • Attainment Value: the importance of doing well on the task for confirming or disconfirming important aspects of one's self-schema.
    • Intrinsic Value: enjoyment the student gets from performing the task.
    • Utility Value: how the task fits into the student's future plans.
    • Cost: negative aspects of engaging in the task, such as effort.

In summary, the dimensions of learning motivation are multifaceted and encompass intrinsic and extrinsic drives, beliefs in one's capabilities, goal orientations, the perceived value and interest in the material, and the explanations learners give for their academic outcomes. Understanding these dimensions is crucial for educators to foster a supportive and motivating learning environment.

Related Articles