Motivational Considerations in the Study of Instruction

Mark R. Lepper at Stanford University is a leading theorist in social psychology and has written numerous academic papers, one I came across the other day is titled “Motivational Considerations in the Study of Instruction” that was published in the journal Cognition and Instruction (1988), 5(4) 289-309.

In the paper he discusses some principles for designing motivational instruction that I found useful. Here is a summary of some of those principles.

Lepper’s Four Instructional Design Principles for Intrinsic Motivation

Control. Provide learners with a sense of control over the learning activity. Let them have some say into when to start and when to stop an activity. Allow the learner to make decisions independently of outside influences. Create an environment that minimizes extrinsic constraints on an activity and decrease any existing extrinsic constraints over time.

If the activity is of inherently intrinsic or of interest, avoid superfluous external rewards and use minimal external pressure. If the activity has little initial intrinsic interest, the use of extrinsic rewards can be initially helpful, but then withdraw those rewards gradually over time. It is best to try to embed the extrinsic constraints within the activity itself.

Challenge. Create an activity that is continually challenging to the learner. This can be accomplished by presenting goals of uncertain attainment and of an intermediate level of difficulty.

Provide timely feedback regarding accomplishments. If possible, provide multiple goals or multiple levels of goals to ensure the activity provides goals that are at the appropriate level and that the learner can be continuously challenged as they proceed through the instruction.

Curiosity. Appeal to the learner’s sense of curiosity. This can be accomplished by highlighting areas of inconsistency, incompleteness, or even inelegance in the learner’s knowledge base. Employ activities involving content, or problems of inherent interest to the learners.

Contextualization. Present the activity in a functional simulation or fantasy context and, if possible, highlight the functionality of the activity. Use an authentic context and environment to stress the utilitarianism of the learning.