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 (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 minute anonymous phone interviews

MSLQ: Change in Student Motivation N=142 t-test: Extrinsic change not significant, other categories are significant

Academic Interest Survey Average GER Interest Interest GER Category Geology Classes

Intrinsic Goal OrientationExtrinsic Goal Orientation Task ValueSelf 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 things  Relevant to other classes  Learned about it before  Solving problems in the world  Relevant to everyday life  Topics you hear about but don’t normally experience Topics  Water Cycle  Volcanoes  Earthquakes  Weather and Climate  Rock 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?