The Role of Motivation and Engagement in Online Learning

Students Collaborating

Students CollaboratingMotivation and engagement are essential in online teaching and learning contexts. The challenge of keeping our students motivated and engaged is common across all disciplines in online learning. Online courses, however, may present some unique challenges. Without face-to-face interaction, faculty may not be able to pick up nonverbal cues from students that can indicate when students may be disengaged. Faculty may also not be able to share their emotions and may find it difficult to express enthusiasm or concern. The online environment can make it easier for students to disengage and consequently participate minimally in your course. Sometimes students may choose to enroll in an online course because they perceive it to be easier. This can lead to students finding it more difficult to engage. 

Although the online environment creates a physical barrier, with the proper motivation students can be encouraged to participate in your course. Therefore, increasing student motivation is essential to the success of student engagement in your course. One of the benefits of taking an online course is the self-paced nature that allows students to fit the course into their work schedule. Students who are extrinsically motivated enjoy taking quizzes and interactive features with instant feedback. In a world where the internet provides a myriad of information, there are endless opportunities for creativity, interactivity, and flexibility. With an online course, teaching faculty have the capacity to infuse a variety of content that is relevant, captivating, and interesting. 

The following recommendations are useful to increase student motivation and engagement in your online course.  

Design for Engagement 

  • There are multiple ways to create engaging course pages in Canvas Modules. Use images, video, audio, and interactive features. If possible, work with the Learning and Educational Center to improve your course to meet Quality Matters Standards.  
  • Include a Meet Your Instructor Video in the Getting Started Module. 
  • Illustrate concepts of topics in your course with videos. 
  • Use case studies from the Alvin Sherman Library and if possible, create an assessment where students would need to research a given topic using the case studies. 
  • Consider using the constructivist approach where students are guided to their own discoveries of facts and relationships (Alutu, 2006). 
  • Use discussion boards to build community and promote engagement focusing on achieving the learning objectives of the course.  
  • Consider cooperative learning groups. Students who are extrinsically motivated are more likely to relate to their peers while students who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to gain more insight from their interaction with their peers; ultimately all students benefiting from this activity. 

Promote Engagement 

Setting Clear Expectations 

  • Write measurable course goals and learning objectives. Motivated students put more effort into a course when they can reach goals and objectives that are written from the students’ perspective. “Learners who adopt a goal orientation tend to focus on learning for understanding, developing new skills, and improving or developing competence” (Murayama, et al., 2012). 
  • Communicate your expectations with your students. This can be done in your Meet Your Instructor video, in your first class meeting with your students, or an overview/objectives page for each module. 
  • Have a detailed, comprehensive syllabus with all assignment information, how your class will be run with as much detail as possible. Include functional links to institutional policies and a clear grading policy. The new LEC Course templates also include links to institutional policies and a grading policy page with placeholders to help you share critical course information. 
  • Set predictable and consistent assignment due dates for each week or module.  
  • Create a course syllabus quiz as part of your Getting Started Module.  
  • To personalize instruction, create a short video to introduce each weekly module or topic.  

Effective Communication 

  • Communicate with your students often and set a response time. Include this in your communication policies within your course syllabus so that students know when to expect a response from you.  
  • Consider creating a “Frequently Asked Questions” or a “Sandbox” discussion thread where students can ask each other questions or suggestions where they can help each other if there are any elements of the course that they may experience difficulties with. 
  • Encourage your students to develop self-efficacy. Praise your students when they do a great job and provide exemplars or document improvement. “Self-efficacy has been shown to be a motivational factor that affects students’ task choices, effort, persistence, and achievement” (see Brophy, 2010). Providing timely feedback is essential in the motivation and engagement of students.  

Assessment 

  • Have a well-defined late policy for all your assignments in the course.  
  • Provide specific, constructive, and timely assessments for each module that meets the learning objectives. 
  • Use detailed rubrics for written assignments and provide feedback on a timely basis. Students can benefit from reviewing the feedback before they submit their next assignment.  

Here are some helpful resources to read on Online Student Motivation: 

Enhancing Motivation for Online Learning During COVID-19 

How to Motivate Your Students 

References 

Alutu, A. (2006). The guidance role of the instructor in the teaching and learning process.  Journal of Instructional Psychology, (33), 44-49.  

Brophy, J. (2010).  Motivating students to learn (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. 

Murayama, K., Elliot, A.J., & Friedman, R. (2012). Achievement goals and approach avoidance motivation. In R. M. Ryan (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of human motivation (pp. 191- 207). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.