Motivation in the Learning Sciences: Connecting to Practice by Design

Abstract

Learner motivation, as a research and design priority, remains relatively marginalized in the Learning Sciences (LS) compared to the discipline's focus on designing for and researching learning. Yet, the learning environments we develop require high levels of motivation. In this conceptual paper, we provide evidence that motivation is marginalized, explain why that might be the case, and provide a way forward that may help ensure our designs better instantiate what we know about motivation in practice. Design-based research (DBR) offers the possibility of connecting motivation research to practice in ways that have not occurred in other disciplines, such as educational psychology. A clearer focus on applying and translating motivation research in design settings will inform our own designs and test motivation theory in ways that are necessary to make motivation more relevant for practice.