Abstract

This study examines whether teachers are able to apply the principles of autonomy support and structure support in designing digital problem based learning (PBL) tasks. We examine whether these tasks are more autonomy- and structure-supportive and whether primary and secondary school students experience greater autonomy, competence, and motivation in these tasks. Participants were 184 fifth-, sixth-, seventh- and eighth- grade students and 20 teachers. The results showed that teachers indicated that their digital PBL tasks were more autonomy- and structure-supportive after completing the training. Furthermore, students’ perceived autonomy, perceived competence, and intrinsic motivation in the digital PBL tasks were higher after teachers completed the training. In addition, there was an interaction effect between training and school type on perceived autonomy, perceived competence, and intrinsic motivation. Compared to primary school students, secondary school students evidenced a greater increase in perceived autonomy, perceived competence, and intrinsic motivation on the PBL tasks.

Citation

van Loon, A.M., Ros, A. & Martens, R. (2013). Designing Digital Problem Based Learning Tasks that Motivate Students. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 21(4), 409-432. Waynesville, NC USA: Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education. Retrieved August 10, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/42521/.

© 2013 Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education