Symposium: Enhancing Students' Intrinsic Motivation: An Evidence-Based Approach

This symposium provides a framework for enhancing students’ intrinsic motivation, derived from the systematic application of Evidence-Based Teaching (EBT) methods and learning principles (e.g., Hattie, 2008; Petty, 2009; Willingham, 2009; Sale, 2015) and an Autonomy Supporting Style (ASS) (e.g., Reeve, 2015) to the design and facilitation of classroom learning. EBT has evolved from a synthesis of research on what teaching methods work best and our increasing knowledge on how humans learn. ASS is a key validated component of the application of Self-Determination Theory (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 2017).   
The framework is the product of a Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education Research Fund project in which 7 teaching faculty, across 5 academic schools, applied EBT and ASS in their teaching, spanning 15 weeks of instruction. The research employed an extensive range of methods to enable an in-depth understanding of the student learning experience over an extended period-of-time. These included an initial and post-questionnaire in which items elicited students responses relating to aspects of intrinsic motivation ( e.g., engagement, autonomy, interest), classroom observation by members of the research team, focus group interviews with students and Evidence-Based Reflective Practice (Sale, 2015) by the faculty involved. The methodology also included at least 2 student members of each class who acted as ‘Co-participants’ (e.g., Lincoln & Guba, 1990) in the research, in that they voluntarily and regularly shared their experiences of learning with the research team over the duration of the project. The first paper ‘An Evidence-Based Approach for Enhancing Students’ Intrinsic Motivation’ outlines the pedagogic models employed in the research design and their rationale for enabling a sound empirical base for understanding students’ motivation and learning. The second paper ‘Supported Experiments in Enhancing Students’ Intrinsic Motivation’ details the findings from the various data sources and includes key stories about the experience of teaching and learning from both the students’ perspective and that of the lecturers involved. The final paper ‘An Evidence-Based Framework for Enhancing Intrinsic Motivation’ summarizes the overall findings and the implications for practice to enhance intrinsic motivation in the student learning experience.