Assessing Individual-Level Factors Supporting Student Intrinsic Motivation in Online Discussions: A Qualitative Study

1. INTRODUCTION Today's learning environments have the technological means to open learning to the world and support interaction styles that are fundamentally different from those of a traditional classroom environment and no longer need to conform to the traditional classroom environment (Gulikers, Bastiaens, & Martens, 2005). Instead, using online or collaborative technology means that learners can participate actively in their own knowledge acquisition and development process which may "accelerate the pace of learning and create unlimited opportunities for collaboration, insight and knowledge production" (J. M. Keller & Suzuki, 2004). Where previously only face-to-face interaction was possible, technology can be used to "transform" space and time and enables students to communicate, coordinate and collaborate their activities at any time without the need for face-to-face contact (Alavi, Wheeler, & Valacich, 1995). Little is known about the impact of different technology supported learning activities on student intrinsic motivation (Martens, Gulikers, & Bastiaens, 2004). In a prior related exploratory study, we examined the implications of various other learning activities on aspects of intrinsic motivation in e-learning (Shroff, Vogel, Coombes, & Lee, 2007). The results indicated that each learning activity carried with it support for some constructs and less for others. For example, video lectures fostered control in terms of an individual's ability to choose segments and duration but did not for providing challenges in terms of providing learner stimulation. On the other hand, most individuals found attending online discussions more intriguing, given the rich nature of the discussions, and the more personal interactions with each other and the teacher (Shroff et al., 2007). Based on intrinsic motivational theories, this study may contribute to the future development of a framework explaining the potential role of intrinsic motivation and willingness to participate in e-learning environments. A stronger theoretical basis would prove enormously beneficial since it would have the potential to provide a framework for guiding future research by identifying key research variables and relationships. It is believed that intrinsic motivation theory may provide important clues as to how e-learning technologies can become powerful catalysts for change as well as tools for redesigning our learning and instructional systems (Martens et al., 2004; Teo, Chang, & Gay, 2006). The research question for this study is "What individual-level factors support intrinsic motivation in online discussions? " The preparatory step toward achieving these objectives was to conduct a review of literature on intrinsic motivation. Since the focus of this study is to assess the individual-level Factors supporting student intrinsic motivation in online discussions effects of online and face-to-face discussions on factors supporting individual student intrinsic motivation, Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is used to identify the key individual-level factors supporting intrinsic motivation. In addition to its theoretical contribution, (i.e. the development of a research model for assessing the effects of online discussions on factors supporting individual student intrinsic motivation) this research presents important practical contributions through the identification of important factors that support students' intrinsic motivation in technology-supported learning environments. For the purpose of this study, intrinsic motivation is defined as an individual's ability to demonstrate competence (E. Deci, Eghrari, Patrick, & Leone, 1994), a readiness to engage in an activity because of his or her own internal interests and curiosity (Lepper, Henderlong, & Gingras, 2000) and a desire to master the environment (Brophy, 1983). A better understanding of the nature of intrinsic motivation and the ability to gauge students' intrinsic motivation while interacting with technology-supported learning environments promises to contribute to the design of more effective educational programs and thus ultimately to higher educational performance. …