<b>Application of Self-Determination Theory on Undergraduate Introductory Microcontroller Education</b>
Creators: name: Richardson, Jeffrey J
Publisher: name: Purdue University Graduate School
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 401002
subject: Engineering education

description: <b>Abstract</b><b>Background</b> Previous research has indicated that it is difficult to maintain student motivation in gateway courses when students from multiple majors are taking the same course. Providing students with a choice in assignment is important because it creates a feeling that the students are in charge of their education, that they can tailor their education to their own needs, and it can improve their motivation in a course along with their satisfaction and overall learning. This study looks at the impact of giving students enrolled in an introductory microcontroller gateway course a choice in which assignments they complete in the laboratory portion of the course. The course is comprised of students from various majors such as electrical engineering technology, computer engineering technology, mechanical engineering technology, mechatronics, and robotics to mention a few. Allowing the students to pick their laboratory activities allows the students to take control of their educational experience and make it personal to them.<b>Purpose</b> This study examines the impact of providing students with a choice in assignments based on the self-determination framework to determine how choice effects the students’ interest/enjoyment in their education, their perceived value/usefulness of the educational experience, their perceived competence, and their perceived level of effort/importance.<b>Design/Methods</b> Students enrolled in an introductory microcontroller gateway course were given a choice of laboratory assignments that they complete during the last third of the semester. Survey data was collected using the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) before and after the students were given a choice based on a single case pretest/posttest experimental design. A comparative study was then performed to determine the impact of giving the students a choice on the key traits of this study (perceived value/usefulness of the educational experience, perceived competence, and perceived level of effort/importance).<b>Results</b> The results of the analysis indicated that there was not a significant change in the key values of interest in education, value of the education, and perceived effort between the pretest and posttest values when the class was analyzed as a whole. However, when the students were analyzed based on their perception of choice: a high level of perceived choice, a neutral level of perceived choice, and a low level of perceived choice, significant changes were detected. The results of this analysis indicated that students with a higher level of perceived choice reported significantly higher levels of interest, value, effort, and perceived competence when compared to students that reported a lower level of perceived choice.<b>Conclusions</b> Simply providing or giving students a choice is not enough to change the students’ overall interest/enjoyment in the education, their perception of the value/usefulness of the education, and the importance/effort level the students place on the educational experience. The way the students perceive the option of having a choice has a direct impact on these traits. Generally speaking, students with higher perceptions of choice reported: higher levels of interest in the education, higher value of the educational experience, placed more importance and effort into the educational experience, and showed higher levels of perceived competence when compared to students with lower levels of perception. The results also indicate that students with higher perceptions of choice select activities that they view as interesting and/or fun to do, while students with low perceptions of choice seem to select activities that they perceive to be easier to complete. The results of this research inquiry are important for informing future research and shaping instructional design in the microcontroller space.