Where does motivation lead us? An exploratory study of motivational beliefs affecting employees in e-learning courses

Abstract. The advent of technology as well as radical changes due to crisis, pandemic and so on requires people to find different ways to adapt resiliently to new situations. As such, employees do not only have to face new information every day but also need to update their expertise while completing their jobs. That implies the need to figure out what can enable individuals to overcome these demands and move forward to lifelong learning. However, not so many studies stressed the importance of motivation in workplace learning, rather motivation to work was more highlighted. Hence, the present study aims to explore motivational beliefs characterizing employees in e-learning courses. On figuring out the influencing motivation, the study attempts to examine strategies employees use to regulate their learning and motivation. A mixed method analysis was conducted. The participants were employees of the company located in Viet Nam. 62 participants responded to the self-report online questionnaire and 2 of them took part in short virtual interviews. The analysis revealed that intrinsic goal orientation was the most influencing factor motivating employees in e-learning courses, followed closely by the belief in task value, self-efficacy, and extrinsic goal orientation. Furthermore, three clusters were created, which showed that employees with different motivational characteristics used self-regulated learning strategies differently, in which strategies were mostly implemented during performance phase and self-reflection phase. Lastly, motivational characteristics might also shape the way employees choose motivational regulation strategies in different ways. As such, regulation of value and regulation of performance were administered predominantly. Briefly, the findings contribute to the field of workplace learning and provide some insights for managements, and education practitioners on igniting more actions to enhance employees’ motivation to learn, and in turn learning engagement and satisfaction

An eLearning Narration Modality Study: In Pursuit of Faster, Cheaper, and Almost the Same

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of five different eLearning modality practices on workplace learning and perceived learner satisfaction. Using a factorial posttest comparison design (with a control group), this experimental field study explored the learning effects and learner perceived satisfaction associated with the use of different modality approaches within an eLearning course delivered in a workplace. More than 3,000 study participants, who are part of a U.S. federal workforce, where randomly assigned to one of five narration groups. A Learning Management System (LMS) gathered demographic data, administered the course, recorded individual test scores, learner satisfaction scores, and recorded times associated with course completion. Findings from this study suggest that in a U.S. workplace environment, eLearning using text-only (i.e., no voice narration) has similar learning outcomes to eLearning with narration. The important potential benefit of this finding is the reduction to costs associated with eLearning development and implementation—that is, faster and cheaper eLearning development while achieving almost the same learning outcomes. Coupled with the learner satisfaction finding in this study, that workplace learners preferred text-only over any of the forms of narration in this study, then a strong case begins to form for using text-only with straightforward content, for eLearning to be implemented in a U.S. workplace setting

e-Learning in the corporate sector: A case study in the oil and gas industry

This research examined the implementation of an e-learning tool at Apache Energy, an oil and gas company operating in Western Australia. The e-learning tool was developed to help facilitate an understanding of site safety at an oil and gas facility characterised by an increasingly contracted workforce. The study’s research questions were formulated to describe and explain the implementation, looking particularly at relationships between the design of the e-learning tool, the way in which it was implemented, and the outcomes that emerged. The study adopted an interpretive-case study approach focusing on 256 contractors who engaged with the e-learning tool at a dedicated e-learning centre in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. Interviewing and detailed observation were the primary data collection methods used in the study. In describing and explaining the implementation of the e-learning tool, the research found evidence to suggest that it achieved its desired outcomes. Further, the study noted widespread acceptance of the e-learning model. Contractors appreciated the self-paced and multimedia attributes of the e-learning experience, finding it a refreshing and empowering change to what they saw as the repetitive treadmill of safety inductions that characterises the oil and gas industry. However, there were some discrepancies between the design of the e-learning tool and its implementation, particularly in relation to the quality and level of social resources that were provided to support the tool. Tailoring the e-learning experience for individualised learning (e.g. scaffolding contractors with limited computer skills) is one of the key challenges for future implementations. This study will interest training professionals and managers in VET and corporate settings who are considering adopting e-learning as an alternative or integrated education and training solution

Seizing the Moment: Realizing the Promise of Student-Centered Learning

This brief outlines policy recommendations for supporting student-centered learning at the local, state, and federal level

Barriers to E-Learning Job Training: Government Employee Experiences in an Online Wilderness Management Course

Learning at work as an employee is inherently different from being a student in an academic setting and, as such, is beset with different challenges. As trends in the adoption of e-learning for the delivery of job training increase, new challenges related to distance learning with technology have also emerged. Recognition that continued learning in the workplace, now via technological methods, is required for maintaining proficiency and achieving career goals means that understanding the challenges unique to learning at work is paramount. This qualitative study explored barriers to successful online job learning. Interviews with thirty federal government employees from the Forest Service and National Park Service enrolled in an online wilderness planning course revealed that attrition frameworks typically used to describe barriers to persistence in academia and distance education only partially describe hindering factors relevant to workplace learning. Although these hindering factors can generally be categorized as workplace; personality trait, and preference; course design/structure; or technology barriers, such categorization oversimplifies the true nature of employees’ struggles to learn on the job. This study\u27s findings reveal three overarching systemic problems: 1) illusion of convenience, 2) absence of deeper learning, and 3) lack of an organizational culture of learning. These systemic problems demonstrate that complex interactions between various barriers create a cyclic system often preventing attainment of student-controlled, student-centered learning, two benefits of self-paced study. Other barrier interactions can foster employment of superficial, rather than deep, learning strategies possibly leaving employees ill-prepared to negotiate the situations for which they are supposedly being trained. Cultural elements of the structure and organization of work suggest that workplace learning is devalued, under-recognized and often unsupported, making the challenges to adaptation in an increasingly technological era even more significant

An Occupational Therapist\u27s Guide for Mindful Practice Under High Productivity Standards

In recent years, healthcare service delivery has been influenced by one factor that has shown to considerably limit occupational therapy (OT) practitioners’ ability to be mindful in the work setting (Black, 2010). This influential factor involves increased productivity standards resulting in high burnout, empathic fatigue, job dissatisfaction, lack of mindful practice, and distress to the point of clinical effectiveness (Irving, Dobkin, & Park, 2009; Poulsen et al., 2014; Vadnais, 2014). In the midst of high productivity standards, a need surfaced for the production of a tool that assisted OT practitioners to overcome these standards as well as to incorporate a mindful approach in practice; thus, An Occupational Therapist’s Guide for Mindful Practice Under High Productivity Standards was created. The methodology of this guide included an extensive process. First, the authors of the guide reflected upon personal values, interests, and areas that inspired further exploration in the field of OT. Once the topic of mindfulness was collaborated upon, the authors of the guide utilized literature to reveal the literature gap and justify the need of this scholarly project. Then, the authors of the guide synthesized all of the research information into a detailed literature review. The gap guided from the research illustrated that the topic of mindfulness needed to address how OT practitioners may utilize mindful techniques within their practice in order to face high productivity demands in fast-paced health care settings. An Occupational Therapist’s Guide for Mindful Practice Under High Productivity Standards utilized the concepts of andragogy (Knowles, 1984) and the Person-Environment-Occupation model (Law et al., 1996) as organizational frameworks to match the learning needs of the intended readers. The guide included quotes, figures and tables, worksheets, case studies, and mindfulness techniques and strategies that may be incorporated into the workplace setting for OT practitioners. Specifically, the information outlined in the guide related to the OT process of evaluation, goal-setting, and intervention. Ultimately, the purpose of the guide was for the practitioners to experience a transformative process that enhanced their personal and professional wellbeing, their surroundings to promote efficiency and efficacy within their workplace environment, the quality of care they provided, and the satisfaction received from their role as an OT

Chapter 1 : Learning Online

The OTiS (Online Teaching in Scotland) programme, run by the now defunct Scotcit programme, ran an International e-Workshop on Developing Online Tutoring Skills which was held between 8–12 May 2000. It was organised by Heriot–Watt University, Edinburgh and The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK. Out of this workshop came the seminal Online Tutoring E-Book, a generic primer on e-learning pedagogy and methodology, full of practical implementation guidelines. Although the Scotcit programme ended some years ago, the E-Book has been copied to the SONET site as a series of PDF files, which are now available via the ALT Open Access Repository. The editor, Carol Higgison, is currently working in e-learning at the University of Bradford (see her staff profile) and is the Chair of the Association for Learning Technology (ALT)

Gender Differences in the Preferred Methods of Training, Needs and Interests, and Hindrances and Motivators for Sexual Harassment Training

The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess employees’ preferences regarding sexual harassment prevention training (SHPT), compared by gender. A convenience sample of city/county governmental employees from a mid-size metropolitan city in the southeast representing multiple occupational groups consisted of 1387 employees. A response rate of 12% represented 169 respondents. A modified Sexual Experiences Questionnaire - Department of Defense (SEQ- DoD) and the SHPT Preferences Climate Survey were completed. Frequency counts, descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, factor analysis, MANOVA tests, ANOVA tests, and a Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel (CMH) test allowed for hypotheses testing. No statistical differences between genders exist in SHPT interests, design and intent, perceived usefulness of approaches of learning, or training attendance hindrances. Gender differences do exist in SHPT attendance motivators, identification of behaviors as sexual harassment compared between coworkers and supervisors, and factor scores of knowledge level and interest level of topics related to SHPT. Gender is irrelevant in SHPT design. Training should focus on reducing gender- difference of attendance motivators and identification of behaviors as sexual harassment. Areas of future research include: (a) a longitudinal study to investigate the incidence rate to reveal whether reports decreased once more people were familiar with specific behaviors that constitute sexual harassment; (b) differences related to race; and (c) outcomes of training programs focused on needed areas of training, as indicated by employees