Engineering Students as Co-creators in an Ethics of Technology Course

Research on the effectiveness of case studies in teaching engineering ethics in higher education is underdeveloped. To add to our knowledge, we have systematically compared the outcomes of two case approaches to an undergraduate course on the ethics of technology: a detached approach using real-life cases and a challenge-based learning (CBL) approach with students and stakeholders acting as co-creators (CC). We first developed a practical typology of case-study approaches and subsequently tested an evaluation method to assess the students’ learning experiences (basic needs and motivation) and outcomes (competence development) and staff interpretations and operationalizations, seeking to answer three questions: (1) Do students in the CBL approach report higher basic needs, motivation and competence development compared to their peers in the detached approach? (2) What is the relationship between student-perceived co-creation and their basic needs, motivation and competence development? And (3) what are the implications of CBL/CC for engineering-ethics teaching and learning? Our mixed methods analysis favored CBL as it best supported teaching and research goals while satisfying the students’ basic needs and promoting intrinsic motivation and communication competences. Competence progress in other areas did not differ between approaches, and motivation in terms of identified regulation was lower for CBL, with staff perceiving a higher workload. We propose that our case typology model is useful and that as a method to engage students as co-creators, CBL certainly merits further development and evaluation, as does our effectiveness analysis for engineering ethics instruction in general and for case-study approaches in particular

An Evaluation of Reserve Component Leaders\u27 Attitudes and Motivation as They Relate to Situational Leadership Theory in a Peacekeeping Operational Environment

Program. This study investigated the relationships between Reservist leaders\u27 attitudes and Hersey and Blanchard\u27s Situational Leadership Theory (SLT), and Thomas\u27s Integrative Model of Intrinsic Motivation during a 2004 Sinai, Egypt, peacekeeping mission. Methodology. This descriptive study provided quantitative and qualitative results. Three instruments were used with a convenience sample of leaders within one forward-deployed National Guard infantry battalion. The LEADSelf instrument determined the SLT style of unit officers and non-commissioned officers. The Thomas Empowerment Survey profiled participants\u27 intrinsic motivation. A researcher-developed survey determined preferences for intrinsic versus extrinsic motivator factors. The study centered on the following issues: (1) Are the participants satisfied with their involvement in the National Guard and the peacekeeping mission? (2) Is there a significant relationship between intrinsic levels of motivation as measured by Thomas\u27s model and volunteerism (or hypothetical volunteerism) in the participants? (3) Are the participants motivated by intrinsic or extrinsic factors to take part in the study peacekeeping operation? Results. Seventy-four percent of the respondents to the SLT survey reported a high task and high relationship S2 Selling leadership style. Less than 10% of the respondents felt high levels of intrinsic motivation in the areas of Choice, Competence, and Progress as measured by the Thomas scale. Similarly, 22% of the respondents reported a high sense of Meaningfulness. Regarding the research hypotheses, no significant relationships could be established between volunteerism/hypothetical volunteerism and Thomas\u27s intrinsic factors using chi-square statistics. However, there was qualitative support for this relationship. The ultimate desire of the study was to see whether intrinsic or extrinsic factors held greater sway on these Reserve soldiers in a peacekeeping environment. What motivated them? Soldiers preferred intrinsic factors over extrinsic factors. They also reported displeasure when these intrinsic factors were absent. Conclusions. (1) There was no quantitative support for the research questions studying relationships between volunteerism/hypothetical volunteerism and Thomas\u27s intrinsic motivation factors. (2) However, qualitative support suggested that soldiers are intrinsically motivated to participate in peacekeeping operations and the National Guard in general. (3) Respondents indicated they could be both dissatisfied and satisfied in aspects of their military career and the Sinai peacekeeping mission

Physical Therapists Perceptions Of Patient Adherence And Strategies For Facilitating Motivation

Physical therapists (PTs) are professionally required to undertake a comprehensive examination of their patients and provide consultation within their expertise, yet also have the task to motivate patients to adhere to therapy. Self-determined motivation, as a positive predictor of treatment adherence, can be facilitated by promoting patient autonomy, competence and relatedness. However, a greater understanding is needed of the context specific strategies PT’s can use to facilitate motivation. The purpose of this study is to explore physical therapists’ (PT)s perceptions of the factors affecting patient motivation, strategies and methods to facilitate adherence, and strategies used to satisfy patients basic needs to facilitate intrinsic motivation. Physical therapists from around Illinois were contacted through purposive and convenience sampling to participate in semi-structured interviews pertaining to their perceptions of patient adherence and motivation throughout physical therapy. Using a critical realist philosophical perspective, the semi-structured interviews followed an interview guide focused on physical therapists\u27 experiences with patient motivation and adherence. Participants included thirteen physical therapists (eight Female and five Male) with an average of 5.7 years experiences in the profession. After the completion of the interviews, a theoretical thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes related to self-determination theory, the basic needs theory and the importance of autonomy, competence, and relatedness to patient motivation. Preliminary findings show physical therapists perceive patient buy-in (autonomy), building rapport with patients (relatedness), and self-recognition of progress (competence) help patients become more adherent to physical therapy. Physical therapists believe they play a role in facilitating patient adherence and motivation, but the role is dependent on the patient\u27s mindset, knowledge, and expectations of physical therapy. Findings will be presented to highlight the unique insights gained from the study along with practical recommendations for PT’s practices and strategies to motivate patients

Students’ Perspective on Intrinsic Motivation to Learn: A Model to Guide Educators

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the collective perspective of what motivates students to exert effort and energy towards learning tasks in a classroom setting. To reach this goal, the researcher utilized a qualitative methodology, the Insider Perspective Approach, to take a deep look inside the classroom experience and examine the broad view of the students’ collective perspective. A model for situational motivation is presented suggesting factors that educators can manipulate to enhance students’ intrinsic motivation to learn: control, competence, active involvement, variety, curiosity, challenge, a sense of belonging, and honored voices. When teachers integrate these constructs as they plan activities and assignments, students’ intrinsic motivation to learn will be enhanced

Extensive reading in a second language : literature review and pedagogical implications

textThis Report explores the importance of including extensive reading (ER) program in English as a second language (ESL) or English as a foreign language (EFL) context. To find benefits and implications of L2 extensive reading, the Report reviews comprehensive literature on L2 extensive reading. Research has found that extensive reading enables L2 learners to achieve both cognitive and affective gains. Based on these findings, the report provides some pedagogical implications for an L2 program in ESL/EFL contexts. The suggestions include practical tips such as materials, useful ER activities, and a discussion of teacher roles in an extensive reading program.Foreign Language Educatio

From ‘motivational climate’ to ‘motivational atmosphere’: a review of research examining the social and environmental influences on athlete motivation in sport

This chapter is intended to provide a comprehensive review of the various theories of social and environmental factors that influence athletes’ motivation in sport. In order to achieve this, a short historical review is conducted of the various ways in which motivation has been studied over the past 100 years, culminating in the ‘social-cognitive’ approach that undergirds several of the current theories of motivation in sport. As an outcome of this brief review, the conceptualisation and measurement of motivation are discussed, with a focus on the manner in which motivation may be influenced by key social agents in sport, such as coaches, parents and peers. This discussion leads to a review of Deci & Ryan’s (2000) self-determination theory (SDT), which specifies that environments and contexts which support basic psychological needs (competence, relatedness and autonomy) will produce higher quality motivation than environments which frustrate of exacerbate these needs. The research establishing the ways in which key social agents can support these basic needs is then reviewed, and the review depicts a situation wherein SDT has precipitated a way of studying the socio-environmental influences on motivation that has become quite piecemeal and fragmented. Following this, the motivational climate approach (Ames, 1992) specified in achievement-goals theory (AGT – Nicholls, 1989) is also reviewed. This section reveals a body of research which is highly consistent in its methodology and findings. The following two sections reflect recent debates regarding the nature of achievement goals and the way they are conceptualised (e.g., approach-avoidance goals and social goals), and the implications of this for motivational climate research are discussed. This leads to a section reviewing the current issues and concerns in the study of social and environmental influences on athlete motivation. Finally, future research directions and ideas are proposed to facilitate, precipitate and guide further research into the social and environmental influences on athlete motivation in sport. Recent studies that have attempted to address these issues are reviewed and their contribution is assessed

CURIOUS: Intrinsically Motivated Modular Multi-Goal Reinforcement Learning

In open-ended environments, autonomous learning agents must set their own goals and build their own curriculum through an intrinsically motivated exploration. They may consider a large diversity of goals, aiming to discover what is controllable in their environments, and what is not. Because some goals might prove easy and some impossible, agents must actively select which goal to practice at any moment, to maximize their overall mastery on the set of learnable goals. This paper proposes CURIOUS, an algorithm that leverages 1) a modular Universal Value Function Approximator with hindsight learning to achieve a diversity of goals of different kinds within a unique policy and 2) an automated curriculum learning mechanism that biases the attention of the agent towards goals maximizing the absolute learning progress. Agents focus sequentially on goals of increasing complexity, and focus back on goals that are being forgotten. Experiments conducted in a new modular-goal robotic environment show the resulting developmental self-organization of a learning curriculum, and demonstrate properties of robustness to distracting goals, forgetting and changes in body properties.Comment: Accepted at ICML 201

The effect of an intervention to improve newly qualified teachers’ interpersonal style, students motivation and psychological need satisfaction in sport-based physical education

Recent developments in self-determination theory research in the educational setting (e.g., Reeve, Deci, & Ryan, 2004), suggest that teachers’ interpersonal style should be considered as consisting of three dimensions: autonomy-support, structure and interpersonal involvement. Based on this theoretical proposition, the purpose of the present study was to test the effects of a training program for three physical education newly qualified teachers on the aforementioned teachers’ overt behaviors and students’ psychological needs satisfaction, self-determined motivation and engagement in sport-based physical education. After a baseline period of four lessons, the teachers attended an informational session on adaptive student motivation and how to support it. The training program also included individualized guidance during the last four lessons of the cycle. Results revealed that from pre- to post-intervention: (1) teachers managed to improve their teaching style in terms of all three dimensions, and (2) students were receptive to these changes, as shown by increases in their reported need satisfaction, self-determined motivation and engagement in the class