The effects of an experimental programme to support students’ autonomy on the overt behaviours of physical education teachers

Although the benefits of autonomy supportive behaviours are now well established in the literature, very few studies have attempted to train teachers to offer a greater autonomy support to their students. In fact, none of these studies has been carried out in physical education (PE). The purpose of this study is to test the effects of an autonomy-supportive training on overt behaviours of teaching among PE teachers. The experimental group included two PE teachers who were first educated on the benefits of an autonomy supportive style and then followed an individualised guidance programme during the 8 lessons of a teaching cycle. Their behaviours were observed and rated along 3 categories (i.e., autonomy supportive, neutral and controlling) and were subsequently compared to those of three teachers who formed the control condition. The results showed that teachers in the experimental group used more autonomy supportive and neutral behaviours than those in the control group, but no difference emerged in relation to controlling behaviours. We discuss the implications for schools of our findings

Informal carer role in the personalization of assistive solutions connected to aspirations of people with dementia

The increase in the elderly population over the last thirty years with consequent increase in the number of people living with dementia (PwD) has resulted in a research focus on improving quality-of-life and well-being beyond basic needs, to address psychosocial needs and to provide technological support for these. As part of a UK industry-led, publically supported, project Connect-ing Assistive Solutions to Aspirations (CASA), research is being conducted to inform the design of assistive technology packages that are aspiration-led. Focus groups were conducted with informal carers (family relatives) of persons with dementia to elicit views on technology use for increasing independence of PwD (with a carer living at home). The focus groups were analysed through thematic analysis and the results have been used to produce personas and scenarios for creation of demonstrator assisted living packages

Player’s Model: Criteria for a Gameplay Profile Measure

International audienceGame designers empirically use psychological and sociological player's model to create the gameplay of their video games. These models are generally implicit and always informal. A formal analysis of the player's model leads to define efficient player behavior profile. It can have numerous applications, for instance adaptation of the content to the player's ability and interest. Our work tries to find a rational way to assess Players Styles, concept suggested by Bartle [1] in 1996. The first step, state of the art of the player model, shows already some interesting criteria that can be used to classify player's styles

A Review of Controlling Motivational Strategies from a Self-Determination Theory Perspective: Implications for Sports Coaches

The aim of this paper is to present a preliminary taxonomy of six controlling strategies, primarily based on the parental and educational literatures, which we believe are employed by coaches in sport contexts. Research in the sport and physical education literature has primarily focused on coaches’ autonomysupportive behaviours. Surprisingly, there has been very little research on the use of controlling strategies. A brief overview of the research which delineates each proposed strategy is presented, as are examples of the potential manifestation of the behaviours associated with each strategy in the context of sports coaching. In line with self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2002), we propose that coach behaviours employed to pressure or control athletes have the potential to thwart athletes’ feelings of autonomy, competence,and relatedness, which, in turn, undermine athletes’ self-determined motivation and contribute to the development of controlled motives. When athletes feel pressured to behave in a certain way, a variety of negative consequences are expected to ensue which are to the detriment of the athletes’ well-being. The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness and interest in the darker side of sport participation and to offer suggestions for future research in this area

Making things happen : a model of proactive motivation

Being proactive is about making things happen, anticipating and preventing problems, and seizing opportunities. It involves self-initiated efforts to bring about change in the work environment and/or oneself to achieve a different future. The authors develop existing perspectives on this topic by identifying proactivity as a goal-driven process involving both the setting of a proactive goal (proactive goal generation) and striving to achieve that proactive goal (proactive goal striving). The authors identify a range of proactive goals that individuals can pursue in organizations. These vary on two dimensions: the future they aim to bring about (achieving a better personal fit within one’s work environment, improving the organization’s internal functioning, or enhancing the organization’s strategic fit with its environment) and whether the self or situation is being changed. The authors then identify “can do,” “reason to,” and “energized to” motivational states that prompt proactive goal generation and sustain goal striving. Can do motivation arises from perceptions of self-efficacy, control, and (low) cost. Reason to motivation relates to why someone is proactive, including reasons flowing from intrinsic, integrated, and identified motivation. Energized to motivation refers to activated positive affective states that prompt proactive goal processes. The authors suggest more distal antecedents, including individual differences (e.g., personality, values, knowledge and ability) as well as contextual variations in leadership, work design, and interpersonal climate, that influence the proactive motivational states and thereby boost or inhibit proactive goal processes. Finally, the authors summarize priorities for future researc

Mobile inquiry-based learning with sensor-data in the school: Effects on student motivation

The paper discusses the design, implementation and evaluation of a pilot project that integrated inquiry-based learning with mobile game design and introduced mobile devices and sensors into classroom learningweSPOT Project - IST (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement N° 318499The project was supported by the SURFnet innovation grant for sustainable ICT solutions

Explaining motivation in language learning: a framework for evaluation and research

Researching motivation in language learning is complex and multi-faceted. Various models of learner motivation have been proposed in the literature, but no one model supplies a complex and coherent framework for investigating a range of motivational characteristics. Building on previous models I propose such a methodological framework, based on a complex dynamic systems perspective, which re-conceptualises the investigation of motivation in SLA in qualitative and mixed method approaches by offering one flexible tool for case study approaches. This new framework has been tried and tested in three locations in England and reported as case studies. The study aimed to address the following research questions: (1) in what ways does CLIL impact on learner motivation? (2) what are the main elements of CLIL that enhance motivation? Overall analysis of the results found that where expectations of success were high and where the teaching was effective, CLIL had a positive impact on motivation and progress. The framework is designed to be flexible enough to be used to investigate language learning in a range of national contexts. It is hoped that the proposed framework, reported here together with exemplification and commentary from the English study, will enable researchers in a wide range of language learning contexts to investigate learner motivation in a systematic and in-depth manner