Current motivation

Every moment counts when studying

The majority of studies on learning motivation examine it on a general or person-specific level (“I like mathematics/education/psychology”), while the focus is rarely on intra-individual variability (“I like the content I am currently hearing in the lecture”). The research focus of the Current Motivation project was dynamic motivational processes in specific learning situations, such as a university lecture. Our studies show that motivation can fluctuate at very short intervals of 30 minutes during a lecture. Building on this, we investigated the extent to which the motivational states that students experience in their everyday learning life underlie longer-term developmental changes in motivation. Finally, we also focus on characteristics of teacher behavior that are potentially conducive to motivating students.

These questions were investigated using smartphone-based electronic diaries (experience sampling method), which students used to provide information about their current motivation while they were in the lecture. We combined this self-reported data with video recordings of teacher behavior.

The follow-up project Dynamics of Motivation examines learning motivation beyond the first semester.

Cooperation partners: Jun.-Prof. Dr. Julia Moeller (Leipzig), Prof. Jaana Viljaranta (University of Eastern Finland), Prof. Dr. Bärbel Kracke (Jena), Alina Oschwald (Marburg)

Duration: 2014-2020

 Publications

Moeller, J., Viljaranta, J., Kracke, B. & Dietrich, J. (2020). Disentangling objective characteristics of learning situations from subjective perceptions thereof, using an experience sampling method design. Frontline Learning Research, 8, 63-84. https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v8i3.529

Dietrich, J., Moeller, J., Guo, J., Viljaranta, J., & Kracke, B. (2019). In-the-moment profiles of expectancies, task values, and costs. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1662. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01662

Reitzle, M. & Dietrich, J. (2019). From between-person statistics to within-person dynamics. Diskurs Kindheits- und Jugendforschung, 14, 323-342. https://doi.org/10.3224/diskurs.v14i3.06

Dietrich, J., Viljaranta, J., Moeller, J., & Kracke, B. (2017). Situational expectancies and task values: Associations with students' effort. Learning and Instruction, 47, 53-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.10.009

Press

Wenn antriebslose und hochmotivierte Studenten im Hörsaal sitzen (Thüringer Landeszeitung/Ostthüringer Zeitung, 09.04.2017)
Bock auf Lernen: Geheimnis Motivation (SWR2, 21.03.2017)