Motivational ARCS

I recently began developing an online class for my Spanish I students.  I was extremely excited about this prospect as I felt that it would be more convenient for my learners as they could work from any location as long as they had Internet access. The class would bring the language alive for my learners as I am using tools to engage their interest and I am incorporating a performance project that would allow the students to develop collaborative skills while connecting with the content at a deeper level.  At the end of the course, I felt sure that my students would be able to comfortably have an introductory conversation in Spanish with some degree of proficiency.  When I proposed the idea to my students and their parents, there was much resistance.  I felt certain that my students who were, for the most part, equipped with iPods, iPads and other tablets, iPhones, and laptops would have jumped at the idea of being educated online.  How could I motivate my learners and their parents to enroll in my online class?

Keller’s ARCS (Driscoll, 2005) provides an excellent model for changing the motivation of my learners and their parents.  After analyzing my audience, I came up with the following results:

Attention- Variable.  The students and parents agreed that the students needed to take the class as a graduation requirement.  The parents could not teach the class, therefore, it was necessary to seek instruction outside of the home.  Most of the parents were concerned that the students might struggle with the distraction of switching from education to social networking and having the self-control to pace themselves in an online forum.   

Relevance- Initially low.  Some students could not see any short term personal relevance to learning another language.  Their parents could not see the personal benefits of taking the class online as opposed to in a face-to-face setting.

Confidence- Variable.  Some students felt comfortable taking the class since they had some previous exposure to the language.  Other students had no prior experiences with the Spanish language and were significantly unnerved by the prospect of learning the language in a face-to-face setting, and worse in an online setting where they could not seek immediate comfort, feedback, and gratification from the teacher.

Satisfaction- Moderate to High.  Parents and students agreed that if the students could pass this class, they would be on course for completing their graduation requirements. 

Clearly, I could attempt to change the motivation of my learners and their parents to enroll in the online class if I address the categories of attention, relevance, and confidence.  I would remind parents and students that as homeschoolers, the students were already equipped with the skills that would make them successful independent learners.  Enrolling in the class would only strengthen their problem-solving, self monitoring, self-evaluating, and organizational skills, as well as the ability to use time effectively and efficiently to complete assignments (A).  I would make my students aware of how learning a language could help them to become more culturally aware and prepare them for travel, their missionary work with their churches, community outreach, making connections on a global scale with peers in other countries, and improving their chances for academic success and job security.  I would remind parents that online learning is extremely beneficial to our 21^st century learners in helping them to develop lifelong academic and career skills, and helping them to appreciate the Internet and technology as tools for learning and not just entertainment (R).  Finally, I would assure my students that they could access me during office hours by phone, text, Skype, ooVoo, a Facebook page specifically designated for the students in that class, and Twitter.  The ability to connect with me in a myriad of ways should boost the confidence of my students and parents that they would receive feedback and get their questions answered in a timely fashion (C).  Success!

Reference

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.