Motivation Autopsy

One technology-mediated course that I started but never finished was an online high school physics course. It wasn’t a necessary requirement, but I decided to start it because I thought it would be a good way to keep my options open for University. I generally enjoy math and was interested in the subject initially which motivated me to start.

My motivation began to shift as I realized how self-directed the course was. The learning design relied entirely on textbook readings with little additional guidance or interaction. I found this format difficult to engage with and lost focus easily, which made it harder to keep up with material. Because the course was not required, it became easier to postpone working on it and I eventually disengaged completely.

I think neither competence nor relatedness were well supported learner needs for this course. It was almost entirely self-directed, so support was limited, and apart from emailing the instructor, there were no opportunities to connect with other learners.

In my opinion, a better design would have had the material delivered through posted videos, and I think a general message board with other students would have improved the need for connectedness to support motivation.