Enhancing Student Motivation Using Self-Determination Theory: Practical Applications for the Online
Environment
Susan Epps, Department of Allied Health Sciences, East Tennessee State University
Alison Barton, Department of Teaching & Learning, East Tennessee State University
Abstract: In this practice session, we will discuss Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and how it
applies to students in online classes. Then, using Ryan and Deci’s (2002) framework, we’ll
provide examples of technology- and online-based methods we have used to increase students’
sense of autonomy, relatedness, and competence and then involve participants in brainstorming
instructional strategies that can be used in online courses to encourage use of the principles of
SDT.
Literature Review
In online courses, which require strong self-regulatory skills from enrolled students, successful delivery depends
upon maintaining student motivation (Bennett & Monds, 2008). Without face-to-face contact, students can more
easily disengage (Sansone, Fraughton, Zachary, Butner, & Heiner, 2011).
Students’ subjective value of learning goals impacts their motivation levels; multiple goals can result in competing
or complementary motivational levels (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, & Norman, 2010). For example,
students may take a class to satisfy familial expectations, prepare for a future career, and out of sheer interest in the
topic, reflecting a range of external and internal influences on motivation. Harnett, St. George, and Drone (2011)
determined that online learners come to classes with complex blends of motivational levels, ranging from external
regulation (completing an activity to gain a reward or avoid a punishment) through the increasingly autonomous
levels of identified regulation (completion because the activity has personal value), integration (completion in order
to satisfy a sense of self), and intrinsic motivation (completion for the reward of doing the activity; Ryan & Deci,
2002).
Ryan and Deci (2002) suggest that the most autonomous form of motivation, intrinsic motivation, is closely linked
to satisfaction of the human needs of autonomy and competence, and more distally, relatedness; further, as more
autonomy is provided in an environment, motivation will reach increasingly autonomous levels (Ryan & Deci,
2000). Chen and Jang (2010) have empirically demonstrated that, directly and indirectly, an online context that
supports these human needs can impact student motivation.
Given the direct and circumstantial evidence that meeting students’ basic intrinsic needs of autonomy, competence,
and relatedness can improve motivation, online instructors are challenged to find efficient methodologies that meet
these needs through electronic communications.
Objectives
Upon completion of the session, participants will be able to describe the three elements of Self-Determination
Theory and explain how each element contributes to student motivation. They will also be able to use SDT to
develop and/or recognize effective instructional strategies and to apply these instructional strategies within an online
environment.
Description of Practice
We will begin the session with an open question about what motivational issues instructors encounter in online
instruction. We will move on to discuss collaboratively what attendees hold as goals for their students, and what
they believe students’ own goals are. Within that framework, the Self-Determination Theory of motivation will be
introduced and described. Using the theory, we will explain and/or brainstorm possible reasons for common
instances of student motivational break-down. Next, we will share strategies we have employed in an attempt to
provide students with a sense of autonomy, a sense of competence or efficacy, and a sense of relatedness or
connected inclusion. Following that, we will have the participants work in small groups to brainstorm other
activities or learning experiences that address the three basic human needs outlined in SDT, and those small groups
will then pick one or two of those to share with the larger group.
Discussion
Although we as online instructors teach within different fields of study, we encounter similar situations regarding
student motivation or amotivation, which impacts their active engagement in the learning process. We believe that,
while it can be a challenge for us as instructors and often will require more instructional effort, it is possible to
create learning environments that offer students the opportunity to develop autonomy, a sense of competence, and a
feeling of connectedness to the instructor and others in the course. With these instructional elements in place,
students should theoretically develop more autonomous levels of motivation, which in turn should lead to deeper
and more engaged learning, and to see a relationship between the material and their world.
References
Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: Seven
research-based principles for smart teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Bennett, C. F., & Monds, K. E. (2008). Online courses the real challenge is “motivation.” College Teaching
Methods & Styles Journal, 4, 1-6.
Chen, K. C., & Jang, S. J. (2010). Motivation in online learning: Testing a model of self-determination theory.
Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 741-752.
Harnett, M., St. George, A., & Drone, J. (2011). Examining motivations in online distance learning environments:
Complex, multifaceted, and situation-dependent. The International Review of Research in Open and
Distance Learning, 12, 20-38.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions.
Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54-67.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2002). Overview of Self-Determination Theory: An organismic dialectical perspective.
In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds)., The handbook of self-determination research (pp. 3-33). Rochester,
NY: University of Rochester Press.
Sansone, C., Fraughton, T., Zachary, J. L., Butner, J., & Heiner, C. (2011). Self-regulation of motivation when
learning online: The importance of who, why, and how. Educational Technology Research and
Development, 59, 199-212.