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Learner Satisfaction Cannot Continue to be Undervalued in E-LearningLindsey OwensPurdue UniversityAbstractThis paper explores why e-learning struggles to cultivate and/or maintain motivation, both intrinsically and extrinsically, among its users. Concerns with methods of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation will be discussed in addition to suggestions for overcoming the obstacles preventing learner satisfaction. “Satisfaction informs how e-learning is received, accepted, and valued, and it attests to the quality of the learning experience” (Gunawardena et al., 2010, p. 208). If satisfaction, as Gunawardena et al. asserts, is directly related to the quality of the learner’s experience, why is learner satisfaction not taken more into account in creating instructional materials? In creating these materials, many times the focus is on the content of the course, the delivery mode, or the timeline in which the materials or course needs to be completed. The learner is rarely acknowledged until testing or the piloting phase. Even when the learner is acknowledged, the purpose of the learner is not to measure the satisfaction in response to the material. The learner’s satisfaction is almost completely ignored in the entire process. Of the prevalent learning models within the instructional design industry (the ADDIE model, variations of the ADDIE model, or the Dick and Carey System) none directly address and evaluate learner satisfaction. “Learner satisfaction [should be] chosen as a dependent variable because students who report higher levels of learner satisfaction often participate more, demonstrate greater learning gains, and continue to enroll in online classes (Allen et al. 2007). If students are satisfied, they are more likely to be successful (Puzziferro 2008)” (Gunawardena et al., 2010, p. 208). As a dependent variable, satisfaction is in response to the student’s experience and can be measured. The instructional materials should be developed with the consideration of the learner’s satisfaction due to the direct correlation to overall success. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines satisfaction as a “fulfillment of a need or want” or “a source or means of enjoyment” (Satisfaction, 2012). “Intrinsic motivation, which can also be called intrinsic satisfaction, can result from feelings of mastery and from the pleasure of succeeded at a task which was meaningful and challenging” (Keller, 2010, p. 166). Learning may not always be a fulfillment, a source of enjoyment, meaningful, or challenging for the learner. It may simply be a requirement for a job or class. John Keller (2010), the developer of the ARCS Motivational Model Approach, points out,There are many reasons why children and adults are in the courses they take, and the choices of content in those courses are based on decisions ranging from traditional through convenience to actual needs The most common reason why people are in a given course is because it is required. This is true for children in school, for adults who are trying to earn degrees or certification, and for adults who are responding to the requirements of their workplace. (p. 166). Because learning, particularly in an academic environment, is a requirement, learners tend to have low intrinsic motivation especially when the topic is not one of interest. What can an instructor do in the case of required learning for the uninterested learner with little intrinsic motivation?Take the example in an article by Moley et al. of study done on middle school teachers and the chosen text selections for their English class versus the students’ reading preferences and motivation behind choosing which books to read. In this study, students are given the assignment to read ten books from a certain list each quarter. Teachers choose these books based on the readability and other learning aspects; however, students choose books from the list with an entirely different approach. During an interview, one student was asked why he chose to read The Color Purple. This book can be a complex choice for a middle school student considering the length, the content and, the dialect of the narrator of the story (Moley et al., 2011, p. 250). The student, Peter, revealed that “choosing The Color Purple, a title worth “three books,” decreased the total number of books he must read. Peter realized, as many middle school students would, that reading this book gave him an advantage”(Moley et al., 2011, p.250). Whether Pete was actually gaining something by reading one longer book opposed to three short books is not of importance. The fact that Peter perceives he is gaining something is the key factor. “We [can] surmise extrinsic motivation, rather than intrinsic motivation, cultivated his desire to read The Color Purple (Walker 1982). He did not appear drawn to this book out of curiosity” (Moley et al., 2011, p.250). Extrinsically motivated by the weighted values of certain titles, Peter gained satisfaction by completing his assignment and therefore achieving his goal in larger increments rather than one book at time. The larger increment is a positive consequence for choosing a longer and more difficult book to read. “Positive consequences can be especially useful when learning tasks are inherently boring or their relevance is not perceived by the learner” (Driscoll, 2005, p. 325). By using this positive consequence as means to foster satisfaction, the student has a sense of achievement along the journey of accomplishing the ultimate goal of reading ten books. Peter felt satisfaction with the notion of reading fewer books.Positive consequences are not always only perceived by the learner; they can also be tangible rewards. In e-learning, the positive consequence or extrinsic reward is usually a certificate signifying successful completion of the material. “According to reinforcement theory, people should be more motivated if the task and the reward are a defined, and an appropriate reinforcement schedule is used” (Keller, 1987, p. 6). A well-designed course will make the learner aware of the purpose and tasks required within the e-learning materials with the certificate of completion expected. The learner can then use the goal of attaining the certificate (the extrinsic reward or reinforcement) as intrinsic motivation to complete the course. This is an ideal situation; however it is not always realistic. The relationship between the learner’s motivation and the reward must be accounted for. Keller notes that “in considering these relationships between extrinsic reinforcements and intrinsic motivation it is important to remember that they apply to situations where subjects already have a degree of intrinsic motivation” (Keller, 2010, p. 177). Essentially, the extrinsic reward is successful only if the learner possesses intrinsic motivation. If the learner is learning because of a requirement and not a personal interest, the reinforcement theory becomes more complicated because intrinsic motivation is likely not present. Furthermore, consider that these certificates are expected by the learner and have become commonplace at the conclusion of instructional material. If certificates of completion are constantly received, does the each certificate hold the same amount of value each time it is received? Overuse can cause certificates of completion to barely serve the purpose of extrinsically motivating the learner. Due to the repetition, eventually learners could see the certificate as just another section of the e-learning course, therefore thwarting the certificates’ status as a reward. In this case, the once extrinsic reward is a part of the instructional materials it becomes “endogenous to the task; that is when the reward is a natural component of the task as in winning money at poker or getting paid for your work.” (Keller, 2010, p. 177) As a result of becoming an endogenous “demotivation can occur when the contingencies governing this relationship are violated and performance can be affected by the relationship, but the outcomes are not “rewards” that are extrinsic to the expected results of the task performance” (Keller, 2010, p. 177). As mentioned earlier, learners must have some level of intrinsic motivation for extrinsic rewards to be effective (Keller, 2010, p. 177). With learners lacking intrinsic motivation, due to learning being a requirement and not an interest, and the e-learning course lacking an extrinsic reward, how can instructional materials be successful in giving the learner a satisfactory experience? Satisfaction is clearly integral to the outcome of the learning experience; Palmer (2009) asserts:Learner satisfaction has been shown to be positively correlated with quality of learning outcomes. An understanding of the factors that influence student satisfaction with online learning in a particular context can be used as an input to the appropriate design of learning environments, and for the provision of targeted support to students, with an aim to positively influence the student online learning experience. (p.101) What can instructional designer do to incorporate elements of satisfaction in the e-learning developed? Keller (2010) mentions:People like a certain amount of novelty, they like to feel competent, they like to build knowledge and skills in areas of personal interest and importance, and they like to experience a degree of control, or autonomy. When all of these conditions are met in a learning environment, then intrinsic satisfaction will result or be sustained from successful achievement. (p. 166)Keller points out three avenues for cultivating intrinsic satisfaction. These three avenues can be applied to an e-learning environment in the following ways: Novelty: Instructional designers often use a template for e-learning materials. This means learners will see the same thing over and over again: the same color scheme, the same layout, the same order of events. While a template definitely makes the task of developing e-learning more simple for the designer, the learner can get bored with the monotony. Changing the template will give the learners an opportunity to encounter something fresh. Adding music at certain junctures also is a simple option to liven up an e-learning experience. Furthermore changing the mode of content delivery can be an option. “Understanding the uses for and the effectiveness of these various delivery modes in terms of learning outcomes and student satisfaction becomes more and more critical. This is particularly true as students become more immersed in the rich, technology-enhanced learning environment used to support all of the aspects of their learning” (Abdous et al., 2010, p. 735). With all the technology available, learners need to be surprised every now and then to keep them engaged and motivated to see what happens next. Building knowledge and skills in areas of personal interest and importance: Learners will not learn what they do not value. Consequently, if learners are not learning, they will not be satisfied with the learning experience. Explaining exactly what the instructional materials can help the learners to gain can combat this problem. Natural consequences of learning can be overlooked by the uninterested learner and therefore needs to be clarified. Many e-learning courses have objectives listed. For example, at the beginning of a course, it may say, “Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to…..” Instead of stating what the learner will know or understand at the end of the course, telling how the learner will benefit from using the information in the instructional material is far more effective. The lesson will become relevant and meaningful to the learner; therefore the learner can gain personal interest. Additionally, stating the objectives and the benefits for obtaining those set objective will allow learners to establish expectations of what will happen in the experience. The expectation sets the standard for what the learner would like to achieve. Meeting or not meeting those standards will influence learner satisfaction and motivation for the task (Keller, 2010, p. 178). Moreover, it must be taken into account that “not all skills or knowledge readily lend themselves to immediate application. Sometimes, component skills or bits of knowledge must accumulate over a long period before they become useful. In these situations, the use of positive consequences, such as praise, incentives, or real or symbolic awards, may be effective in generating satisfaction” (Driscoll, 2005, p. 337). Instructional designers can include compliments of the participant if something is done correctly. These can be narrated if narration is used, or achieved with pop ups. However, it is important to remember that positive consequences should be it is seen as a reward and not as endogenous to the instructional material as discussed earlier. Lastly, the positive consequences must be consistent among all the learners. Satisfaction may not be as high if one learner perceives they have accomplished the same objectives as a counterpart and received different rewards. It is human nature for participants to compare both their accomplishments and rewards for those accomplishment to that of others in the same learning experience (Driscoll, 2005, p. 338). Learners experiencing a degree of control or autonomy: Although learning may be required and the learner uninterested, instructional designer can still give the learner the feeling of being in control of the learning experience. This can be achieved through assigning a completion date and building in the option allowing the participants to save their place in the learning material and comeback to it. This will let the learner complete the material at their own pace giving them an element of control in the experience. By assessing the learning experience and implementing any or all of the options described above, the instructional designer will have inadvertently used the first steps of the process for motivational design. There are four steps in this process: analyze the audience, define the motivational objectives, design a motivation strategy, and lastly the evaluation and revisions to the strategy (Driscoll 2005). In analyzing the audience the, instructional designer must know who the audience is, their interest level in the material to be taught, and potential motivational problems. This information can be used to assess any gaps in motivation (Driscoll, 2005, p. 340). With the scenario described above, upon analyzing the audience it was found that the learners were required to learn yet uninterested in the material. “From the audience profile, the instructional designer can determine what motivational needs exist and therefore what motivational objectives should be set” (Driscoll, 2005, p. 342). The motivational objective was to increase intrinsic motivation of the learners making the experience of personal value. Next motivational strategies should be brainstormed, selected, and incorporated into the learning experience (Driscoll, 2005, p. 342). Any of the suggestions under the three avenues mentioned by Keller could serve as a strategy to incorporate in the instructional material. However, it is important to tailor the strategy to the learners and the content being taught (Driscoll, 2005, p. 343). For example, if all the participants are new, it may not be necessary to change the template. However adding music to make the lesson more engaging may be a reasonable option. “Other factors, such as time and available resources, must also be considered” (Driscoll, 2005, p. 343). Even after implementing all these factors to increase intrinsic motivation, actually evaluating the impact of the effort is critical. If the impact is not what was expected, then the strategies should be revised. “What is important about this step is that motivation should be thought about separately from other aspects of instruction (Kefler, 1987b). The instructor should attempt to be sensitive to what effects the motivational strategies are having, whether desired or undesired” (Driscoll, 2005, p. 343). Satisfaction in e-learning is best measured through a survey of the participants. Keller notes, “To judge motivational consequences, it is best to use direct measures of persistence, intensity of effort, emotion, and attitude” (Keller, 1987, p. 7). A survey with well-developed questions could capture and quantify this information. ReferencesAbdous, M., Yoshimura, M. (2010). Learner Outcomes and Satisfaction: A Comparison of Live Video-Streamed Instruction, Satellite Broadcast Instruction, and Face-to-face Instruction. Computers and Education, 55, 731-741.Driscoll, Marcy P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.Gunawardena, C.N., Linder-VanBerschot, J.A., LaPointe, D.K., Rao, L. (2010). Predictors of Learner Satisfaction and Transfer of Learning in a Corporate Online Education Program. American Journal of Distance Education, 24(4), 207-226.Keller, J.M. (1987). Development and Use of the ARCS Model of Instructional Design. Journal of Instructional Development, 10(3), 2-10.Keller, J.M. (2010). Managing Outcomes for Satisfaction. Motivational Design for Learning Performance. Retrieved from Purdue Library database.Moley, P.F., Bandre, P.E., George, J.E. (2011). Moving Beyond Readability: Considering Choice, Motivation and Learner Engagement. Theory Into Practice, 50(3), 247-253.Palmer, S.M., Holt, D.M. (2009). Examining Student Satisfaction with Wholly Online Learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 25, 101-113. Satisfaction. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online. Retrieved from ................
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