One Small Step in the Lecture Hall, One Big Step for Student Motivation: Short Bursts of In-Class Small Group Work

Abstract

Great teachers are continually introducing strategies to engage students, especially those who teach large-lecture classes, whose format can limit active learning and student motivation to engage in learning. Implementation of active teaching strategies must be assessed for effectiveness. Using the simple MUSIC model postcourse assessment survey, student motivation to engage in learning was statistically quantified. A simple short intervention of in-class group work led to significant areas of improvement, which included the students’ perception of the class’ Usefulness towards their future career ( p < .01), their perceived ability for Success in the class ( p < .01), their Interest in the material ( p < .01), and their perception of the instructor Caring about their success ( p < .05). No change was seen in e Mpowerment. In addition, students rated the ease of the class ( p < .01) and the overall satisfaction with the course ( p < .01) significantly higher than the previous semester, prior to the in-class group work implementation. The implementation of this short simple intervention of in-class group work was highly successful in increasing student motivation in a large-lecture, in-major required exercise and health class and can be easily adapted to other large-lecture classes.

Lessons Learned during the Transition to Online Learning in a University Nutrition and Exercise Department

“…This study employed the MUSIC model of academic motivation [6], which has been employed in both undergraduate and graduate/medical student groups as an assessment of student motivation to learn [6,7,[11][12][13][14]. We found that the Usefulness of the course to their future and the ability to Succeed in the course were the highest indicators for academic motivation in both the spring and fall semesters.…”

Validating the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation Inventory: Evidence for the Short Forms of the College Student Version

“…Although the 26-item college student version of the MUSIC Inventory has been successfully used by instructors and researchers (e.g., Anderson, 2020; Dockter et al, 2017; Streiner & Bodnar, 2019), a shorter inventory could help to reduce the possibility of respondent fatigue (Ben-Nun, 2011), especially when the inventory is incorporated into a larger survey that includes other scales or items. A shorter (20-item) form of the MUSIC Inventory has been proposed by Jones (2012/2021) and has been validated for use with veterinary medicine students (Jones et al, 2019).…”

Looking to the Future: Reimagining Pedagogy in Health Promotion and Public Health

“…Describing an approach for motivating students to engage in learning through small group work, and a framework for evaluating student motivation (A. Anderson, 2021).…”