Testing the MUSIC Model of Motivation Theory: Relationships Between Students’ Perceptions, Engagement, and Overall Ratings

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to investigate the extent to which students’ course perceptions of the components of the MUSIC Model of Motivation (Jones, 2009, 2018) were related to their engagement in college courses and their instructor and course ratings. Participants included 285 college students who completed questionnaires once or twice during a course. The self-report scales demonstrated high internal reliability. The findings indicate that students’ MUSIC perceptions (i.e., perceptions of empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and caring) were significantly related to their effort in the course, both when the variables were assessed at the same time point and when their effort was assessed at a later time point. These findings provide empirical evidence for relationships proposed in the MUSIC Model of Motivation theory. Students’ MUSIC perceptions were also related to their instructor and course ratings, both when the variables were assessed at the same time point and when their instructor and course ratings were assessed at a later time point. These findings are important for instructors because students’ MUSIC perceptions can be linked directly to categories of motivational strategies that can be used by instructors as they design instruction.

Students’ Class Perceptions and Ratings of Instruction: Variability Across Undergraduate Mathematics Courses

“…The MUSIC model meets this criterion because the model was developed based on teaching strategies extrapolated from theories that focus on students’ motivation in educational settings ( Jones, 2009 , 2016 , 2018 ). Fourth, we wanted to select students’ perceptions that were measurable and the college student version of the MUSIC ® Model of Academic Motivation Inventory ( Jones, 2012/2021 , abbreviated as the MUSIC Inventory) has been shown to produce scores valid for use with many different populations including undergraduate students in the United States ( Jones and Skaggs, 2016 ; Chittum et al, 2019 ; Jones, 2019 ), in China ( Jones et al, 2017 ), and Colombia ( Jones et al, 2017 ). Finally, we wanted to limit the number of perceptions included in our study to avoid assessing perceptions of similar constructs (e.g., self-efficacy and expectancy for success); yet, we wanted to include enough constructs to capture the diversity of possible perspectives that may exist.…”

“…It is not surprising that student ratings of instruction are related to their motivational course perceptions because, as noted in the prior section, students’ perceptions of the MUSIC variables are related to a variety of motivational and achievement outcomes that can affect their perceptions of the instructor and course. It is not completely clear why students who are more motivated and engaged in a course rate the instructor and course higher; nonetheless, these variables are consistently correlated in many studies ( Filak and Sheldon, 2003 ; Jones and Skaggs, 2016 ; Jones, 2019 ).…”

Engaging Second Language Learners Using the MUSIC Model of Motivation

“…Many studies have been conducted to demonstrate that (1) students' MUSIC perceptions of a class (i.e., perceptions of empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and caring) are related, but distinct (Jones and Wilkins, 2013; Jones and Skaggs, 2016b; Chittum and Jones, 2017); (2) students' MUSIC perceptions are related to their engagement in the class (Jones, 2010(Jones, , 2019Jones and Carter, 2019); and (3) teachers and researchers can assess students' MUSIC perceptions in a class and for specific learning activities Jones and Cruz, 2017). The research supporting these findings is quite robust given that studies have been conducted across disciplines and age levels.…”

“…Are some MUSIC model components more important than others to engage students? In examining the MUSIC model components in eight different undergraduate courses, Jones (2019) found that the number of MUSIC components that were significantly correlated to effort ranged from two components to all five components, depending upon the course. 2.…”

“…When is the most effective time within a course to collect MUSIC data? Collecting data in the middle of a course can be useful in predicting students' overall course effort, instructor rating, and course rating at the end of the course (Jones, 2019) and may be used by the instructor to improve the course. However, by also collecting data at the end of the course, instructors can assess changes in students' perceptions during the course, especially if data is collected at multiple time points throughout a course.…”