Curriculum Development

Liu, Woon C., C.K. J. Wang, Oon S. Tan, Caroline Koh, and Jessie EE. "A self-determination approach to understanding students' motivation in project work." Elsevier (2008): 139-45. EbscoHost. Web. 4 Nov. 2008

This study examines the effects of project work amongst students in Singapore. The purpose of the study is threefold: first, it examines student motivation in project work; second, it considers learned emotions and skills in project work; and lastly, it examines the change in student’s perceptions of project work over time. The study uses a sample of seven hundred sixty 7^th grade students from five different government schools in Singapore. Students are grouped into 4 clusters based on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In general, the findings show that the “high self-determined/low controlled” group had the most effective experience with project work, followed by the “high self-determined/high controlled,” “low self-determined/low controlled,” and “low self-determined/high controlled” groups, respectively. This suggests project work is most successful amongst students with intrinsic or autonomous motivation.

The findings in this study are consistent with what I have observed amongst my students. The students who come into my class motivated to learn clearly have a more meaningful experience in the classroom. The difficulty (and what this study does not address) is HOW to intrinsically motivate students successfully. One thing that could be interpreted from this study is that for project work, intrinsically motivated students are crucial for the success of the project. I tend to agree with this assertion, as the open-ended nature of project work requires a more motivated student. I’ve found in my remedial math class that highly structured activities are more successful that open-ended ones.