Motivation for a goal is not based on the different qualities of a goal, rather the quantity of perceived importance of that goal. 

Expectancy-Valence theories and motivation for a goal

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Expert program management: expectancy theory

Expectancy and value rating based on EVT can predict student effort on tasks. If a task is deemed as valuable, students will put more effort towards it, which can result in an increased likelihood of using desirable difficulties. Similarly, if a successful outcome is expected, a student will be more motivated to engage in difficult learning strategies. 

Task outcome expectancy/value

A theory of human motivation that posits that the reasons why an individual chooses to participate and exerts effort, are based on self-determined regulations (such as intrinsic motivation). It states there are 3 desires that promote optimal function and growth:
- 1) Autonomy
- 2) Competence
- 3) Relatedness

Self-determination theory (SDT)

People behave based on the value that they perceive doing the behavior has to them. It takes into account expectancy (effort), instrumentality (performance) and valence (value/reward).

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- Cognitive theory of drawing construction
- Learning by conceptual level
- Expectancy-valence theory
- Self-determination Theory (SDT)
- Modes of learning
- Efficacy of Traditional Teaching Methods
- Constructivism
- Engagement
- Learning Analytics (LA)
- Community of Inquiry Framework (CoI)
- Achievement Gap in Education
- Desirable difficulties

Focuses of Learning Science

Assumes people are rational and posits that when people have all of the available information they will act to maximize expected utility.

Expected utility theory

Key theories and methods related to motivation include:
- Instinct Theory
- Drive Reduction Theory
- Self-Determination Theory (SDT)
- Self-Efficacy
- Social Motives
- Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
- Expectancy-Valence Theories
- Incentive Theory
- Yerkes-Dodson Law
- Temporal Motivation Theory
- Remembered Success Effect
- Procrastination
- Gamification
- Game Based Learning

Theories and Methods of Motivation

Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., & Deci, E. L. (2006). Intrinsic versus extrinsic goal contents in self-determination theory: Another look at the quality of academic motivation. Educational psychologist, 41(1), 19-31.

Intrinsic versus extrinsic goal contents in self-determination theory: Another look at the quality of academic motivation

Wikipedia

Humans can only learn one or at most two conceptual levels at a time. A person is able to learn the next level of concepts only after they have a stable understanding of the original. From then on, we are able to fine tune our understanding of the lower level concepts, while our learning focus is on the next level of abstraction.

Learning by Conceptual Levels

Readers may translate text into visual information by selecting, organizing and then integrating. Graphical representations such as concept maps, flow diagrams, and tree diagrams can be used to depict the structural and conceptual relationships found in text. By generating diagrams, readers are able to leverage spatial memory to develop a coherent understanding of the text.

Cognitive Theory of Drawing Construction

Expectancy-Valence Theories

Analyzes the effectiveness of passive teaching styles (i.e. lecturing or exams) on student learning. 

Efficacy of Traditional Teaching Methods

The measure and study of sustained interaction with the medium. Engagement is different from Motivation in that it focuses on the user's willingness to continue interacting, rather than what inspires or spurs them into action.

Engagement

Learning analytics (LA) is the idea that datasets acquired through teaching or learning activities can be used to enhance student learning, academic progress, and teaching practices.

Learning Analytics

- MOOCs (massive open online courses)
- Blended Learning
- Online Learning
- Distance Learning
- E-learning

Mode of Education

The intersecting three-presence framework, consisting of Social, Teaching and Cognitive Presences, that represented all the important activities in an educational experience.  

Community of Inquiry Framework

A proposed hierarchy of understanding that can be used to evaluate a student's comprehension of a topic. From the highest level to the lowest level of understanding, they are:
- Creation / Create
- Evaluation / Evaluate
- Analysis / Analyze
- Application / Apply
- Comprehension / Understand
- Knowledge / Remember


Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning

A learning task that requires a considerable but desirable amount of effort, thereby improving long-term performance.

Examples:

- Interleaving Materials
- Spacing Studying
- Generation Effect
- Retrieval practice (testing)
- Varying Study Conditions

Desirable Difficulties

A theory that recognizes the learners' understanding and knowledge based on their own experiences prior to entering school. Rather than simply taking in knowledge, learners take the opportunity to reinforce and build their own understanding of the topic, derived from what they already know and what is being presented to them.

Constructivism (in Education)

The achievement gap is a persistent disparity in academic outcomes, such as grades, test scores, and graduation rates, observed among students from different demographic groups. These groups are often defined by ethnicity, race, and, in certain subjects, gender.

Definition of the Achievement Gap in Education

Behavior results from a drive to transform an undesirable state to a desirable one

Drive Reduction Theory

Motivational theory in psychology comprises a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as a hierarchical levels within a pyramid. Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Behavior is motivated by an organisms's desire for reinforcements and rewards and that this desire is what governs behavior
- Positive incentives: Increase Pleasure
- Negative Incentives: Remove Pain

Incentive Theory

Motivation leads to action. However, the quality of the action can vary depending on arousal. Arousal (stress, anxiety, stimulation) affects task performance. Task performance increases with level of arousal but only up to a point, at which performance decreases.

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Temporal Motivation Theory (TMT) explains the behavior of procrastination by providing a quasi-mathematical framework, by examining the underlying behavioral components that contribute to (or combat) procrastination. The five components are:
- Value: the tangible and intangible rewards that an individual would receive from completing a task.
- Expectancy: the individual's belief and self-confidence in completing said task.
- Delay: the the period of time an individual needs to wait before receiving the reward from completing said task.
- Sensitivity to delay: the willingness of an individual to tolerate longer delays.
- Utility: the likeness for the individual to perform said task.

Temporal Motivation Theory

This effect pertains to how students' memories and evaluation of prior challenging experiences impact their motivation to engage with similar challenging experiences in the future. Research has shown that after taking both a longer and shorter difficult math test, students prefer and will choose to repeat the longer test if it included a number of only moderately difficult problems that students could answer successfully. This pattern of preferences is known as the "remembered success effect".

Remembered Success Effect

Pulling from the Latin roots "*pro*" (meaning forward, forth, in favor of) and "*crastinus*" (of tomorrow), procrastination is an irrational, but voluntary decision to delay an intended behavior or task.
- *Irrationality* is defined as "... choosing course of action[,] despite expecting that it will not maximize your utilities..."
- *Intended* is defined as something that one wants to interact with; the avoidance of random or irrelevant tasks would not be considered procrastination.

Procrastination

- A method of learning where students are motivated to learn while playing a game.
   - I.e., playing a game for learning.

Game Based Learning

Self-efficacy is an individual’s subjective perception of his or her capability to perform in a given setting or to attain desired results, proposed by Albert Bandura as a primary determinant of emotional and motivational states and behavioral change.

Self-Efficacy

Social motives are a category of motivational theories which propose that behavior is driven by social needs, such as the need for affiliation, achievement, and power within a group context.

Social Motives as a Theory of Motivation

From a biological perspective, an instinct is a species-specific, unlearned pattern of behavior. These are complex, innate behaviors often triggered by events like maturation or seasonal changes. Unlike simple reflexes, instincts typically involve the entire organism, such as in migration or mating, and are controlled by higher brain centers.

Instinct (Definition)

A technology company introduces a high-stakes reward system for its programmers to increase their output. Programmers earn significant bonuses for the number of coding tasks completed each week. While the quantity of completed tasks increases, management observes a sharp decline in the creativity and quality of the code, along with a rise in employee-reported stress. Which of the following principles provides the most direct explanation for this decline in performance quality?

Motivational theories can be categorized based on their primary focus. These categories include biologically-oriented theories that address instincts and homeostasis, cognitive approaches such as Bandura's concept of self-efficacy, theories centered on social motives, and hierarchical models like Maslow's hierarchy of needs which organizes various motives.

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