Increasing Interest by Communicating Value

• In Event: Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: Motivation in Education SIG Poster Session 2

Abstract

If educators can help students find relevance, they might also promote interest and achievement. To do this, should they tell students that schoolwork is important or should they help students discover this on their own? We explore the best ways to communicate value, particularly for students with low performance expectations. Across three laboratory studies we examine three aspects of value communication: type (internally generated vs. externally provided), timing (before vs. after learning), and content (identity-independent: emphasizing general/everyday utility vs. identity-dependent: emphasizing career/future utility). We found positive gains for students with low confidence when both types of relevance are utilized together, when utility is communicated after learning, and when the content is identity-independent.

Authors

• Elizabeth Ann Canning, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Yoi Tibbetts, University of Wisconsin

• Judith Harackiewicz, University of Wisconsin