Individual Interest, Situational Interest, and Knowledge Acquisition: A Micro-Analytical Investigation

• In Event: 56.063 - Problem-Based Learning in Secondary Education: Investigating Hot and Cold Learning Outcomes

Abstract

The extent to which a student experiences situational interest during problem-based learning is dependent on at least two factors: (1) external stimuli in the learning environment that arouse interest and (2) internal dispositions, such as individual interest. The objective of the present study was to disentangle how problems (as instructional stimuli in Problem-Based Learning) and individual interest in the topic in general differentially influence situational interest and knowledge acquisitions.
Two datasets were collected from primary school science (N = 186) and secondary school history students (N = 71). The science problem was concerned with properties of light, while the history problem problematized the fall of Singapore during World War II. The purpose of introducing these problems was to arouse situational interest in the topic. Prior to its introduction students’ individual interest in respectively science or history was measured and a first situational interest measure was taken. After the problem was presented, and students engaged in various learning activities, situational interest was measured another six times at critical junctures in the learning process. Finally, a measure of knowledge acquired was taken.
This “micro-analytical” measurement design allowed us to study—close to real time—how individual and situational interest interact over time and how they affect learning.
Path analysis under structural equation modeling framework was used to examine the influence of individual interest on seven situational interest measurements and knowledge acquisition. The results suggest that individual interest has only a significant influence on situational interest at the beginning of a task and then its influence fades. In addition, individual interest is not a significant predictor of learning. Only situational interest predicts knowledge acquisition. Replicating the study in another context, with a different subject and at a different age level, allowed us to test the generalizability of our findings. Implications of these findings for problem-based learning will be discussed.

Authors

• Jerome I. Rotgans, Nanyang Technological University

• Henk G. Schmidt, Erasmus University Rotterdam