Guidelines for the Motivational Design of Instructional Simulations

The research about effective learning resonates with this truth: in order for learners to process energetically and learn deeply, they must choose to engage (Blumenfield, Kempler, & Krajcik, 2006; Jonassen, 1988; Keller & Suzuki, 1988). Learning is an act: It requires the learner’s energy, choice, and employment of effective learning strategies. Because learning is an act—something a learner must do—motivation is fundamental. Some instructional and simulation designers avoid serious attempts to incorporate motivational design in their instructional products because of perceptions that motivation is either too vague a concept (Weiner, 1992) or lacks predictive power in respect to learning outcomes (Gagné, 1965). It is true that motivation is complex, but it is so foundational to learning that it must be thoughtfully addressed in instructional design. This article examines the unique motivational challenges and opportunities of instructional simulations and provides guidelines for their motivational design. First, let us define two key terms: instructional simulation and motivation. What is motivation? Motivation is about why people do what they do. Simply defined, it is what people desire to do, choose to do, and commit to do (Keller, 2009). It is an internal process, but can be inferred from observed choices, effort, intensity, and persistence. It is what initiates behavior, controls its intensity, maintains behavior, stops behavior, and mediates choice (Weiner, 1992). The study of motivation should also be focused on how goal-oriented activity is initiated and sustained (Ford, 1992; Schunk, Pintrich, & Meece, 2002). As previously mentioned, motivation is sometimes considered a vague concept. It is helpful to recall that the word “motivate” is a derivative of the Latin word, movere, which simply means “to move” (The Latin Dictionary, 2013). Motivation, then, in its broadest sense, is about what makes people move.