Abstract
Although there has been a wealth of research exploring motivation within game-based learning environments, few of these studies employ frameworks that are grounded in well-established theories of motivation. This chapter brings a rigorous theoretical framework for motivation to the study and design of a game-based learning environment. First, we outline a key motivation construct that has potential value for the design of game-based learning environments—Eccles and Wigfield’s expectancy-value theory. We then provide a description of a game whose design was informed by this motivational theory, where the game was intended to promote students’ interest in and motivation to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers.
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Acknowledgments
Parts of this chapter appeared in: Tran, C., Chen, J., Warschauer, M., Conley, A., and Dede, C. (2012). Applying motivation theories to the design of educational technology. In C. Martin, A. Ochsner, and K. Squire (Eds.), Proceedings of the Games, Learning, and Society Conference: Vol. 2 (pp. 291–297). Pittsburgh, PA: ETC Press.
The research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (DRL #0929575) to Chris Dede and Jon R. Star. The ideas in this chapter are those of the authors and do not represent official positions of the National Science Foundation.
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Star, J.R., Chen, J., Dede, C. (2015). Applying Motivation Theory to the Design of Game-Based Learning Environments. In: Torbeyns, J., Lehtinen, E., Elen, J. (eds) Describing and Studying Domain-Specific Serious Games. Advances in Game-Based Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20276-1_6
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