The hero’s learning journey

Pages155-171
Date06 April 2017
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/WJSTSD-06-2016-0042
Published date06 April 2017
AuthorNatalie Casandra Denmeade
Subject MatterPublic policy & environmental management,Environmental technology & innovation
The heros learning journey
Natalie Casandra Denmeade
Department of Information Technology, TAFE NSW, Wingham, Australia
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss how educators can harness the natural momentum of
learning to create a dramatic and exciting heros learning journey. Given the importance of motivation,
educators can borrow ideas from game designers by using gamification a process to re-frame a real life goal
to be more appealing and achievable. A series of learning activities, developed to meet both cognitive and
emotional needs, results in an engaging learning journey.
Design/methodology/approach The concept presented, based on PSI Theory, OCEAN Big Five
character traits and player/learner archetypes, is that learners are motivated by three basic needs: affiliation,
competence or certainty (assuming other physiological needs are met).
Findings Armed with insight into types of motivations at different phases, learner experience designers
can create different learning journeys and user profiles. Learning activities can be planned for each need and
phase based on changing motivations: collaborate and curate (affiliation), choice and ownership (certainty),
challenge and accountability (competence).
Research limitations/implications Further research is needed in the area of gamification in education.
A qualitative study should be conducted on preferred learning and assessment activities for each player
archetype and, importantly, this research should represent broad samples and not be restricted to the online
gaming community.
Originality/value Rather than focussing on an isolated unit of study, and asynchronous eLearning
modules, learning designers can use modern technologies to seed and nurture learning communities where
each person has an appealing pathway to enable them to move from novice to expert at their own pace in a
spiral of satisfying learning.
Keywords Motivation, Education, Gamification, Instructional design, Learning design, Player types
Paper type Conceptual paper
Introduction
This paper discusses how educators and learning designers (also known as instructional
designers) can harness the natural momentum of learning to create a dramatic and exciting
heros learning journey (Kort, 2008). Learners differ in their motivation and what they
experience as a fun and engaging activity. What they found fun yesterday may change
today as motivations not only change in different contexts, but also change over time.
Rather than self-motivation to learn resulting from having a goodattitude, being part of
agoodfamily, or a goodschool, enjoyment in learning is based on individual-specific
experiences and preferences (Kovas et al., 2015). Game designers are funded to primarily
focus on player engagement and emotions, so they use a range of game/play elements to
ensure that players are challenged, entertained and satisfied. Game designers also focus
on multi-player options, which are akin to creating learning communities, for players to
find inspiration and challenges along the way. Given the importance of motivation,
educators and learning designers can borrow these ideas from game designers by using a
gamification a process to reframe a real life goal to be more appealing and achievable.
Learning designers can benefit from understanding and applying theories of motivation
from fields of psychology, organisational behaviour and dramaturgy to the classroom, such
as the PSI theory by Dörner and Güss (2013) that, not only models cognitive, but
also motivational and emotional, processes and their interactions. The PSI Theory of
emotions asserts that, assuming basic physiological needs are met, actions result from an
individual meeting their needs for: affiliation, competence or certainty. Certainty is a,
need for knowledge which allows prediction and explanation of events. Competence is
a, need for behaviour patterns, which enable a person to cope with all kinds of problems.
Affiliation is a, need for binding (attachment) to a person or a group of persons,
World Journal of Science,
Technology and Sustainable
Development
Vol. 14 No. 2/3, 2017
pp. 155-171
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2042-5945
DOI10.1108/WJSTSD-06-2016-0042
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2042-5945.htm
155
The heros
learning
journey
it determines social cohesion. These three PSI needs are related to the Big Five personality
traits of: openness, conscientiousness extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism or
OCEAN(Lim et al., 2012). When there are no urgent needs in any of the three PSI areas, the
learner is fully open to discover and absorb new ideas, which maps to the OCEAN trait of
openness. Monica Mayer (2009) used Dörners PSI theory of emotions to explain the
motivations underlying Bartles (1996) four player types which are used by game designers
to address and balance a wide range of player motivations.
During the learning journey m otivation and emotions will change, somewhat
predictably, over time. There is a natural momentum of curiosity, hopefulness and
frustration which leads to satisfaction (Kort, 2008). Using Joseph Campbells hero journey,
and Bartle player types, patterns in these motivations can be identified. Each phase is a
precursor to the next and essential to complete the journey with new values and skills
embedded as part of their life. When the learner returns to their ordinarylives they are
now more powerful and versatile due to a process of authentic, and engaging, learning.
Based on these patterns of motivation, educators can build learning journey maps of
successful learnersexperiences. Learning journey maps are used by UX experience
designers and learning experience designers as part of a human focussed design process
(Seitzinger, 2015). Learning designers can then plan activities and assessment that are in
synch with what motivates students at each phase of their journey. Conversely, they
can identify the most likely reason for disengagement at each of the phases. They can also
identify at which points in their journey the learner will benefit from the teacher directing,
coaching, supporting or delegating, as explained by Herseys (1985) situational leadership
theory. The long-term goal is to embrace the natural momentum of learning, and learning
communities (communities of practice), by creating an environment where anyone from a
novice to a visionary feels welcomed and valued (Stuckey, 2007; Oliver and Carr, 2009).
Along the way peers, mentors and gurus create challenges and offer support to ensure the
hero keeps progressing at whatever pace they choose. The aim of this approach of the heros
learning journey, and insight into learner motivation, is to design educational activities to
appeal to a wide range of constantly changing motivations.
Why we differ in motivation to learn
Lack of engagement and enjoyment when learning is puzzling and of serious concern
(OECD, 2016). A common reaction, as summarised by motivational researcher Petrill, is to
say, someone is not properly motivating the student, or the child himself is responsible,
(Kovas et al., 2015). An extensive study of sets of twins disputes this opinion. The results of
the study, Why children differ in motivation to learn: insights from over 13,000 twins from
6 countries, found that:
Contrary to common belief, enjoyment of learning and childrens perceptions of their competence
were no less heritable than cognitive ability. Genetic factors explained approximately 40% of the
variance and all of the observed twinssimilarity in academic motivation. Shared environmental
factors,such as home or classroom, did not contributeto the twins similarityin academic motivation.
Environmental influences stemmed entirelyfrom individual specific experiences (Kovaset al., 2015).
By comparing how close the answers were for fraternal twins with identical twins
(who share all of their inherited genes), the researchers established a strong genetic effect.
This was not surprising, but to have virtually no shared environment (3 per cent)
component was unexpected (Figure 1):
Considering the striking consistency of these results across different aspects of academic
motivation, different subjects, different ages, and different cultures, we believe that it is time to
move away from solely environmental explanations, such as goodor badhome, teacher, and
school, for differences in enjoyment and self-perceived ability (Kovas et al., 2015).
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