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Keller's ARCS Model

 Keller, J. M. (1988):

Definition of Motivational Design

Motivational design refers to the process of arranging resources and procedures to bring about changes in motivation. Motivational design can be applied to improving students’ motivation to learn, employees’ motivation to work, the development of specific motivational characteristics in individuals, and to improving peoples’ skills in self-motivation. Motivational design is systematic and aims for replicable principles and processes. In that regard, motivational design is based on the scientific literature on human motivation and stands in contrast to “charismatic” motivational speakers and workshops whose aims are largely in the area of emotional arousal and are grounded in a blending of personal experiences, psychological principles, and intuition.

To be effective, motivational tactics have to support instructional goals. Sometimes the motivational features can be fun or even entertaining, but unless they engage the learner in the instructional purpose and content, they will not promote learning.

 Motivational Design Models

It is presumed that there are four basic categories of motivational conditions that the instructional designer must understand and respond to in order to produce instruction that is interesting, meaningful, and appropriately challenging. The four categories are interest, relevance, expectancy, and satisfaction.

Interest – whether the learner’s curiosity is aroused, and whether this arousal is sustained appropriately over time

Relevance – the learner’s perception of personal need satisfaction in relation to the instruction, or whether a highly desired goal is perceived to be related to the instructional activity.

Expectancy – the perceived likelihood of success, and the extent to which success is under learner control.

Satisfaction – the combination of extrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation.
(Keller, 1984).

Based on a survey of the literature, it seems that motivational design models can be categorized into four groups:
• person-centered models,
• environmentally-centered models,
• interaction-centered models, and
• omnibus models.

What is the ARCS Model?

The ARCS model is a problem solving approach to designing the motivational aspects of learning environments to stimulate and sustain students’ motivation to learn (Keller, 1983, 1984, 1987). There are two major parts to the model. The first is a set of categories representing the components of motivation. These categories are the result of a synthesis of the research on human motivation. The second part of the model is a systematic design process that assists you in creating motivational enhancements that are appropriate for a given set of learners. The synthesis allows you to identify the various elements of student motivation, and the design process helps you profile the motivational characteristics of students in a given learning environment and then design motivational tactics that are appropriate for them.

ARCS Design Process

The ARCS motivational design process is a systematic problem solving approach that requires knowledge of human motivation and progresses from learner analysis to solution design. More specifically, the process includes:
·       Knowing and identifying the elements of human motivation,
·       Analyzing audience characteristics to determine motivational requirements,
·       Identifying characteristics of instructional materials and processes that stimulate motivation,
·       Selecting appropriate motivational tactics, and
·       Applying and evaluating appropriate tactics.