A Self-Determination Approach to Understanding Students' Motivation in Project Work

The presence of project-based learning in the classroom has escalated in Singapore. Increased education standards and improved critical thinking and problem solving skills inside and outside of the classroom were at the forefront of this movement. The article takes a critical look at student motivation in relationship to project-based learning in Singapore. A study was conducted to measure motivation using the self-determination theory (SDT). The SDT focuses on four types of behavioral regulations with different degrees of self-determined motivation- external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic. These four behavioral regulations can be viewed as a continuum ranging from highly external to highly internal. In addition to these four behavioral regulations, a state of amotivation exists where the person has no intention to act. The study concludes that students' motivational regulations and their perceived needs satisfaction at the start of project-based learning are related to their experience of and learning in projects. Hence, the students in the “high self-determined/low controlled” group reported highest needs satisfaction, while the “low self-determined/high controlled” group reported lowest needs satisfaction. This article was very interesting because it looks at the psychological aspect of project learning. It is important to look at both sides of student achievement academically and psychologically. I had to take a step back to analyze how in a social setting how some students are more motivated than others due to various reasons. The results of the study were not surprising to me.