Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-8-2022
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Carol Britson
Second Advisor
Carla Carr
Third Advisor
Gregg Roman
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Motivation is the key to success in difficult science courses such as Human Anatomy and Physiology. Students may possess intrinsic motivation, or motivation for enjoyment, extrinsic motivation, or motivation for a reward, or amotivation, a lack of motivation at all. The goal of this experiment was to identify better ways of helping students succeed in Human Anatomy and Physiology (HAP) at the University of Mississippi, determine when motivational efforts seem to decrease during the semester, and identify how to better develop intrinsic motivation in students. There was a significant relationship between many of the student’s survey responses to their exam scores and earned grade for the course. Many students whose survey responses leaned toward motivational habits also tended to perform better in the course. Most students responded that they were taking the course as a requirement for their major and not for the enjoyment of learning the material, making students less intrinsically motivated to do well. On all surveys, students who responded that they would work as hard as possible to make a good grade scored well on exams administered during the same timeframe as when the survey was given. The data also showed that even if students didn’t enjoy the material, they would still work hard to perform well in the course. The significant relationships tended to lean towards responses that correlated with a motivated student. However, the mean responses per question did decline as the semester continued. Students seemed to answer much more positively at the beginning of the semester than the end, showing a decrease in their motivations to do well. This could be due to feeling overwhelmed or discouraged by the amount of information, the difficulty of information, or poor exam scores.
Recommended Citation
Whitehead, Mary, "Assessment of Motivation in Human Anatomy and Physiology Students" (2022). Honors Theses. 2639.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2639
Accessibility Status
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