John Keller developed the ARCS Model of Motivational Design for adult learners in the 1980's and expanded it in a 2010 book, Motivational Design for Learning and Performance: The ARCS Model Approach. The following information is from Keller's Motivational Desing for Learning and Performance: The ARCS Model Approach, pages 47-53, 92, 126, 159, 189.
Attention
| Concepts & Process Questions | Main Supporting Tactics |
| A1 - Perceptual arousal: What can I do to capture their interest? | Create curiosity and wonderment by using novel approaches, injecting personal, and/or emotional material. |
| A2 - Inquiry arousal: How can I stimulate an attitude of inquiry? | Increase curiosity by asking questions, creating paradoxes, generating inquiry, and nurturing thinking challenges. |
| A3 - Variability: How can I maintain their attention? | Sustain interest by variations in presentation style, concrete analogies, human interest examples, and unexpected events. |
Relevance
| Concepts & Process Questions | Main Supporting Tactics |
| R1 - Goal orientation: How can I best match my learner's needs? (Do I know their needs?) | Provide statements or examples of the utility of the instruction, and either present goals or have learners define them. |
| R2 - Motive Matching: How and when can I provide my learners with appropriate choices, responsibilities, and influences? | Make instruction responsive to learner motives and values by providing personal achievement opportunities, cooperative activities, leadership responsibilities, and positive role models. |
| R3 - Familiarity: How can I tie the instruction to the learners' experiences? | Make the materials and concepts familiar by providing concrete examples and analogies related to the learners' work or background. |
Confidence
| Concepts & Process Questions | Main Supporting Tactics |
| C1 - Learning requirements: How can I assist in building a positive expectation for success? | Establish trust and positive expectations by explaining the requirements for success and the evaluative criteria. |
| C2 - Success opportunities: How will the learning experience support or enhance the students' beliefs in their competence? | Increase belief in competence by providing many, varied, and challenging experiences that increase learning success. |
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C3 - Personal control: How will the learners clearly know their success is based upon their efforts and abilities? |
Use techniques that offer personal control (whenever possible), and provide feedback that attributes success to personal effort. |
Satisfaction
| Concepts & Process Questions | Main Supporting Tactics |
| S1 - Natural consequences: How can I provide meaningful opportunities for learners to use their newly acquired knowledge/skill? | Provide feedback and other information that reinforces positive feelings for personal effort and accomplishment. |
| S2 - Positive consequences: What will provide reinforcement to the learners' successes? | Use verbal praise, real or symbolic rewards, and incentives, or let learners present the results of their efforts ("show and tell") to reward success. |
| S3 - Equity: How can I assist the students in anchoring a positive feeling about their accomplishments? | Make performance requirements consistent with stated expectations, and use consistent measurement standards for all learners' tasks and accomplishments. |
Motivational Design for Learning and Performance
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