Influencing University Students' Achievement and Motivation in a Technology Course

The authors investigated the interactive and differential effects of professors' instructional methods and university students'conceptual levels on students' achievement and motivation in a course designed to teach computer technologies. As predicted, matching high-conceptual-level persons with student-centered instruction and low-conceptual-level learners with teacher-centered instruction enhanced students' achievement and motivation in the classroom. In addition, an unpredicted main effect for type of instruction was discovered with respect to motivation-regardless of conceptual level, students exposed to student-centered instruction demonstrated greater motivation than did students exposed to teacher-centered instruction. These findings have ramifications for the design and implementation of computer technology courses and deserve further research.