Investigating Student Intrinsic Motivation Trends over One Semester in an Online General Chemistry II Course

This study aims to examine students' intrinsic motivation toward chemistry throughout a semester in an online General Chemistry II course. Three types of intrinsic motivation (to know, to accomplish, and to experience) were measured four times over a semester using items from the Academic Motivation Scale toward Chemistry, which is an instrument developed in accordance with the self-determination theory. Longitudinal measurement invariance was conducted, and then, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was performed to examine possible changes in intrinsic motivation across time, including potential differences by sex and race/ethnicity. The results indicated that the intrinsic motivation subscales functioned well, and strong invariance holds in the online General Chemistry II course at a minority-serving institution. HLM results showed that students had a relatively high level of intrinsic motivation on average at the beginning of the semester. Although the average rate of change was close to zero, we observed substantial variability in the rate of change for the intrinsic motivation subscales across students. Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences in students' intrinsic motivation based on sex or across race/ethnicity (White, Hispanic, and Asian) groups at the beginning of the semester. In addition, students' intrinsic motivation subscales were significantly and positively correlated with student academic achievements at the end of the semester, while no statistically significant correlations were observed at the beginning of the semester. The findings in the current study suggest the importance of implementing active learning and meeting students' basic psychological needs to promote students' intrinsic motivation which are associated with student success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).