January 2012 Volume 15 Number 1 - Educational Technology ...

Figure 1 illustrates how the abovementioned strategies fit into a generic self-regulation model (Grant, 2001) to
support regulation of motivation of an adult online learner. The items in parentheses are elements that were not
integrated in the scheme of this research. Nevertheless, their importance was not to be dismissed and should be
considered for further research.
Mechanism
Needs
Choice
Relevance
Value
Mushāratah
Goal
setting
Achievement motivation
Goals
Performance
Mastery
Motives
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
Figure 1: Motivation related elements and motivational regulation strategies built into the scaffolding tool
Methodology
Develop action
plan/plan for task
Mu c ātabah
Change what’s not working
Do more of what works
Reinforcement
Mujāhadah
Mechanism
Direction
Effort/Persistence
Strategies
o ( Cognitive)
o ( Meta cognitive)
o Motivational regulation
Self consequating/mu c Murāqabah
Act
āqabah
Interest enhancement
Mastery self-talk/ muhāsabah
Performance self-talk/
murāqabah
(Environmental control)
Monitor
Muhāsabah
Evaluate
Outcome/consequences
competence
reward
satisfaction
Mechanism
Confidence
Feedback
Murāqabah
The research methodology employed was grounded in the theoretical framework of design and development research
(DDR) (Richey & Klein, 2007) that is theory driven, action oriented, interventionist orientated, participant centred,
and collaborative. The features are similarly explained in the methodology of design experiment (Brown, 1992),
development research (Van Den Akker, 1999), formative research (Reigeluth & Frick, 1999), design-based research
(Bannan-Ritland, 2003), and educational design research (Plomp & Nieveen, 2007). A quick browse through recent
publications in technology research shows an emerging trend in the adoption of this methodology in ICT research
(Xie & Sharma, 2010; Shelton & Scoresby, 2010).
In DDR, the main research goal is to develop instantiations or approaches for solving human teaching and learning
while at the same time, construct a body of design principles that can guide future development efforts (Reeves,
2000). In order to address the research questions, a functional prototype of the Learning console was developed and
user-evaluated. The elements that characterized the DDR were as follows:
1. the intensive and systematic preliminary investigation of problems in the context of a university’s online
distance learning environment
2. the systematic efforts in articulating the theoretical rationale for design choices
3. the delivery of clear empirical evidence about the validity, practicality, and effectiveness of the learning console
for the target group in their settings and
140