Foundations of Motivational Research and Design in Online Distance Learning

An effective and efficient teaching process in online distance learning requires more than just implementing a traditional course design and delivery process that typically focuses on organizing and sequencing content. These are necessary components of a well-designed course and might sometimes be sufficient for success, but only if students want to learn the content and if the course is not implemented in a way that kills their motivation. This can be a serious problem in online instruction, especially with self-instructional courses where it might be assumed that students will be motivated to succeed simply because they have enrolled in the course. Within this context, the aim of this chapter is to provide a framework and foundation for theoretical and applied papers dealing with motivation and performance in online distance learning.