Integrating Motivation and Instruction: Towards a Unified Approach in Educational Psychology

Abstract

Abstract Motivation and instruction are two major substantive domains in educational psychology. Theory and research relevant to each of these domains tend to be diffuse and fragmented. This presents challenges for scholars and practitioners seeking to implement parsimonious and cohesive approaches to help students to learn. This review articulates a two-step integration process that is an illustrative effort towards tackling these challenges and unifying two psycho-educational domains: intra-domain integration (within each of motivation and instruction) and inter-domain integration (between motivation and instruction). With respect to motivation, the Motivation and Engagement Wheel (Martin, 2007) is presented as an example of intra-domain integration of key facets of motivation (Step 1a). With respect to instruction, Load Reduction Instruction (LRI; Martin, 2016; Martin & Evans, 2018) is an example of intra-domain integration of explicit instruction and guided independent learning (Step 1b). The review then proposes an inter-domain integration of motivation and instruction (Step 2), arguing that each domain is tied to the other. The joint operation of intra- and inter-domain integration of motivation and instruction holds potential for more coherent theorizing, measurement, and practical application.