Promoting Interest by Supporting Learner Autonomy: the Effects of Teaching Behaviour in Biology Lessons
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Promoting Interest by Supporting Learner Autonomy: the Effects of Teaching Behaviour in Biology Lessons Nadine Großmann 1 & Matthias Wilde 1
# Springer Nature B.V. 2018
Abstract In self-determination theory, Ryan and Deci (2017) propose that psychological well-being is based on three innate psychological needs: relatedness, competence, and autonomy. The perception of autonomy in particular has positive effects on students’ well-being and the quality of experience in educational settings. A positive effect of perceived autonomy on students’ interest has already been empirically documented. Still, there is a lack of studies that investigate the positive effects of autonomy-supportive teaching behaviour in the areas they are especially needed such as learning environments with uninteresting topics. In our study, 159 secondary school students (MAge = 11.49 ± 0.63 years) participated in four biology lessons on the topic nutrition and digestion. Three of the six investigated classes were taught by an autonomy-supportive teacher while the others were taught in a controlling manner. A comparison of both treatments revealed significant differences in students’ perceived autonomy and their psychological state of interest. Furthermore, the students’ individual interest in biological topics had an impact on their psychological state of interest. Most interestingly, we found that the autonomy-supportive teaching behaviour was particularly beneficial for the students with low individual interest in biological topics. Keywords Autonomy . Teaching behaviour . Self-determination theory . Interest
Introduction Interest plays a key role in successful learning (Krapp 1992, 1998; Müller 2006; Schiefele 2009). Interest—as well as motivation based on this interest—is particularly important for the This project is part of the ‘Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung’, a joint initiative of the Federal Government and the Länder which aims to improve the quality of teacher training. The programme is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (funding code: 01JA1608). The authors are responsible for the content of this publication.
* Matthias Wilde [email protected]
1
Faculty for Biology, Didactics of Biology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstraße 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany
Research in Science Education
use of deep-processing strategies and the acquisition of long-term and profound knowledge (Schiefele 2001). However, studies have shown that students’ individual interest in the topics of school subjects declines over the course of their school career (Krapp 1998; Krapp and Prenzel 2011). This decline also affects science classes (Krapp and Prenzel 2011). Selfdetermination theory (Ryan and Deci 2017) offers approaches to design learning environments that can support students’ interest in class. In this theory, the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for relatedness, competence, and autonomy is regarded as an essential prerequisite for positive experiences and well-being. In particular, having a sen
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