Motivating Social Work Students in Statistics Courses

Abstract

Statistical literacy provides an advantage to social work practitioners in promoting client interests. The social work literature has provided some suggestions for improving instruction in statistics courses, but the goal of motivating students in statistics courses has remained elusive. The ARCS model (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) is a model for instructional design developed to enhance learner motivation. The ARCS model can be utilized to increase interest in, and learning of, any social work course content. This article applies the ARCS model to social work statistics courses, integrating current literature, providing concrete examples, and illustrating how learner motivation can be enhanced to improve social work education.

Keywords:

• Statistics
• Learner Motivation
• Locus of Control
• Instructional Design