Sustaining students’ interest in an instructional system design course by leveraging interest-driven creator theory

Abstract

In semester-long courses, the trajectory of students' interest hits multiple highs and lows as the course progresses. In general, sustaining students' interest is a challenge, which becomes even more important when there is a real-world project with an expected deliverable. This study emphasizes investigating how instructors’ strategies help in sustaining students’ interest in instructional system design (ISD) course. The course participants developed a real-world project involving training resources for sensitization about the needs and challenges of persons with disabilities (PwD) in an educational institute. We have analyzed interview data of fifteen students and one instructor, survey data of the same students, and In-class observations by researchers. We have identified instructors’ strategies which were implemented thoughtfully and supported by interest-driven creator (IDC) theory. We have mapped indicators from student responses to the components of the interest cycle i.e. triggering, immersing, and extending. The findings of the study show that course strategies supported by IDC theory played an important role in sustaining the students’ interest throughout the ISD course while ensuring both conceptual learning and project execution.