Designing Instructions using Self-Determination Theory to Improve Motivation and Engagement for Learning Craft

Abstract

Recent HCI research has shown signifcant interest in investigating digital working instructions for guiding novices to perform manual tasks. While performance enhancement has been a primary focus, it is increasingly recognized that technology's impact extends beyond objective metrics. Trainee motivation and engagement plays a pivotal role in enhancing learning outcomes and efectiveness. This paper investigates the utilization of principles from Self Determination Theory-clear attainable goals, meaningful rationale, and perspective taking-in designing multimedia instructions to enhance novice users' indicators of psychological well-being. We present fndings from an experiment involving real-world wood-working, where novice users, in a between-subjects study, followed interactive, in-situ projection-based guidance. Results demonstrate that adhering to SDT postulates can positively infuence perceived competence, intrinsic motivation and task execution quality. These fndings ofer valuable insights for designing digital instructions to guide and train novices, emphasizing the importance of psychological well-being alongside task performance.