Research Project
Full description This research aims to investigate the impact of interest-driven learning on student learning, motivation and academic outcomes in order to argue for the case that formal academic studies may not be the best and only way students learn. The significance of this study is that it contributes to the extant literature on interest through the Growth Cycle of Interest framework, by verifying the effectiveness of EDA as a measure of interest, which is currently being dominated by self-report questionnaires, and may not be as objective across cultures and individuals. The TEK design principles can possibly facilitate the replicability of STEM-based activities across various schools and contexts, encouraging the development of interest and engagement of STEM subjects within students. In addition, EDA was found to be a relatively effective measure of interest development as compared to traditional methods such as self-report questionnaires by providing an increased understanding of neurophysiological responses to interest development, and increased accessibility to more ecologically valid measures of interest.