A Machine Learning Approach to Explore and Predict Student Motivation Types

Motivation plays a significant role in shaping students’ educational outcomes. Understanding the factors that influence student motivation is crucial for enhancing academic performance and designing effective learning environments. This study utilizes Self-Determination Theory to examine...

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Main Authors: Hafsa Al Ansari, Rasha Shakir Abdulwahhab Al Jassim, Rupert Ward
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11126017/
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author Hafsa Al Ansari
Rasha Shakir Abdulwahhab Al Jassim
Rupert Ward
author_facet Hafsa Al Ansari
Rasha Shakir Abdulwahhab Al Jassim
Rupert Ward
author_sort Hafsa Al Ansari
collection DOAJ
description Motivation plays a significant role in shaping students’ educational outcomes. Understanding the factors that influence student motivation is crucial for enhancing academic performance and designing effective learning environments. This study utilizes Self-Determination Theory to examine various types of motivation, aiming to develop an integrated framework for analyzing and predicting student motivation. The proposed framework employs multi-source data and evaluates three machine learning techniques: Multinomial Regression, Support Vector Machine, and XGBoost. These models are applied to data collected from a UK-based institution, specifically from the Computer Science department. The findings highlight the superior performance of the XGBoost model in identifying learning analytics characteristics that influence each motivation type, achieving precision ranging from 95% to 100%. Additionally, this study explores the underlying philosophy of using LMS data and its features to classify student motivation, supporting the effectiveness of XGBoost in this context. While the results are promising within the context of a single-institution Computer Science setting, further studies are needed to validate the applicability of this methodology across broader educational frameworks.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2169-3536
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
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spelling doaj-art-35b6c3ffddbd4f3fbc79f3f118178f312025-08-25T23:18:12ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-011314490814492610.1109/ACCESS.2025.359916611126017A Machine Learning Approach to Explore and Predict Student Motivation TypesHafsa Al Ansari0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9500-4087Rasha Shakir Abdulwahhab Al Jassim1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7526-070XRupert Ward2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1514-5870Computing and Engineering Department, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, U.K.Department of Information Technology, University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Sohar, OmanComputing and Engineering Department, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, U.K.Motivation plays a significant role in shaping students’ educational outcomes. Understanding the factors that influence student motivation is crucial for enhancing academic performance and designing effective learning environments. This study utilizes Self-Determination Theory to examine various types of motivation, aiming to develop an integrated framework for analyzing and predicting student motivation. The proposed framework employs multi-source data and evaluates three machine learning techniques: Multinomial Regression, Support Vector Machine, and XGBoost. These models are applied to data collected from a UK-based institution, specifically from the Computer Science department. The findings highlight the superior performance of the XGBoost model in identifying learning analytics characteristics that influence each motivation type, achieving precision ranging from 95% to 100%. Additionally, this study explores the underlying philosophy of using LMS data and its features to classify student motivation, supporting the effectiveness of XGBoost in this context. While the results are promising within the context of a single-institution Computer Science setting, further studies are needed to validate the applicability of this methodology across broader educational frameworks.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11126017/Self-determination theorymotivationmachine learninglearning analyticspredictionXGBoost
spellingShingle Hafsa Al Ansari
Rasha Shakir Abdulwahhab Al Jassim
Rupert Ward
A Machine Learning Approach to Explore and Predict Student Motivation Types
IEEE Access
Self-determination theory
motivation
machine learning
learning analytics
prediction
XGBoost
title A Machine Learning Approach to Explore and Predict Student Motivation Types
title_full A Machine Learning Approach to Explore and Predict Student Motivation Types
title_fullStr A Machine Learning Approach to Explore and Predict Student Motivation Types
title_full_unstemmed A Machine Learning Approach to Explore and Predict Student Motivation Types
title_short A Machine Learning Approach to Explore and Predict Student Motivation Types
title_sort machine learning approach to explore and predict student motivation types
topic Self-determination theory
motivation
machine learning
learning analytics
prediction
XGBoost
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11126017/
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AT hafsaalansari machinelearningapproachtoexploreandpredictstudentmotivationtypes
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