Measuring Student Motivation during "The Hour of CodeTM" Activities

The present study reports the experiences from the Hour of Code implementation in the context of two introductory Informatics courses, one in a high school level and one in a first-year University level. It explores learning motivation among 47 high school students and 51 first-year University level students, during their participation in the Hour of Code activity. The theoretical framework is Self-Determination Theory of Motivation. The theory distinguishes mainly four types of motivation, namely Intrinsic Motivation, Identified Regulation, External Regulation and Amotivation. Students were found to exhibit more self-determined types of motivation during the Hour of Code activities. Both groups found the activities to be attractive and useful. The results may be helpful to practitioners in order to design more intrinsically motivated educational scenarios when modeled appropriately.