Robots, Motivation, and Academic Success

Educational literature has long supported strong correlations between student motivation and academic success. STEM literaturehas more recently shown mechatronic experiences to have positive impacts on these constructs, albeit limited empirical grounding.Therefore, the purpose of this study was to conduct a pilot experiment to empirically quantify differences in undergraduate studentmotivation and academic success in a mechatronic vs. a non-mechatronic experience, as well as examine the correlation betweenstudent motivation and academic success in both groups. We used a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control vs. treatmentdesign to collectn= 84 responses from multiple sections of a single undergraduate course. The multivariate dependent variable ofstudent motivation was measured using theMotivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire’smotivational orientation items. Ourmultivariate dependent variable of academic success was based on final course grades, final project scores, and quiz scores. UsingANCOVA and differences of proportions, we found no statistical difference in motivational orientation—specificallyvalue choicesandexpectancy beliefs—in the mechatronic vs. non-mechatronic experience. In contrast, statistically significant differences inproject scores and final course grades were observed in the mechatronic experience group. Additionally, we found no significantcorrelation between student motivation and academic success. These results indicated that students in the mechatronic experience,while earning significantly higher grades, did not exhibit different levels of motivation, leading to no association between studentmotivation and academic success. Even so, future research is needed to further understand the nuanced dynamics of motivationalorientation within a mechatronic experience.