Investigating the Motivational Climate of a Mathematics Education Course as a Complex Dynamic System

The motivational climate in a course influences students’ motivation and engagement. However, it is often treated as a static course attribute rather than a dynamic, evolving process shaped by complex interactions among motivational factors. We conceptualized motivational climate as a complex dynamic system (CDS) that emerges from students’ interactions with course activities, assignments, the instructor, and peers. We conducted a semester-long case study of a graduate-level mathematics education course (n = 17). Each week for 15 weeks, students completed surveys with quantitative and qualitative items that assessed their motivation, effort, and perceptions of the five components of the MUSIC Model of Motivation (i.e., eMpowerment, Usefulness, Success, Interest, and Caring). We used exploratory data analysis techniques to summarize and describe the data, which allowed us to identify emerging patterns in the motivational climate of the course. We examined the responses to the open-ended items to contextualize the fluctuations in the results. Findings indicated that students’ MUSIC perceptions were generally positive and stable but changed in response to course events. Different MUSIC components became more central at different times (e.g., Usefulness was important during mini-lesson presentations), demonstrating the system’s sensitivity to instructional perturbations. Students’ motivation and effort were generally high, but fluctuated in response to assignments and assessments, reflecting feedback loops among outcomes, course variables, student variables, and MUSIC perceptions. This study demonstrates that motivational climate can be conceptualized as a CDS and highlights its emergent and context-sensitive nature. The findings demonstrate the usefulness of the MUSIC model as a framework for capturing students’ motivational experiences within a university course.