This study aims to examine students’
intrinsic
motivation
toward chemistry throughout a semester in an online General Chemistry
II course. Three types of intrinsic motivation (to know, to accomplish, and to experience) were measured four times over a semester using items from the Academic
Motivation Scale toward Chemistry, which is an instrument developed
in accordance with the self-determination theory. Longitudinal measurement
invariance was conducted, and then, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM)
was performed to examine possible changes in intrinsic motivation
across time, including potential differences by sex and race/ethnicity.
The results indicated that the intrinsic motivation subscales functioned
well, and strong invariance holds in the online General Chemistry
II course at a minority-serving institution. HLM results showed that
students had a relatively high level of intrinsic motivation on average
at the beginning of the semester. Although the average rate of change
was close to zero, we observed substantial variability in the rate
of change for the intrinsic motivation subscales across students.
Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences in students’
intrinsic motivation based on sex or across race/ethnicity (White,
Hispanic, and Asian) groups at the beginning of the semester. In addition,
students’ intrinsic motivation subscales were significantly
and positively correlated with student academic achievements at the
end of the semester, while no statistically significant correlations
were observed at the beginning of the semester. The findings in the
current study suggest the importance of implementing active learning
and meeting students’ basic psychological needs to promote
students’ intrinsic motivation which are associated with student
success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).