I want this program to foster an intrinsic appreciation of math. I don't want users crunching numbers for a virtual item, rather, I want them solving problems for joy in solving them. A 2016 paper by Garon-Carrier, et al found that intrinsic mathematical motivation was triggered by early successes in math, but that competence or success in math did not lead to increased intrinsic enjoyment of it.
"Contrary to the hypothesis that motivation and achievement are reciprocally associated over time, our results point to a directional association from prior achievement to subsequent intrinsic motivation."
- For me, this means that the initial tasks in any new skill/strategy/competency have to be easy. It also suggests that the learning curve can't be too steep.
This is baked into self-determination theory. Valås, et al (1994) explicitly state "Experiences that reveal a significant lack of competence tend to reduce both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Such experiences promote an impersonal motivational orientation and probably learned helplessness" Valås, et al say that intrinsic motivation grows with feelings of competence and self-determination.
- The key to intrinsic motivation seems to be a perception of competence
It also seems that there can be a place extrinsic motivation, but that it has a negative effect on performance as students get older (Lemos and Veríssimo, 2014).
- I would wager that this is at least partially due to the fact that self-determination and autonomy become more important as one ages, and ties back into the fundamentals of self-tetermination theory.