Motivation and Learning Strategies Influencing Performance in an Aviation Course

Abstract

Collegiate aviation courses are very complex. The subject matter covered is oftentimes unfamiliar to students and unlike any topics they may have encountered during their high-school years. Since it is critical that students master the content, it is important to determine how they approach learning in these courses. Participants in this study completed a survey consisting of 81 motivation and learning strategies questions from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), and an open-ended question asking them to indicate the lowest course grade acceptable to them. Regression analyses of the MSLQ motivation and learning strategies found self-efficacy to be most significantly related to final course grade. Other analyses seem to indicate that learning strategies may need to be improved to promote more successful learning in these types of courses.