Implementing positive reinforcement.

Designers should provide immediate positive feedback in various formats to reinforce sustainable energy actions and boost intrinsic motivation.

About this paper

The author argues that existing energy feedback technologies are ineffective because they use a universal approach, failing to account for individual differences in attitudes and motivational stages.

They propose leveraging motivational psychology, specifically the Transtheoretical Model, to develop more personalized and effective strategies for promoting sustainable energy behaviors.

Here are some methods used in this study:

Transtheoretical Model Motivational Interviewing

Which part of the paper did the design guideline come from?

“‘Ubigreen’[24] (Figure 3, top right) employs these techniques. It is a mobile phone visualization that uses semi-automatic sensing technologies to provide feedback of transportation behaviors. It uses a series of emotionally persuasive icons [24] (i.e. a polar bear standing on an iceberg) as positive reinforcement. The more “green” one’s transportation behaviors, the further in the progression of icons one gets (i.e. the iceberg grows and the ecosystem improves) until one reaches the final stage (...)” (‘Positive Reinforcement, Emotional Persuasion (through the ELM) & Values’ section)

He, H. A., Greenberg, S., & Huang, E. M. (2010). One size does not fit all. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

Inspiration and scope

This paper focuses on energy users' sustainable behaviors and designing feedback technologies using positive reinforcement.

You're designing to teach high school students in Seattle about STEM using VR. The contexts differ: the paper focuses on resistant energy users, while you're engaging more receptive students. At the same time, both contexts motivate individuals to engage with the content, and the paper's techniques rooted in behavioral psychology could motivate students through VR.

Also, they differ in that the paper addresses complex energy system information, while your context simplifies content through immersive storytelling in VR. At the same time, both benefit from interactive learning. Interactivity in the paper makes energy data tangible via simulations, while in VR, it creates engaging narratives for active learning.

Leveraging similarities, design a VR platform with immediate, varied positive feedback. This increases students' intrinsic motivation to learn STEM, making learning enjoyable and rewarding.

Your input

  • What: teaching students about notable people in STEM using virtual reality
  • Who: high school students in Seattle public schools
  • Design stage: Evaluation

Methods for you

Consider the following method(s) used in this paper for your design work:

Motivational Interviewing (MI)

Using Motivational Interviewing (MI) can help evaluate how well students identify with and engage in VR experiences by encouraging them to verbalize their thoughts and feelings. Designers should ensure the virtual reality content aligns with students' values and intrinsic motivations to achieve a meaningful connection.

Positive Reinforcement

Implementing Positive Reinforcement can help assess VR's effectiveness by providing immediate, rewarding feedback to students upon completing tasks or simulations, thereby enhancing their intrinsic motivation. Incorporating various reinforcement methods, like visual cues or congratulatory messages, can keep students motivated.

Metrics for you

Consider the following metric(s) used in this paper to evaluate your design work:

Positive Reinforcement

Using this metric may help sustain students' interest and motivation by acknowledging and rewarding their achievements in the VR environment. Designers should ensure feedback is immediate and relevant to maintain effectiveness.

Information Model

Using this metric may help educate and inform students about STEM figures in a more structured manner, offering actionable insights to improve knowledge retention. Designers need to ensure the information is engaging and not overwhelming at early stages of learning.

[Figure 1] From this figure, you can understand how various design elements can be visually represented to capture user engagement and interaction over time, which can support your evaluation of student engagement in a VR educational setting.