Methodology

Participants

            The target population of this study will be students in grades 4-5 in a public elementary school (100 students in each grade equally 200 students total in the study).  The sample to be used will be one class from each grade level (20 students in each class for a total sample of 40 students).  The sample classes would be selected randomly. 

            The demographics of the students in the study will be ages 10-12.  Ethnicity is 91% Caucasian, 3% Latino, 2% Asian, 2% African American, and 3% as Other. Of the 200 students, gender will be 140 Female and 160 Male. 

Research Questions

How will students’ participation in a classroom business effect motivation?

How does the integration of altruistic projects effect motivation?

How does the type of learning model (business vs. traditional) effect motivation?

What business skills will students gain?

How will participation in an altruistic learning project affect students emotionally?

How does collaborating with the community affect the learning project?

What insight will the families of participating students provide?

Instruments

The measurement to be used is the Children’s Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (CAMIAI ). According to the Mental Measurements Yearbook the purpose of the test is: “'To measure academic intrinsic motivation ... defined as enjoyment of school learning characterized by an orientation toward mastery, curiosity, persistence, and the learning of challenging, difficult, and novel tasks” (Gottfried, A. 2006).  The test was developed by Dr. Adele E. Gottfried in 1986. It is to be used with grades 4-8.  It can be given whole group and requires one hour to administer. 24 Likert scaled items are used to answer 44 questions.  The test attempts to measure student’s intrinsic motivation for four academic subject areas: Math, Science, Social Studies and Math; however it also measures “the child’s overall orientation towards learning” which is of most interest to this study.  Understanding the student’s overall scaled interest in the non-classroom business model and then in the post classroom business model is of interest. Internal consistency for the test is .83 to .93.  Reliability confidents in retests ranged from .66 to .76.  There was a shared variance of .15.

Procedures

            Students are inventoried with the instrument (CAMIAI) (pre-test) at the beginning of the school year when there is no classroom business (treatment) in place in the Art Room.  The student’s are then introduced to their jobs to create and maintain the classroom business (treatment) of selling student created Glass Art.  After one academic year of working in the classroom business, the same students are inventoried again using the CAMIAI test (post test).  The pre and post program CAMIAI scores are analyzed for change.  Informal qualitative input will also be gathered by parents and students throughout the program (in the forms of interviews and focus groups) to acquire additional information for the researchers.

Basic Research Designs

            The research is an Experimental Design.  It uses a quantitative measurement (CAMIAI) to identify if a new program / treatment (classroom business) effects student motivation.  Pre and Post Test design is employed.  Random sample and assignment is used.

Works Cited

Gottfried, Adele E. (2006). Children’s Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory

(CAIMI). In N. Salkind (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics.

(pp. 138-139).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Measurement to Be Used: Children’s Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (CAMIAI )

Review of the Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory by C. DALE POSEY, Licensed Psychologist, C. M. E. Psychology Consultants, Boca Raton, FL:

The Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (CAIMI) is based upon a theoretical model of academic motivation conceived by Adele Gottfried, the author of the test. Intrinsic motivation is conceptualized as being specific for each primary subject area. There is also a general motivational variable related to the child's overall orientation toward learning. Thus, the CAIMI is comprised of four content scales related to reading, math, science, and social studies attitudes. There is also a separate scale related to 'general orientation toward school learning.' Each specific scale is comprised of 24 Likert-scale items and two forced-choice items. The general scale is made up of 18 Likert-scale items. The items are presented in a rather unusual format. There are 44 questions; the 26 relevant to the specific scales each require four responses, one for each content category. Thus, each question requires four responses on different Likert scales. In spite of this seeming complexity, the items appear to be understandable for students at least in the fourth grade, and scoring is surprisingly simple, requiring no templates or scoring keys. The author has, thus, developed an economical and simple method of obtaining a substantial amount of information.

The CAIMI was developed in three stages. An initial pool of theoretically derived items was administered to 141 white children attending one public school. Items demonstrating internal consistency and positive correlations with the total scale were retained. A biracial group from another public school was then used to assess racial and intellectual moderation, select additional items, and to investigate reliability. A third group of private school students was given the complete battery and further reliability studies were done.

An attempt was made to control for response bias. A social desirability scale was found to be uncorrelated with CAIMI scores, and items were balance-keyed to counteract yea-saying or nay-saying. Reverse-keyed repeated items were also included.

Reliability of the CAIMI appears to be adequate. Two-month retest coefficients ranged from .66 to .76. Internal consistency coefficients range from .83 to .93. Thus, reliability has been demonstrated, with no differences found as a function of race, sex, or IQ. An average shared variance of .15 indicates relative independence of the CAIMI scales.

CAIMI scores were significantly correlated with achievement test results on matched subject areas. Correlations ranged from .24 to .44. Thus, measured intrinsic motivation was related to achievement, but the two variables were largely independent. Achievement accounted for no more than 18 percent of the variance in matched subject CAIMI scores. Math CAIMI scores were especially strongly related to math achievement.

CAIMI scores were found to be negatively correlated with measures of subject-related academic anxiety (r = -.38 to -.52). Thus, intrinsic motivation is inversely related to anxiety within each subject area. In addition, the General CAIMI score was significantly correlated (r = .49 to .62) with the children's ratings of their academic competence. Teachers' ratings of a child's intrinsic motivation were significantly related to CAIMI Reading (r = .27), Math (r = .22), and General Motivation (r = .25). CAIMI Reading and Math scores were also correlated with these areas of achievement after controlling for IQ. Finally, the CAIMI was found to be significantly correlated with another measure of intrinsic motivation (r = .17 to .64).

In summary, the CAIMI appears to be a reliable and unique measure of an attribute labeled 'academic intrinsic motivation.' The operational definition of this construct is provided, and is based upon internal cognitive constructs. Studies of convergent and discriminant validity indicate these scales provide a fairly good measure of a child's academic ability, thoughts regarding self efficacy as it relates to school work, and teacher perception of a child's motivation. Academic intrinsic motivation also appears to be independent of intelligence and largely independent of achievement. The scales appear to be free of sex and racial bias, and should be fairly resistant to response sets. The only problem noted in the scale's development is the size and representativeness of the normative sample. The samples were adequate for the development of a research scale, but a commercially marketed scale should have national stratified norms. The scale is promising, but the author must conduct a more extensive normative study. Further validity studies would also be helpful in behaviorally defining academic intrinsic motivation. It is recommended that the scale be used, but caution should be exercised in drawing unreplicated conclusions. As part of a larger battery it may provide useful information regarding academically unsuccessful children.

---

Original Mental Measurements Yearbook citation:
Test Name: Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory
Acronym: CAIMI
Author: Gottfried, Adele.
Publication Date: 1986
Publication Information:Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc., 16204 N. Florida Avenue, Lutz, FL 33549-8119; Telephone: 800-331-8378; FAX: 800-727-9329; E-mail: custsupp@parinc.com; Web: www.parinc.com.
Purpose: 'To measure academic intrinsic motivation ... defined as enjoyment of school learning characterized by an orientation toward mastery, curiosity, persistence, and the learning of challenging, difficult, and novel tasks.'
Test Category: 12
Administration:Individual or group.
Population: Grades 4-8
Scores: Reading; Math; Social Studies; Science; General
Time: (20-30) minutes for individual administration; (60) minutes for group administration.
Number of Reviews: 1
Reviewer:Posey, C. Dale.
References: See T5:464 (5 references); for a review by C. Dale Posey, see 10:54
Price: 2006: $162 per introductory kit including 50 test booklets, 50 profile forms, and manual (24 pages)
Yearbook: 10
Record Source: Mental Measurements Yearbook and Tests in Print.
Accession Number: 10120394

Copyright © 2010. The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska and the Buros Center for Testing. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Buros Center for Testing, Buros Institute, Mental Measurements Yearbook, and Tests in Print are all trademarks of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska and may not be used without express written consent.