The debate over the content of the curriculum—in particular the balance between required and elective courses—has been going on for nearly two centuries. At the heart, these debates are about the academic benefits of a common curricular experience versus encouraging student motivation through choice of courses. There is also increasing evidence that many students benefit from fewer choices, which is the premise of the “structured pathways” movement (Dadgar, Venezia, Nodine, & Bracco, 2013).

• Conduct a search of juried articles and studies on college and student motivation written within the past five years and identify two or three you find interesting and relevant.
• Based on the articles you found, summarize current theory on student motivation for learning.
• Based on these articles, this week’s readings, and your personal and professional experience, explain whether you consider it better to provide fewer or greater course choices to undergraduate students. Defend your position.

Readings

• Dadgar, M., Venezia, A., Nodine, T., & Bracco, K. R. (2013). Providing structured pathways to guide students toward completion [PDF]. Retrieved from https://www.wested.org/online_pubs/resource1280.pdf