Resumen de Novelty, variety, relevance, challenge and assessment: How science investigations influence the motivation of year 11 students in New Zealand

Azra Moeed

• Science investigations are fundamental to knowledge generation in science. Doing and learning from science investigation is essential for understanding how science works. Students need support to develop conceptual and procedural understandings and to understand how science works. Using examples, this article reports findings from a case study. Students were motivated when the teacher provided a variety of learning experiences that had elements of novelty and relevance to everyday life. Tasks that did not offer cognitive challenge were motivational only when students saw the tangible benefits of examination credits.