Reference:

1
Will Students Be Less Satisfied with their Course
Performance When their Espoused Theory Deviates
from Their Theory-in-use? Sherman Chu, Peer
Leader The City College of the City College of
New York
Experiment A survey consisting of 11 questions
was given to each of the eight students in the
beginning of a workshop session that I led. The
eight students were four male and four female
students. Each of them was asked to complete the
survey that was designed for a course that I am
participating in. No other instruction was given.

Discussion Based on the survey, the typical
sources of motivation for students to study for
tests, and to come to workshop sessions are
extrinsic. There is only a small number of
students who claimed that their motivation
included intrinsic ones. These conflicting
source of motivation created a possible situation
for the espoused theory and the theory-in-use to
conflict with each other. The students believed
that they should study because it is important
for them to gain greater knowledge. However, at
the same time, what they aimed for when they
studied was higher grades. When their actions
were not based upon their espoused theory, they
might feel that they have not met the personal
standard given to themselves. As a result, they
feel unsatisfied. Extrinsic Motivation Only ? no
conflicting espoused theory and theory-in-use ?
more satisfied with course performance Presence
of both Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation ?
conflicting espoused theory and theory-in-use ?
not satisfied with course performance These
conclusions drawn from the data collected from
the surveys might seem to contradict the
self-determination theory. The
self-determination theory supports the idea that
intrinsic motivation leads to greater learning.
However, the result shows that non-conflicting
types of motivation help students to be more
satisfied with their course performance.
However, these two statements do not actually
contradict each other. When students are
satisfied, they believed that they were working
according to their espoused theory and
theory-in-use. When students are not satisfied,
they believed that they have not worked according
to their espoused theory. If their espoused
theory and theory-in-use are just studying to get
a better grade, what they actually learned
becomes essentially not important. However, if
they are motivated by intrinsic motivation such
as personal improvement, they would seek for a
true understanding of the subject matter. Thus,
intrinsic motivation would improve learning.
Hypothesis Students appear to be less satisfied
with their course performance when their espoused
theory deviates from their theory-in-use.

Literature Review Double loop learning theory
is a theory proposed by Chris Argyris in 1976
that involves learning to change underlying
values and assumptions (Clark). It is linked to
the theory of action developed by both Argyris
and Donald Schön in 1974. The theory in action
learning process contains four basic parts (1)
Theory-in-use, (2) Invention of new meanings, (3)
Production of new actions, and (4) Generalization
of results. As each student progresses through
these steps while learning, he or she will
achieve the state of increased effectiveness in
decision-making and better acceptance of failures
and mistakes (Malhotras). People often claim
certain principles for their actions, also known
as espoused theory, according to the social
norm. However, the motives that they act upon,
or theory-in-use, are often different. In order
to understand the double loop learning theory and
the theory of action, these two terms need to be
defined Espoused theory The world view and
values people believe their behavior is based on
(Anderson). Theory-in-use The world view and
values implied by their behavior, or the maps
they use to take action (Anderson). Since people
rarely recognize the deviation between their
espoused theory and theory-in-use, they often
assume that other people have no idea of the
espoused theory hidden in their mind.
Sometimes conflicts between students espoused
theory and theory-in-use can be found when
students are both motivated by internal and
external motivations. According to Deci and
Ryan, intrinsic motivation is preferred over
extrinsic motivation since students are more
active in the learning process when they
recognize the importance of the course to them
without having other people imposing upon them a
standard to fulfill such as measuring the
performance through grading system (Anderman).
In order to achieve ideal group learning, one of
the requirements is to honestly voice out every
concern to help each other to recognize the
espoused theory and the theory-in-use to enhance
the motivation of learning.
Observations The survey was designed to measure
the types of motivation students have when they
work hard to learn the materials and whether they
were satisfied with their course performance.
Their satisfaction was measured based on their
self-evaluation of whether they believe their
course performance was adequate to meet the
course curriculum. The responses relating to the
types of motivation were divided into two
categories intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.
Intrinsic motivation includes the wish to gain
greater knowledge and challenging oneself. To
pass the course and to get a better grade are two
examples of extrinsic motivation.
According to the result, 6 out of 8 students had
extrinsic motivation only and were satisfied with
their course performance. Two out of 8 students
had both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and
were not satisfied with their course performance.
There was no student claimed to have intrinsic
motivation only. Therefore, no rating for
satisfaction with course performance is available
for that category.
Implication As workshop leaders, we should
always be aware of whether students are satisfied
with their course work. Even though students are
more satisfied with espoused theory and
theory-in-use that are not conflicting, it is
unreasonable to convince them only grade matters
in order to maximize their satisfaction.
However, we should help them to understand that
workshop not only helps them to ace the test, but
also to gain a true understanding of the subject
matter.

Reference Anderman, E. M., Midgley, C.
(2004). Motivation and middle school students.
URL http//www.learn2study.org/teachers/
middle_school.htm. Downloaded on April 20,
2004. Anderson, L. (2004). Argyris and Schön
theory on congruence and learning. URL
http//www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arp/argyris.h
tml. Downloaded on April 18,
2004. Clark, W. (2004). People whose ideas
influence organisational work Chris Argyris.
URL http//www.onepine.info/pargy.htm.
Downloaded on April 9, 2004. Malhotras, Y.
(2004). Double loop learning (C. Argyris). URL
http//tip.psychology.rog/argyris.html.
Downloaded on April 15, 2004.