The Influence of Error Learning Orientation on Intrinsic Motivation for Visual Programming in STEM Education

Secondary school students often lack the necessary motivation to program visually. The present study aims to analyse the effects of error learning orientation on students' intrinsic motivation for visual programming. According to the control-value theory of Pekrun (2006), we posit that the influence of error learning orientation on intrinsic motivation is mediated by self-efficacy for visual programming as well as by error-related achievement emotions. A sample of 269 Swiss secondary school students (grades 7 to 9), who were beginners in visual programming, filled out a questionnaire as part of a course on visual programming. A structural equation model was established to illustrate the expected relationships between students' attitudes and their impacts. As expected, the results point to the need of paying more attention to errors in STEM education and indicate that students' error learning orientation had a low but significant effect on their intrinsic motivation for visual programming. The findings confirmed the effects of error learning orientation on intrinsic motivation for visual programming, which are mediated by self-efficacy but not by error related achievement emotions in the context of coding activities.