The ARCS Model of

Motivational Design
John M. Keller

Overview
Learners learn better when they are
motivated.
Keller suggests that planning for student
motivation should be first and foremost.
A teacher
t
h has
h to
t know
k
his/her
hi /h audience
di
to gauge potential motivational pitfalls.

Biography
After graduating from high school in 1956, he went to college in California, leaving after one
semester when he realized he was not ready for serious study.
Keller joined the U.S. Marines in 1957 and was assigned to an aviation wing where his
responsibilities included the delivery of strict one
one-on-one
on one instruction for flight simulator
procedures.
B.A. degree in philosophy and English, Keller became a secondary school teacher to earn a
living. From 1965 to 1971,
Keller received his Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1974 with a major in instructional
systems technology
and minors in research & evaluation and organizational behavior. His doctoral research led
to his being
g
named Outstanding Young Researcher by the Association for Educational Communications
and Technology in 1975. He was the first recipient of this award. Keller was appointed as
an assistant professor in instructional technology at Syracuse University in 1974
While at Syracuse,
Syracuse Keller developed into both a respected scholar and practitioner of
instructional systems design. He was one of first to imply that designers should assume
responsibility for motivation. Keller focused on motivation to account for different
achievement NOT on learner ability. This was an important shift in focus.

The ARCS Model of Motivational

D
i
Design
Attention
Relevance
Confidence
Satisfaction

Attention
Perceptual arousal
Use novel, surprising, incongruous and
uncertain events. Something
g as simple
p as
slamming a book on the table can achieve
this
Inquiry arousal
Use challenging questions or problems to
stimulate curiosity or information
information-seeking
seeking behavior;
Direct the learner to generate questions or
problems to solve.

ARCS

Attention
Examples
Incongruity and conflict
Active Participation
Inquiry
Humor
Variability

ARCS

Attention
Examples

ARCS

Attention
Incongruity and conflict

ABZ
2+2=9
ARCS

Attention
Active participation

ARCS

Attention
Inquiry

ARCS

Attention
Humor

ARCS

Attention
Variability
VariabilityAn instructor may use variability by
incorporating a combination of methods in
presenting instructional material.
material
An example would be to have the learners read an
article, watch a video or TV, then divide the
classroom into groups to review what had been
presented
p
ese ted a
and
d to a
answer
s e quest
questions
o s tthat
at were
ee
presented earlier

ARCS

Relevance

ARCS

Relevance
Experience
Present worth

((Whats
((What
s In It For Me))

Future usefulness
N d matching
Needs
t hi
Modeling
Choice

ARCS

Relevance
E
Experience
i

It helps if the learners can have an

opportunity
t it to
t use prior
i knowledge
k
l d iin order
d
to comprehend the new skill(s) and
understand what prior knowledge is
important to the current learning.

ARCS

Relevance
Present worth(Whats In It For Me)

relevance strategy suggests explicitly tying

instructional goals to the learner's future activities
and having learners participate in activities where
theyy relate the instruction to their own future g
goals.
For example: To try for a job promotion, learners
are taking professional development classes to
gain more skills that will qualify them for the
position.

ARCS

Relevance
Future usefulness
relevance strategy suggests explicitly tying
instructional goals to the learner's future
activities and having learners participate in
activities where they relate the instruction to
their own future goals. For example: To try for
a job promotion
promotion, learners are taking
professional development classes to gain
more skills that will qualify them for the
position.

ARCS

Relevance
Needs matching
Needs matching relates to Maslows Hierarchy of
needs that says everyone has a graduated level of
needs that range from simple survival needs (food,
shelter)) up
p to self-actualization. Once a need has
been satisfied, the next higher need becomes the
driving force. The instruction might address what
needs the learner is trying to meet by participating in
the instruction for example, a raise that results from
the training would meet a security need.

ARCS

Relevance
M d li
Modeling
Some activities that use this strategy include
use off graduates
d t as guestt speakers,
k
and
d
allowing students who finish work first to
serve as tutors to their peers
peers. The goal is to
use modeling to show learners how the
desired outcome relates to them.

ARCS

Relevance
e e a ce
Choice
Allowing
All
i learners
l
to
t use different
diff
t methods
th d tto
pursue their work or allowing learners a
choice in how they organize the work is using
choice as a relevance-building strategy.

SUMMARY
These strategies work to produce
motivational
ti ti
l effects
ff t off how
h
something
thi iis
taught, as opposed to producing effects of
whats
what
s taught.
taught

ARCS

Confidence

ARCS

Confidence
Objectives & prerequisites
Increasing levels of difficulty
Feedback
Learner control

ARCS

Confidence
o de ce
PrerequisitesLearners should have a
clear understanding of what it is they
are going to learn and how they will be
evaluated.
evaluated
Incorporating learning goals and/or
objectives
bj ti
iinto
t llessons can help
h l
students estimate the probability of
success by
b presenting
ti performance
f
requirements and evaluation criteria.

ARCS

Confidence
P idi examples
l off exemplary
l
d
Providing
and
acceptable work along with grading
criteria
it i can also
l be
b a big
bi help
h l iin making
ki
learning objectives more obvious.
Reduce the possibility that your learners
become frustrated by ensuring that the
prerequisites for your instruction are
clear. An entry-level test or prerequisite
course listings can often help learners
determine whether or not they are
qualified to enroll in a course that is built
on prerequisite knowledge and skills.

Confidence
o de ce
DifficultyLearners will be more
motivated to continue if small successes
are experienced along the way. Start
with a simple
simple, but challenging
instructional elements, and continue
with elements that are increasingly
more difficult.
Each successive piece of the instruction
can be made more challenging by
building on the knowledge and skills
acquired in the previous section. ARCS

Confidence
o de ce
Increasing levels of difficulty
E h successive
Each
i piece
i
off the
h iinstruction
i
can be made more challenging by
b ildi on the
building
h kknowledge
l d and
d skills
kill
acquired in the previous section.
Contrarily, if you make things too
difficult, no one will want to continue.
Small successes along with increasing
levels of difficulty will build learner
confidence and keep the learners
engaged.

Confidence
Provide plenty of opportunities for learners to practice
the application of new knowledge and skills in a
controlled environment with sufficient feedback before
placing them in more challenging situations.

It is important
p
that they
y experience
p
successes in each
successive level of difficulty, as this will build selfconfidence. Increasing the level of learner self-reliance
in each step will also encourage learner independence
independence.

Confidence
Feedback
Use feedback to help
p learners
clearly understand what information
y understand and where they
y may
y
they
need additional help. Use feedback to
increase learners confidence in their
ability to be successful.

ARCS

Confidence
Learner control Learners should
understand that there is a direct
correlation between the amount of
energy put into a learning experience
and the amount of skill and knowledge
gained from that experience.
They should believe that their success
is a direct result of the amount of effort
they put forth. This is another feature
p
y important
p
for adult
that is especially
learners.

ARCS

Satisfaction

ARCS

Satisfaction
Natural consequences
Positive consequences
Equity

ARCS

Satisfaction
Natural Consequences

Provide the learner with realistic or

authentic situations that require the
application of the newly learned skill.
The more immediate the opportunity is for
the learner to use the new skill, the better.

ARCS

Satisfaction
a s ac o
Natural Consequences
Some e
examples
amples of this strateg
strategy would
o ld
be case studies, role-plays, simulations,
and games
games.
Simulations let students apply their
newly acquired skills immediately in a
semi-authentic situation.
Satisfied learners are motivated to
continue learning because they see
value in what they are doing.

Satisfaction
Positive consequences

Positive Consequences Provide rewards or

feedback that will encourage the learner to continue
target behavior.
Motivational
M
ti ti
l feedback
f db k can vary from
f
positive
iti
comments to extrinsic rewards. Extrinsic rewards
can be as varied as prizes, parties, travel awards,
and even cash. Cautions:

ARCS

Satisfaction
Positive consequences

Don't annoy the learner by overrewarding simple behavior.

Don't overuse extrinsic rewards as they
y overshadow instruction.
may
Don't make the negative consequences
too entertaining
entertaining. You don't
don t want the
learner to purposely choose the wrong
answer

Satisfaction
Equity
Design and maintain consequences and feedback that
are consistent and fair.
Make expectations clear so as not to disappoint or
discourage learners.
Feedback needs to be balanced and fair to keep
students motivated to continue learning.
Rewards and feedback should be provided in a timely
f hi and
fashion
d should
h ld be
b appropriate
i
to the
h level
l
l off
difficulty of the task.

ARCS

The ARCS Model of Motivational

D
i
Design
Attention
Relevance
Confidence
Satisfaction

Refe ences
References
Keller, JJ. M
Keller
M., (1983)
(1983). Development and Use of the
ARCS Model of Motivational Design (Report No. IR
014 039). Enschede, Netherlands: Twente Univ. of
Technology. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service
No. ED 313 001)
Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and personality. New
York: Harper.