This mixed methods design-based research study investigated a novel instructional intervention targeting students’ motivational regulation strategy use across two semesters in a teacher education course. Course sections (n = 30) were randomly assigned to either an intervention of control condition. Students in the intervention condition received additional instruction and completed activities that connected theories of motivation with specific motivational regulation strategies. Survey measures were used to assess whether there were significant differences in students’ motivational beliefs and motivational regulation strategies over the course of a unit on motivation theories and due to condition assignment. Following data collection for the first semester (Study 1a), interviews were conducted to contextualize the quantitative findings and generate recommendations for a redesigned intervention (Study 1b). A redesigned intervention was tested in the second semester (Study 2) and there was an enhanced focus on the potential benefits of a unit on motivation theories due to the findings from Study 1. Overall, there were no statistically significant effects of the intervention on students’ motivational beliefs of motivational regulation strategy use. However, there were statistically significant differences in students’ achievement goals, mindset beliefs, and implicit theories of willpower after taking the educational psychology course and a moderating effect of the condition with students’ perceptions of teacher enthusiasm on growth mindset beliefs. There were also significant changes to students’ motivational regulation beliefs across the semester, specifically increased self-consequating and regulation of mastery goals, and decreased regulation of performance goals (Study 2). The findings of this study also suggest that preservice teachers’ motivational beliefs and regulation strategy use is associated with teaching-related competence beliefs. Taken together, there were mixed findings of the study, which highlight opportunities for future investigation. The study has implications for metamotivation, motivational regulation intervention development, and the teaching of educational psychology.
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