Motivation When Confined Online:

As long as I can remember, dance has been a center point in my life. The studio was my second home, and harboured my passion, my friends, and my creative outlet. I was attending classes five days a week, for at the least four hours a day, it was everything. That was until 2019 when the pandemic caused everything to become online.

I was very happy even though I couldn’t physically be in the dance studio, I could still take my classes. Grateful was an understatement, but the longer it went on, the more difficult it became. Dancing though zoom was hard, for how much I loved it, my mom was pulling teeth for me to attend my online classes.

 I complained – “I have no room to move” or “the computer is too small to see.” It hadn’t even been a month before I found every excuse in the book to not log in.

I couldn’t learn the same. When I’m able to see things and try and try again, that’s when it really sticks in my brain. Only having audible aid and instructions really affected my cognitive and motivational abilities. Discussed in the self-determination theory, my competence and relatedness were not being met. 

The environment was a much bigger factor than I had originally anticipated, and many of my peers felt the same. Girls I had danced with since I was three quit during 2019-2021, and never touched the art again. Factors, like environments, play a big role in learning cognitively, and being able to fully engage in materials/experiences (Ertmer, P. A. & Newby, T. 2018). Of course, this was not the studios fault, as they did everything to keep classes engaging and uplifting in the damning time, it was hard to feel connected.

If I could redesign that experience, I’d include more interactive elements like breakout rooms for small‑group choreography, feedback sessions, and ways to share progress visually. That would have supported autonomy and relatedness, helping us feel part of something again. This experience taught me that motivation isn’t just about passion, but how the passion is kept alive. It’s about how learning environments meet our human needs to connect, grow, and belong.

EdTech Admin. (2023). Motivation and learning – EDCI 335. University of Victoria.https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/motivation 

Ertmer, P. A. & Newby, T. (2018). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. EdTech Books. (pp. 133-151). https://edtechbooks.org/lidtfoundations/behaviorism_cognitivism_constructivism