Consider students' phase of interest when implementing UVIs, and consider combining them with interventions fostering beliefs that interest can develop¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article recommends that when examining and implementing UVIs, educators and researchers consider students' phase of interest, since the intervention may work differently as interest develops. It states "it can be important to consider students' phase of interest" and raises whether generating utility examples would be more likely associated with interest "if students first received an intervention that fostered beliefs that developing interest was possible (O'Keefe et. al., 2023)."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• UVIs are intended to be implemented for all students in a class as curricular interventions

Constraints¶

• The review expects more variability in how the intervention works as interest develops, with attention and effort potentially pulled in different directions, creating additional self-regulation challenges

Target Learners¶

• high school and college students in gateway courses

Target Learning Goals¶

• self-regulation of motivation and sustained engagement with course content

Claims¶

• UVIs are more effective when students generate their own examples of utility, invest more engagement, and are given choices [+W]
• Utility-value interventions enhance perceived utility value, engagement, performance, and persistence in introductory college science courses [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Teachers explicitly communicate the relevance, importance, and utility of science alongside curriculum content

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

• Carol Sansone, K. Ann Renninger, Judith M. Harackiewicz. (2026). Motivating Self-Regulation: Utility Value, Interest Development, and the Potential for Intervention. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10142-7