Motivation in classes

So this is is some correspondence after nobody in the Advanced Digital Systems class turned in their second lab on time. Our teacher offered help; I responded by suggesting that maybe the issue was really motivation and not technical stuff so much (although that issue also exists).

What motivates you to work in classes?

(Names are hidden b/c I don't like floating people's names on the internet - most readers know who's who ).

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Hi Boris,

I appreciate the honesty of your answer. What motivates
you in other classes?

-###

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Hey ###,

Hmmmm... I'm not sure I have a direct answer, but I'll just say things that seem relevant instead.

I'll start with a disclaimer. I /do/ work. I even enjoy independent work and big projects. I'm doing my OSS right now, I'm in my second Independent Study, I've done research for a couple of profs (although motivation actually /did/ kill one of those).

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On class types:
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One type of class is just problems. You do them you're done with them - great. This is a common set-up for math classes etc.

A more open-ended type is based around a big project. These tend to need self-motivation. I'm not really sure where it comes from, but I know I did a lot of research for my VLSI class starting months before anything was due because I thought it was absolutely awesome. That all being said, the end-game of actually making a chip was less than stellar for me (although I did finish) and Olin has yet to get a working chip back from this class (3 years). POE also has a similar feel to it and some groups take to it great while other groups flounder for a long time before getting things started. I'm not sure if this is relevant, but both of these classes do small labs at the beginning and then have one /huge/ project compared to ADS' large project every two weeks.

Then there's the type where things are very straightforward and linear. These can be arbitrarily hard, but there's always a clear problem that needs solving next (###'s circuits class or last year's Communications class with ### are good examples of this).

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Back to ADS:
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Now, ADS is mostly open-ended. I feel it could do with more of a path. Or, alternatively, more guidance. The class effectively asks students to reach a goal. In two weeks. Students have about a decade and a half's worth of practice procrastinating - this one is easy. Time goes by and the problem starts to seem intractable. Where does one start? Well. I know I have to do this tristate thing. I know I have to simulate the mouse. I know I have to read the PS/2 spec. So I don't do much at all instead. Yeah. I don't actually have a solution.

ADS labs are 2 weeks long - they are huge. They require /lots/ of debugging - in fact, debugging is likely the brunt part of the work. In short: they're big, they're frustrating, they have no clear starting point, and the work itself is mostly uninteresting (debugging). The carrot is great (it actually works and does something) but the path makes it look like it's not worth it.

So. If I had to guess. I really enjoy analog more than digital - that could be part of the motivation. There's also a class dynamic aspect of it where the entire class dreads the labs. So it could be the topic or the social structure. Here's one more thought. The projects are large, but I don't feel that I own them. They feel impersonal and difficult and that makes it hard to justify (as compared to big project classes where you design and implement your own idea).

Sorry I went on for so long,

-Boris