Motivation and affect detection are prominent yet challenging areas of research in the field of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs). Devising strategies to engage learners and motivate them to practice regularly are of great interest to researchers. In the learning and education domain, where students use ITSs regularly, motivating them to engage with the system effectively may lead to higher learning outcomes. Therefore, developing an ITS which provides a complete learning experience to students by catering to their cognitive, affective, metacognitive, and motivational needs is an ambitious yet promising area of research. This dissertation is the first step towards this goal in the context of SQL-Tutor, a mature ITS for tutoring SQL.

In this research project, I have conducted a series of studies to detect and evaluate learners' affective states and employed various strategies for increasing motivation and engagement to improve learning from SQL-Tutor. Firstly, I established the reliability of iMotions to correctly identify learners' emotions and found that worked examples alleviated learners' frustration while solving problems with SQL-Tutor. Gamification is introduced as a motivational strategy to persuade learners to practice with the system. Gamification has emerged as a strong engagement and motivation strategy in learning environments for young learners. I evaluated the effects of gamified SQL-Tutor on undergraduate students and found that gamification indirectly improved learning by influencing learners’ time on task. It helped students by increasing their motivation which produce similar effects as intrinsically motivated students. Additionally, prior knowledge, gamification experience, and interest in the topic moderated the effects of gamification.

Lastly, self-regulated learning support is presented as another strategy to affect learners’ internal motivation and skills. The support provided in the form of interventions improved students’ learning outcomes. Additionally, the learners' challenge-accepting behaviour, problem selection, goal setting, and self-reflection have improved with support without experiencing any negative emotions. This research project contributes to the latest trends of motivation and learning research in ITS.