Aristotle once said “colours have the capacity to cause themselves to be seen”. Colours have been used in many

areas to facilitate information sharing. Colours are also used in teaching and learning to help leaners focus their

attention on desired information. One of the main reasons why lecturers do not engage in research is that they

needed guidance; at least to start off the research journey. Research engagement here refers to the progress of

carrying out research which begins with choosing instrument, collecting data, analyzing data and writing up the

“Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing about” -Benjamin Franklin. In the context

of academicians or teachers, in order to write something worth reading, they need to first do something worth

writing about; which is research. Research engagement is a tedious process and or many academicians, the

teaching and other non-teaching responsibilities demand most of their time. However, over the years, in order to

improve teaching and learning, many are jumping on the bandwagon of SoTL (Scholarship of teaching and

learning). According to Potter & Kustra (2011), SoTL includes aspects of professional development in the

teaching world. This development includes improving the teachers’ expertise through researching the best

and skills. In addition to that, Guzman (2025) reported a major challenge for teacher research as lack of mentor.

What is interesting is amidst workload, there are some teachers who did engage in research activities. What

motivates them? According to Giang, et.al. (2024), teachers’ engagement motivation depends on their autonomy,

and self-perceived competence. In addition to that, Salter and Tett (2022) reported that teachers participate in

research activities to be a part of a community. Hence this paper is done to explore the challenges that teachers

Colours help attention modification in two ways. First, it diverts a person’s attention away from other factors

The Self-determination theory (SDT) was introduced by Deci & Ryan (2012) to explain motivation in people.

Motivation depends on three main factors such as autonomy, competence and relatedness. Deci & Ryan (2021)

also adds that motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic. In the context of lecturer’s research engagement among

lecturers, intrinsic motivation refers to the inner feelings of having autonomy over their time amidst their busy

schedule to embark in research activities. In addition to that having the competence to do so helps boost their

intrinsic motivation Nevertheless, external factors such as relatedness is needed so that the lecturers know what

they are doing (research) is related to their basic teaching duties and that the research engagement is supported

ZPD is a concept in learning to describe the difference between what a learner can do independently and what

Zhou, et.al. (2024) explored the motivations and challenges teachers face in conducting research in China. 49

instructors responded to a questionnaire. Motivations were measured by the constructs in the questionnaire.

Challenges were measured by open-ended questions. Findings revealed three types of motivation profiles and

they are (a) high autonomous and controlled motivation, (b) high autonomous and low controlled motivation,

and (c) low autonomous motivation. Five categories of challenges were found and they are (a) researcher identity,

(b) research knowledge and skills, (c) research climate in schools, (d) workload and family care and (e) resources

Coloured-scaffolds is based on the concept that combines Selective Attention, SDT theory, and ZPD theory.

Three main factors drives the formation of this concept; (a) autonomy, (b) perceived competence and (c) Team

Competence is the ability to do something successfully or efficiently. Zhou, et.al. (2024) reported that one of the

demotivating factors for research engagement is lack of research knowledge and skills. Bialen (2024) also

In order for teachers to feel engaged with research, they need autonomy. Zhou, et.al. (2024) reports that one

the person to make his or her own decisions. An inexperienced researcher would feel they lack autonomy to

section of the write-up is then given colours that corresponds to the assigned colours given to authors. Through

selective attention of the brain, the assigned colours assist the authors to concentrate on their section only. This

is helpful as beginning authors do no get overwhelmed by the vast amount of content (to write) n a journal article.

“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” This quote shows that joined effort from different

writers writing on one journal article eventually leads to the completion of the task. Hence the completed first

The theory of Self-Determination by Deci & Ryan (2012) helped researchers to understand why teachers are not

actively engaging in research activities. With reference to Figure 2 below, the three main components

(competence, autonomy and relatedness) are connected to one another. Although heavy workload has always

been used as relevant reason, there is more than meets the eye. Teachers need competence. Many either do not

have research knowledge and skills to carry out research or they have the knowledge but are not confident to do

on their own. Besides competence, they also need autonomy when it comes to research engagement. Having

knowledge about research is not sufficient. Some teachers need to be able to make decisions on their own when

The concept of coloured scaffolds is anchored from the self-determination theory (SDT) by Deci & Ryan (2012).

The conceptual framework for coloured scaffolds is presented in figure 1A below. The figure clarifies the

function of each component in SDT. The components heled to build the base for each step in the coloured

To begin with, to provide teachers with a sense of competence, templates are designed to scaffold the writing

process of the journal article. Next, to help teachers gain autonomy over their work, colour-codes were added in

the templates to give a sense of selected attention as they go through their writing journey. Finally, Vygotsky

(1978) proposes that learners achieve more in group work than they do alone. These coloured scaffolds concept

This concept of coloured scaffolds is transferable for any group writing. Teachers need to prepare clear template

and signal colour codes at prominent places in the writing to guide writers through the writing journey. The next

stage of this concept is to actually implement on a group of writers, prepare the instrument, collect data , analyse

The author wishes to thank academy Pengajian Bahasa, University Technology MARA for allowing her to be a

Lecturers at Dai Nam University. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, 6(7), 1650170.