The purpose of this comparative study was to determine if and to what extent there was a statistically significance difference in college students' motivation--amotivation, external regulation, introjection, identification, intrinsic motivation--to learn Algebra I between in-person instruction and online instruction in Central Arizona. The theory used in this study was self-determination theory. The population of interest for this study was college students enrolled in Algebra I in-person or online in the United States. The researcher used a sample size of n = 37 college students for the in-person group and n = 74 participants for the online group. The data were collected from Algebra I courses or equivalent courses using the Academic Motivation Towards Mathematics Scale as the instrument. Data analysis was done using Mann-Whitney U tests, comparing the differences of each motivation variable between the in-person group and the online group. The results yielded p-values of 0.75 for amotivation and <0.01 for external regulation, introjection, identification, and intrinsic motivation. In conclusion, there is no difference in amotivation between in-person and online instruction, while online instruction has higher external regulation, introjection, identification, and intrinsic motivation than in-person instruction. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]