Motivation, Social Constructivism and Cooperative Learning

Activity 5.1

Take a couple of minutes to write down your comments and ideas about motivation.

1. What do you think is meant by the term motivation?
2. What impact does your motivation have on your approach to a task? You might like to think about the differences in your approach, the amount of effort you exert, and your attitude to your work when you are feeling motivated compared to when you are feeling unmotivated.
3. What are the differences in your feeling when you look forward to a task compared to when you have to complete a task because someone is making you do the work?

Activity 5.2

1. In your own words define the term `motivation’
2. Differentiate between:
   (i) `Traits and `states’
   (ii) Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation
   (iii) Performance and mastery goal

Activity 5.3

Reading 5.1:

Perspectives on Motivation, Santrock, J.W (2011) Educational Psychology, pages 438–440.

Reading 5.1 is part of a chapter that discusses many different approaches to understanding motivation.  You may like to read some of the other sections later in this unit. At the moment we would like you to read the section “ The Humanistic Perspective on Motivation” and then answer the following questions.

We will return to some of the other issues raised in this quotation later in the unit.  At the moment we just want you to think about the many different aspects of teaching – in particular how teachers can influence students’ emotional as well as their cognitive development.

Activity 5.3

1. Maslow identifies a five-stage hierarchy of people’s needs from basic needs to growth needs. Complete the following table summarising Maslow’s hierarchy

2. Using this hierarchy explain the following observations:
   (a) A child who is hungry finds it difficult to learn new concepts in school.
   (b) The teacher growls at a group of students and tells them they are stupid. The students’ performance does not improve.
   (c) Children with lots of friends and warm supporting families find it easier to learn than children with few friends.
3. Why is it that everyone agrees with Maslow’s ordering of motives?
4. Why do you think developing the students’ self-esteem should be an important goal of teachers?

Activity 5.4

1. Was your source of motivation intrinsic or extrinsic, or both?
2. Did your source of motivation change as you became more experienced completing the task?

Activity 5.5

1. What is the major difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?
2. How do the concepts of basic needs and growth needs contribute to your understanding of students’ motivation?
3. From your work in the earlier units (Units 1–4), how can an understanding of the source of students’ motivation influence your choice of teaching strategies?
4. Look back at the work in Unit 2. How can reinforcement be used to maximise students’ extrinsic motivation?

Activity 5.6

1. What are two important values in your community?
2. How do these values impact on people’s motivation and effort in acquiring learning in a traditional or informal context?
3. What are some important values associated with success at school?
4. Do you think there is a conflict between success at school and the students’ traditional values? Give a reason for your answer.
5. How does your knowledge and understanding of values and expectations assist you to understand differences in students’ approach to school or work?

ctivity 5.7

Reading 5.2:

Now turn to Reading 5.2. Use the information you have just read as well as the new information in this reading to answer the following

Activity 5.7

1. How do achievement problems surface?
2. Describe three types of students that are vulnerable to achievement difficulties?
3. Describe the roles parents and peers play in developing students’ achievement motivation.

Activity 5.8

1. In your own words explain the meanings of the terms:
   (a) Self-concept
   (b) Self-esteem
   (c) Self-efficacy
   (d) Learned helplessness
   (e)Locus of control
2. Social learning theory of motivation is sometimes summarised as expectation x values. Explain why this is an appropriate method of summarising this concept.
3. Explain why students’ past experience at school could have an impact on their efforts on a task.
4. Suggest why a student who is task-orientated is unlikely to develop learned helplessness.
5. Which types of motivation are associated with effectively learning at school and university? Explain why you consider these types of motivation to be important.

Activity 5.9

1. What is the relationship between effective teaching techniques and techniques which maximise the students’ intrinsic motivation?
2. In your subject area develop two different techniques which you think students will find intrinsically motivating.

Activity 5.10

1. Explain in your own words what is meant by the term self-fulfilling prophecy.
2. What factors in the students’ appearance or home background might influence teachers’ expectations about students’ performance in your country?
3. Some researchers don’t believe in the idea of a self-fulfilling prophecy. They believe that students enter school and classes with different abilities and different motivations. It is the students’ ability rather than the teachers’ behaviour, which has the greatest impact on students’ performance. The differences in the teachers’ behaviours are just appropriate to meet the different needs of the learners.
   For example, people who believe that the teachers’ behaviour has very little impact might say that a teacher should not wait too long if a student doesn’t know the answer to a question as this is more likely to embarrass the student. By comparison people who support the theory of self-fulfilling prophecies would argue that by only waiting a short time gives the student the message that he/she has low ability. If the student thinks he/she has low ability, then he/she is less likely to make an effort.
   (i) Do you think differences in the teachers’ behaviour create self-fulfilling prophecies or do you think these differences are appropriate ways of treating students with different levels of ability?
   (ii) Do you think these differences in behaviour are designed to cater for the differences in ability of the students?
   (iii)Do you think these differences in behaviour carry messages about the students’ level of ability compared to their peers?
   (iv)Now think about your experience, as a teacher and or a student. Do you think teachers treat less and more able students differently?

Activity 5.11

1. If students find it easy to compare their performance with their peers, then are low-ability students less likely to try hard?
2. List three methods that teachers can use to make it difficult for students to compare their performance.
3. For each method, explain how it will make it more difficult for students to make comparison amongst their peers.
4. Do you think the TARGET approach to education is an appropriate goal for education in your country? Give reasons for your answer.
5. To what extent do you think an informal approach to instruction uses the goals and strategies identified in the TARGET approach to instruction?