Friday, April 8, 2011

Cooperative Learning and Motivation

Cooperative Learning: Constructing knowledge through social interactions.

Constructivist Approach:
We construct knowledge through our own knowledge of what we bring to the picture individually (learner specific).

Social Constructivist:
 Emphasizes on social and mutual construction. Vygotsky is a well known social constructivist.

Five Components of Cooperative Learning
1.      Positive Interdependence: Independent success is dependent on the success of the group. Everyone rises and falls together, this is common for me when doing group presentations because the overall presentation is what really counts the total effect of the work.

2.      Positive Face-Face Interactions: Sense of community which will reinforce the motivation to learn. When you see that everyone else is just as excited as you it is inspiring and motivating.

3.      Interpersonal and Small Group Interactions: People need to teach the skills and roles in group work.

4.      Individual Accountability: People don’t always contribute equally. Often teachers find a way to avoid this by assigning a mark based on what others had to say in your group.

5.      Critical Reflection: What I learned, and reflecting on the experience. Self reflection and self growth.

Motivation

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Deficiency of Needs: If the students don’t have these needs, the student cannot learn.

1.      Physiological: Most basic of needs, like food, shelter and clothes.
2.      Safety: A continuing supply of physiological needs.
3.      Love and Acceptance: Intimate core foundations of social relations.
4.      Self-Esteem and Respect: The social needs, feeling good about ones self and others.

Growth Needs: The needs we work for to become fulfilled.

5.      Knowledge and Understanding: Intellectual needs, want to grow and gain knowledge.
6.      Aesthetics and Beauty: Art, order, harmony, music, cinema, physical beauty.
7.      Self-Actualization: You as an individual are all you can be. Have peak experiences, and ecstasy.
8.      Self-Transcendence: No longer satisfied with self-actualization want to extend and contribute to others.


These needs drive behaviour. No matter what people do they do it because they have a need, there is always an explanation for peoples behaviours. The candle problem states that physical incentives don’t work, and that it stops creativity, this is true but not always true. I thrive on competition so if someone said I would be rewarded if I did better than someone else I would try my best. Like at work we were told that we needed to up sell some menu items, and that who ever did but would be rewarded. I told myself that I could do it that I would be the best and I did win. The candle problem also states that people should focus on the intrinsic motivations, the things that make us happy, I guess I did that too because winning is what make me happy, because I hate to lose and hate to be wrong.

2 Ways of Motivation
1.      Intrinsic: The internal reasons, we do what we do because we want to. (Higher levels of creativity)
2.      Extrinsic: The source that of motivation comes from the outside (Lower level tasks) money, power.

 Motivation.2

Orientation
1.      Helpless: People that just give up, state that they have an internal trait that just doesn’t make them successful.
2.      Performance: People are not focused on the process but the outcome, have a continuous eye on the prize, and if they don’t succeed it sucks away motivation.
3.      Mastery: Focuses on the tasks, skills, rather than the ability. Positive affect (enjoyment) generates solution orientation strategies that improve performances, curiosity and ownership of work and learning.

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