Another great week of readings! I thought the P&S chapter 7 article (Role of Interest and Affect in Achievement Motivation) was especially interesting because it shows that we need to look deeper into what is motivating our students, or not motivating them. There is an entirely different side that needs to be delved into for a complete understanding. I thought the discussion about emotions and moods was important for teachers to understand because motivation has more legs than originally thought and any attempts to motivate students should take their affect and interest into account. I also thought the Fiedler suggestions regarding positive and negative affect and the impact they both have. It goes hand in hand with learning-goal and performance-goal orientations. Negative affect = more stimulus-bound, less willing to make mistakes and positive affect = generative, creative processes, novelty-seeking.
The discussion on flow was interesting to me as well and I can remember a number of times when I personally experienced flow of my own and how wonderful it felt to be so engaged in something that you couldn't even hear a phone ring, a door shut, other voices in the room. Interesting! Applications 7.1 and 7.2 of that same article were especially helpful and I can remember examples of being in classes that I loved and having some of those same applications used on the students. That made such a difference in my experience in the classroom. Even today, in some classes at SU I have experienced some of these applications and can fondly recall how enthusiastic I was while in class.
Hi Jen:
ReplyDeleteThis week's reading about affect, interest, and student motivation really struck a nerve with me because of the extra background reading that I have been doing on adult learners. According to research findings, adult learners tend to be set in their ideas and belief system, so changing their mind about a particular issue, subject, or concept is easier said than done. A way to get around this type of rigid adult precept is that one must critically stimulate the interest of adult learners. In other words, a course instructor should introduce a topic and then have the adult students articulate the PRO/CON arguments for the topic.
In recommending that adult students make a positional stance,they will cause them to draw upon their own personal values and belief systems to substantiate their argument.This is an important insight that I have to remember because in a student-centered classroom, the interests and concerns of the students must be center-staged.
Lastly, the emotions of adult students must be taken into account by teachers. Many adult learners go back to school for extrinsic reasons and as such many tend to feel such emotions like anxiety, fear, and self-doubt during the first day of class. I believe a committed should get to know his or her students and try to address any emotional concerns that the adult students might have about the course and any outstanding issue\
Best,
~Aja
Hello Jen,
ReplyDeleteFlow is an interesting, yet difficult topic for many. It is as if Flow tends to be somewhat elusive. We all know when we experience it, but often, aside from games, we struggle with how to design instruction/instructional activities so learners achieve it. I must admit that I experienced it in math and science problem solving. I just love solving problems! (which is also why I like games that involve problems to be solved.)
Aja, thank you for bringing in the perspective of adult learners. There is a difference when working with adult learners both because of what their goals tend to be (depending on why they are pursuing education) and on their maturity as learners.
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteI also believe the implementation of flow is harder than it seems. I always feel flow and high concentration when I playing computer games (my wife hates that:)), but I rarely felt flow in classroom environments. I believe readings of this week were significantly helpful to get better understanding on implementation of flow theory.
While I reading your comment about student motivation, I realize that we also need to look teachers’ perspective. Flow will also increase teacher motivation, and it will increase overall teacher productivity.
Best,
Osman
Flow moments for me occur when I'm creating or designing something, for example, when I use Photoshop or some design application to develop my ID ideas. I get very involved and intense when I am creating something -- digital and nondigital art; writing about something I'm passionate about. I tend to think that it is linked to outlets where students are able to express their creativity. I'm sure I have literature somewhere that links flow to creativity.
ReplyDeleteThe implications are that students should be given choices to work on assignments related to their passion/interest. Sir Ken Robinson (of Schools kill creativity fame) wrote about it.
I think flow can also happen when students work in great teams and are able to engage each other in stimulating dialogic interactions. I think of times when great conversation can be so transformative in my personal development. Too often, unfortunately, students are not given choices to form teams organically but are pushed into teams.