Training for Master Trainers: Learning Engagement & Motivation 15th-16th May 2012 @AKEPT (Sessions 1-2) Rosna Awang-Hashim, PhD rosna@uum.edu.my UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA

LEARNING ENGANGEMENT

Dimensions of Learning Engagement/ Motivation Behavioural Emotional/psychological Cognitive

Learning Motivation Overview Teachers Students Higher Education System

3P MODEL OF STUDENT LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STUDENT (previous experiences, current understanding, aptitudes and abilities,, etc) COURSE AND DEPARTMENTAL LEARNING CONTEXT (course design, teaching methods, assessment, learning environment) STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF CONTEXT (quality of teaching, clarity of goals, appropriateness of assessment) STUDENTS’ APPROACHES TO LEARNING (how they learn; surface, deep) LEARNING OUTCOMES (what they learn: quality/quantity) PRESAGE PROCESS PRODUCT Adapted from Trigwell, K. & Prosser M. (1996). Towards an understanding of individual acts of teaching. HERD.

APPROACHES TO LEARNING Deep approach Students focus their attention on the overall meaning or message in a class session, text or situation. They attempt to relate ideas together and construct their own meaning, possibly in relation to their own experience. Surface approach Students focus their attention on the details and information in a class session or text. They are trying to memorise these individual details in the form they appear in the class or text or to list the features of the situation in order to pass the examinations.

FACTORS AFFECTING A SURFACE APPROACH SURFACE APPROACHES ARE ENCOURAGED BY: Assessment methods emphasizing recall or the application of trivial procedural knowledge Assessment methods that create undue anxiety Excessive amounts of content in the curriculum Poor or absent feedback on progress Lack of interest in, or background knowledge of, the subject These can all be influenced by teachers

FACTORS AFFECTING A DEEP APPROACH DEEP APPROACHES ARE ENCOURAGED BY: Teaching methods that foster active and long-term engagement with learning tasks Stimulating and considerate teaching – demonstrating the lecturer’s personal commitment to the subject matter – stresses its meaning and relevance to students Clearly stated academic expectations Interest in, and background knowledge of, the subject matter These can all be influenced by teachers

SUMMARY Learning motivation is more likely when students perceive the environment to be encouraging a deep approach to learning and discouraging a surface approach. Deep approaches are encouraged by good teaching, clear goals, choice, appropriate workload and appropriate assessment.

HOW TO BE A GOOD TEACHER

Conceptions of Teaching: Teaching as telling or transmission (of knowledge) Teaching as organizing student activity Teaching being an activity which makes learning possible (Ramsden, 1992)

Levels of Thinking about Teaching Focus ‘presage’: what the student is: teaching as transmitting information; blame-the-student theory of teaching. Focus ‘presage’: what the teacher does: getting it across but still transmitting information Focus all especially ‘process & product’: what the student does; teaching as supporting learning

Learning Motivation Teaching Teaching has been mentioned many times through the day in ways that will foster learning motivation. Learning motivation is an outcome of good teaching. This session is a summary of research on good teaching. Decide which elements are motivating.

Good teachers 1. … are also good learners, for example, they learn through their own reading, by participating in a variety of professional development activities, by listening to their students, by sharing ideas with their colleagues, and by reflecting on classroom interactions and students’ achievements.

Good teachers 2. … recognize the importance of context, and adapt their teaching accordingly; they know how to modify their teaching strategies according to the particular students, subject matter, and learning environment.

Good teachers 3. … encourage deep learning approaches, rather than surface approaches, and are concerned with developing their students’ critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and problem-approach behaviors.

Good teachers 4. … set clear goals, use valid and appropriate assessment methods, and provide high quality feedback to their students.

Good teachers 5. … show respect for their students; they are interested in both their professional and their personal growth, encourage their independence and sustain high expectations of them.

Good teachers 6. … demonstrate an ability to transform and extend knowledge, rather than merely transmitting it; they draw on their knowledge of their subject, their knowledge of their learners, and their general pedagogical knowledge to transform the concepts of the discipline into terms that are understandable to their students. In other words, they display what Shulman has termed “pedagogical content knowledge”.

Good teachers 7. … display enthusiasm for their subject, and a desire to share it with their students.

TEACHING & LEARNING MOTIVATION

The ultimate Goal of Teaching: Lifelong Learning Self-Regulation knowledge motivation volition Rosna A. Hashim

Typical Motivation Syndromes Patterns of beliefs & behaviours that inhibit learning Defensive Helpless Play safe Satisfied Anxious Rosna A. Hashim

Expectancy components Attributions Self-efficacy

Value Components Goals Task value

Affective Components Anxiety Self-worth Other emotions

What determines the will to learn? It’s the value & meaning of what is learned… …especially, the sense of satisfaction arising from enhanced understanding.. …rather than the accumulating knowledge for the sake of power or prestige...

Work Commitment Model Goal Value Utility Interest Importance Work Emotion Do I feel like it? Controllability Efficacy (can I do it?) Context (Will I be permitted to do it?) Work Commitment Model