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Motivation, Engagement, and Active Learning

6/16/2017

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This post reflects my thoughts and feelings about the relationship between motivation, engagement and learning. For example: what types of strategies encourage motivation and engagement, how does engagement relate to motivation, how can we as instructors design learning environments to increase motivation and engagement, and what can we do to help learners engage when they are not overly motivated to participate in the learning? Barkley, in her book entitled ‘Student Engagement Techniques’ helped me think more about each of these questions.

I think true student engagement depends on a variety of factors. I like the diagram shared by Barkley near the beginning of her book that suggests that engagement can only happen when both motivation and active learning are present. This makes sense to me based on the training I have done up to this point, as the learners I have worked with only seem to be truly engaged when they are both motivated (usually by some perceived value in the learning) and participating in some type of active learning.

In addition to this relationship between motivation, active learning, and engagement, I found Barkley’s section on ‘expectancy’ quite intriguing, and agree there is a strong relationship between motivation and both a learners' hope in the possibility for success and their belief that the training is worth their time and energy. I also think Barkley's comment around motivation being the ‘portal to engagement’ is very interesting, as I agree with her contention that without motivation it is very unlikely the student will be engaged in the learning, because he/she is checked out before there is any hope of engagement.
 

I really enjoyed Barkley’s discussion about flow, so much so that I did my second reflection paper on this topic. I believe flow is most likely when motivation is very high. I think experiencing ‘flow’ in a learning situation just naturally leads to deeper engagement. I have experienced flow myself and know that some of the learners who take our courses experience flow at least to some degree when taking our more in-depth courses around engaging or planning with individuals and families.

Another area I think is important to motivation and engagement is the integration of the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains into the learning experience. I think students/learners are more engaged when they: understand what the learning is about; feel an emotional connection with the learning; and somehow ‘walk out’ or physically experience the learning in one way or another.

These are just some of my thoughts around the learning I did from Elizabeth Barkley’s book on student engagement. I also enjoyed looking through her suggestions for instructional strategies that can encourage engagement, motivation, and active learning. As I said at the beginning of this post, I think there is real value for instructors to think about how these three elements work together to promote a good learning experience.

​Barkley, E. (2010). ​Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
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Group Work

6/3/2017

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As discussed in my post about discussion forums and learning (below), each of the PIDP 3250 students has the opportunity to facilitate at least one discussion forum topic. I feel very fortunate to have had group work as my topic, as I believe that group work is very important to adult education. I think my biggest surprise when I started my research on this topic was the amount of information there is about  group work that I had not heard or thought about before (even though I have used group activities many times to facilitate learning, and I thought I knew a fair amount about it).

​One area that was quite new to me, was the differentiation between four types of group work: cooperative learning; collaborative learning; problem-based learning; and team-based learning. The ​Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, Volume 25, Numbers 3 and 4 (2014) includes several articles that talk about these four types of group work. I think the three articles below do an excellent job of comparing and contrasting many of the elements of cooperative learning, collaborative learning, team-based learning, and problem-based learning.

The participants in the PIDP 3250 course added some very insightful comments and suggestions about group work to the discussion forum that I want to include in my Blog, so I have added a summary of the discussion forum below. Prior to posting the forum summary and the articles I have included a video that was highlighted in the first thread of the discussion forum, as I think this video does a great job of highlighting some of the important features of group work.

[Boulder]. (2011, July 23). ​Group Work in the College Classroom [Video File]. Retrieved June 13, 2017 from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a7hP9doTBg
comparing_three_types_of_group_work.pdf
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team_based_learning_-_group_work.pdf
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problem-based_learning.pdf
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forum_summary_june_2017.docx
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Discussion Forums Enhance Learning Opportunities

5/28/2017

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I think discussion forums are a great way to interact with others and share information about different topics of interest. In an online or blended learning course, the discussion forum helps to fill the need for interaction with the instructor and the other learners. In addition to providing interesting learning opportunities, I think discussion forums are a great way to encourage community among the learners. By participating in the discussion forums, I feel like I have connected with several other students in PIDP 3250, even though I have never had the pleasure of meeting them.

One of the assignments we did for 3250 included a self-assessment around our participation in all of the discussion forum topics. I think the opportunity for each student to actively participate in so many discussion forums, and then to have a chance to facilitate one of the forums is brilliant, as it gives us a chance to learn from each other and to experience what it is like to be the facilitator in at least one of the discussion forums. I have already done some valuable learning about a variety of topics (see below) and have learned a great deal more about  facilitating a discussion forum, which I know will help me with the courses I support and facilitate as a Provincial Trainer.

The main topics I learned more about while participating in the discussion forums are: stress and learning; flipped classroom; reflection and learning; spaced learning; emotion and learning; introverts in the classroom; cognitive dissonance; Quaker dialogue; and group work.

​I have learned so much from participating in all of the discussion forums. The resources my classmates shared helped me dig deeper into each topic, and the questions posed by facilitators were thought provoking and moved the discussion forward. The learning I did that resonated with me the most includes:

  1. Spaced learning helps to move things from short term memory to long term memory;
  2. A flipped classroom can happen in different ways i.e. you can flip things right in the classroom;
  3. My learnings are toward introversion, and there is brain science behind the concepts of introversion and extroversion;
  4. Curiosity increase students' ability to learn, not just the object of their curiosity, but also the information they hear during the time they feel curious;
  5. Cognitive dissonance may be responsible for missed learning opportunities, so it is important to encourage students to thing about the 'why' behind their cognitive dissonance;
  6. Using a Quaker Dialogue technique is worth considering when topics are loaded with controversy; and
  7. ​There are four main types of group work that I will continue to explore.
​
Thank you to the current students in 3250 for these great learning opportunities!
One of the joys of being a life-long learner is there is so much more learning to come ...
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Curiosity and Learning

5/17/2017

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The way in which curiosity impacts learning is a fascinating subject, and definitely something I am curious about. This topic came up in a discussion forum I am involved in as I continue on my journey through the Provincial Instructor Diploma Program at Vancouver Community College. I enjoy discussion forums and believe they are a great way to encourage learning because they tend to make people curious about what other people in the group are going to say in their next post.

I have always believed there is a direct connection with my curiosity and my love of lifelong learning. I have always been a curious person by nature. Curiosity helps me every day in my role as a social worker and especially in my role as a facilitator of learning. Being curious has enabled me to learn more about each of these roles, and more about the people I work with, whether client or learner. Because of my own experience with curiosity I always try to encourage my learners to be curious because I want them to enjoy learning as much as I do. I include the following quote by Chip Bell in one of the course webinars I developed: "Effective questioning brings insight, which fuels curiosity, which cultivates wisdom”.

With my curiosity sparked by the discussion forum, I embarked on a little extra research about the topic of curiosity and learning. I have included a Ted Talk below that I found very interesting, especially when Matthias Gruber talks about the research being done around curiosity and learning using Functional  Magnetic Resonance Imaging. He also made me curious about where I could find  trees that have square trunks. If you are also curious about the answer to this question, or if you simply want to learn more about the brain science that relates to curiosity and learning, I encourage you to watch this Ted Talk. This video did a great job of satisfying some of my curiosity on this topic.

[TEDxtalks]. (2015, November 20). ​Matthias Gruber: This is your brain on curiosity [Video File]. Retrieved May 17, 2017 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmaTPPB-T_s
Your Brain on Curiosity
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The file below briefly highlights my thoughts about five different lesson planning components. I have included an informative resource for each of these components in the Resources section of this blog.

12/3/2014

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lesson_planning_components_december_2014.doc
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Great quote about Lifelong learning

11/16/2014

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“Through learning we re-create ourselves. Through learning we become able to do something we never were able to do. Through learning we reperceive the world and our relationship to it. Through learning we extend our capacity to create, to be part of the generative process of life”
―
Peter M. Senge  

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    Lois' VCC Blog
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