On Learning, Motivation and Cognition
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When we
consider cognitivist models we come to an era where attention is drawn to the
learners; their mental associations (phase I), metacognition (Phase II), and
self-regulation (phase III) showed us that there are too many learner variables
to consider (Svinicki, 1999). That led to a shift in our focus: if there are so
many variables to consider, what concept would provide the underlying
similarities through which we could understand the fundamentals of cognitive
development? Memory came to fore and now we know that, as with
self-deception (Kegan, 2012), it is an elusive construct that relies on
patterns and is influenced by strategies, knowledge and capacity (Chi, 1978).
To get
to transfer, Barnett and Ceci (2002) draw attention to the matrix of
combinations between context and content for when teachers design learning
tasks: near transfer require tasks that have much in common whereas far
transfer demands tasks that have little in common. Therefore, transfer is more
likely to happen when memory demands are low and general stratefies are
apllied. Byrnes (2007) points to the links between goals and skills that have
to be present if one aims at transfer. That leads us to a central point for
transfer: providing clear (Hattie,
2009), attainable (Elliot & Dweck, 1988) and specific (Byrnes, 2007) goals
has to become a top priority in contexts that are designed for learning.
Whether these goals are learning or performance ones (Dweck & Legget,
1988), proximal or distal, social or academic, or even a mix-and-match of them
all (Byrnes, 2007), learners must be aware, and be made perceptually aware, that they are the driving force in one’s
motivation to learn.
That is
a great challenge but one that needs to be faced as goals are the
signatures of external or social (macro) elements that will establish relations
with our internal (micro) ones (Tudge & Winterhoff, 1993). By being consciously
aware of one's goals, learners will be more likely to build up the necessary motivation for
that is what will engage or not their attention and determine (or not) their
step forward.
How do
you face that challenge in your environment?
References
Barnett, S. M., & Ceci, S. J. (2002).
When and where do we apply what we learn? A taxonomy for far transfer. Psychological
Bulletin, 128(4), 612-637. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.128.4.612
British Columbia Organization Development Network [BCODN].
(2012, July 21). An evening with Robert Kegan and Immunity to Change
[Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/FFYnVmGu9ZI
Byrnes, J.P. (2007). Cognitive development and learning in
instructional contexts (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Chi, M. (1978). Knowledge structures and memory
development. In R. Sternberg (Ed.) Children’s thinking, what develops? (pp.
73-96). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A
social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 95(2), 256-273. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.95.2.256
Elliott, E. S., & Dweck, C. S. (1988). Goals: An
approach to motivation and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 54(1), 5-12. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.1.5
Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. Routledge.
Svinicki, M. (1999). New directions in learning and
motivation. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 1999(80),
5-27. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.8001
Tudge, J. R., & Winterhoff, P. A. (1993).
Vygotsky, Piaget, and Bandura: Perspectives on the relations between the social
world and cognitive development. Human Development, 36(2), 61-81. https://doi.org/10.1159/000277297
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