Case study Motivation and Construtivist Learning u05_a01

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Running head: Motivating a Student and Constructivist Learning T 1 Motivating a Student and Constructivist Learning Theory Stephen Scott Educational Psychology Educational Psychology Case Application Capella University December, 2016

Motivating a Student and Constructivist Learning T 2 Motivating a Student and Constructivist Learning Theory Teachers have an incredibly difficult job. They spend countless hours ensuring that each new class of students learns the material needed to move on to the next grade or subject. There are many kinds of learners that make up the environment of the classroom. Teachers should adjust their teaching style to reach each kind of learner. One method may work great with many students, but they need to ensure all the children gain a complete understanding of the material presented. Sometimes they have a student with the ability to succeed in class, but lacks the motivation. This paper will consider a case study involving a young student struggling in class, due to lack of motivation, and how his teacher and parents can help motivate him. It will discuss how new research on motivating children through digital game-based learning and the fun factor of learning could aid in his learning. Finally, it will look at how the teacher could utilize a constructivist learning environment to promote academic self-efficacy in higher education Case Study Overview A teacher has a goal to have all students succeed in their class. Sometimes they are faced with a challenging student who is not responding to the lessons. This case study deals with an eight-year-old student named James. He has consistently shown that he is not motivated to learn. He has the ability get A’s, but will still get mostly D’s and F’s. The teacher has noticed that he does not pay attention in class and plays around throughout class. She feels that he is lazy and has spoken with his parents about this issue. They have given him punishment by taking away the privilege play video games and to watch TV. This shows that they have tried using behavioral learning, but it does not seem to be working for James. This has led the teacher to consider new ways to increase James motivation in her class.

Motivating a Student and Constructivist Learning T 3 Constructivist Learning and High Self Efficacy Constructivist learning is used in many classrooms to teach children. Constructivist perspective shows that students will use past knowledge and experiences to understand new information ( O’Donnell, Reeve, & Smith, 2012). The student can achieve this best by the teacher knowing what their zone of proximal development is. This is the difference between the student’s current level of development, identified by solo problem solving, and how much potential they have when they are paired with a more experienced adult or peer (Alt, 2015). James teacher has already determined that he is not reaching his potential and has a grasp on what his current level of skill is. Studies show that a learner is going to have more positive learning experiences when they are taught in constructivist classrooms versus the standard classroom (Alt, 2015). This has also been shown to have mark increases in a student’s self- efficacy. Self-efficacy is when a student evaluates if they will perform great or perform bad with their current skill set and how they handle it (O’Donnell, Reeve, & Smith, 2012). Per Alt (2015), “as indicated by the present study’s results, could develop a strong sense of self-efficacy, because they could encourage students not only to construct and reflect on academic subject knowledge, but also to reflect on and interpret their learning capabilities, as suggested by the first and dominant source of self-efficacy, namely, enactive mastery experiences. The teacher would have to change her teaching method, but she might see positive results as more students show progress besides James. Video Games and Motivation The parents at home play an important part in ensuring a child is motivated towards learning. James parents are dedicated to helping him succeed, but their current methods have not been working. One way they have tried to motivate James is by taking away his access to

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Motivating a Student and Constructivist Learning T 4 playing video games when his grades are low. Video games use a range of multimodal demonstrations to increase the learners level of intrigue and the instructional effects, and use sounds, videos, and words to enhance the learner’s lessons (Woo, 2014). Since taking away the video games has not improved his motivation, his parents could start using them to stimulate his motivation for learning. The teacher and parents could come up with appropriate video games that are catered to specific areas of learning that he is suffering in. Since James, has already shown an interest in playing video games for enjoyment this could led to him having an increase in motivation towards learning (Woo, 2014). In a new study, students were given learning video games to play for three hours a week for 8 weeks. The study consisted of 48 females and 15 males ages 19 to 21 and were evaluated on the responses they gave after finishing each video game lesson (Woo, 2014). As discussed by Woo (2014), “The results verified that CAM skill and cognitive learning can cultivate learner motivation in the aspects of attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction, and can increase germane cognitive loads. In addition, a significant relationship exists in the first dimension of the canonical correlation analysis for motivation, germane cognitive load, and intrinsic cognitive load related to cognitive performance and skill performance. Motivation and the germane cognitive load are proportional to cognitive performance and skill performance (shorter working times), whereas the intrinsic cognitive load is inversely proportional.” This study show how motivation can be positively affected by playing video games if it does not put too much strain on the student’s cognitive load. James teacher and parents should consider what titles might be relevant to him specifically. Fun Factor of Learning and Motivation Since James has shown a lack of motivation in learning his parents and teachers should look at another method to increase the likelihood it will be affective on him. Research has

Motivating a Student and Constructivist Learning T 5 shown that gifted children can sometimes be subject to obstacles in finding their maximum aptitude, such as parents putting too much pressure on grades and being bored with the lessons being given (Garn, & Jolly, 2014). It’s possible that James is not responding to his teacher and parents due to him being bored or feeling that there is an unjust expectation for him to get A’s, so he doesn’t try. Since motivation is deemed to be a main contributing feature between gifted children who utilize their full learning aptitude and students who do not perform to their best ability, self-determination theory is a framework that can augment the student’s perception of their own learning motivation (Garn, & Jolly, 2014). Students who are compelled to learn because they like it control their actions through intrinsic motivation (Garn, & Jolly, 2014). If James was given more lessons by his teacher that were more suited to him as a person, she would see him start to become intrinsically motivated. In a new study, researchers looked at how 15 gifted students were could be positively motivated and what would decrease their motivation (Garn, & Jolly, 2014). The 15 kids in the study were taken to a week-long summer camp for gifted children ranging from grades 3 to 8. They participated in an individual study project that they would choose themselves and they could interact with other students during snack and lunch break. Teachers would mentor the children while they gathered research by taking them on fun field trips to historical sites that would aid in their project (Garn, & Jolly, 2014). The results of study showed researchers that students desire a lesson to be as exciting and fun as possible and that lessons that were personalized to their dreams and hobbies would be increase their motivation for learning (Garn, & Jolly, 2014). This study shows that James and his teacher should have a talk about what is important to him. She could use his hobbies and interests to modify lesson plans to make it fun for him. She should see his motivation for learning increase. Summary and Conclusion

Motivating a Student and Constructivist Learning T 6 In conclusion, motivation is an important part to the learning process. James is not gaining the full benefit of his learning experience because he lacks motivation. It is possible for his parents and teacher to modify the way they present lessons to him that will make it more enjoyable and increase his chances for success. They can use a constructivist approach to increase his self-efficacy. Since he enjoys video games they can introduce him to learning video games instead of restricting his access as a punishment to increase his motivation. Another way, is to allow James to personalize his lesson plans so it is something that interests him. If he likes sports, the teacher could use sport references in lesson plans to increase his engagement. By using these different approaches to learning James will become intrinsically motivated and succeed in school.

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Motivating a Student and Constructivist Learning T 7 References Alt, D. (2015). Assessing the contribution of a constructivist learning environment to academic self-efficacy in higher education. Learning Environments Research, 18 (1), 47-67. doi:10.1007/s10984-015-9174-5 Garn, A. C., & Jolly, J. L. (2014). High ability students’ voice on learning motivation. Journal of Advanced Academics, 25 (1), 7-24. doi:10.1177/1932202X13513262 O'Donnell, A. M., Reeve, J., & Smith, J. K. (2012). Educational psychology: Reflection for action (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Woo, J. (2014). Digital game-based learning supports student motivation, cognitive success, and performance outcomes. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 17 (3), 291.

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