The changes in learning theory and the topicality of the recent research on motivation

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to consider the motivational basis of learning in a constructivist framework. It is our assumption that understanding the construction of a learner's motivation requires more detailed and integrated argumentation than researchers in the field of constructivist learning theories have recently presented. We also discuss new ideas of learning research, such as learning environment and situated learning. Furthermore, we examine the relevancy of the current research on motivation from theoretical and methodological points of view.

Introduction

Learning research in recent years has studied the more common preconditions of higher-order learning. Judging by the results, ideal learning is rather easy to hypothesise, but the realities for achieving it still remain; higher-order learning is demanding. One of the most significant preconditions of learning, particularly when facing challenging and ever changing situations so common in modern society, is the development and maintenance of learning motivation. For the learner to achieve experiences of understanding and success in learning new things, he/she should become motivated and able to commit him/herself to problem solving. The prevailing conceptions of learning are largely based on the idea that learning is not only a process of knowledge construction but also social interaction (see Steffe & Gale, 1995). One rather important viewpoint is overlooked, though: where does the learners' motivational basis for active initiative, interpretation of situations, and goal-orientated activity originate from?

In practical teaching, and even in research, “learning to learn” and “self-regulation in learning” have become set phrases already. Principles that have been embraced too simplistically may, however, lead to misconceptions and superficial attempts in application: the presumption may be that knowledge evolves, so to speak, within the person, just as long the conditions are made favourable. As far as the development of learning and teaching is concerned, however, self-regulation cannot be conceived as merely a built-in premise or “being given” from the learning environment. The objectives of the learner are constructed in a dynamic interaction between his/her prevailing motivational basis and the situational interpretations he/she produces in a learning situation. In effect, understanding the mechanics of the construction of the learning objectives, and particularly supporting the constructing process, requires a more detailed and integrated argumentation than learning researchers and developers of learning environments have presented lately.

Section snippets

The constructivist learning theory

The guiding principle of constructivist learning theories is the learner's own active initiative and personal knowledge construction, i.e. the self-regulation of learning. The student does not just passively take in knowledge, but actively constructs it on the basis of his/her prior knowledge and experiences (Piaget, 1972). From a pedagogical point of view, the learner's learning activities should be directed at activating his own prior conceptions and relating it to new knowledge. Accordingly,

Conceptual clarification

Viewed separately, prior approaches in the research on learning and motivation have produced plenty of valuable knowledge. At the same time, however, they have been examining the dynamics of motivation in learning only from a perspective, which is both theoretically and methodologically limited. For instance, the research on self-regulation in learning is primarily situated in the tradition of psychometric testing, which mainly produces rather static knowledge (Bong, 1996). And even if many of

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