OEP 101 Module Topic Three (Four lectures)

OEP 101 Module Topic Three (Four lectures)
Title: Learning Theories in Teaching and Motivation and Learning
Content:
• Piaget’s theory
• Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning
• Social cognitive learning
• Theories of intelligence
• Definition of motivation
• Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy
• Weiner’s Attribution
• Expectancy theory and achievement motivation in school
• Strategies for rewarding performance, effort and improvement
Introduction:
Up to now we have not yet defined “learning”. All of us have been involved in learning since we were very young. So, although we have some experience on learning, yet it is a difficult concept to define because the process is not visible.  Normally you see (suspect is the right word) a student learning not the learning process itself. Even within ourselves we do not sense or feel the process of learning taking place. It is not like swallowing or sensing the outside temperature! Several psychologists have given different theories/ perspectives on learning and consequently their implications on instructional design strategies. These theories provide us with framework to describe learning and suggestions on how to approach teaching (Wikipedia, retrieved Feb. 2010).
We normally ask such questions as: Why did s/he do such a horrible thing? What was his/her motive? Bahati looks so gloomy, what should we do to make him/her cheerful? What as teachers do we need to do to keep students engaged in their studies, especially mathematics and science subjects? Motivation may relate to addressing the above challenges.  Motivation is one of the most significant constructs in the field of psychology and is a component in most theories of psychology. Also, motivation is the key to all learning and the atmosphere relating to school. Some of the problems in the class or school are result of motivation. Some of these problems include truancy, disobedience in the classroom and poor interaction in the learning process. As a teacher it is important you learn as much as possible about this significant component of learning processes. 

Objectives:
At the end of this topic the student will be able to:
• Explain the Piaget’s theory.
• Describe the theory proposed by Vygotsky.
• Behavioral Theories of Learning
• Outline the major principles of observational learning.
• Compare and contrast the different theories of intelligence.
• Define motivation as it applies to education.
• Describe Maslow's human needs view of motivation.
• Describe attribution theory
• Explain expectancy theory and achievement motivation in school.
• Explain methods leading to high level of motivation in students.
• Define motivation as it applies to education.
• Describe Maslow's human needs view of motivation.
• Describe attribution theory
• Explain expectancy theory and achievement motivation in school.
• Explain methods leading to high level of motivation in students.
Body
WHAT IS A THEORY?
According to Dorin, Demmin and Gabel (1990) theories provide general observations on a phenomenon made over time but the information gained so far has not yet being established beyond doubt. They are propositions based on logical reasoning describing a construct or process that is not easily measurable. For a theory to be recognized, lies a collective assumptions of the existence of the phenomenon; and that it (the theory) has the best explanation of phenomenon and the respective people are working on it to eventually prove that it is true. Having different theories in one construct imply different people have different perspectives on the respective construct.
In the field of psychology, Education Psychology included, some theories dominate and impact the field and related fields for a certain period of time and then they lose their dominance to other theories seen as more plausible.  So, as more information is obtained on these learning theories they will be modified and in rare cases thrown out. In this lecture we will only focus on a few theories.
BEHAVIORAL APPROACHES
Several psychologists are associated with the behavioral approaches; among them are Edward Thorndike, Ivan Pavlov, John Watson, Tolman and B. F. Skinner. The main focus of behaviourism is that behaviour is learnt through conditioning. Behaviorists believe that learning is expressed by change in overt behavior; the environment changes behavior; and that the formation of a bond of things or events depends on the time interval between them.
Behavioral approaches are two types of the simplest forms of associative learning i.e. learning that occurs as result of an organism linking two or more items. Our experiences tell us that there are things or events that occur in a certain succession. Examples include salivating when we see or get smell of food we like or studying hard leads to a high score in a test, setting of the sun means time for bed is approaching. These associations make our world predicable as well as who/what/how/when aspects of behaviours.  I think without these associations our world will be in a chaotic mess.
Behaviorism defines learning as permanent changes of behaviour as a result of experience. The definition implies there must be a change in observable behaviour to definitely prove that learning has taken place. Lack of change in behaviour implies learning has not occurred. You know when you spell a word correctly then you have learned the spelling of that word. On the other hand if you fail to spell that word correctly it means that learning has not taken place. Also the definition indicates that in learning the changes in behaviour are a result of interacting with the environment i.e. behaviour changes are based by forming association of items. Behaviour changes resulting from fatigue, physical development (maturation) or sickness cannot be related to learning. So, not all behavioural changes are caused by learning.
Forms of associative learning to be discussed here are classical conditioning and instrumental conditioning.   However it is important to have a glance at Edward Thorndike (1874-1949) who proposed a theory termed response association theory, also expressed as S→R i.e. the connection between stimulus and response. The theory states when an organism detects a certain stimulus it gives a specific response based on previous encounters.
This approach of learning had three laws:
• Law of exercise. It states that the connection between a stimulus and response is strengthened depending on how frequently they (stimulus and response) are used together. It implies that if one is continually exercising (read practicing or repeating) the chances of response following the stimulus are high; however lack of exercise decreases the chance of responding when a stimulus appears.
• Law of effect. This one states that the strengthening or weakening of the connection between stimulus and response are the results of the consequences of the response. A response that is followed by a reward or positive satisfaction increases the connection between the stimulus and response, on the other hand if the response is followed by punishment or something aversive the connection between stimulus and response is undermined. Normally we respond to conditions that bring satisfaction and ignore those conditions that bring pain.
• Law of readiness. It states that the basis of individual’s response depends on the extent of his/her preparedness to act. When someone is ready to perform an acts to do so is satisfying. When someone is ready to perform an act, not to do so is annoying. When someone is not ready to perform an act and s/he is forced to do so, it is annoying. Interference with goal directed behavior causes frustration. Also, causing someone to do something s/he does not want to do is also frustrating. If a student wants to learn and s/he gets the chance to learn s/he will get some satisfaction in the act of learning. Preventing him/her from learning will lead to frustration. If a student does not want to learn and the teacher does not appear in the class it is satisfying, and if on the contrary the teacher appears and the student is forced to engage in learning s/he will get annoyed.
Classical conditioning
Classical learning is also known as Pavlovian conditioning. Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), a Russian psychologist was the first person to describe this type of learning based on a number of experimental studies he conducted on dogs. In these experiments he paired a sound of metronome (bell) with presentation of food powder. The sound was presented just before supplying or providing food powder to the dog’s tongue. After repeating this sequence a number of times he observed that the dog salivated when the sound of metronome presented alone in the absence of food powder. The dog had established an association between sound of metronome and food provision. That is, learning (conditioned) to salivate on just hearing the sound of metronome. In this case learning had taken place. The dogs did not salivate on hearing the metronome before the experiment.
Pavlov developed terminologies specific to the components of these observations, namely:
• Unconditioned stimulus (US). A stimulus in the environment that biologically makes an organism to give a specific response. In the above experiments the sight of food naturally leads an organism (including us humans) to salivate. US is a natural stimulus that is not a result of learning.
• Conditional stimulus (CS). This is a neutral stimulus that naturally does not produce a response but after being paired several times with the US produces a response. The metronome was a neutral stimulus at the beginning that did not make the dogs to salivate upon hearing it. However the sound eventually, after being paired with food powder several times, could alone make the dog to salivate. So, CS is a neutral stimulus that after conditioning (learning) makes an organism to make a response.  Some of us can just salivate when someone mentions (CS) food we learned to like.
• Unconditional response (UCR). This is an unlearned response produced by UCS. The dog naturally salivated when food powder was placed on the tongue. We normally salivate when we taste something delicious. UCR can be counted as reflex action.
• Conditional response (CR). This is a response that is elicited by CS alone. Before pairing CS and UCS there was no response, but after pairing an organism makes a response on CS in the absence of UCS. So, UCR and CR are same responses (in the Pavlov’s experiment salivating), the difference is that UCR is produced by UCS while CR is produced by CS. 
Characteristics of classical conditioning
For conditioning to occur during the pairing the CS must be several times applied just before the UCS. It is very difficult (next to impossible) for conditioning to occur if the CS is applied before UCS. Also if the interval between the CS and UCS is long the organism cannot make the connection between CS and UCR.
Sequencing classical conditioning based on Pavlov’s experiment:
1. UCS ―――――――→ UCR
Food Powder Salivating
2. NS (Neutral ) ―――――――→ No Response
Metronome Not Salivating
3. NS + UCS ―――――――→ UCR
       Metronome+ Food Powder Salivating this has to be repeated several times.
4. CS ―――――――→ CR
       Metronome Salivating
Based on the experiments Pavlov also made the following observations on classical conditioning:
• Extinction: if one stops pairing the CS and UCS, the CR will cease in response to CS. The dogs stopped to salivate if the bell was presented alone several times in absence of placing food powder on the dogs tongue.
• Stimulus generalization. CR can occur in presence of stimuli that are similar to the UCS. The dogs salivated when they had sounds similar to the metronome.
• Stimulus discrimination: an organism can learn to discriminate between the CS and other stimuli similar to the CS i.e. give CR only to one specific CS. This occurs after recognizing that only one specific neutral stimulus is accompanied with reward. The dogs learned to respond only to the metronome and not to other similar sounds.
• Spontaneous recovery (relearning): the extinguished CR can reappear latter if CS is again paired with the UCS. The time taken to establish the connection during spontaneous recovery is much shorter than the initial one to establish the conditioning. Also after spontaneous recovery it takes a shorter time to extinguish CR if the CS is presented alone in absence of UCS.
• Higher-Order conditioning: once an organism has learned to associate CS and UCS, another neutral stimulus can be presented at the same with the CS. Eventually the new stimulus becomes CS that can elicit CR response in absence of the original CS. Pavlov paired the sound of metronome and a flash of light. Later on, he observed that the dog salivated at the flash of light in the absence of the sound of metronome and food powder.   
Although Pavlov did the observations on dogs it also true that classical conditioning explains some of human behaviours. There are several things that we are conditioned to approach or avoid based on appearing of certain CS (Domjan, 2003). Some of commercials (especially those of foods and perfumes) make us to produce responses that are pleasant. In one of the most infamous classical conditioning experiments Watson and Raynor (1920) conditioned a child named Albert to fear white rats. Before the experiment little Albert was not afraid of the rat. In the experiment a white rat was paired with a loud sound (threatening to Albert). After several pairing Albert was afraid of the white rat, he cried on the sight of it. Even 30 days after stopping the experiment Albert cried whenever he saw a rat and the fear had been generalized to things covered with fur.
The above experiment implies that students in school can acquire fear/liking to neutral things or events in the classroom or school. The way we teachers respond to students’ answers or react to their actions can unintentionally induce fear that can negatively affect learning processes and consequently academic performance. If the teacher is frequently too harsh to student’s answers, that student may be conditioned to fear the teacher and/or his/her subject.  Also conditioning can account for test anxiety (fear of tests and examination) among students. I think you may know students who miss some classes due to their fear of a teacher or skip school all together because of fear of failing exams.
Just as students learn to fear neutral things they can also learn not fear the same things through extinction process. Remember extinction is stopping giving a response to CS. One can learn not to fear teachers or other objects in school. If the teacher stops being harsh to students’ responses and alternatively have positive approach the students will learn anew to have sense of security when with the teacher or learning the subject. Also it is important to remember that spontaneous recovery will take place if the teacher resort to his/her previous reactions to students.
Operant conditioning (Instrument conditioning)
The approach of operant conditioning was developed by B.F. Skinner (1904 -1990). He postulated that psychology should deal with observable behaviour that can be measured (Good and Brophy, 1990) and ignore the processes taking place in the mind i.e. mental processes. In Pavlov’s experiment the dog had to wait for someone to introduce the UCS or CS for it to give a response. In operant conditioning (sometimes called Instrumental conditioning) the organism ‘operates’ on the environment based on the consequences of its actions i.e. deliberately initiating and operating in a process of responses. The individual and the consequences are instrumental in his/her behaviour.
Skinner used a special box (called “Skinner Box”) to study the behaviours of some animals (mostly rats) to demonstrate his theory. (Please read about these experiments in other sources). Based in these experiments Skinner established the following basic aspects of operant conditioning:
The sequence of operant conditioning can be illustrated in the following chart:
Stimulus    ―――――――→ Response       ――――――→ Reinforcement
(Teacher asking a question) student raising hand student being selected to answer

A stimulus indicates when to give a response. In the above illustration students raise hands after the teacher has asked a question. They raise hands as a response expecting to be selected to answer. Reinforcement is being selected to answer. Bus approaching is stimulus for us to wave hand (response) and the bus stops and we board (reinforcement). A stimulus indicates where/when/how to give a response that will be reinforced. So, a response given before the stimulus cannot get reinforcement, and for reinforcement to be effective it must be received after giving a response and not before.
Actions that lead to positive consequences are repeated and those that bring negative consequences are avoided. Remember that repeating or avoiding are both responses. Positive Reinforcement is a pleasant or rewarding consequence that follows a response and as result makes it likely for response to be repeated in future when under the same circumstances. A student will always study more for a course s/he does well. Negative Reinforcement is consequence that makes a person escape or avoid painful situation. These responses are likely to be repeated since they remove unpleasant conditions. A person will repeat taking pills that relief (avoid) headache when s/he gets a headache in the future.
Reponses that do not get reinforcement eventually become extinct. Extinction means an organism stopping giving a response in presence of stimulus after learning that it will not be reinforced. A student will stop raising a hand to a teacher whom s/he knows will not select him/her to answer questions. As teachers we should stop giving reinforcement to students’ misbehaviour so that these behaviors become extinct. 
Just as in classical conditioning there is stimulus generalization and discrimination in operant conditioning. Sometimes we give a response to a stimulus that is similar to the one that usually leads to reinforcement. Waiving to a bus expecting it to stop only to realize after it has passed, that it is a private bus and not a public one (stimulus generalization). After a while we can differentiate between public and private buses. So, for a private bus we do not wave, if it is a public bus (stimulus discrimination) we wave knowing that our response will get reinforcement.
In some occasions it takes time and through trial and error to make an association between stimulus, response and reinforcement i.e. to establish new behaviour through a process known as behavioural shaping. Behavioural shaping involves giving reinforcement to responses that lead to the final required response, and ignoring the other responses, until the individual learns the association between the stimulus and the desired response. If you are training a child to write you only give reinforcement to steps (inform of responses) that lead to holding the pen correctly and making the correct shapes of letters. The child is required to master each step (responses) until the whole sequence is mastered. The role of the teacher/parent is to give reinforcement to appropriate responses in each step.
Primary and secondary reinforcers
Reinforcers are objects, events or actions that increase the individual’s possibility of repeating a specific behaviour in the future. An object having powers of a reinforcer depends on the person or organism being reinforced. Money is an effective reinforcer to humans but worth nothing to a dog and even to a small child.  Aspirin is reinforcer to a person with headache but not to a starving one. As a teacher you must identify things or objects that are effective as reinforcers to students and sometimes to a specific student. 
There are two types of reinforcers, namely primary and secondary reinforcers. Primary reinforcers are natural things that meet our basic needs such as food, water and shelter.  Other things that are paired with primary reinforcers and eventually get their own reinforcing powers are known as secondary reinforcers. Money is good example of secondary reinforcers. Many of the reinforcers in schools are secondary reinforcers. When a secondary reinforcer acquires the properties of a primary reinforcer it is known as a generalized reinforcer. When we just work to get money just for the sake of getting rich then money is a generalized reinforcer.
Schedules of reinforcement
From our own experiences we know that not all of our responses are given reinforcement immediately. Some responses are reinforced immediately while others are not reinforced immediately i.e. the reinforcement is provided latter. In most cases when we pay cash to the shopkeeper we get the object we want. However, sometimes we have to go to several shops before we find the desired object at the right price. Schedules of reinforcement refer to a system that indicates which response get reinforcement and which will not get reinforcement. In continuous reinforcement every response is followed by reinforcement. Every time a student gives a correct answer in the classroom the teacher nods in recognition. In the long run this schedule is not very effective since some people and organisms stop responding to enjoy the reinforcements that have been accumulated.

Continuous reinforcement is very effective in establishing new behavioural responses. Once the intended behavioural response has been established we can now move on to partial reinforcement schedules i.e. not all responses get reinforcement, but rather just some of them. Partial reinforcement schedules have been known to be more effective in maintaining an established response than the continuous reinforcement. Partial reinforcement schedules can be in various patterns. Here we are going to discuss interval schedules and ratio schedules.
In the interval schedules presentation of reinforcement is based on time factor. In fixed interval schedules a response is reinforced after a fixed amount of time has elapsed since the last reinforcement. The time period between reinforcements is constantly the same. An employer can decided to give reinforcement to his worker after five days of work i.e. paying the worker at the end of every fifth day. In classroom situation a teacher may be giving a test on the last Monday of each month (I know you like doing tests!). In variable interval schedules the amount of time that elapses between the reinforcement varies. The individual (organism) knows that s/he will be given reinforcement but does not know when. The employer may pay his worker after five days this time, next payment after seven days and the following payment after four days. A teacher may decide to give a quiz after five days, then after six days and the next one after three days. Note that an individual has to give responses to get reinforcement within the respective period of time. The main limitation of fixed interval is that some people stay idle and only give response just before the time the reinforcement is expected.
In the ratio schedules presentation of reinforcement is based on number of correct responses one has to make to get reinforcement.  In fixed ratio schedules one is reinforced after making a fixed number of correct responses since the last reinforcement. An employer can decided to give reinforcement after his worker has produced a specific number of items e.g. paying the worker after baking 100 loaves of bread. In classroom environment a teacher only marks student’s maths exercise after the student has completed five sums. A variable ratio schedule implies one gets reinforcement after a set average number of correct responses. These set vary in the number of correct responses. The first set might be after five responses, the second set after four responses and the following after six responses. A worker may get reinforcement after baking 100 loaves, then after baking 200 loaves and then after just baking 75 loaves. In classroom situation a teacher may mark student’s work after completing 5 sums, next lesson after 3 sums and the following lesson after 7 sums.
The effects of type of schedule of reinforcement used differ. Fixed ratio is more effective when establishing a new behaviour. (Remember that continuous reinforcement is one type of fixed schedule reinforcement). It is also easily susceptible to extinction. The best schedule for maintaining behaviour is variable ratio. The individual does not stop giving responses since s/he is always expecting to get reinforcement after the next response!
Premark’s principle
I am sure you are aware of this principle although it may sound new to you. This principle was described by David Premark. Actions that are more desirable to the individual can be used as reinforcers for less desirable actions. Desirable actions are those done by individual more often and much longer in terms of time relative to the less desirable ones i.e. desirable actions have high frequency activity. In life every person has actions that s/he likes more and other actions s/he likes less. Many children (and adults too) like to watch television and dislike homework (or washing pots). Premark’s principle says that watching television can be used as a reinforcer for doing homework or washing pots. A child is required to complete homework or washing pots before being allowed to watch television. In schools sometimes students have to complete their class work before being allowed out to play. (Do you remember your mother telling you to first finish taking porridge before being allowed to go out to play with others?).
As a teacher it is advisable to identify desirable actions of your students and then make a reinforcement hierarchy i.e. listing actions of the student with the most desirable action at the top and ending the least desirable action at the bottom. To obtain the list you can tell students to write what they like or you can observe them during their spare time. A less desirable action cannot be used as reinforcer to more desirable actions. Washing pots cannot be used as a reinforcer to doing homework.
Contributions of operant conditioning to education will be discussed in various parts of this course.
Social learning theory
Remember that in behavioural approach learning is largely caused by one’s environment and that there must be a behavioural change. Albert Bandura postulated the social learning theory that opposed the behavioral approach. He believed behavioural perspective was too simplistic to encompass all that is involved in learning processes. His theory emphasizes the significance of other people on our learning. We learn by observing other people and the outcome of their behaviours. If we see a person crying because of being stung by a bug it is enough to learn that a bug can sting and we should be careful with it. We do not need to be stung personally to learn this. In school sometimes, punishment (or reward) is applied before other students so that they avoid actions that led to the punishment (maintaining the rewarding behaviour). We also learn by imitating other people. Just observe how small children imitate our actions and also develop many skills by imitating adults. Later they use imitated skills to deal with the demands of the environment. Also, we learn from other people through modeling i.e. other people’s behaviour serves as a guide to us when we are learning that behaviour. We expect children to observe us writing so that they can perform the same. I think modeling is easier than shaping, for the teacher and students alike. Learning through symbolic modeling i.e. learning by watching other people on the television or from reading or listen to stories involving people (is this not one of the main functions of literature?).
In behavioural approach learning is associated by a permanent behavioural change. Learning by observation means that sometimes we learn through observation alone without a change in behaviour occurring. 
Social learning theory identifies the following factors for effective modeling:
• Attention: the person has to pay attention to the modeling when making observations. There are several factors that have influence on the amount of attention paid to the model by a student.
• Retention: one has to retain what s/he has observed (in the memory) and later retrieve it (remembering) in form of responses. It is important to rehearse our observations for effective learning.
• Reproduction: based on what is in the memory one must have the ability to reproduce the behaviour that was demonstrated by the model. Reproduction can be in form of motor activities (physical activities) or symbolic (images). Sometimes children are unable to reproduce actions of the model due to level of their physical development.
• Motivation: the individual must have a reason to imitate the model and for demonstrating what s/he has observed. Getting reinforcement (both positive and negative), and external factors (promised reward) or internal factors (just pleasing oneself) can be motivating factors for learning and making a response.
 
The above factors and social learning theory in general indicate that the environment (especially the social context) and the cognitive processes are both critical in learning. (Remember that behaviorists insisted on only focusing on observable behaviours and ignoring mental processes). The models and some of the motivation are part of the environment while attention, retention and motivation are part of the cognitive processes. So, social learning theory is seen as the bridge between behavioral learning theories and cognitive learning theories.
COGNITIVE THEORIES OF LEARNING
As you have already noticed not all learning can be explained by behavioural approaches. Now let us have a look on cognitive learning theory. Several psychologists identify cognitive processes as critical component in understanding human behaviour. All cognitive theories look beyond overt behaviour and rather focus on brain and mental processes in explaining learning. Other common features in these theories include making inferences on observable mental processes, believing individuals are actively (rather than being passive) involved in learning process, and learning involves relating new information to previously learned information (Ormrod, 1999). Here we are just going to mention a few of the theories.
Edward Tolman (Tolman and Honzik, 1930) proposed latent learning in which an organism learns about its environment without reinforcement or a change in behaviour. We develop cognitive map (mental representation of spatial locations and direction) of our environment and only demonstrate this knowledge when reinforcement is available.  When in a new surroundings you observe the area and learn about the layout of objects without expecting any reinforcement. Later on the information acquired can be used to give a response that leads to reinforcement.
Gestalts psychologists
Psychologists in of this perspective were against behaviourism by emphasizing that mental processes are important in explaining learning. Among the basic ideas of this theory is that we perceive things in whole and not in segments (stimulus and single responses) and the perception formed can be different from the reality. Past experiences predispose people on how they organize information in particular way and in relation to their environment (Ormrod, 1999). So in explaining learning we must include the overall experiences of the individual. Gestalt psychology has been instrumental on our understanding of thinking, problem solving and perception.
Cognitive constructivism
Constructivists hold that a learner is actively constructing and inventing his/her own knowledge from his/her past experiences. Rather than just receive and absorb what s/he gets from others (teachers included) a learner modifies his/her understanding in relation to the new information leading him/her internalizing concepts, rules and principles that are later applied in future encounters.
The main ideas of cognitive constructivism have been summarized as follows (Elliot et. al 2000):
• We only know subjective reality and not the object reality since the knowledge we have is based on our own subjective experiences.
• Knowledge is subjective because each one of us has his/her own unique experiences.
• The knowledge of two people are said to be “taken-as-shared” to the extent that their constructions seem to function in the same way in given situation. Since every one constructs his/her own knowledge, the knowledge shared cannot be exactly the same.
• Knowledge is constructed through the process of adapting to events and ideas one experiences. This idea is very much related to Piaget’s concept of disequilibrium in which people tend to be motivated to solve mental problems they encounter.
• The construction of knowledge is significantly influenced by the symbols and materials one uses or has ready access to.  Both the physical and social environment provides us with experiences that we use to construct knowledge. The language (or languages) that we speak is based on the society we live in and attitudes that we form are mostly influenced by our culture. 
• “Readiness to learn” means that an individual is ready to learn when his/her existing cognitive constructions are capable of incorporating new information.
Piaget’s theory of learning
We mentioned Piaget’s theory earlier in this course. This theory belongs to Cognitive constructivism theories. Remember that learning is determined by mental structures and how the new information is incorporated into the existing knowledge. Since childhood people are not passive respondents of the environment (as in classical conditioning) but rather they actively process new information as they develop and interact with their environment (both social and physical). When we experience disequilibrium we are motivated to make sense of our surroundings through mental operations of accommodation and assimilation. 
Later on in this course we will discuss the implications of the above theories on teachers and their applications in teaching/learning processes. However, according to Ormrod (1999) cognitive theories have the following implications on education:
• Cognitive processes influence learning.
• Learning difficulties often indicate ineffective cognitive processes, especially for children with learning disabilities.
• As children grow they become capable of increasingly more sophisticated thought.
• People organize things they learn.
• New information is most easily acquired when people can associate it with things they have already learned.
• People control their own learning.
There are other cognitive theories and concepts that you are compelled to know about. These include Cordon’s cognitive style typology; meaningful learning as described by David Ausubel; and constructivist theory of Jerome Bruner.
DEFINITION OF MOTIVATION
The focus in lecture is on human motivation. Most psychologists see motivation as a process or a factor that initiates, energizes, directs and sustains behaviour towards a certain goal. This definition implies that motivation is involved in all stages of our actions i.e. it can cause us to start engaging in certain behaviors (learning a new language), increases level of activity and/or being persistent in the activity (working hard when learning the language), and directs us toward a certain goal (we get satisfied when we speak the language fluently).  Therefore, there is a close relationship between motivation and learning.
According to Ormrod, (2003) motivation in education has the following effects on student learning:
• Directing students’ behaviour towards a specific goal;
• Increases effort and energy; increase imitation of, and persistence in activities; and enhance cognitive processing;
• Determines consequences to be reinforced;
• Improve performance.
Before moving on let us clear some misconceptions about motivation. One of them is that one can directly motivate someone else to do something. This is not accurate. What we can do is only create conditions that make someone to be motivated do something. Later on, based on this condition the person will develop motivation towards that behavior.  No amount of a pay increase can directly make an incompetent and lazy teacher improve students’ academic performance by his/her teaching. Also we hear people saying that students lack motivation to learn a certain course when they avoid it (e.g. science subjects). If they lack motivation to learn science subjects it means they are indifferent to science subjects. However, in this case of the students deliberately avoiding science subjects it means they are rather motivated not to learn science subjects. Also punishment cannot be used to make people motivated. Beating students who dislike mathematics will not make them like or be motivated to learn mathematics. Recall that based on classical conditioning principles the student will also be conditioned to hate the subject and/or the teacher and this can be generalized to other subjects/teachers. 
CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES TO MOTIVATION
Incentive approach is based on the behavioural perspective that was described in the previous lecture. The main emphasis is on reinforcement principles and reinforcers as key in describing motivation. Incentives include all external rewards (tangible or intangible) presented after response so as to cause behaviour to reoccur in the future. The incentive conditions a person to feel happy. The main limitation of incentive approach is that the motivation is not internalized and it can easily suffer extinction. Also some people might feel that they are manipulated by those with reinforcers.
Instinct approach believe that humans and other organisms have inborn tendencies that lead to engaging in behaviours that are essential for survival. Sex urge is considered as an instinct for maintaining the existence of the organism. This approach does not account for motivations to engage in voluntary behaviours and psychologists have been unable to come up with one definition of instinct and the scope of instincts. 
Drive-reduction theory was, among others, proposed by Clark Hull.  The theory points out that when a person lacks a biological requirement a drive is produced that needs to be satisfied. The basis of this approach is homeostasis, a process which strives to maintain a stable, balanced internal state of the body. When there is a deficiency in the body i.e. a need. A need leads to purposive activities (drive) aimed at the goal of removing the deficiency. Need of water in the body creates thirst drive that activates behaviour of drinking water, lack of food produce hunger drive that is reduced by taking food. Other drives include sex and sleepiness. The main limitation of this approach is that it does provide explanations on responses that do not originate from biological needs.
Arousal approaches go beyond drive reduction by postulating that human beings want to maintain certain level of stimulation and activity. If the level is too low (feeling bored) we increase it by seeking stimulation and if it is too high we decrease it. As you know some people go to extreme to get stimulation e.g. engaging in dangerous activities.
Cognitive approaches emphasises that thoughts, expectations and our perception of our surroundings underlie our behaviours. Sometimes we engage in certain behaviour because we expect that the behaviour will lead us towards a pleasant goal. So our expectations have motivational forces. Cognitive approaches distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is related to doing something due to individual’s internal satisfaction i.e. engaging in behaviour not because of any tangible benefits but rather for personal enjoyment, or s/he thinks it is important or significant to one’s self. Extrinsic motivation is associated with doing behaviour in order to gain tangible things or in pleasing others. Common extrinsic motivation things include money, grades, avoiding of punishment and getting applause from the audience. Thus intrinsic motivation originates internally from the person while external motivation is caused by external factors. One has to know that people differ in what is intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation i.e. what is intrinsic motivation to me might not be a motivation factor to you at all or it can be extrinsic motivation to another person. Many psychologists acknowledge that intrinsic motivation, rather than extrinsic motivation, is more effective in making an individual work harder and persevere on the task that is goal oriented. In some studies provision of extrinsic motivation adversely affect ones intrinsic motivation. Later in this lecture we will look at conditions that facilitate intrinsic motivation.
Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy is one of the most famous theories of motivation. Abraham Maslow (1908 – 1970) believes that human beings have needs and desires that have influence on behaviour. He identified these motivational needs, classified and arranged them in a hierarchy, from the very basic to complex one. The basic ones must be minimally satisfied before being motivated to meet the upper ones. He arranged and illustrated the hierarchy in a pyramid with the most basic ones at the bottom level and the more sophisticated ones as one moves up. At the bottom there are physiological needs which are basic and primary for the survival of the individual namely water, food, sleep and sex (for survival of specie). As you can see these are needs found in every individual. When these needs are satisfied the person then moves on to safety needs i.e. people needing to live in places (including classrooms, school and home) where they feel secure and safe to conduct their activities. Next come the love and belongingness needs level whereby an individual wants to be in group of other people, getting affection and feeling that s/he is loved by them. One likes to be part of a family, peers and avoid being lonely. Above this level is esteem need whereby a person seeks to develop sense of self-worth by feeling that other people value our competencies and have a favorable judgment on our achievements. We feel quite good when others praise us. The last level in the hierarchy is referred to as need for self-actualization. As indicated in the pyramid very few people reach this level where one feels s/he has realised his/her full potentials.
 The main limitation of this approach is that it takes for granted that all human beings have same needs arranged in the same order. In some situation security matters more than food, and for others sex is not at all important to some individuals.

Illustration of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TO LEARN
Many complex factors have influence on students’ motivation to learn. Below are some of these influences that affect students we teach and consequently the direction and intensity of their learning. We say ‘Some’ since we cannot identify all of the factors relate to motivation.
Student Attributions to Success and Failure
In describing this influence we look at Bernard Weiner’s attribution theory. People, including students, are always motivated to figure out the reasons and causes of their behaviours and successes or failures they experience in life. An individual gives logical explanations to causes perceived by the person to describe the outcomes of his/her behaviour. These explanations are called attributions. These attributions are based on an attempt to use individual’s past experiences to describe possible causes and consequences of events. Student always try to find out the basis of their academic performance i.e. the causes of the grade they get in different courses. The causal attributions we make have influence on how we engage in our future behaviours. Clarification on attributions is provided below.
Wiener (1990) stated that people (including students) attribute success/failure to one the following attributes:
i. Ability
 Some students attribute success/failure to their ability or lack of it. Normally a student who fails consistently feels s/he lacks mental ability to be successful in the task; while another student who is frequently successful may believe that s/he is endowed with the ability to undertake the respective task. Those who perceive lacking ability develop sense of incompetence that consequently undermines motivation to learn. A student who believes that s/he does not have ability to understand science subjects will not even try to study these subjects. Why this state of affair? It is because ability is perceived as being stable and unlikely to change, so future failure is seen as more likely than future success. On the other hand if s/he feels she has ability for arts subjects s/he will be motivated in future to study arts subjects. 
ii. Effort.
There are students who believe their grades are positively correlated to amount of effort they put on studying i.e. success depends on how hard they try. If they pass they attribute success to studying hard and when they fail they attribute failure to lack of studying hard enough. Those who are successful are motivated to work even harder in future which in turn increases more success. Why? Because effort is internal to the individual and is seen as unstable factor that is under his/her control.  This belief motivates a student to study hard since success increases effort, and effort increases success.
iii. Luck
When a student is unable to see a direct relationship between behaviour and attainments s/he attributes this to luck. Students who believe they should have scored low grade but pass the subject they attribute this to luck rather than ability or effort. Such students will not be motivated to work hard on that subject since they know they have very little control over luck. Success in task is perceived as if playing lottery where once you buy the ticket there is nothing you can do win, you only wait for fate.
iv .Task difficulty.
 In case many students are successful in obtaining high grade some students say (perceive) the test was easy, if many fail they say (perceive) because the test was difficult. Students with such perceptions may not be motivated to learn the subject since task difficulty is external to him/her so not under his/her control.
The above attributes are mostly based on Western culture. I know some students in our culture who attribute their behaviour outcomes to God, superstition and personal beliefs or rituals. All these attributes are external to the individual. People perform rituals that they belief lead to positive outcomes and avoid objects/events suspected to have negative aspects.
In summary Weiner (1992) points out that luck and task difficulty are both external attributes to the student. Ability and effort are both internal attributes. Ability is seen as being stable i.e. it will remain the same and not change in the future.  Effort is perceived as being unstable and under the control of the individual. When a student ascribes success/failure to ability s/he will expect to succeed/fail in the future.
Students who attribute ability and effort to outcome of behavior have internal locus of control, while those who attribute performance to luck and task difficulty have external locus of control. Thus, what one attributes as cause of outcome of behaviour has motivational impact on his/her future undertakings. Students with internal locus of control are internally motivated and belief performance is in their hands. Those with external locus of control believe external forces determine their fate and have little they can do. I think you know people who believe that the government has to meet all their demands and blame failure on other people.
In many instances when people (students included) attribute internal forces in case of success and attribute external forces for failures. I have experience of many of my students who perform poorly blaming me or the test for being too difficult but when they perform well attribute success to their abilities and effort.
Expectancy
We are aware that one specific incentive has different values to different people. For one student a “C” grade in History is enough while for another a “B” grade in History is not good enough since they want an “A”. Expectancy-value theory explains this phenomenon by stating that student’s goal directed behaviour is determined by two factors i.e. expectancy and incentive value. Our expectations tell us that our specific behaviour will make us reach a certain goal. Also we have the value attached to that goal namely, incentive value. If a student has high expectations and values are also high s/he will be motivated to study hard. Why? Because s/he believes studying hard will lead to a high grade. On the other hand if expectations are low and the value attached is low the motivation to study that subject will also be low. Sometimes students who aspire to be lawyers attach high value to Art subjects and low value to Science subjects, so they are more motivated to learn Arts subjects and have low motivation to learn Science subjects although they could have gotten a higher grade in these subjects too.
Teacher expectations
Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson in 1968 introduced a publication titled “Pygmalion in the Classroom” which had a great impact on how teacher’s perceptions of students are significant in students’ academic performance. Based on their studies they concluded that students labeled as potential achievers to teachers showed significant increase in their IQ scores relative to students not labeled so. In actual fact before the study the students were determined to be of the same IQ. So, the difference between the groups was attributed to teachers’ expectations i.e. teachers’ expectation had influenced the students’ gaining in intelligence. The implication of this publication included the notion that of ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ whereby teachers communicate their beliefs on how students are expected to behave. When they communicate that a student will behave intelligently that specific student behaves intelligently; whereas when they communicate low expectations to a student that student will perform poorly. Quite often we see teachers asking more questions, giving more time and praises to students they perceive as being intelligent;  and on the other hand spending very little time and effort on students they perceive as failures (sometimes teachers ignore these students completely). So, teachers’ expectations affect the way they treat students which in turn serves as an aspect of motivating students to learn or not to learn. It is fortunate that once teachers are aware of their expectations they can change for the good of all students.
Emotions
Emotions are feelings that we experience as we interact with environment or on ourselves. These feelings are either pleasant or unpleasant. Among the feelings we experience include anger, happiness, sadness, fear and envy. Emotions have physiological and cognitive elements that influence our behaviours. The way we undertake same tasks depends on the emotions we are experience at that time. We may run very fast when we sense danger and walk slowly when we feel safe. The main functions of emotions are: preparing for action; shaping our future behaviour; and act as mechanism to regulate social interactions. As you can see the first two functions are closely related to functions of motivation i.e. initiating and sustaining actions. The link between emotions and motivation is strong, we are happy when our motives are satisfied and feel threatened or angry when our motives are frustrated (Lazarus, 1991).
The aim of this section is to see how emotions influence motivation, so we will not elaborate the functions of emotions. Also we will not list all the emotions that we experience but only focus on some that seem to influence student motivation to learn.
Anxiety (high feeling of fear) is one of emotions that affect motivation. Students experience different levels of anxiety while learning in school. They worry about their academic performance (Will I pass the test?), and the challenges they face in school (I am late to class! Will I be punished? I don’t have time to complete all my homework!). Other sources of anxiety can be significant others’ expectations and demands on the student.
Levels of anxiety and the task difficulty have influence on student’s performance. Students experiencing high levels of anxiety for a long time have problem concentrating on their studies. Some students perform poorly in tests because of test anxiety i.e. intense fear of preparing for and taking tests. According to Sarason (1980) the main characteristics of test anxiety include perceiving test conditions as being difficult and threatening; one seeing himself/herself as being inadequate in doing tests; focusing on adverse consequences of test, anticipating failure and loss of regard from others. This undermines their academic performance and consequently motivation to learn. However, it is important to note that boredom also undermines motivation. So, a certain level of emotions is required to be motivated to learn. Too high or too low undermines motivation.
Classroom atmosphere and motivation
Classroom atmosphere include the social interactions and physical setting of the room where school learning takes place. If the students feel relaxed, encouraged to learn even when they fail or face challenges, and perceive the main emphasis of instruction is on individual improvement then the student feels motivated to learn. If the focus in the classroom is too much competition and only few students get rewarded in the expense of others then most students will be motivated not to learn. Competition is not all bad since it can be practiced between groups, thus more students experiencing winning feelings and rewards widely distributed. Also remember that rewards are extrinsic motivation that can undermine intrinsic motivation which has more value in maintain learning.
Classroom is mostly composed of peers who affect individual motivation. Students judge themselves (academically and socially) by making comparisons with their peers. According to Harter (1990) students with positive comparisons have high self-esteem and those with negative comparisons have low self-esteem. Students accepted by others do better in school and have high level of motivation to achieve in school (Wentzel, 1996). I think we are aware of students’ study groups that encourage (motivate) their members to study hard. So, peers in the classroom have some influence on motivation to learn.
Later in this course we will look at how classroom management techniques influence student expectations.
 Need for achievement
Need for achievement refers to the desire/motive to perform at the highest standards of excellence. This motive is one form of intrinsic motivation and it is acquired in the process of development. Students with it have high motivation for success and are thrilled when they succeed. They focus on mastery goals and performance-approach goals (Elliot and Church, 1997). This means they are more interested in having deeper meaning of things they are learning and be competent in skills rather than competing or comparing with others. Students with high need achievement work hard to succeed as they see themselves as responsible for the outcomes; are ready to take some risk of not succeeding when there is an opportunity to receive performance feedback (Koestner, and McClelland, 1990).  They also know how to weight the task facing them and selecting the level that they know it is challenging (not too easy or too difficult) but achievable. Students with low levels of need of achievement select tasks that are either too easy or too difficult. Easy tasks since they are assured of success and difficult tasks so that when they fail they blame that the task is so difficult it is impossible to succeed.
Self-efficacy
Albert Bandura introduced this concept which refers to one’s ability to cope with the situation and produce desired outcomes. Self-efficacy is related to intrinsic motivation. Student with high self-efficacy believe that s/he has the ability to accomplish the task/challenge facing him/her. The one with low self-efficacy believe that s/he cannot undertake the task/challenge ahead.  Relate this concept to inner voice that says “Yes I can learn and pass this subject” (high-efficacy) or “I cannot understand this subject” (low-efficacy). So a student with high-efficacy is motivated to learn while the one with low-efficacy is motivated not to learn. Self-efficacy also influence on deciding which tasks to address and which ones to avoid.
Self-efficacy is a result of one’s past experiences and also a product of observational learning i.e. performance of others may influence our beliefs on our ability to perform that task. Also what teachers communicate to students influence their self-efficacy. Students who fail consistently and perceive themselves lacking control of their own behavior develop what is called learned-helplessness. They have learned that there is nothing they can do to improve their performance, so they are motivated not to learn.
Strategies for improving student motivation to learn
Among your students some are naturally eager to learn i.e. already motivated to learn. Your task with these students is to maintain their level of motivation. Effective teaching includes teacher’s ability to maintain interest of students who join his/her class (Ericksen, 1978). If a teacher is not careful or ignore these students he may undermine their motivation. Unfortunately there are students in the classroom that are motivated not to learn. It is your role to create conditions that will lead to such students developing motivation to learn.
Above we have only mentioned a few factors that influence student motivation to learn. Remember there are other factors, including unsatisfied basic needs (hunger can definitely affect motivation); gender, family and culture influences that have effect on motivation. Please, as a teacher you are required to identify as many factors as possible, especially those relevant to your students. One can categorise the factors as some being internal to the individual and others as being caused by external influences (teachers included).
As a teacher you know that motivation is significant in learning processes. Being aware that there are different perspectives of describing motivation is important for a teacher. However, what is more important is the realization that the teacher has great positive influence on students’ motivation to learn. Strategies mentioned below are not exhaustive. Application of each depends on the teacher, student and existing learning conditions.
Classroom atmosphere
• Manage the classroom effectively. Remember you are the principle factor in determining classroom atmosphere. Much of your actions influence students’ motivation. It is very possible for a teacher to be the main agent of creating students’ motivation to learn.
• Make sure the classroom is physically and psychologically safe. Students should feel having sense of security based on the behaviours of all students. Too much use of punishment creates anxiety among students. 
• Create an atmosphere that is open and positive. All students should feel free to interact in classroom learning.
• Avoid making comparisons between students. Students should acknowledge and value their differences and accord respect to all. Encourage spirit of cooperation among students by creating study groups. 
• Make classroom experiences as positive as possible. Even when students make mistakes when learning they should be encouraged to continue participating in the learning processes in the classroom. Never ridicule students who make mistakes.
• Make your lesson interesting to students. A boring subject (content or teaching methods) creates motivation no to learn.
Teacher expectations
Based on a number of findings (among them Brophy, 1983; Marshall and Weinstein; 1984; and Patriarca and Kragt, 1986) the following have been recommended in regard to teacher expectations:
• Avoid unreliable sources of information about students’ learning potentials. People (including fellow teachers, parents and influential people) have their own biases that they communicate to you.  Also be aware of people’s social stereotypes.
• Concentrate on extending warmth, friendliness and encouragement to all students. All should be given generous amounts of wait-time to formulate their answers and to participate in class activities. This opportunity will improve quality of their responses.
• Monitor student progress closely so as to keep expectations of the individual current.
• In giving students feedback, focus on giving useful information, not just evaluation of success or failure. Stress continuous progress relative to their previous level of performance rather than comparing the student with other students. A student should not be protected from failure or making mistakes but rather stimulated to achieve as much as s/he can.
• Examine your expectations and develop habit of having positive (high) expectations of your students, even those you are sure have low ability.
Helping student develop motivation to learn
In our teaching we will encounter students who are motivated not to learn or are indifferent to our instructions. It is your responsibility to have the students motivated to learn your subject. Be aware that if they are not motivated you are wasting your time and undermining the objectives of having schools. Below are some suggestions on how to develop student motivation to learn. Note that you must look for other recommendations and also devise your own.
Remember that in learning intrinsic motivation is more effective and persevering than extrinsic motivation (extrinsic motivation wears soon when the external element is withdrawn). It is impossible to avoid using extrinsic motivation completely (grades, prizes, certificates and medals) in our schools and community. However, you personally can do something. Always aim at students developing intrinsic motivation. To start with, minimize giving extrinsic motivation by making an effort to arouse and sustaining interest in your subject (studies have shown that extrinsic motivation undermines intrinsic motivation). Young students increase their intrinsic motivation when they contextualize material and feel the material is significant to them (Cordova and Lepper, 1995). So, avoid presenting material in abstract form.
Biehler and Snowman (1982) make the following suggestions:
• Make studying active, investigative and as useful as possible. It is unfortunate that a teacher can make an interesting subject a boring one. Be the opposite. Make all learning experiences (including difficult parts) interesting and you personally all the time be enthusiastic about your lesson. In your teaching convey confidence, enjoyment of the content and teaching. If you find teaching your own subject boring think how the students will perceive it.
• Take into account individuals differences in ability, background, and attitudes toward school and specific subjects. Levels of motivation varies among students (some have low self-efficacy while others high self-efficacy, others have already developed learned-helplessness); incentives that apply in one culture may or may not be effective to your students; one student may have positive attitude towards you as a person while having negative attitudes towards the subject.
• Make sure that student’s needs have being satisfied.
• Direct learning experiences towards feelings of success in an effort to encourage a realistic level of aspiration, an orientation toward achievement, and positive self-concept.
To improve students’ self-efficacy teach students specific learning strategies; guide students in setting goals that are realistic and challenging; provide support from other teachers, parents and peers; and make sure students are not too anxious (Santrock, 2004).


Summary
In this Topic we had a glance on several theories of learning and their implications on the teaching processes. Each of the theories has limitations on describing the learning processes and their applications in the classroom. However the limitations have not been identified in the lecture.
In this topic we have defined motivation and described different perspectives of motivation. Also the internal and external factors that have influence, both negative and positive, were identified. The last part was on strategies of improving students’ motivation to learn.