Learning Theory and Student Motivation

Back when I took education courses, I admit I found the theory of teaching incredibly interesting. That's not too surprising, since I had a History BA; that discipline exists to ask questions and critique the status quo, and to look at the meaning of ideas. What I really enjoyed was the variety of learning theories and how really, a good teacher applies numerous theories throughout her day in the classroom in order to keep students engaged in different parts of their brains. When we look at Bloom's Taxonomy, it is so temping to make every lesson's goal land on the higher tiers; a lesson isn't sophisticated enough if it doesn't employ higher order thinking. But the reality is, some skills and thinking just need to be recall, like adding, subtracting, and spelling.

Library instruction is so tricky because we hop around so much between remembering the basic skill, like finding an article, and then applying that skill to a particular assignment, and then evaluating the results of that application to a students' learning. Our 50-minute one-shots often blast through Bloom's  without so much as a "by-your-leave." What I like about designing the info lit module for distance students as my class project is that the learning activities employ different learning theories at a much slower pace than is required of a face-to-face session. 

Learning Theory 

As far as choosing a learning theory that corresponds with an activity, I am actually most interested in how the theory of behaviorism can be applied in an online learning environment. If we define it the way Wikipedia does (succinctly) as "a change in external behavior achieved through using reinforcement to shape the behavior." For the class I am taking right now, we have been awarded "badges" for completing our week's worth of assignments. I was hilariously motivated when I received mine the first week. It must activate some immediate gratification stimuli in the brain. But if the module I'm designing isn't for a grade (and I know this is getting into student motivation, which we are to discuss in the second part of the assignment), then I think there are positive, engaging ways for the instructor to let the students know they are on the right track or doing a good job. The activities in the module are skills based and there will hopefully be some intrinsic motivation when tasks are accomplished, but it is always satisfying to have work appreciated and reinforced by another person. So by the end of the module, students will have 14-ish lesson badges, and then one big "research expert" badge to post, pin, or show to their kids.

Student Motivation 

Behaviorism feeds into student motivation in a number of ways. If there is positive reinforcement of the successful completion of a task, that produces extrinsic motivation to continue through the assignments. There are a number of intrinsic motivators for my particular context that I think are helpful.

1. The adult studies/distance education student population is one that, primarily, wants to be back in school. They need to finish their degree in order to get promoted, move to a second career, or fulfill a life long-long dream of completing college. While there are plenty who view it "having" to attend, many more understand the value of their time and don't waste it. 
2. The placement of this module needs to be very strategic. I said that in an earlier post, and it's become more apparent after some of our readings. If there can be immediate application of the skills after the module is completed, then we move into achievement motivation: students will have gained personal excellence in their research skills, they will be affiliated with a select group of students who know how to research, and they will have power over their learning instead of relying on the librarian or professor. 
3. I also hope that students actively engage in flow theory, which so often happens in research. If at some point during the process they get "lost" in the research, in a way that activates curiosity and that their attention become so focused on the task at hand that "time stops," I consider that a win.  

  

There were a number of applications to library instruction to this week's readings. It did make me pause and think about the bigger picture of information literacy. I think as a discipline, once you combine information literacy with educational theory, and add that to the wealth of information that needs to be navigated, there is a strong case for expanding an info lit program and having it more integrated into students' academic life. When I was in library school, just five years ago, for-credit info lit courses seemed to be a luxury. Now, I'm seeing them as more necessary than ever.