earli logoEARLI Advanced Study Colloquium 2010

Motivation to Learn in Social Contexts: Integrating Individual and Social Perspectives

Faculty of Education, Donald McIntyre Building, Room 2S4 May 10-14, 2010

(staff and PhD students welcome - please contact David Whitebread to confirm a place)

Organizing committee and review panel:

David Whitebread, Cambridge University, UK
Julian Elliott, Durham University, UK
Marja Vauras, University of Turku, Finland
Sanna Järvelä, Oulu University, Finland
Simone Volet, Murdoch University, Australia
Susan B. Nolen, University of Washington, USA
Julianne Turner, University of Notre Dame, USA

Abstract

The need for an Advanced Study Colloquium

The first decade of the 21st century has seen an ever-expanding definition of learning and learning environments. In schools, there has been an increasing emphasis on the importance of learning in groups. At the same time, the physical boundaries of “group learning” are being broken down by advances in technology and communication. Group learning now routinely happens asynchronously, with members residing around the world. Motivation theory has traditionally looked at the individual, focusing on personality characteristics and the influence of external factors to explain self-regulation and motivation to learn. The study of learning in groups or activity systems, including computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has, in turn, neglected the socio-emotional aspects of social settings. Work in both fields has been limited by the lack of interaction among scholars and the constraints of existing theories. Given the increasing importance of understanding learning and motivation in groups, we are proposing a joint colloquium aimed at integrating individual and social, and cognition and motivation.

Advancing theory: Integrating social and individual perspectives

Groups are collections of individuals in social interaction, bringing their own histories, motivations, cultural norms and goals to the learning situation. Goals and motivations are further shaped through interaction, as learners’ identities and positions within the group evolve along with the characteristics and structure of the group itself. Self-regulation is important, but in groups there is also social regulation, as members seek to influence other members and the functioning and goals of the group. By bringing together senior scholars who have been studying motivation, learning, regulation and culture at the boundaries of individual and social, our colloquium seeks to use shared data to advance our understanding of the following questions:

Advancing methodology: Integrating individual and social approaches

Integrating individual and social perspectives on motivation and learning raises serious methodological questions and an expanded set of methodological tools. Therefore, a second aim of the colloquium is to examine and critique the methods we have been using, and through collaborative inquiry with shared data, develop new, more integrated approaches. We propose to address the following methodological questions:

Programme

To Follow

Proposed Output

We propose the following as outputs of the colloquium:

References

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