Learning and motivation in multiple contexts: the development of a heuristic framework

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a heuristic framework that integrates three aspects of context (perspective, content and level) from a number of established theoretical approaches. In this framework, context is viewed from different perspectives (subjective and objective), it comprises different contents (physical, social and formal) and it is conceptualised as being multi-level (micro-, meso-, exo-and macrolevel). The resulting graphical representation has 24 individual elements. Examples of empirical studies are used to illustrate how the different elements in the framework may be operationalised to examine learning and motivation. A number of studies by the authors and other researchers are provided that exemplify different combinations of the perspectives, contents and levels of context. The empirical research used reflects a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods including questionnaires, interviews and graphical representations. Examples are drawn not only from academic learning settings but also from domains such as sport and music. Unifying diverse perspectives and incorporating research from multiple settings can deepen our understanding of learning and motivation. The heuristic framework represents a useful way of organising multiple aspects of context. It enables researchers to locate current studies and to generate further empirical work. Conceptual and methodological issues associated with operationalising the framework are briefly discussed, and the complexity of representing multiple, dynamic contexts is highlighted, with some directions for future research noted.

Gender-differences in conservatoire music practice maladjustment. Can contextual professional goals and context-derived psychological needs satisfaction account for amotivation variations?

“…Nevertheless, as people progress through their careers in music, the proportions of diverse intrinsic and extrinsic motives may vary: for instance, motives like expressing a musical identity, satisfying personal needs, approaching learning effectively, or addressing specific environmental conditions may, respectively, gain more salience during specific periods, consequently, affecting motivation and possibly even individual career trajectories [26]. Students' experiences may vary not only due to the specific moment in their music career, but also students with different motivational goals may experience their learning environments differently, because they direct their attention to different aspects [27]. As a result, under certain circumstances, the presence of extrinsic motives has been reported to pose challenges to the continuity of intrinsic or autonomous motivation, by veering attention towards externally mediated gains or rewards [22,28].…”

What do we need to consider when designing and researching student learning in Challenge-Based Learning?

“…The interplay between students' personal factors and learning patterns, leading to specific learning outcomes can be assumed to be affected by numerous contextual factors. Using a framework of context in higher education by Wosnitza and Beltman [13], these factors can be structured on three levels, namely the microlevel (i.e., the course level context), the mesolevel (i.e., the institutional level), and the macrolevel (i.e., the wider societal, local, national, international context). Each of these levels of context holds different content, namely the social content (e.g., the peers, coaches, teachers, external stakeholders the student interacts with, the frequency of meetings with them, the group atmosphere), the physical content (e.g., learning resources and space available for learners, learning technology), and the formal content (e.g., open-endedness of challenge, assessment/ feedback/ reflection methods, scaffolding on the microlevel, curriculum, institutional and departmental vision of CBL on the mesolevel, and global themes guiding the challenges on the macrolevel).…”

Exploring University Students’ Learning Goals

“…Research on the learning process and the impulses that give rise to these behaviors cannot be separated from an understanding of the current context. The context in question can include environmental characteristics related to achievement, such as class, school, work, and cultural factors, such as nationality, ethnicity; as well as various other social contexts related to the home environment of students, such as family and peers (Urdan, 1999in Wosnitza & Beltman, 2012. Goal theory highlights how context plays an essential role in developing goals, explicitly emphasizing that students will base their learning goals on teaching practices and how teachers respond to students' achievements or shortcomings (Friedel, Cortina, Turner, & Midgley, 2010).…”