WIT 2003

Glossary

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Authenticity can mean the degree to which the learning environment (a) seems like the real world (for example, when scientist students are asked to behave like scientists in class, (b) is most important to students (for example, when students interested in animals get to study animals in a deep way), or (c) presents ideas in a way that is faithful to how they are presented in the real world (for example, when ideas in science class look like the way scientists think. The Authenticity Principle says that learning environments are especially effective when they do all three of those things as much as possible.

Challenges are a way to motivate learners. We all like to do activities that are just at the right level of challenge -- easy enough that we feel confident, and hard enough to be fun. A powerful way to make a learning environment engaging is to find the right level of challenge for your students.

Coaching is giving your students advice about how to proceed with an activity -- for example, telling them where to look for resources.

Context motivators are types of student motivation which depend on the context in which an activity is presented (e.g., the degree of control allowed to students, or the kind of social arrangements allowed), rather than the content of the activity itself, which should be grounded in interest.

By domain, we mean the body of activities, ideas and cultural behaviors involved in a passion curriculum theme. For example, the Video Crew domain is videography.

Interest is a strong attraction to a particular set of ideas or activities. The Interest Principle says that interest is the most powerful motivator of learning, and therefore, learning environments should be as interesting as possible for students. Activities can be especially effective when they fit directly into learner interests, or when they pique learner interests.

Initiation is the art of using context-based motivation to get your students going on a set of activities that will become interesting once the students get involved for some period of time. Use initiation as a technique when you're not sure the students will see what is interesting about the activities until after they get started.

Maintenance is the art of using context-based motivators to keep students going on an interest-based project, even when things get tough.

Rewards are one way to make sure that students will do a particular activity. Be careful, though -- a reward that is not related to the activity can distract students. For example, a student who likes the reward of an "A" will focus on figuring out what it takes to get an A, rather than on the ideas. A student who doesn't care about the reward of an A may not work at all, unless some other motivational tool is available.

Rights and responsibilities are examples of effective rewards. They can be more effective than rewards such as candy or grades because they are built right into the learning activities. For example, a student who shows that they are skillful at arithmetic might earn the right and responsibility to mentor other students in arithmetic. A student who develops their skills at asking good questions might be given the right and responsibility to help others learn how to speak up when they have questions. These kinds of rewards tend to maintain students' interest in the content they are learning. Candy and grades tend to refocus students' interest on the reward.

Scaffolding is supporting your students so that they can successfully do something that is beyond their reach right now. As they get better at it, you fade the scaffolding away, so that they can take on the task for themselves.

Social goals include a sense of obligation to others, a desire for affiliation (being identified as part of the same group) with others, and role motivation -- a desire for a particular kind of identity.

The social context principle says that learning environments need to include opportunities for students to learn from their interactions with others who are more expert and less expert than they are. This is because people learn from their social interactions, and because social goals are very powerful ways of engaging learners

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