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Motivation and Negotiated Participation in a Collaborative Community of Practice: A Sociocultural Perspective

This research explores the connection between motivation and participation in a collaborative community of practice from a sociocultural perspective. The study examines changes in student participation over a school year and how social and cultural classroom practices support student motivation. It utilizes qualitative research methods and longitudinal studies to gather data from various sources, such as observations, video recordings, reflection logs, surveys, and interviews. The research aims to provide insights into the potential of sociocultural theory for education and pedagogy.

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Motivation and Negotiated Participation in a Collaborative Community of Practice: A Sociocultural Perspective

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  1. Motivation as negotiated participation in a collaborative community of practice: A sociocultural perspective Veronica Morcom Research Associate Murdoch University WA, Australia MSUPE June 28th – July 3rd 6th ISCAR Summer University for PhD students L.S. Vygotsky’s 120th Anniversary

  2. Overview • Timeline of projects and PhD research aims • Sociocultural perspectives • Research method and data sources • Background to schools and social practices (photos) • Student reflection on their leadership roles • Data analyses– changing participation and motivation • PhD case studies • Summary • Potential of sociocultural theory, whole-class scaffolding and what is needed for sociocultural theory to have an impact on education and pedagogy.

  3. Timeline of research projects 1. School 1- Establishing a democratic classroom to reduce bullying 2004 –31 Year 4/5 students (10-11 years old) - Master’s thesis (2005) Major themes from School 1 ‘relationships, friendship and leadership’ 2. School 2- ‘Student leadership in a primary classroom’ 2007 –24/25 Year 3 students (8-9 years old) - PhD thesis (2013) 2008 –focus group of 12 students and their parents 3. School 2 ‘Mentoring teachers’ 2008 –3 teachers (teaching 2007 research class) 4. ‘Values in Action School Project’ state coordinator across Schools 2, 3 and 4 (VASP Report, 2010) I performed the dual role of classroom teacher/researcher (participant observer) in all projects

  4. PhD research aims To examine • Changes in student participation over a school year • How the social and cultural classroom practices support student motivation

  5. Sociocultural perspectives • The learner is constituted by cultural and historical processes, embedded within cultural activities in communities which provide the tools for making sense of the world • It is usually understood that these tools are appropriated in social interactions, providing the means to maintain and transform those communities (Rogoff, 2003) • These processes are dynamic and contested. • Research taking a sociocultural perspective is thus usually longitudinal and focuses on cultural tools, activities and social processes, rather than on the cognitions and contexts of individuals per se. • Two key concepts used in my research- the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978) and scaffolding (Wood, Bruner & Ross,1976)

  6. Research method and data sources • Qualitative research • Longitudinal studies over a school year • Multiple data sources- observations, videoing class meetings and other activities, teacher/researcher’s and students’ reflection logs, sociometric surveys, semi structured interviews with students (with photo stimulated recall) and parents, classroom artefacts … reported as case studies of focal groups of students (journal publications) • In 2007 I was a co researcher with Professor Judy MacCallum from Murdoch University (REGS grant) who conducted parent and teacher interviews and spent about half day per week in my classroom observing and filming social practices

  7. Background to schools and social practices School 1in a low socioeconomic urban area- school priority values education School 2 in a middle class urban area- school priority higher order thinking skills Classroom social and cultural practices to provide opportunities to contribute • Five Class Agreements negotiated using Y charts • Daily Social Circle to develop student confidence to speak in front of peers in a ‘safe’ classroom environment and build community • Weekly Class Meetings to encourage negotiation, problem solving and participative decision making withteacher and more able peers scaffolding participation • Small social groups with leaders and vice leaders chosen by group members provided opportunities to lead decision making and experience positive peer support and regard from group members

  8. Daily social circle

  9. First class meeting February 2007

  10. Class meeting 17 10th August 2007

  11. Class meeting 23 6th December, 2007

  12. Student items over year

  13. Class meeting 23 6th December, 2007 • No teacher items and five student items (3 individuals and 2 pairs) • Teacher asks if anyone wants to take teacher role – almost all hands go up, and negotiation with class as to how to decide. Several students without an item on board took turns as Teacher • Student orchestrates, students responding and speaking directly to each other • Teacher takes a position at the blackboard and intervenes only to remind students to be respectful ‘Let’s try again’– mainly social support to group rather than individuals • Adapted coding for student and teacher participation from Kovalainen & Kumpulainen(2007) study which was presented last year (Earli, 2015, Cyprus). We identified individual and partner student presentations and roles over the year were dynamic and greater participation occurred when two students decided to present items together

  14. Student reflection on their leadership roles 3rd December 2007 Student 1 (vice leader at the time) I’m an encourager and give ideas. I am a kind person and an organiser person. I am willing to try out to be a helper. Student 2 I’m an encourager and I help people that are lost on what to do. I am willing to try out to be an ideas person for my group. Student 3I am the ideas and peacekeeper person. I would like to play an encourager or an organiser. I am willing to try a new role ... Students’ perspectivesand possibilities for change • Talking about things that we need to do more or get better at … • We can discuss things and help people change what’s happening at lunchtime and in our classroom • We can agree and disagree and listen to people, sort of like a sit down . …[learn to be] nice and respectful • When we have problems, to sort out our problems, class goals, people not feeling good, put them up • I like the debating, even if we don’t win

  15. Data analyses- changingparticipation and motivation Rogoff’s (1995) analytical ‘Community, Interpersonal and Personal’ planes of analyses used as an organisational framework to examine data about • A range of participation patterns from ‘Legitimate peripheral participation’ to mature participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Rogoff, 2003) • How motivation was developed and sustained to participate in a range of social opportunities provided by teacher/researcher to develop mature participation • Mature participation refers to contributing in pro social manner in the classroom with peers and the teacher

  16. Case studies Four PhD publications report case studies of focal groups of students • Special needs students with intellectual disabilities in the mainstream classroom – inclusion (2007 class) Morcom, V. and MacCallum, J. (2012) Getting personal about values: Scaffolding student participation towards an inclusive classroom community. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 16 (12). pp. 1323-1334. 2. Changing students interactions to adopt pro social values (2004 cass) Morcom, V. and Cumming-Potvin, W. (2010) Bullies and victims in a primary classroom: Scaffolding a collaborative community of practice. Issues in Educational Research, 20 (2). pp. 166-182.

  17. Case studies 3. Empowering students to resolve their social issues and take personal and collective responsibility for their behaviour (2004 & 2007 class) Morcom, V. and MacCallum, J. (2009) Motivation in action in a collaborative primary classroom: Developing and sustaining teacher motivation. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 34 (6). pp. 23-40. 4. Collaborative student leadership opportunities and explicit social practices (2004 & 2007 class) Morcom, V. and MacCallum, J. (2007) Improving interaction and participation: Leadership development in the collaborative classroom. In: AARE 2007 International Educational Research Conference, 25 - 29 November 2007, Fremantle, Western Australia. MacCallum, J. and Morcom, V. (2008) Making classroom social practices explicit: Developing motivation through participation in collaborative leadership opportunities. In: McInerney, D.M. and Liem, A.D., (eds.) Teaching and learning: International best practice. IAP-Information Age Publishing, Inc., Charlotte, NC, pp. 191-221.

  18. Summary 1. Negotiating values central to establishing the barometer for behaviour in a collaborative community of practice 2. Classroom meetings were forum to express current issues, offer solutions and act or request action from peers and the teacher, empowering all participants Stetsenko(2008) argues that learning is “contributing to collaborative practices” – not just participation so if students are to change participatory roles over a year they need opportunities to contribute rather than participate 3. Reflection logs developed reflective thinking skills and raised students level of awareness about their emotions and behaviour 4. Explicit social practices supported students’ social and emotional development (Morcom, 2014, 2015, 2016) and contributes to our understanding of operational values education in the classroom

  19. Potential of sociocultural theory 1. Teachers' expertise to address student's social and emotional needs through scaffolding within the ZPD. Conceptualise social and emotional learning as a social concept Morcom, V. (2014) Scaffolding social and emotional learning in an elementary classroom community: A sociocultural perspective. International Journal of Educational Research, 67 . pp. 18-29. 2.Developing teachers' expertise in understanding the scaffolding process to enlist students' emotions as an enabling factor in scaffolding (Renshaw, 2013) Morcom, V. (2015) Scaffolding social and emotional learning within ‘shared affective spaces’ to reduce bullying: A sociocultural perspective. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 6 . pp. 77-86. 3.‘Whole-class’ scaffolding (Smit, Van Eerde & Bakker, 2013) within the collective ZPD to access peer knowledge, understanding and values Morcom, V.E. (2016) Scaffolding peer collaboration through values education: Social and reflective practices from a primary classroom. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41 (1). pp. 81-99. • Search • Simple Search • Advanced Search • Thesis Search • Browse • By Author • By Murdoch Affiliation • Murdoch Theses • Publications: Morcom, Veronica

  20. Whole-class scaffolding 1. Criticisms of using the scaffolding metaphor in classroom research relate to lack of being theoretically informed and empirically grounded. Smit & Van Eerde (2013) and Smit, Van Eerde & Bakker (2013) argue that scaffolding is relational in nature and has three key characteristics - diagnosis, responsiveness (adaptive core of support provided by teacher and peers) and handover to independence to deliberately foster long- term learning processes. They discuss methodological challenges: focus often on teacher strategies, with little evidence about effect on students’ development and attention to teacher’s responsiveness and diagnosing pupil's needs is rare. 2. 2004 and 2007 research classes provide evidence of a dynamic process that illustrates the cumulative effect of many diagnostic and responsive actions over time which is at the core of whole-class scaffolding

  21. What is needed for socio-cultural theories to have more impact on education and pedagogy? Sociocultural theories offer a reinvigorated and expanded approach and an integrated account of human development and learning while: • more directly engaging the notions of cultural tools and mediation; • encompassing both social and individual levels of social practice; and (c) restoring the balance between the goals of acting on the grounds of historical traditions and the need to develop the power for cultural/societal innovation and transformation(Stetsenko, 2009).

  22. References Kovalainen, M., & Kumpulainen, K. (2007). The social construction of participation in an elementary classroom community. International Journal of Educational Research, 46, 141-158. Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press. Rogoff, B. (1995). Observing sociocultural activity on three planes: participatory appropriation, guided participation, and apprenticeship. In J. V. Wertsch, P. Del Rio & A. Alvarez, Sociocultural studies of the mind (pp. 139-164). New York: Cambridge University Press. Scott, P., Mortimer, E., & Aguiar, O. (2006). The tension between authoritative and dialogic discourse: A fundamental characteristics of meaning making interactions in high school science lessons. Science Education, 90, 605-631. Smit, J., & Van Eerde, H.A.A. (2013). What counts as evidence for the long term realisation of whole-class scaffolding? Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 2, 22-31. Smit, J., Van Eerde, H.A.A., & Bakker, A. (2013). A conceptualisation of whole-class scaffolding. British Educational Research Journal, 39(5), 817-834.

  23. References Stetsenko, A. (2008). From relational ontology to transformative activist stance on development and learning: Expanding Vygotsky’s (CHAT) project. Cultural Studies in Science Education, 3, 471-491. Stetsenko, A. (2009). Teaching–learning and development as activist projects of historical Becoming: expanding Vygotsky's approach to pedagogy, Pedagogies: An International Journal, 5:1, 6-16, DOI: 10.1080/15544800903406266 Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. In M. Cole, V. J. Steiner, S. Scribner & E. Souberman (Eds.).Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wood, D., Bruner, J., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem-solving. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17(2), 89–100.

  24. Thank you for your attention!Comments? Questions? Veronica.Morcom@education.wa.edu.au

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