The Nature of Learning
Using Research to Inspire Practice
What do we know about how people learn? How do young people’s motivations and emotions influence their learning? What does research show to be the benefits of group work, formative assessments, technology applications, or project-based learning and when are they most effective? How is learning affected by family background? These are among the questions addressed for the OECD by leading researchers from North America and Europe. This book brings together the lessons of research on both the nature of learning and different educational applications, and it summarises these as seven key concluding principles.
Among the contributors are Brigid Barron, Monique Boekaerts, Erik de Corte, Linda Darling-Hammond, Kurt Fischer, Andrew Furco, Richard Mayer, Lauren Resnick, Barbara Schneider, Robert Slavin, James Spillane, Elsbeth Stern and Dylan Wiliam.
The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire Practice is essential reading for all those interested in knowing what research has to say about how to optimise learning in classrooms, schools and other settings. It aims, first and foremost, to inform practice and educational reform. It will be of particular interest to teachers, education leaders, teacher educators, advisors and decision makers, as well as the research community
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The crucial role of motivation and emotion in classroom learning
Centre for Educational Research and Innovation
Monique Boekaerts posits that the role of emotions and motivations has been seriously neglected in the design of learning arrangements and teacher professional development. She summarises knowledge about the key role of emotions and motivations around a small number of principles. Students are more motivated to engage in learning when: they feel competent to do what is expected of them and perceive stable links between actions and achievement; they value the subject and have a clear sense of purpose; they experience positive emotions towards learning activities and, contrariwise, turn away from learning when they experience negative emotions; and when they perceive the environment as favourable for learning. Students free up cognitive resources when they are able to influence the intensity, duration and expression of their emotions, and are more persistent in learning when they can manage their resources and deal with obstacles efficiently.
Also available in: French
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