Attribution Theory

Attribution theory seeks to explain how individuals and teams evaluate their levels of success and failure.

Comments against using behavioral methods in the classroom?

Broadly speaking, my understanding of the implications of behavioral approach to classroom learning are (1) learning is passive (2) learning requires external rewards (3) and teacher must direct the learning process.

Goal Orientations Theory of Motivation

Goal orientations are cognitive representations of the general type of goal an individual will tend to pursue. Goal orientations are dynamic and subject to change as information pertaining to one’s performance on the task is processed.  While an individual can hold a number of goal orientations that govern their reasons for engaging in an activity, research has primarily focused on two types of goals namely, task oriented goals and ego oriented goals.

Motivation Theory - Maslow

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Maslow's theory consisted of two parts:

(1) The classification of human needs, and

(2) Consideration of how the classes are related to each other

The classes of needs were summarised by Maslow as follows:

What is constructivism?

Constructivism is basically a theory -- based on observation and scientific study -- about how people learn. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, maybe changing what we believe, or maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active creators of our own knowledge. To do this, we must ask questions, explore, and assess what we know.