Introduction
The question of motivation is rather important. Especially, when it comes to the education. It is one of the most powerful instruments that can be used to achieve greater performance. Nonetheless, the process of motivating students is complex and requires a multifaceted approach. In order to efficiently motivate students, teachers have to be aware of the tendencies and the most common behavioural models inherent in their students. The problem that this paper is going to dwell on relates to the diverse impact of motivation on the eminence of teamwork in a school environment. It is important to elaborate on this concept for the reason that it would help the researcher understand the origin of issues in a team and ways to motivate the team in a school environment (Wilson 2012).
The author of this article is also going to explore how teamwork is influential (effective) and review related previous studies in this area. This research will be conducted in order to review relevant literature on the current research topic. The author is mainly interested in peer-reviewed articles and other journal articles that would extensively dwell on teamwork and its motivation-based approach (Campos 2012). The researcher will process the data, evaluate the findings, and reach justified verdicts in terms of teamwork upsides and downsides in an educational setting. The article also features a qualitative research and reasonable conclusions concerning teamwork and motivation in the school environment. The researcher expects to identify certain behavioural patterns inherent in team members and tendencies concerning leadership within a team. The impact of motivation (both positive and negative, if applicable) is going to be methodically assessed and thoroughly evaluated (Hill & Parsons 2012). The researcher expects to find that there is a positive dependency between the performance of a team and the type of motivation applied to the members of that team.
Research Questions
The author of the article outlined two key questions that are to be answered by the end of the article. They are as follows:
- How teamwork is influential on individuals and group performance?
- How to maintain teamwork in groups?
Answering these questions would help identify the limitations of the current approaches and propose the ways to mitigate those downsides. The author of the article believes that the current approaches to the current student motivation methods can be improved significantly. The peculiarities of the possible improvements are thoroughly studied in the literature review.
Literature Review
Improving Student Motivation
If an institution is keen on improving student performance and quality of education, motivation is the key factor that should be taken into consideration (Williams & Williams 2011). The definition of motivation has been provided by numerous cross-disciplinary philosophies. Even though each of the theories comprises correct information, none of the definitions is ultimately accurate. This issue can be explained by the fact that human beings (students in particular) are a rather complex entity characterised by motives and certain needs (Williams & Williams 2011). Speaking of students, the educational process would not exist if students were not motivated on a recurrent basis. There is a number of key ingredients that have an impact on educational motivation – student, educator, subject, process, and setting (Williams & Williams 2011). Instructors should always be on the lookout for new educational approaches that would help them to motivate students. Moreover, the teachers should be able to observe themselves in order to gain insight into the perceptions of motivation (Williams & Williams 2011).
Teamwork Skills in College Students
Even though the process of working in a team is rather complex, more attention should be paid to the way the members of the team interact than to the overall success of the group (Hughes & Jones 2011). We should be able to see the difference in order to evaluate teamwork properly. In other words, team success and teamwork are two different notions. The team might be successful, but that does not necessarily mean that the team interacted successfully as well (Hughes & Jones 2011). The difference between these two definitions is even bigger in the academic context. The grades of the members of any particular group should never be equated to the contributions made by each member of the team (Hughes & Jones 2011). In teaching practice, we often meet situations when the smartest students do all the work for the whole group and the grades are distributed equally while the contribution of each of the students to the overall success is not quite identical.
Socially Constructed Motivation
The background of Jarvela and Jarvenoja’s research (2011) stated that the majority of the prior experimental discoveries had only dealt with motivation in terms of certain learning conditions that involved solely individual circumstances. This research dwelled on the socially constructed motivation of higher education students. The current resolution also involved cooperative learning. The study emphasised the crucial importance of motivation in informally self-planned education due to the fact that motivation was undergoing a steady process of constant transformations throughout a variety of activities (Jarvela & Jarvenoja 2011). The study was conducted in order to categorise the socially constructed motivation inherent in the higher education students when it came to collaborative education. So as to evaluate the motivation, the researchers collected the data concerning the experiences of the students. Those experiences included several social challenges that would only transpire in certain situations. Those events were replicated in the groups of collaborative education students, and the researchers were able to perceive the actions performed by the students so as to overcome those challenges (Jarvela & Jarvenoja 2011).
The researchers implemented a multimethod study and applied the qualitative design. The three methods that were utilised are adaptive tools, audio-visual tapings, and discussions in groups. All these methods were applied with the intention of assessing the personal and group perspectives on the challenging situations. The researchers expected to identify the mechanisms that activated motivation in the students during the problematic events (Jarvela & Jarvenoja 2011). There were two main conclusions made by the authors of the study. First, the display of motivation can be acknowledged as a socially constructed event. Second, the critical impact of the demonstration of motivation in socially self-planned education should be explored further (Jarvela & Jarvenoja 2011).
Collaborative Learning
The impact of collaborative learning on student motivation proved to be very strong. The research conducted by Curseu and Pluut (2013) showed that collaborative learning had imperative upsides that were visible on a group level. It was also noted by the researchers that the majority of studies interested in assessing the efficiency of higher education only focused on individuals when trying to identify the advantages of the implementation of collaborative learning (Curseu & Pluut 2013). The researchers were able to cover the model by testing it. They presupposed that teamwork quality arbitrates the effect of a number of compositional characteristics on the clusters’ perceptive involvedness. These compositional characteristics included gender, ethnic group, and teamwork skill range in addition to the necessity of perception discrepancy. The outcomes of the study showed that the quality of teamwork had a direct impact on its mediating effect. The authors concluded that the combination of a variety of characteristics has a major impact on the teamwork quality (Curseu & Pluut 2013).
The study conducted by Ku, Tseng, and Akarasriworn (2013) examined the eminence of collaborative learning components inherent in the online learning courses. They reviewed the results of 197 students on the basis of their student years (Ku, Tseng & Akarasriworn 2013). The researchers utilised a survey intended to identify student attitudes. They also were interested in evaluating the level of students’ satisfaction when it came to teamwork experience. At the end of every semester, the researchers provided the students with three open questions concerning their experiences of working together online. The outcomes showed that there were three main aspects – team chemistry, team acquaintance, and tutor sustenance – that had a major impact on the level of student satisfaction (Ku, Tseng & Akarasriworn 2013). It was also discovered that the combination of these three factors represented approximately 53% of the aspects that affected student satisfaction with teamwork. Moreover, it was found that students preferred to work collaboratively in the online environment (Ku, Tseng & Akarasriworn 2013).
Hazari, Brown, and Rutledge’s research (2013) concentrated on the impact of online education on teamwork motivation. They discussed the importance of Web 2.0 for the education. The researchers also discussed the similarities between social media networks and Web 2.0 applications (Hazari, Brown & Rutledge 2013). Nonetheless, the authors mentioned that this research area is relatively new and requires more insight. In this study, the researchers described the process of conducting an online learning course by means of Web 2.0 applications. Utilisation of blogs proved to be effective in motivating the students to work collaboratively and increased both individual and group efficiency (Hazari, Brown & Rutledge 2013). The authors described the challenges that are inherent in the utilisation of blogs in education and provided several recommendations concerning the aspect of student motivation in an online environment.
Online Teamwork
Another aspect of motivation in education was reviewed by Tseng and Yeh (2013) in their research on online teamwork. They found that teamwork motivates to perform better and contribute to the team development and overall success (Tseng & Yeh 2013). In order to motivate the learners efficiently, the instructors should realise the expectations of their students concerning online teamwork. The key objectives of this study were to evaluate the motivational benefit of online collaborative education and to evaluate the factors that affected the teamwork and trust within the team. The researchers used a qualitative method and conducted interviews represented by three open questions (Tseng & Yeh 2013).
The outcomes of the study showed that the students who preferred working in a team showed better results and were motivated to perform at a high level. In addition, they displayed a high level of trust in their team members and believed that this had a great impact on the overall quality of learning. Low level of responsibility and lack of communication were proved to be triggering adverse outcomes in terms of motivation and team morale. Additionally, students found personal responsibility and commitment to high-level performance to be the most important factors affecting teamwork motivation (Tseng & Yeh 2013). The analysis of the results of the study showed that there is a direct functional dependence between the relations within a team and level of motivation. The researchers also dwelled on the implications of the study and presented a number of possible improvements.
Student Motivation in Online Discussions
In 2011, Xie and Ke conducted a study related to online discussions. This was done in order to investigate the computer-supported collaborative education. The researchers were interested in assessing motivation displayed by the students and their ability to interact with each other throughout the process of peer-moderated online debates (Xie & Ke 2011). At a lower level, autonomy and competency were found to be the key components of the interactions. At a higher level, the interactions were influenced by motivational aspects. The outcomes of the study proved that instructors should perceive motivation as the key factor affecting interpersonal relations between the students and their attitude toward education (Xie & Ke 2011).
PBL vs. Student Motivation
One of the fundamental statements of problem-based learning (PBL) declares that it is one of the best motivational instruments in education (Rotgans & Schmidt 2012). This includes being responsible for self-controlled education, working in groups (with almost no supervision from the instructor), and assessing real-life events. All these factors are expected to make the learning process more motivating. Nonetheless, the authors of the study mentioned that there was a limited number of studies that explored the motivational benefit of PBL. In their paper, the researchers evaluated two previous works that measured the motivation in students by the level of students’ interest in project-based learning (Rotgans & Schmidt 2012). The first research dwelled on the development of the interest in learning by means of PBL. The researchers were interested in realising if the statement of a new problem increased the level of motivation in students.
They also expected to evaluate the outcomes of individual education and the findings ultimately reported by the students. The second research focused on the ways in which the implementers could impact student motivation and awareness of PBL (Rotgans & Schmidt 2012). In order to do that, the researchers measured the key three characteristics of PBL – subject-material proficiency (defined by the knowledge base of the instructor), social resemblance (defined by the ability of the instructor to come to an understanding), and perceptive resemblance (defined by the ability of the instructor to elicit motivation to learn in the students). The researchers investigated the impact of these factors on student motivation. The outcomes of the reviewed studies helped the researchers to gain more insight in the complex instruments used to implement the project-based learning in order to motivate students (Rotgans & Schmidt 2012). The implications and possible improvements were discussed in detail by the researchers.
In another paper on PBL, Alves, Mesquita, and Fernandes (2012) evaluated the significance of teamwork within the framework of project-based learning. The researchers were also interested in discovering the strengths and weaknesses of working in teams on the basis of PBL among the students. In order to achieve this objective, Alves, Mesquita, and Fernandes (2012) used surveys and involved the students into group discussions in order to extend their findings. The surveys and discussions were conducted at the end of the semester, and the accent was put on the student motivation and project-based learning. The paper dwelled on a number of particular facts concerning the implementation of PBL and paid close attention to the aspects of explaining the key aspects of teamwork to the students and helping them to work together efficiently (Alves, Mesquita & Fernandes, 2012).
As the results of the study showed, the students were aware of the PBL methodology and understood the key principles of motivation and teamwork. The outcomes also proved that project-based learning is a rather comprehensive approach that can be used in a number of different situations (Alves, Mesquita & Fernandes, 2012). The researchers identified that PBL significantly increased the motivation to study in groups. The combination of teamwork and project-based learning triggered the development of transversal competences due to the fact that the students actively participated in the classes and shared tasks (Alves, Mesquita & Fernandes, 2012). The challenging experiences were seen by the students as development opportunities, and conflict management allowed the students to maintain a positive attitude. The researchers were able to identify that motivational aspects of PBL are limited by the formality of the roles within the team and the time spent to elaborate the projects (Alves, Mesquita & Fernandes, 2012).
Team-Based Pedagogy
In their 2011 study, Gallegos and Peeters stated that teamwork is one of the most important skills that should be developed by students. Similar to other studies in the field, the authors of this article supposed that exposure to TBL may activate the development of this skill. The authors of this study were interested in measuring the perception of teamwork among the students and then evaluate the outcomes by means of TBL pedagogy (Gallegos & Peeters 2011). In order to spot any transpiring changes, the students were required to fill in surveys at the end of the experiment. A special measurement model was employed to conceptualise the measures of student insights in compliance with the direct perception of teamwork (Gallegos & Peeters 2011). The results of the study displayed a necessity of implementing numerous changes in order to transform the students’ perception of working in teams and improve motivation.
Teamwork Improvements
In their research, Kyprianidou et al. explored the impact of teacher-controlled mixed group establishment on students’ work in teams and motivation to learn based on specific learning styles. A sample of 50 students contributed to the research represented by two vital organisational aspects. First, an online instrument was designed so as to assist the students in categorising their style of learning and splitting them into mixed groups (Kyprianidou et al. 2011). Second, several meetings were conducted so as to help the students identify their feeble and stout qualities and take on proper roles in their group (Kyprianidou et al. 2011). The researchers extensively questioned the importance of taking into consideration the students’ motivation that is in compliance with the learning style and establishment approach employed in the group. The research applied the qualitative method to record the outlooks of the students who participated in the experiment.
This was done in order to evaluate the impact of learning styles on group teamwork, motivation, and probable advantages and disadvantages connected to the grouping method based on the learning styles (Kyprianidou et al. 2011). The results of the study displayed that students progressively got rid of their early uncertainties concerning the novel formation methods. Consequently, the researchers found that the employment of these approaches was highly beneficial due to the fact that the mixture of styles within the group motivated the maintaining of heterogeneity in students’ opinions (Kyprianidou et al. 2011). Overall, the researchers proved that the implementation of methods based on learning styles could be simplified by special instruments designed to help to create mixed groups and additional group meetings. On a bigger scale, this was done to implement the diversity of learning styles in practice and motivate students to learn instead of simply labelling them (Kyprianidou et al. 2011).
The Role of Language
Various technological innovations present a novel way to motivate students to perform complex tasks in a laid-back manner (Campbell & Jane 2010). This research presents the evidence concerning the approaches that use language as the key instrument to motivate students. The findings of the study showed that the involvement and interest in tasks significantly improved motivation among the students (Campbell & Jane 2010). The study showed that the students were interested in several aspects of motivation – the entertainment factor triggered by the participation in various activities, the complexity factor related to the level of difficulty of proposed tasks, the fulfilment factor related to the accomplishment of the objectives, and the factor that takes into consideration the importance of teamwork and the obstructions connected to certain parts of the task (Campbell & Jane 2010). All these factors proved to be closely related to student motivation and contentment with the learning process.
Female vs. Male Students and IPE
Interprofessional education (IPE) became very popular, and numerous institutions incorporate it in their curricula (Wilhelmsson et al. 2011). The key objective of this study was to investigate the effects of different factors such as didactic programmes and syllabi design and the impact these aspects have on the students’ broadmindedness and motivation to collaborate with specialists from other professional fields (Wilhelmsson et al. 2011). The findings of the study displayed that female students were more open to group work than male students. Nonetheless, the tolerance toward working together with other professions was not on a high level if compared to the teamwork with the students of identical professions (Wilhelmsson et al. 2011). These beliefs were not affected by the educational process.
Improvement of Teaching Practices
In their research, Thoonen et al. (2011) explored the impact of teaching practices on learning process and student motivation. The researchers specify that there is little evidence concerning the fact that building school capacities would improve teaching practices (Thoonen et al. 2011). The study evaluated the virtual influence of different leadership styles, institutional conditions, and various motivational factors on teacher learning and teaching practices. The outcomes of the study showed that these factors have a critical impact on the teacher and his or her ability to motivate students (Thoonen et al. 2011). The research also showed that the teachers’ sense of self-worth was the most significant motivational aspect after teaching practices and teacher learning. Motivational factors also arbitrated the downsides of administrative conditions of the institutions and improved the impact of leadership styles on learning and teaching practices (Thoonen et al. 2011). The researchers stated that transformational leadership was the best option for school leaders. In that way, they could motivate students better and improve their teaching practices.
Faculty vs. Student Attitude towards Teamwork
Hoffman & Redman-Bentley’s study (2012) concentrated on the assessment of teamwork and collaboration inherent in nursing students. The results of the research showed that nursing students had a higher score than students from any other specialities (Hoffman & Redman-Bentley 2012). The researchers stated that further investigation of motivation and attitude towards teamwork was necessary. One of the key findings of the study was that students had more positive outlooks towards education and were more motivated than the faculty itself. Consequently, the authors of the research asserted that further research concerning the impact of faculty motivation on student motivation was necessary. Nonetheless, general variances were not substantial if we compared faculty and students (Hoffman & Redman-Bentley 2012). Development of interprofessional education activities was supposed to prompt interprofessional teamwork.
Methodology
The current research was conducted with the help of an extensive literature review. The investigator implemented the qualitative method to research the issue of teamwork motivation in students. The literature review was conducted due to the fact that the question of motivating the students to work in teams is rather complex and often confusing even for the teachers.
Data Collection
The literature review was conducted to collect the evidence that would help answer the two research questions set by the investigator (Rosen 2014). In addition, the investigator decided to review related questions as well (including the use of Web 2.0 applications to motivate the students, their attitude towards project-based learning, and much more). The author of this article was able to obtain extensive evidence concerning the teamwork motivation in the educational setting with the use of qualitative approach (Rosen 2014).
The literature review presented the information in a logical and consequential way. This helped the investigator to assess the obtained data and reach reasonable verdicts on the set research questions. Some of the articles were reviewed more thoroughly than the others in order to identify the patterns in teamwork motivation and the instruments that could be used to increase the morale of the students (Rosen 2014). All the reviewed literature is consistent with the given topic of discussion and provides an adequate amount of evidence necessary to draw reasoned conclusions concerning the motivational aspects of working in teams in the educational setting (Rosen 2014).
Data Analysis
The investigator used an inductive approach so as to perform the qualitative analysis of the obtained evidence. The findings of the study turned out to support the expectations of the investigator. Moreover, the research questions were successfully answered. The key finding of the study supported the supposition that teamwork had a major influence on both individual and group performance (Rosen 2014). Additionally, it was found that group learning was a preferred choice among the students in the case where they had to choose between individual and group learning. A similar pattern was acknowledged in online learning motivation where the students were highly motivated to work in groups and performed much better during group activities (Rosen 2014). It should also be noted that the use of project-based learning and various technical instruments (for instance, Web 2.0 applications) proved to be very effective and maintained the student motivation and interest towards the subject at a high level (Rosen 2014). Overall, the investigator’s expectations concerning the benefits of teamwork were confirmed and backed by the literature review.
Similarly, the literature review helped the investigator to answer the question of how to maintain teamwork in groups. The instruments studied in this research were able to interest the students and elicit the attitude of motivation (Rosen 2014). The behaviour displayed by the students also proved that teamwork produces a kind of competition among the members of a group. The effects of teamwork are mostly positive. Nonetheless, the investigator was able to make an observation that teamwork might adversely impact introverted individuals who were not involved in the group learning process (Rosen 2014). Another downside of teamwork consisted in the fact that the self-proclaimed leaders usually “stole” the responsibilities of the other members of the group and tried to do everything on their own. To put it briefly, the data obtained by the investigator provided all the information necessary to reach a verdict concerning the role of motivation in teamwork. In this case, the literature review served as a supportive instrument that helped the investigator gain more insight into the issue of motivation in education and different learning situations (Rosen 2014).
Conclusion
The current paper dwelled on the peculiarities of motivational aspects of education. The author of this article conducted a comprehensive literature review to identify the most important aspects of triggering motivation in the students and maintaining its effects. The key limitation of this study consists in the fact that it employed a qualitative approach. This constraint implies that no quantitative results can be obtained unless they are presented in the articles that are scrutinised by the investigator. Overall, the objectives of the research were accomplished, and the author was able to answer the specified research questions in a professional manner.
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