Motivation and styles of learning have been proven to affect success in school.
However, each individual brings her or his own strengths, weaknesses, preferences, gender and learning style to the classroom. In this light, this essay will discuss the many factors that influence motivation and accommodate different learning styles.
A co-operative learning strategy can be used to emphasise co-operation rather than competition in learning. This strategy involves joint participation by all members of a group in achieving a learning goal where each member contributes to the learning process (Santrock, 1998). In recent years studies have found that co-operative learning is associated with enhanced student outcomes, including increase in self-esteem, better academic performance, friendships among classmates and improved interethnic perceptions (Santrock, 1998). Another technique, the "Jigsaw Classroom," has also been successful in changing the setting of classrooms, without changing curriculum, from unequal competition to co-operation among equals. This technique accomplishes this goal by breaking students up into five groups consisting of six students each, where each group is as equal as possible in ethnic composition and achievement level. …
