Proceedings of The 4th International Conference on Research in Teaching and Education
Year: 2021
DOI:
Cognitive Closure as A Factor in Perceived Learning and Motivation
Dr. Jaime Cará Junior
ABSTRACT:
We carried out an experiment with the objective of measuring the effect that the promotion of a higher or lower level of cognitive closure in an English as an Additional Language class can have on motivation and perceived learning. It involved 195 students and produced evidence that promoting a higher level of cognitive closure to student’s increases motivation by 9 percentage points and perceived learning by 17. The experiment did not control for the students’ Need for Closure Scale, which seems to be a promising avenue for future research since this effect is likely to be particularly (or even solely) present for people scoring higher in the Need for Closure Scale (NFCS). At the same time, we recognise a critical inconsistency in the NFCS regarding its assumed continuum. These results might open a realm of possibilities for classroom practices to promote student engagement and for Education businesses to increase retention rates.
Keywords: cognitive closure; motivation; perceived learning; English as an Additional Language.