madalena santos's Profile

Leont'ev (1978) asserted that activity is always
multimotivational.

…activity necessarily becomes multimotivational, that is, it
responds to two or more motives. After all, the actions of a man [sic]
objectively always realize a certain collectiveness of relationships: toward
society and toward the person himself. Thus, work activity is socially motivated
but is directed also toward such motives as, let us say, material reward (p.
123).

It’s the classic kid classroom comeback: When am I ever going to need to use
(fill in the blank here—algebra, persuasive writing, physics…) in my life?

Sasha
Barab and his colleagues at Indiana University have found a way to combat
that attitude. They have created a virtual world where middle school students
can make a real difference—while learning about math, history, or ethics. Barab
and his Quest Atlantis team might just
be the “Sneaky Chef” of the classroom.