Psychological Barriers to Student Engagement Paul Charpentier

Today’s Agenda  Introductions  Classroom Behaviors  2 Theoretical Perspectives  And if time permits - Andragogy vs. Pedagogy

Procrastination  To purposely and needlessly delay starting or finishing an activity

I have not yet begun to procrastinate! Do you procrastinate? Why?

Why Procrastinate  Fear of failure  Task aversion  Lack of self-determined motivation  Lack of flow

Self-handicapping  Barriers to success created or claimed prior to performance

Why Self-handicap  Psychological Immune System and academic self-concept

Stereotype Threat  The fear of confirming a stereotype for yourself or others

Stereotype Threat  We need not believe in a stereotype to be threatened by it

Avoidance of Difficult Material  Why do some students enjoy a challenge and others do all they can to avoid it?

Discussion  Have you seen some of these behaviors in your classroom and what have you done about them?

2 Theories Theories of Intelligence & Self Determination Theory

Theories of intelligence  Carol Dweck  A student’s view of the nature of intelligence correlates with behavior that either engages them in learning and challenges or tend to make them disengage from learning and avoid challenges

Theories of intelligence  Fixed vs. malleable intelligence

Theories of intelligence  The role of praise  Link to attribution theory

Self-Determination Theory  Deci and Ryan  If we feel capable of performing an activity and we value the outcome, then we will be motivated to perform that activity

Self-Determination Theory  Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic motivation  The role of rewards Tangible Verbal  Provision of choice  Approach to difficult material

Discussion Question  Do the insights from these 2 theories change how you would act when confronted with the behaviors discussed today?

Andragogy vs. Pedagogy Malcolm Knowles