Building Students’ Motivation and Self-Efficacy Through Collaborative Brainstorming CATESOL 2015 Conference November 14, 2015 Presenter: Vickie Mellos San Diego State University San Diego Miramar College

Outline 1.Provide background information 2.Try 3 activities 3.Discuss applications to your classroom

Scaffolding Can too much scaffolding be bad? o Can scaffolds sometimes rob students of agency? o Do they stifle originality of thought? o What happens when the scaffolds are removed? Can they successfully complete writing tasks independently?

ZPD Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky, 1978) o It is “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level or potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.”

ZPD Misconception that ZPD is the same thing as scaffolding or assisted performance (Lantolf and Thorne, 2007). o Scaffolding: any type of adult-child (expert-novice) assisted performance o “In such expert-novice interactions, the goal is to complete the task rather than to help the child develop, and therefore the task is usually carried out through other-regulation, whereby the adult controls the child’s performance instead of searching for opportunities to relinquish control to the child.” o “One of Vygotsky’s most important findings is that learning collaboratively with others, particularly in instructional settings, precedes and shapes development.”

The Formula “The Five-paragraph Essay and the Deficit Model of Education” (Brannon et al., 2008) o “Teachers believe that they are required to provide constant structure, scaffolding every aspect of the writing process for students…” o “Most students never experience the power of their ideas or the structuring of them within a larger conversation, never get the chance to use writing to think, feel, and wonder.”

Motivation Factors that play a role in learner motivation in the classroom: o Self-efficacy o Interest in the subject o Appraised task value o Goal orientedness o Control over the learning process o Perceived novelty and pleasantness (Vanniarajan, 2010/11). “Learners constantly appraise the learning environment both cognitively and emotionally to decide on their level of participation” (Vanniarajan, 2010/11).

Collaboration One way we can encourage student autonomy and motivation is through collaborative student-led activities.

Activities Origins: o San Diego Area Writing Project (SDWAP) Invitational Summer Institute, 2014 Let’s try them out!

See handout 1.Brainstorm Carousel 2.Block Party 3.Affinity Mapping

Brainstorm Carousel 1.Create groups of 4-5 students 2.Begin at designated poster. 3.Designate an “author” for the group for poster 1 and switch authors every poster; bring your group’s marker with you. 4.As a group work together to brainstorm answers to the question on the poster; work until the timer goes off (1-2 min). 5.If you agree with previous groups’ answer, place a check mark next to it rather than the same answer; each group must contribute something. 6.Rotate clockwise until your group has responded to all questions.

Brainstorm Carousel 1.Ways mobile technology improves our lives 2.Ways mobile technology negatively affects us 3.Reasons students should use their cell phones or tablets in class 4.Reasons students should not use their cell phones or tablets in class 5.Reasons to love selfies 6.Reasons to hate selfies

Other applications How can you apply the brainstorm carousel to your own classroom?

Block Party Find a quote or idea in each of the readings that stood out to you. Write a paraphrase or copy the quote. Then write notes below it explaining why the quote made an impression on you. (12-15 min) Yellow—“The Meanings of the Selfie” Turquoise—“The Documented Life” by Sherry Turkle Green—“My Selfie, Myself” by Jenna Wortham

Block Party Round 1: Yellow (5 min) o Find 4 people—introduce yourself, explain what you found, thank each other by name o You can ask follow-up questions. Round 2: Turquoise (4 min) o Find 3 different people—introduce yourself, explain what you found, thank each other by name o You can ask follow-up questions Round 3: Green (3 min) o Find 2 different people—introduce yourself, explain what you found, thank each other by name o You can ask follow-up questions

Other applications How can you apply the block party activity to your own classroom?

Affinity Mapping – Step 1 Step 1: Find ideas in the readings. (12 minutes) What are some important issues regarding the increase of mobile technology and selfies? Search the readings for ideas related to the question above. Write the idea on a post-it. It can be a summary, paraphrase, or quote. Use one post-it for each idea. Find 6-8 ideas.

Affinity Mapping – Step 2 Step 2: Create groups & put post-its on paper (5 min) Split into groups (of 3-5). In silence, put all post-it notes on the chart paper.

Affinity Mapping – Step 3 Step 3: Organize ideas by natural categories (5-8 min) While you remain silent, organize ideas by “natural” categories. Which ideas go together? As long as you do not talk, feel free to move any post-it note to any place. Move yours, and those of others, and feel free to do this. Do not be offended if someone moves yours to a place that you think it does not belong, just move it to where you think it does belong — but do this all in silence.

Affinity Mapping – Step 4 Step 4: Organize and Name Categories (5-8 min) Once your group has settled on categories, place post-it notes organize them into neat columns. At this point, talk about the categories and come up with a name for each one.

Affinity Mapping – Step 5 Step 5: Report to the class (10 min) Pick a “spokesperson” to report your ideas to the larger group. After all the groups present, discuss the connections between each group’s responses and categories: o What themes emerged? Were there any surprises? o What ideas are missing from our “maps”? o What position are you leaning towards?

Other applications How can you apply affinity mapping to your own classroom?

Thank you! Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Vickie Mellos

References Brannon, L. et al. (2008). The five-paragraph essay and the deficit model of education. English Journal, 98(2), Lantolf, J.P. & Thorne, S.L. (2007). Sociocultural theory and second language learning. In B. VanPatten & j. Williams (Eds.), Theories in Second Language Acquisition (pp ). Mahwah, NJ: Routledge. Vanniarajan, S.M. (2010/2011). An interview study of learner motivation and learner involvement in mandatory college-level academic writing classes. CATESOL Journal, 22(1), Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes (Ed. By M. Cole, V. John- Steiner, S.Scribner, & E. Souberman). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wiley, M. (2000). The popularity of formulaic writing (and why we need to resist). English Journal, 90(1), 61–67.