1. Motivating Students to Reach their Potential
Day 2
C. Anne Gutshall
College of Charleston

2. Please Remember to Ask Questions

3. Stop, Consider and Discuss
What does a motivated kid look like? What does an unmotivated kid look like?

4. Is there consensus?
Are descriptions behaviors, personality traits, study habits?

5. DEFINITIONS from the research
Motivation- drive to do something
Motivation to Learn-A student’s tendency to find academic activities meaningful and worthwhile and to try to derive the intended academic benefits from them (Brophy, 1988, 205).

6. Common Theoretical Perspectives on Motivation
1. Behavioral
2. Cognitive/ Social Cognitive

7. Inherent Assumption of Behaviorist Models
All student behavior is motivated by extrinsic forces that the teacher can shape and control with rewards and consequences
In schools, there is typically an emphasis on the behavioral perspective ( ie. Grades, points, tickets)

8. 2. Cognitive and social Cognitive theories
Student behavior and motivation is determined by student beliefs and expectations in a social environment

9. A summary Equation
Motivating students to reach their potential is seen as the product of 3 forces:
Expectancy x Valence x Climate= Motivation
(Vroom, Feather, Bandura and others)

10. In classrooms, Students
Routinely ask themselves the following 3 questions:
Can I do it? (expectancy)
Is it worth it? (valence)
Am I safe? (climate)

11. Can I do It ? Is it worth it? Am I safe?
Can I do it? Related to mindset, Self Efficacy, task clarity, past experiences, local of control
Is it worth it? Related to enjoyment of task, extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, goals, predictability of environment
Am I safe? Related to relationships, predictability, emotional consistency, respectful environments

12. This morning our focus is on:
Can I do it? ( academic mindset)
Am I safe? (culturally relevant pedagogy)

13. Carol Dweck- Stanford University
What we believe about our abilities influences our motivation- the “Can I do it” part of the equation.
We all have implicit beliefs about our ability (growth, fixed). Commonly referred to mindset

14. So, what is mindset?
The extent to which you believe that your intellectual ability can be grown through effort and persistence versus the idea that you are just as smart as you will ever be
EX…”I am not a math person”…versus…”math takes more effort from me”

15. Agree or Disagree
You have a certain amount of intelligence and you really cant do much to change it
You can learn new things but you cant really change your basic intelligence
Your intelligence is something about you that you cannot change very much

16. Dweck and others Puzzles (Mueller and Dweck)
Middle School Kids (Blackwell, Triesneiwski and Dweck)
Univeristy of Chicago…IQ test with moms
Consider how you convey your beliefs
“you’re so smart” (fixed)
“Wow, you worked so hard and learned so much”

17. Practical Application fixed and growth mindsets

18. The power of “Yet”
&p=carol+dweck,+the+power+of+yet
Dweck “ enjoy effort, seek challenge, be intrigued by mistakes”

19. Research suggests….
That student mindsets can be changed to promote resilience…or “good outcomes in spite of serious threats to adaptation or development” ( Masten, , Yeager and Dweck, 2012).

20. (expectation)Goal Orientations (pintrich and Schunk, 2002)
Approach focus
Avoidance focus
Mastery (growth)
mastering the task, learning understanding
Avoiding misunderstanding or not mastering the task
Performance
(fixed)
Being superior, winning, being the best
Avoiding looking stupid or avoiding losing

21. Mindset influences on Learner Attributes
(Adapted from Yeager and Dweck, 2012)
Fixed mindset
Growth mindset
goals
Look smart
learn
Value of effort, help and strategies
higher
lower
Response to challenge
Tendency to give up
Work harder

22. Additional Brief interventions to change student mindsets
Wilson and Linville, 1982
First year college students struggling academically……..
Treatment- students watched videos of upper level students describing how their grades were low at first but improved over time.
Control watched videos of upper level students talking about social and academic interests.
At end 80% less likely to drop out, higher GREs and higher GPA

23. Good et al, 2003
Middle school students who received weekly mentoring s describing a growth mindset over the year showed significantly higher math and verbal achievement scores than middle school students randomly assigned to a control group.

24. Social Psychological Interventions in Education: They are not Magic ( Yeager and Walton, 2011)

25. Applications to schools
Encourage individual growth over time (personal best)
Encourage deep practice as school culture
Highlight learners who set challenging personal goals for learning
Showcase teachers and students who struggled at first, but persisted, and overcame difficulty
Praise process over intelligence or ability (Mueller & Dweck)
Teach your learners basic neuroscience…the idea that brains are dynamic and that no brain is “done”( Blackwell, Triezneiski and Dweck).
Make your classroom a place where mistakes are an expected part of learning and that effort is evidence that neuronal connections are being developed.
Be careful not to praise “Getting done quickly”, convey that deep learning can be effortful and take time

26. Stop and Consider and Discuss
When we consider our students “at risk”, or “below grade level”, what mindset are we promoting?
How might our schools operate differently if we were less concerned with “getting kids caught up” and more concerned with “growing skills, capacities and talent”?

27. It turns out that Academic Mindset…
Is part of a larger framework called the Non- Cognitive Factors
Non-Cognitive Factors encompass individual “behaviors, skills, attitudes, and strategies that are crucial to academic performance in their classes “ ( Farrington et. al, 2012)

28. Non Cognitive Factors 1. ACADEMIC MINDSETS 2. ACADEMIC PERSEVERANCE
3. ACADEMIC BEHAVIORS
4. LEARNING STRATEGIES
5. SOCIAL SKILLS
(Farrington et. al, 2012)

29. Academic Mindsets My ability and competence grow with my effort
I belong in this academic community
My ability and competence grow with my effort
I can succeed at this
This work has value to me

30. What does this sound like?

31. Academic Perseverance
Angela Duckworth and Martin Seligman
The degree to which students stay focused on long term goals despite obstacles
GRIT
Lee-Duckworth-P
……………….Next time 

32. In conclusion
“Decades of research have shown that students’ self motivational beliefs such as self- efficacy, task interest and achievement goal orientation (growth vs fixed) are important predictors of motivated behaviors (effort) and academic outcomes.” (Cleary, Gubi and Prescott, 2011)

33. Stop and Consider…discuss
How can our traditional behavioral methods in schools ( ie. Stickers, praise, tickets) be enhanced or used differently given the research on academic mindsets, academic perseverance in order to encourage talent and skill growth and development?

34. Goal Setting Activity
Set a goal for yourself and your teaching this year related to what you have learned about student motivation, mindset beliefs.

35. Thank you! Email me…………………..gutshalla@cofc.edu
Read more? Mindset- Carol Dweck