1. Value for Learning: Finding Meaning and Purpose at School
LEARNING MINDSETS SESSION 4
Value for Learning: Finding Meaning and Purpose at School

2. “Why can't I lead a nation to peace
“Why can't I lead a nation to peace? Why must we make everything about ourselves? The most generous act is still a selfish deed for your own satisfaction.”
EVIN ORFILA, Graduate, Liberation Diploma Plus High School
Evin Orfila, Student, Liberation Diploma Plus High School
Source: NYC Transfer School Conference (2014)

3. Objectives:
Understand the four types of value for learning: intrinsic, utility, attainment, and prosocial
Explore strategies and practices to promote value for learning in high school classrooms

4. Listen to One Student’s Experience:
As you hear Evin’s story, circle moments you hear evidence that he was finding value in education. 1

5. Share Insights:
Where did Evin discuss, either explicitly or implicitly, the sense of value he felt for his own learning?
How did he cultivate value for learning?
What role do you think his school and teachers played in that? 2

6. Explore Value Mindset Research:
As you read the Value Mindset Research Brief, annotate ideas that resonate with you and questions you’d like to discuss.
Type of Value
Definition
Student Response
 Intrinsic
A student’s interest and curiosity in engaging in a task and their perception of the pleasure they would obtain from it
This is so interesting!
Utility
The usefulness that a particular task has to furthering a student’s career goals or their aspirations
This will help me!
Attainment
The degree to which the student believes that completing a task would match his or her identity and confirm their perceived competence in a specific area
This shows I’m talented!
Prosocial
How much a student perceives a task would benefit others
This will help me do good! 3

7. Discuss in Pairs: How have you helped students to value learning?
In what ways have you worked to “catch” and “hold” student interest?
How have you seen prosocial value emphasized in classrooms?
Often people who teach in a subject have a sense of intrinsic value of that subject. How is this a barrier and how is it a benefit to students? 4

8. Activities for Building Value:
Launch a lesson with an approach that generates intrinsic interest: demonstration, storytelling, video, or thought-provoking questions. ?
Catch with Curiosity
Saying is Believing
Feedback to Mastery
Real-Life Learning 5

9. Activities for Building Value:
Ask students to write about what they have been learning with the purpose of: giving advice to other students, telling other students why it is valuable, or thinking of how it can be valuable to a family member. ?
Catch with Curiosity
Saying is Believing
Feedback to Mastery
Real-Life Learning 5

10. Activities for Building Value:
Look at the Common Core Standards and pick one writing, reading, or math skill that is relevant to your lesson or unit. Identify a specific way in which a specific student has shown that they can perform that skill. Ask the student to talk about how that skill is part of who they are and how they express themselves. ?
Catch with Curiosity
Saying is Believing
Feedback to Mastery
Real-Life Learning 5

11. Activities for Building Value:
Bring information into class about various jobs and college majors that come after graduation. Then poll your students about what topics and jobs sound most interesting to them. Find a way to connect one of the top vote- getters to a lesson in which students can learn more about the tasks associated with those jobs or majors through texts, visuals, or by developing questions. ?
Catch with Curiosity
Saying is Believing
Feedback to Mastery
Real-Life Learning 5

12. Review Activities:
Consider a student who would benefit from improvement in value mindset (and will likely be in class next week).
Pick one approach that you are already doing in your classroom and note how and whether your use of it has affected that student.
Pick one that you can try next week and note how you predict it will affect that student. ?
Catch with Curiosity
Saying is Believing
Feedback to Mastery
Real-Life Learning 5

13. Share Plans: What is one thing that you will try in the next week?
What do you predict will happen? 6

14. Learning Wrap-Up Reflect on what you learned today.
How do your takeaways compare to the session’s Learning Objectives? How were these objectives addressed today?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Understand the four types of value for learning: intrinsic, utility, attainment, and prosocial
Explore strategies and practices to promote value for learning in high school classrooms 7

15. What’s next?
Learn more about the importance of value for learning in engaging students
Understand the impact of learning mindsets on students’ experiences in school
Analyze strategies to promote a sense of belonging in the classroom
Develop a plan for supporting student development of learning mindsets in an upcoming lesson or school initiative
Explore additional activities for cultivating value for learning for students 8