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6. Engage: Developing Your Personal and Academic Motivation (Chapter 2)

In Class Assignment: Academic Success Self Evaluation.docx This is great for the midpoint in the semester to have students check on their progress.  

Day 1

Warm-up/Priming Our Brains for Learning: 
  • Provide 5 minutes for students to scan the reading and write down 3-4 questions they could ask that would cover the main points. Ask for volunteers to share the questions and write them on the white board. OR
  • Ask students to make a list of three things that motivate them and three things that hinder their motivation. Then look at the list and decide which are extrinsic or intrinsic motivators.
Types of Motivation Mini-Lecture
o Our motivation is driven by internal and external factors. 
  • Intrinsic or internal motivation is when you engage in an activity for its own sake or it is “energy inside of you pushing you to go after what you want.” Many hobbies are internally motivated such as people who spend hours playing music, creating art, playing video games, etc. and there is no “reward” except the enjoyment they receive from the activity.
  • External motivation is when there are “external forces or people causing you to do something.” (pg. 33) This might be a parent, spouse/partner or boss pushing you and fear of a consequences could be involved (e.g. getting fired) or it could be that you are motivated by external rewards such as praise and a muscular appearance. This is quite common with kids. We give them candy and stickers when they do what we want.
o Let's look at an example. Let’s suppose we have two friends that hit the gym after classes. 
  1. Maria heads to a spinning class. She is motivated to be fit for a high school reunion. She keeps going because others are watching her and there is an instructor that might pick on her. 
  2. Fred heads to the treadmill. He enjoys running and often talks about how good energetic he feels after each run. Maria and Fred are motivated to work out but their motivation is derived from different sources.
  • Who has internal motivation and who has external motivation?   
o Let’s apply motivation to college. What are ways students might be externally motivated?   Internally motivated? 
  • A student might be externally motivated to study hard for a test because they want to have a high grade in the class, impress their teacher, family, partner, etc., prove that someone was wrong about their intelligence. 
  •  A student might be internally motivated to study hard for a test because they really enjoy the subject and want to demonstrate their understanding of it.
o Which type of motivation is best for learning? Do students learn better when they enjoy the content or can they learn just as well if their goal is external such as to please someone else or have a high grade? 
  • Researchers have found that working on a task for internal or intrinsic reasons is not only more enjoyable but also relates positively to learning, achievement and perceptions of competence. Let’s explore how you can enhance your intrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic Motivational Strategies
o Have you ever questioned why you need to take a certain class or have no motivation? 'Why do I have to learn algebra or English composition, I'm never going to use this stuff after college!' What can you do to find or enhance your internal motivation?

o Daniel Pink “The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdzHgN7_Hs8 (5.11 min) Ask students to take notes on what each of the terms mean – autonomy, mastery and purpose. After the video, have them partner up and brainstorm ways that they can increase their internal motivation in classes. This might lead to comments related to the concepts in the textbook which you can point out such as optimism, striving for excellence, knowing how the task relates to your personal values, Maslow’s Esteem Needs and Self Actualization, etc.

Introducing Vision Board Assignment
  • Show the video - Ted Talk - Patti Dobrowolski Draw Your Future https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zESeeaFDVSw (10.34 min) Explain that you are asking them to imagine possibilities for their vision board assignment and how this is a strategy for increasing internal motivation.
  • At the end of class, ask the students if any of their questions were unanswered from the content of class.
Grit

  • Grit Walk Activity:  My Grit Walk.docx
    • Grit is defined by psychologist, Angela Duckworth and her colleagues as ““We define grit as passion for long-term goals. Grit entails working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress. The gritty individual approaches achievement as a marathon; his or her advantages as stamina.”
    • Think about one of the biggest accomplishments you have achieved so far in your life. You likely needed to overcome barriers or obstacles to reach your goal. Reflect on the obstacles and what it felt like to achieve this goal through the grit walk.
    • Have students partner up to share their grit walk with another students and ask for them to share out to the entire class.
    • End with saying "Your grit walk is visual representation of yourself as a gritty person. You often need to be gritty to even walk through the doors of Aims and even more gritty to finish what you start. The key to college success is persistence towards a goal over a long period of time. It takes grit to complete a college degree.
o Ticket Out the Door/One Minute Paper: Ask students to answer the following questions: What did you learn today? What does it mean for you? What are you going to do with the new information or understanding?


Day 2

Warm-up/Round-robin Sharing: 
  • Ask students to describe the kind of day/week they are having in weather terms (e.g. rainy, sunny, cloudy, etc.). Go around the room and have each student share the word. This helps to take the temperature of the room.
Mini-Lecture on Mindset or show the video - The Power of Belief: Mindset & Success
Video
1. Who is the researcher of mindset and why did she decide to research the topic?
2. What is a mindset?
3. What is a fixed mindset – belief and behavior?
4. What is a growth mindset – belief and behavior?
5. How can you change your mindset?

Mini-Lecture
  • Background information: Carol Dweck, Stanford University Psychology Professor was fascinated when she noticed how could children and adults could differ in their reaction and response to struggling while learning something new that was hard for them (such as a difficult puzzle). Some became discouraged, questioning their ability and others were strangely fueled to work harder. She sought out to understand her observation and through her research discovered that it was a person’s mindset that made the difference. She published her findings in a book “Mindset: The new psychology of success”
o Let’s explore what she found.
  • A mindset is a view of your own intelligence, personality, character and abilities. Dr. Dweck found there to be two different ones and coined the terms – fixed and growth mindset. These differ in terms of the belief of the mindset and the resulting behavior.
o Belief of the Fixed Mindset:
  • They believe intelligence/abilities are “carved in stone” or fixed traits. You are either smart or talented in a given area or you’re not (not really changeable).
  • They think that great performance or high ability is the result of being intelligent or talented (natural ability).
  • If you struggle or have to put in a lot of effort, it means that you must lack the intelligence or abilities
o Behavior of a Fixed Mindset:
  • Avoid challenges
  • Give up easily when faced with obstacles
  • See effort as fruitless or worse
  • Ignore criticism or useful negative feedback
  • Feel threatened by the success of others.
o Belief of the Growth Mindset:
  • They believe your intelligence/ability grows as you add new knowledge and skills.
  • You become smart or talented through practice and effort to continually improve. It is a process.
o Behavior of the Growth Mindset
  • Embrace challenges
  • Persist in the face of obstacles
  • See effort as the path to mastery
  • Learn from criticism
  • Find lessons and inspiration in the success of others
This is a quote from a student after learning about the growth mindset and how it can be life-changing.
“Until learning about the research by Carol Dweck on fostering a growth mindset, I was sinking into that familiar dark hole of fear of failure, and was ready to quit college. The fixed mindset has not only hindered me most of my life, but it has debilitated me, leaving me emotionally and psychologically crippled. Immobilized, I was unable to move forward in learning and growing. Embracing the growth mindset has not only encouraged me, but has offered me a whole new outlook on my life as an individual, a spouse, and life for my children. I feel re-born! I am a new person practically overnight. I cannot stop talking to my family and friends about this growth mindset concept. For the first time I can see a world of new possibilities ahead.”

o Activity: Write Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset on the white board provided space below. Pair up students and provide them a couple slips of paper with the following statements (with an enlarged font size so they are easier to read). Ask them to discuss what mindset of the person saying the statement might be – either growth or fixed. Have them tape it on the white board under the titles Growth Mindset or Fixed Mindset. Have everyone pass through to see how they are divided and if they think any are not correct.  Alternatively, you can print out the card sort and have students sort the statements. Mindset Cardsort.docx

1. You can’t really change your intelligent you are.
2. Some people are just born smart.
3. You can actually get more intelligent over time.
4. Hard work is how you become successful.
5. I haven’t mastered this concept yet.
6. I like to hear about other people’s successes because this inspires me.
7. I compare my score to those of my friends and if theirs are higher, I feel bad.
8. It’s best to take risks and challenge yourself, even if you’re not sure you can do it.
9. Not one in my family is good at ____________.
10. It’s best to do things you know how to do.
11. I’m always being judged and evaluated and I have to try to appear smart.
12. Intelligence may be partly inherited, but it is also influenced strongly by the environment
13. If someone criticizes me, it means they think I’m not good enough.
14. I’m always finding opportunities to learn something new.
15. When someone criticizes me, it means they think I can do better.

Then, review the answers.

1. You can’t really change your intelligent you are. (fixed)
2. Some people are just born smart. (fixed)
3. You can actually get more intelligent over time. (growth)
4. Hard work is how you become successful. (growth)
5. I haven’t mastered this concept yet. (growth)
6. I like to hear about other people’s successes because this inspires me. (growth)
7. I compare my score to those of my friends and if theirs are higher, I feel bad. (fixed)
8. It’s best to take risks and challenge yourself, even if you’re not sure you can do it. (growth)
9. Not one in my family is good at ____________. (fixed)
10. It’s best to do things you know how to do. (fixed)
11. I’m always being judged and evaluated and I have to try to appear smart. (fixed)
12. Intelligence may be partly inherited, but it is also influenced strongly by the environment. (growth)
13. If someone criticizes me, it means they think I’m not good enough. (fixed)
14. I’m always finding opportunities to learn something new. (growth)
15. When someone criticizes me, it means they think I can do better. (growth)

o Personalizing Mindset Reflection
  • We are on a spectrum regarding our mindset. Share personal stories of how you have had a fixed mindset about your ability and a growth mindset about your ability. Ask students to do the following. 1. Brainstorm times in your life when you’ve had a “fixed mindset” about your ability/intelligence in an area and those when you had a “growth mindset.” These could be in the present and/or in the past.
  •  What classes do you have now or will take in future semesters that you might have a fixed mindset about your abilities?
o Changing Your Mindset

  • Learn to hear your fixed mindset “voice” and talk back to yourself with a growth mindset “voice.”
    • Example: Your fixed mindset voice says “Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don’t have the intelligence or talent.” Talk back with a growth mindset voice saying “I can’t do it yet. But I can learn and improve with effort and the right instruction.”
    • Your fixed mindset voice says “What if I fail? I’ll be a failure, look stupid, etc.” Talk back with a growth mindset voice saying “Failure and learning from mistakes can be part of the learning process. They are just feedback that can help you to improve. Most successful people have had failures along the way.”
o Changing to a Growth Mindset Practice
  • Write a statement that you might say from a fixed mindset for one of the classes that you brainstormed.
    • Example: “I’m not good at math.”
    • Re-phrase your statement in growth mindset language.
    • Example: “I’m not good at math… yet. My skills can become better with effort. I need to find out what am I missing in my practice and/or instruction to improve?”
o Meet the Robinsons Movie Clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=55&v=TNXr5Alytg4. Explain how when Lewis tried to fix a gadget but fails, he is so sad and down. But the rest of the Robinsons family cheer him up instead. Telling him not to give up but to "Keep Moving Forward". This is what we want to do for ourselves as well as others.


Day 3

Warm-up/Think Pair Share: 
  • Question - ‘Think about something you now do well that used to be a weakness. How did this change take place?” Hopefully this will lead to them understanding that they needed to practice, persist through failures/mistakes, etc. Discuss how public speaking is a skill and ask students to practice having a growth mindset if they are nervous to speak in front of the class.
Vision Board Presentations
  • Have students sign up for an order on the white board. This helps to lessen anxiety rather than coming up with the order as you go.
  • Provide students slips of papers to write a positive or encouraging comment to their classmates that present. After each presentation, collect the papers and staple them. This can keep students engaged while others are presenting and they enjoy reading the comments from their peers.
  • If time, end class with asking everyone to share one way that the vision board assignment was meaningful to them.

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