Myron H. Dembo, Ph.DEmeritus Professor of Educational Psychology

University of Southern Californiadembo@usc.edu

January 5, 2012Saddleback College

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Barriers and Solutions for Changing Students’ Motivation and Engagement for Learning

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GOAL THEORY

Students are motivated when they:

• have a goal they believe is achievable

• have the desire (reasonable effort) to attain the goal

• have a plan in place to attain the goal

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How one thinks about the self and the future

Hoped-for possible self we would like to become (e.g., teacher, attorney, professional athlete)

Feared possible self we wish to avoid becoming (e.g., a dropout, homeless, unemployed)

Expected possible self we are fairly sure we can become (e.g., college graduate)

Possible Selves

Discovering –What are my strengths and weaknesses?

Thinking – Who am I? What are my hopes and fears?

Sketching - What am I like? Reflecting – What can I be? Growing – How can I reach my goals? Performing – How am I doing?

Hock, M., Schumaker, J., & Deshler, D. (2003). Possible selves: Nurturing student motivation. Lawrence, Kansas: Edge Enterprises.

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Self-worth = ability = performanceSelf-worth = ability = performance

Self-worth is based on ability, BUT if one can demonstrate that his or her performance does not reflect on ability, then self-worth is maintained. This is why students often use failure-avoidance strategies.

Excuses, procrastination

Covington’s Self-Worth Theory(1992)

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Help seeking can imply inadequacy and threaten self-worth

Help seeking can expose learners to public scrutiny Students often fail to adequately judge their skills

level so they believe that they can succeed without assistance

Students incorrectly contribute their poor performance to a lack of ability rather than effort

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The ability of learners to control the factors or conditions affecting their learning.

“Learning is not something that happens to students, it is something that happens by

students.” - Zimmerman

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“It is not that students don’t have the ability to succeed. The problem is that they have not acquired all the tools necessary to learn.” Focus on learning strategies not learning styles.

Learning strategies

Motivation (Why?) Methods of learning (How?) Use of time (When?) Management of one’s physical environment

(Where?) Management of one’s social environment

(With whom?) Management of one’s performance (What?)

From Dembo, M., & Seli, H. (2008). Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success (3rd ed.). Mahway, NJ: Erlbaum

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What are students thinking about when they first enter your class?

What information are they looking for? What are your purposes and goals for the

first day? What do you do to attain these purposes

and goals? What do you think students say to each

other when they leave your class the first day.

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“A learning-centered syllabus requires that you shift from what you, the instructor are going to

cover in your course to a concern for what information, tools,

assignments, and activities you can provide to promote your

students’ learning and intellectual development” (p. xiv)

From O’Brien, J. et al. (2008). The course syllabus: A learning-centered approach. San Francisco: Wiley.

Instructor information Student information form Statement of teaching

philosophy Purpose of the course Course description Course objectives Readings Resources Course calendar Course requirements

Policy and expectations: Attendance, late papers, missed tests, and class behaviors

Policies and expectations: Academic honestly, disability access, and safety

Evaluation Grading procedure How to succeed in this

course: Tools for study and learning

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From O’Brien, J. et al. (2008). The course syllabus: A learning-centered approach. San Francisco: Wiley.

Checklist for Developing a Syllabus

Class attendance appears to be a better predictor of college grades than any other known predictor of college grades—including SAT scores, HSGPA, study skills, and the amount of time studying. In deed the relationship is so strong as to suggest that dramatic improvement in average grades (and failure rates) could be achieved by efforts to increase class attendance rates among college students .”(p. 288-289)

From Crede, Roch, & Kieszynka (2010) in the Review of Educational Research.

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Three stages of student action:1.Think. The instructor engages students’ thinking

with a question, prompt, reading, visual or observation.

2.Pair. Students pair up to discuss their respective responses.

3.Share. After students talk in pairs for a few moments, the teacher asks pairs to share their thinking with the rest of the class.

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Ask students to turn in a question about the readings in a box in from of the lecture room.

Plan your lecture around a series of questions that the lecture answers

Turn-to-your partner discussions. Divide the lecture into 10 to 15 minute segments. Use different discussion tasks:

Summarize the answer to the question being discussed

Solve a problemGive a reaction to the theory, concepts, or

information being presented.Elaborate the material being presented.Predict or explainAttempt to resolve the conceptual conflict the

presentation has aroused.Hypothesize answers to the question being posed.

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Barrier #1: Students’ lack personal and career goals

Barrier # 2: Problems with students’ self-worth and fear of failure

Barrier #3: Students’ lack self-regulatory skills

Barrier #4: Some inappropriate instruction

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