Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
MSL 6412 2011
Encouraging students to persist
• Ames (1992) and Dweck (2000) categorized students’ approaches in terms of whether they hold either mastery goals or performance goals.
MSL 6412 2011
Students with mastery goals:
• Learning and trying hard for its own sake• Such students
– tend to have a resilient response to failure;– remain focused on mastering skills and knowledge
even when challenged; – do not see failure as an indictment on themselves;
and – believe that effort leads to success.
MSL 6412 2011
Students with performance goals:
• Wanting to do well to please others• Such students
– seek success but mainly on tasks with which they are familiar;
– avoid or give up quickly on challenging tasks; – derive their perception of ability from their
capacity to attract recognition; and – feel threats to self worth when effort does not
lead to recognition.
MSL 6412 2011
Some results from my research
• Student persistence• A largish survey• Some interventions
MSL 6412 2011
7.3.1 Student persistence
MSL 6412 2011
• 52 year 8 students from various secondary schools in and around Bendigo
• Students completing a questionnaire and undertaking up to six hierarchical tasks in a one-on-one interview
• After completion of each task students were taken through a protocol of questions relating to that task
• There were 3 English tasks and six maths tasks.
• There were six maths tasks.• All tasks related to the Measurement strand
of the CSF.• The tasks were hierarchical. • Each interview ceased after completion of
protocol for an incorrect answer, concluding questions and vignette.
About the Mathematical Tasks
Mathematics Example: What is the area of this shape?
MSL 6412 2011
The fourth area task …
The fifth area task …
MSL 6412 2011
Nearly all students were willing to:
• persevere in some circumstances• struggle with problems • overcome difficulties that they were
experiencing
MSL 6412 2011
• frequently expressed a desire to be challenged in their school work.
• often expressed the view that if they tried hard in class they would be criticised or even ostracised by their peers.
• felt that the absence of a challenge was one of the reasons for their lack of satisfaction at school.
• often sought external validation for their efforts.
MSL 6412 2011
In a survey
MSL 6412 2011
Factors influencing learningMeanMean
Learning at school is importantLearning at school is important 5.965.96
Often the main reason I work well Often the main reason I work well at school is that I want to please my at school is that I want to please my parentsparents
4.654.65
Often the main reason I work well Often the main reason I work well at school is that the schoolwork at school is that the schoolwork interests meinterests me
3.623.62
MSL 6412 2011
Student ranking of influencing factors
• I want my parents to be proud of my achievement at school
• I want to understand the meaning of the things I am learning.
• I want to see the connection between what I am learning now and my future.
• I want to get the school work finished quickly.• I want my teachers to think I am doing well.• I want my friends to think that I am smart
MSL 6412 2011
Influences on effort
MeanMean
Sometimes I don't try hard at Sometimes I don't try hard at schoolwork so I have an excuse if I schoolwork so I have an excuse if I don't do so welldon't do so well
2.632.63
People are either good at school People are either good at school work or not. They cannot get better work or not. They cannot get better by tryingby trying
2.112.11
If I have enough time, I can do well If I have enough time, I can do well in my schoolworkin my schoolwork
5.615.61
MSL 6412 2011
… other students
MeanMean
In school I try my hardest no In school I try my hardest no matter what the other students matter what the other students saysay
4.984.98
In my class, … some students In my class, … some students don't try hard because they are don't try hard because they are afraid of what other people might afraid of what other people might think think
5.455.45
MSL 6412 2011
Some patterns among students• Self (and parent) motivated (n=88)
– This group has the lowest scores on class influences, they are least performance orientated, strong parental influences, below mean on peer and teacher influence, strong capability, below mean interest
• Positively motivated but needing affirmation by significant others (n=78)– This group is most influenced by parents and teachers, they have both
the strongest performance and mastery orientations, they are only slightly influenced by peers,.
• Strongly peer influenced (n=98)– Strongest class peer influence, strong performance orientation, below
mean on classroom climate, parental influence and mastery orientation, just about mean on teacher influence
• Don’t care much (n=59)– Lowest by a long way on parent and class influence, lowest on
mastery and performance orientation and teacher influence, most positive classroom climate.
MSL 6412 2011
An intervention
MSL 6412 2011
Purpose of this intervention
• The hypothesis is that if a student becomes more aware of his/her individual responses in comparison with the group responses overall, and if they consider possible implication of their responses, this might allow more active decisions on the connections between their current effort, their learning and future opportunities.
MSL 6412 2011
The procedure
• Survey completed in class• Presentation of results as class graphs• Clarify interpretation• Class discussion with key elements recorded• Transcription of tapes • Selection of extracts
MSL 6412 2011
In my maths class, there are some student who don’t try hard because they are afraid of what other
students might think of them
MSL 6412 2011
One of the groups connected effort and ability:
• “Because if you try hard in maths, people think you’re a nerd and then you get teased. Because if you’re smart usually no one likes you, as in they don’t not like you but they just call you names because you’re smart, and when you’re not smart they just…”
MSL 6412 2011
“Wil Smith used to carry his books in a pizza box”
• Cool.• Awesome.• They’ll smell like pizza.
MSL 6412 2011
Some comments offered starting points for some subsequent intervention
• “It’s good to be smart because then you know stuff, and if you’re dumb just so your friends like you then it’s really bad. Obviously they’re not your friends if they make you be dumb to be their friend.”
MSL 6412 2011
Another one
• “…if you’re playing (sport) and you mess up or something and you have a kick and it falls short or it goes out of bounds on the full where it shouldn’t, if you have someone on your team that says, ‘You’ll get the next one,’ you’re more confident to keep playing, but if someone is like, ‘What are you doing?’ …”
MSL 6412 2011
7.4 What are some relevant teacher actions?
MSL 6412 2011
How could teachers help?• Yeah, because you need to feel safe and not like
they’re going to yell at you if you ask them a question …. If they’re nicer to you then you want to please them because you have respect for them, but if they’re mean to you, you think ‘oh well, they’re mean to me so I’m just going to be bad with them’.
• And the ones that try, that might encourage the ones that are self-conscious about being nerds to try much more…so they might get stuff.
MSL 6412 2011
How teachers could help• There’s different people that have different individual needs,
so the teacher could go to one person, spend a bit of time with them and then go person to person, and even though when another person needs help they should still go and help but then go back to the person that they were helping before.
• I reckon the teachers try their hardest for us and…, but I think they’re doing pretty well and it’s probably not as easy as we think it is for them, but we’d probably enjoy the lesson a lot more if there were more fun and games and more rewards for our hard efforts. But there’s need for strict teachers as well.
MSL 6412 2011
Dweck suggested that teachers (and parents) could actively model
desirable traits by:
• emphasising learning, challenge, effort, and choice of strategies;
• delighting in things that are hard;• indicating how achieving through effort feels good;• searching for new strategies; and • reporting on learning from failure.
MSL 6412 2011
What does it mean to affirm?
• Affirm what we value– What did you say last week were your aspirations
for your students?– How would you affirm students when they
demonstrated those values?
MSL 6412 2011
It is good that:…
• when you are stuck you try something different• you explain what you did clearly• you keep trying even when it is hard• you try to work things out for yourself• you try to help others• you learn from your mistakes• you plan out what you are trying to do• …
MSL 6412 2011
Strategies for meeting individual learning needs
• diagnosing students’ unique needs, interests and goals• helping students to define their personal goals and
relate them to learning goals• relating general learning goals to students in these
interests and goals• structuring learning goals and activities to foster
individual students success• using modeling to instruct students in the value and
benefits of specific accomplishments
A challenging example
Year 8
Investigate the concept of irrational numbers, including π
Solve problems involving the use of percentages, including percentage increases and decreases, with and without digital technologies
Solve a range of problems involving rates and ratios, with and without digital technologies
•
MSL 6412 2011
Which card is better value?
Please explain your thinking.
(From Anne Roche and Doug Clarke)
MSL 6412 2011
• What % of what can you work out in your head?
MSL 6412 2011
Add 1
357842916
MSL 6412 2011
Say 10% of
305070804020901060
MSL 6412 2011
Say 50% of
305070804020901060
MSL 6412 2011
Say 10% of
320450870820440230910100690
MSL 6412 2011
Say 20% of
60 80 40 100
20 70 80 90
MSL 6412 2011
• % of = 200• What might be the numbers in the boxes?
MSL 6412 2011
• After 2 games, your favourite team as a percentage of 120%. What might have been the scores in each of the games?
MSL 6412 2011
• You bought something. You were given a discount of 10%. What did you buy, what did it cost and what was the amount of the discount?
MSL 6412 2011
• When you bought something you received a discount worth $300. What did you buy, what did it cost and what was the % discount?
MSL 6412 2011
• What is a % increase?• The population of my suburb has increased by
5%. What did it used to be, and what might it be now?
MSL 6412 2011
• In December the amount on one of Adelaide’s dams increases by 5%. In January it then decreases by 5%. Is it more, the same or less than what it was on 1 Dec?
MSL 6412 2011
What would persistence look like and what is its role?
• The price of a suitcase in a shop is increased by 5%. The price is then reduced by 5%, after which the price is $200.
• What was it to start with?
MSL 6412 2011
Some other tasks
• How might these encourage persistence?• Does persistence help?
Game of the year
• Using the digits from the birth year of either of your parents, use all four digits in that order and any operations to form expressions which equal as many of the numbers from 1 to 99 as possible.
• e.g., 19 + 78 = 97; 1 - 9 + 7 x 8 = 48
This clock has been dropped on the floor and we don’t know which way round it should be. What time is the clock showing?
What Time Does this Clock Show?
What would persistence look like and what is its role?
• After 2 games, your favourite team has a percentage of 120%. What might have been the scores in each of the games?
MSL 6412 2011
What would persistence look like and what is its role?
• I can paint a room in 5 hours. My wife can paint a room in 10 hours. How long will it take if we work together?
MSL 6412 2011
12 is half-way between two other numbers. What could they be?
173 is half-way between two numbers. What could they be?
UNDA 2010
What would persistence look like and what is its role?
Design some paddocks in the shape of an L, that have an area of 1 hectare. What is the perimeter of your paddocks?
MSL 6412 2011
(from Rich Learning Tasks in Number): Canadian book—has pictures
Which country has the best coinage system:
1, 5, 10, 252, 4, 8, 162, 3, 5, 10
UNDA 2010
What would persistence look like and what is its role?
• The inside of a horse training track has an area of 1 hectare. What might be the dimensions?
MSL 6412 2011
Olympic medals
• If a country has won four medals, what could they be?
