Classroom management is something that will greatly help the success of Calvin. Mrs. Wormwood, in many instances it appears that you are quick to shut down a behavior that isn't ideal, or one that you have deemed unfit for the activity in the class. Calvin is the kind of student that has so much potential for creativity, if only guided correctly. What does this mean? In your classroom create an environment both with the physical aesthetic of the room, as well as within the student body that is supportive, and enriching to the subject you wish to teach. Using this, you can create assignments that even in a subject that a student does not find exceptionally exciting the students want to do. Adding on to this, each assignment needs to have a measurable goal that is not too far fetched. So often Calvin becomes discouraged because he looks at a mountain of work, then decides he will not do it. Giving him smaller, bite-sized chunks will eliminate this problem. Finally, when you are in the classroom and Calvin begins to “act up” it is important to consider why, perhaps it is for attention, or he sees even the simplest assignment to be daunting. It is important to approach the situation with care, as to not lose his interest / attention. Explaining how the assignment might relate to something in his own world will be a tremendous help in rebuilding that interest; particularly if you yourself are excited, and happy about the music.
Madeline Legg
When developing a curriculum, the teacher should take notes of a student's interests, to follow both the interest theory, and build with the self-determination theory. This will help the teacher gauge where the student falls in terms of goal theory, and how the student takes part in their learning process (self-regulated learning theory).
Ms. Wormwood should look into what she knows Calvin is interested in, and try to integrate his likes into the lessons to get Calvin into the furthest stage of the interest theory, having him seek out aspects of the lesson. Wormwood should know that Calvin shows the most performance-avoidance, so develop her curriculum by moving him closer to having a mastery goal in the best-case scenario: If the class is learning about storytelling and the Hero's Journey, the curriculum should have something that caters to the different aspects of motivation, all while properly distributing the material.
Including projects like creating your own hero’s journey, or finding examples of the concept in literature (the student already enjoys), will foster more intrinsic motivation, as well as allow students to develop a greater interest in the material.
Suppose Calvin is given the freedom to talk about and share what he knows about some of his favorite heroes and stories. In that case, it will not only allow him to talk about what he wants, but he may venture into the realm of Performance Approach Goals, where he uses his knowledge of fictional characters to impress other students. It is easier to impress when relating a topic to the curriculum.
The curriculum should also include a cumulative look at the student's progress, through the self-regulated learning theory. This includes more self-directed work, for students can first think about what they want the final product to look like. Then ask questions, and as an active learner in the class for the benefit of their assignment. Lastly, ensuring students can reflect and receive feedback with the opportunity to reflect on their work will allow them to follow the SRL theory.
Let’s continue to use the hero's journey project. A teacher can start by asking their students to map out their assignment and think about what they want it to include and cover. Students can then use class time, and resources from the curriculum to perfect their project. Asking questions, and avoiding being a passive learner will help this. Once the project is completed, give your students a chance to reflect on their work, and think about what they can change in the future.
The curriculum can also use the Interest theory more specifically by finding ways to relate a student’s interest in the material. Using topics and aspects of niche interests can pique a student’s fascination with the concepts.
In our hero’s journey example, if a student has no interest in writing or stories, maybe ask about what movies or TV shows they enjoy, and use characters to help explain the topic. This will inadvertently allow them to learn about the Hero’s Journey, all while staying engaged. For students who believe they cannot learn more, or that writing/storytelling is not for them will not have good self-efficacy, and struggle with the concept as a whole.
Curriculum Example Using IT, GT, SRL, SDT, and ET
Reading an example of the Hero’s Journey, using characters the class is familiar with. (IT)
An in-depth look at the different parts of the Hero’s Journey. Asking groups and individuals to display their knowledge on the part they looked at. (GT)
Introduce the creative project, and give students time to think about what they want included. (SRL)
For students struggling to grasp the idea, or develop an interest, you can relate aspects of the project to things the student already enjoys, or offer a minuscule reward system, having to do with the idea. EX. If a student begins showing a good understanding of the topic, they could be rewarded with an event where a movie is being shown as an example of the Hero’s Journey. (SDT)
Work time should be included. A time where students can ask questions, and talk about what they enjoy about the lesson is going to help keep students engaged. This also allows them to collaborate and compare projects with their peers. (IT, GT, SRL, ET)
Presentations will be part of the big finish of the unit. Students will explain their example of the Hero’s Journey, and answer their peer's questions. This gives them the basic psychological need to belong with their peers, as everyone is being required to learn the material. Students that care about outshining others, or demonstrating their knowledge will also get a time to shine. (GT, SDT)
Lastly, students should be allowed to review their work and revise anything with requested feedback. Having a self-guided rubric for the students to fill out to gauge how they believe they performed, will make kids think back about their progress and understanding of the topic. (SRL)
Connor Skeeters
In the classroom different motivations will promote different things. Intrinsic motivations will be more valuable to you due to the fact that it isn’t correlated with anything so it's a determination that feeds itself through the students own hunger for knowledge will serve you better in the long run. However, a mix of both extrinsic motivations and tasks will help fuel a student's already existing intrinsic motivation. Finding content that will inspire Calvin to explore something he is interested in, such as dinosaurs or outer space aliens, will inspire Calvin to explore the desired content which will result in him engaging in class more often. Overall your (Ms. Wormwood) mindset is pretty closed off, it's seen by your students as “your way or the highway” which is causing students’ intrinsic motivation to be extinguished before it's had the opportunity to be nurtured by the presented content.
Focusing on the projected goal of a certain task or activity to determine what a student's motivation is, will help students accomplish the specific task without the fear of failure or embarrassment. Creating a classroom conducive to a focused and open-minded environment will encourage students to engage with the lesson or material at hand. This goes into ability focused learning which in turn supports “Performance-avoidance/approach” goal, an environment where students don’t have a fear of failure will support students who are performance avoidant. “Task Focused” goals will lead to a completion of mastery approach goals. Which will improve students self confidence overall increasing a students level of self motivation. You can take Calvins already vivid imagination and use it to create project based assignments where he can use his creativity in a more productive way without completely discarding his own creative mindset.
Ms. Wormwood's classroom environment is conducive to that of which students believe they are just meant to do busy work. This is evident by Calvins disruptions and behavior throughout the comic strip, this means he is disengaged. In order to create a more engaging classroom Ms. Wormwood needs to change her teaching approach. Adding opportunities to foster all learning types such as Reading/Writing, auditory, kinesthetic, and visual learners. This shift in instruction style will improve classroom engagement and promote self regulated learning.
Lastly, understanding the level of interest a student has will help you understand where you need to improve your lesson or instructions. Triggered situational awareness is a good place to start to catch the students attention, maintaining that situational awareness through constant and broad unfocused exposure will keep the student engaged but not overwhelmed. Then starting to apply the content to real life examples will start to increase a student's emerging individual self interest; this is where a student might seek out more information outside of class time. If you continue this state of awareness in the classroom students will start to exhibit well-maintained individual awareness and this is where you no longer have to provide constant exposure to subject matters because the student is now fully engaged with the content. Ways to increase interest in the classroom is through making the perceived affordance of the content very explicit and blatant so students can recognize the value in the content they are presented with. Another way is to encourage engagement through simple and traditional modeling, coaching, and scaffolding.
Mavrick
Interactions between student and teacher can be the best way to get to know a student. This is no different in Calvin’s case. For most of his educational career, Calvin has received little sympathy for his struggles with learning in the classroom. In relation to the Self-Regulation Theory, I believe that if Clavin felt more comfortable in his learning environment and with the people surrounding him, he would be empowered to take control of his learning journey. Achieving this can be as simple as talking to him and forming a rapport, allowing him the ability to feel comfortable in a learning environment. Another important step to advancing his education is the ability to accept failure and learn from it. As seen in Goal Theory studies, Calvin primarily displays Performance-Avoidance habits, due to the constant degradation of his work when he does it incorrectly. A way to remedy this would be to talk to him about his work one-on-one, and instead of insulting his work or putting him down, show him what he did well and how he can do better. This will foster a growth mindset and show him that failure is an important tool in learning and a way to grow.
To further motivate Calvin, relating subjects in school to his personal interests can be an incredibly useful tool. Talk to him on a personal level and help him make the connections within the curriculum to his interests. This will help build up Calvin’s Intrinsic Motivation for learning. This will also help greatly in developing a state of Maintained Situational Interest, that will later develop into a Well-Developed Individual Interest.
When all is said and done, the best thing for Calvin to capture, maintain, and build an interest in all things school is by simply remembering that he is human, and the kind of student that needs things to be presented in such a way that looks very manageable, and will relate to his personal interests. If you do not know what his interests are, find out! Children are typically very willing and excited to discuss whatever it is they love doing in their time away from school. We truly do hope this helps, and are wishing you the best with your future endeavors with Calvin and other alike students.
Sincerely ~ Madeline, Connor, Mavrick, and Adam.
(Group 4)