What is Calvin's Motivational Pattern / Why is he this way? 

Calvin's motivational pattern is that he isn't getting enough intrinsic motivation from school which is why he claims that he "doesn't like it". Calvin is this way because even though school involves activities that he enjoys, the material isn't about anything that he's interested in which means that he has low intrinsic motivation because the material isn't relating directly to him.

(Elizabeth)

What is Calvin's Motivational Pattern / Why is he this way? 

In the comic, Calvin seeing a snake got him excited. He was interested in knowing more about how the snake works and how it moves. I consider his reaction on that scene as intrinsic motivation because, he is naturally interested. The reward Calvin got I think is a positive reward because, he was not forced or told to show interest in seeing the snake. Calvin's interest came naturally and he enjoyed watching the snake without been told to do so. 

(Tena)

What is Calvin's Motivational Pattern / Why is he this way? 

Calvin's motivation pattern in this strip comes from him finding school boring and mundane. He is very extrinsically motivated, so he is focused on anything other than actually learning; he wants something out of school other than the gain of knowledge. In this strip, Calvin asking his dad to pay him for his grades is Calvin's way of crafting a reward system so that he can get something motivating out of the work he does. Since Calvin is extrinsically motivated, he would do better in school if he got something out of it, like many other extrinsically motivated students. The key to extrinsic motivation like Calvin's is finding a way for these type of students to get something out of school that feels rewarding to them, something other than the satisfaction of doing well in their studies. Even connecting the lessons to something that interests this type of student helps them turn extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation. 

(Libby)

What is Calvin's Motivational Pattern / Why is he this way? 

Calvin is currently in the "introjection" stage of extrinsic motivation, in which he only does his math homework because his Dad is forcing him to. His Dad, on the other hand, is trying to push Calvin into the "identified" stage, in which Calvin will recognize that math skills are valuable to reaching his goals later in life. Right now, CAlvin does not see the value in his math assignment at all. 

(Alexis) 

What is Calvin's Motivational Pattern / Why is he this way? 

Calvin says it all here: He doesn't like school because it doesn't teach him what he wants to know. He does want to learn new information, he's very intrinsically motivated when he's personally interested. The issue arises in that, if he's not intrinsically motivated, he can't be motivated at all. 

(Alexis) 

What Can Ms Wormwood Do For Him? 

Three C’s of motivation!

Content that can interest Calvin, such as snakes and dinosaurs, which he has shown intrinsic motivation towards learning. If Ms. Wormwood talked about these topics with Calvin he'd be able to bond and trust her more during different lessons and topics. 

Community Calvin's dad helps him with homework and has denied Calvin an extrinsic reward system (giving Calvin money for good grades). The two could take breaks during work or his dad could change the subject matter to something more motivating and familiar to Calvin.

Another option would be a new punishment system for Calvin instead of sending him to the principal -Which does nothing to address Calvin's behavior. Such as Calvin and another teacher or friend going outside for lessons. Frequency of them going out can be based on how well Calvin does on his homework, or the amount of disruptions he makes in class.

Choice Ms. Wormwood and Calvin's dad haven't explained the "why" to the things Calvin is learning about. Not only does this de-motivate him, it makes Calvin feel he can only learn if hes extrinsically motivated (which has been shown not to work in school or home). If Ms. Wormwood applied her lessons to current events, or different things in nature, Calvin would likely be intrinsically motivated to behave and learn in school.

Turning Calvin's extrinsic motivation to Extrinsic motivation: 

First of all, in the comics, Calvin struggles with tests due to feeling unconfident in answering correcltly; so instead he makes a joke out of his answers or directly tells his teacher how unmotivated he is and how uneeded the facts in the test are to him.

Appropriate Rewards: 

I think that Calvin shouldn't be motivated by rewards too often, he's highly aware of how the people around him act, and what they belive. If Calvin dosn't see the purpose of a reward system, he won't try interacting with it. OR even worse, Calvin could figure out ways to minipulate adults with their own reward system.

I would instead give Calvin fluidity in his assignments so he can alter  Ms. Wormwood's lessons and make them valuable to him and his interets- which is a reward in itself.