What Can The Teacher Do to Foster a More Productive Motivational Pattern?
While Mrs. Wormwood does a good job teaching and exposing students to the curriculum, there are a few things she could do to promote self-regulation. To start, Mrs. Wormwood assigns many projects, exams, and reports. While this is beneficial to understanding material, it may be helpful if Mrs. Wormwood gave her students some freedom of choice. For example, if she assigned a book report, and wanted to cover the American Revolution, she could give her students the choice to pick a book within that category, which could help the performance phase of Calvin's SRL, keeping him motivated in what he is learning about. It would also be beneficial to add more hands-on activities into the classroom, instead of only exams, projects and reports; this gives space for a variety of different ways to learn material.
Another aspect Mrs. Wormwood could do is explain the value to each assignment. Calvin complains about why he should care about what he is learning because he never sees a reason for why it is taught. This causes for him to not be interested in his learning, which damages the forethought phase of SRL. For example, in his history exam, he states that no one cares about Concord anymore, so he should not either. If Mrs. Wormwood explains why she is teaching certain material, and why the assigned tasks are important, Calvin would be more active in his learning and gain a better understanding of the concepts being taught.
Emotional regulation is deeply connected to self-regulation (Boekaerts 205). If Calvin has negative thoughts, or is feeling negative, it causes his thoughts to ruminate and distract him, decreasing his self-regulation. Mrs. Wormwood can try to be more positive and bring a more humorous and positive energy to the classroom. Hopefully this positivity can engage Calvin and help him to have a more positive attitude as well. She can be more positive by having a more positive look at Calvin as a student, focusing on what he can do rather than what he cannot, it will allow for Calvin to see he is being valued as a student, and want to participate more.
As seen below, Mrs. Wormwood often tells Calvin "If you work harder, then your grades will be better," communicating a negative energy towards Calvin, and placing the blame on him. Instead, Mrs. Wormwood can address Calvin's grades in a calmer, more positive way, to help promote self-regulation. One way she can do this is through having Calvin set his own goals, in which the S.M.A.R.T goals can be utilized. Rather than telling Calvin to work harder, she can work with him to set a realistic goal Calvin can work towards. Setting a realistic goal will increase his self-efficacy, grit, and motivate Calvin to practice self-regulated learning.
