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What Motivational Patterns Does Calvin Exhibit?
What Motivational Patterns Does Calvin Exhibit?
Calvin is shown to exhibit a few different motivational patterns throughout the comics. The main patterns he shows are Performance Avoidance (in the classroom) and a Mastery Approach (when learning on his own). Because Calvin is in a classroom environment that fosters Performance Goals over Mastery Goals, Calvin has devoloped self-handicapping techniques. When Calvin is able to learn outside the classroom, he transitions to Mastery Approach goals. He becomes truly intrested in learning when the subject matter is intresting and self-led, as exemplified in the comic below.
Why Does Calvin Have These Motivational Patterns?
Why Does Calvin Have These Motivational Patterns?
Calvin has many factors in his environment contributing to these motivational patterns. In school alone, his interactions with his peers and teacher clearly show that Calvin is in a Performance Goal environment.
In the example shown below, Calvin and his classmate Susie are comparing results on an assignment. Calvin did not perform well and as a result, is humiliated by Susie because she was able to see his grade and made fun of him. This exact peer judgement directly causes performance-based goals rather than mastery-based goals. Calvin is more likely to self-handicap and purposely not do well in class because if Susie judges his bad grade, he could claim that he didn't try so it doesn't matter. Similarly, the following example shows Calvin giving a presentation then is laughed at by his peers. Clearly, this is acceptable behavior in the classroom because the teacher, Mrs. Wormwood, only gets mad at Calvin for performing poorly (asking to see him after class). Due to Mrs. Wormwood fostering this environment and allowing Calvin to be embarressed and look "not smart", Clavin is more like to develop self-handicapping tendencies to avoid more social humiliation (a performance-goal response).
Below is another example of Calvin being embarrassed by his peers because he did not perform as well as they did. After the fact, Calvin's coach reinforces the peer humiliation by calling Calvin a "quitter", demonstrating that the environment is solely about social comparison and competition rather than focusing on effort and learning.
The adults in authority in Calvin's life don't value his work if he doesn't achieve good grades. This does not motivate Calvin; rather, it hurts his self-esteem, which will likely, over time, develop into a greater issue of self-confidence and the value of grades over learning.
Calvin witnessing his peer working hard to learn bewilders him, as he thought that she was just naturally smart and didn't need to work for her learning. Calvin has a fixed mindset as he assumes that intelligence is a natural trait, when in fact anyone can change their intelligence. Calvin's dad giving him grief for not performing well on a test serves as evidence that his dad has and values Performance-Based Goals because he only cares about the test score, rather than what Calvin actually learned. Therefore, it is no surprise that Calvin has and values Performance-Based Goals as a result of everyone else around him having the same Performance-Oriented mindset.
How Can Ms. Wormwood Foster Productive Motivational Patterns?
How Can Ms. Wormwood Foster Productive Motivational Patterns?
Calvin seems uninterested in the math lesson and does not see the purpose of learning about integers. When he questions the meaning of learning about integers, his question is ignored. Rather than ignoring the question, it is important that the teacher explain to Calvin the importance of the lesson. Also, Calvin is bored in class because the information he is learning does not relate to his interests or knowledge he already has. For example, at the end of the second comic strip he says, “I’m not dumb. I just have a command of useless information. Since the teacher is not addressing students' interests and ignores Calvin, he views his knowledge as useless. To improve in this area, the teacher could provide Calvin with variety and challenge in assignments. Additionally, she could have Calvin relate his interests to the lesson on integers. The teacher should get to know Calvin personally to help her gain insight into what he already knows. This could help her create lessons and assignments that keep Calvin motivated in class.
Above, we can see how Ms. Wormwood values results. Instead of working with Calvin so he can see what he did wrong and how to improve next time, she tells him to "work hard so [he doesn't] get bad grades." This lowers his self-esteem. She should refer to the E of TARGET to reevaluate her evaluation tactics.
Below, we can see Ms Wormwood's focus on performance goals. She cares more about the outcome of formal assessment as opposed to the progress and growth centered in mastery goals. She also spoke to him publicly about his poor performance instead of speaking to him in private. She should refer to letters R and E of TARGET.
It is good to allow students to have some sense of ownership in determining the pace at which assignments should be completed. This could be a situation where Ms Wormwood could work with Calvin more. She should refer to letter T2 of TARGET.
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