Analysis of Calvin

In this scenario, Calvin has been assigned to write a paper about something that he is actually interested in! However, Calvin does not take this as an opportunity to really show what he knows in this topic. Instead, Calvin procrastinates which he uses as an explanation as to why his paper is unsatisfactory. Procrastination is an example of self handicapping. This is apparent in Calvin's "illogical use of time" (Covington, 1992). This example of self handicapping is one that allows the individual to appear to be too busy, but there is nothing to show for it (Covington, 1992). This allows Calvin to claim to have run out of time on the assignment, rather than admit that he never intended to complete the assignment.

We can infer that Calvin, like many students, has a fear of failure due to lack of ability. Students often self handicap in order to feel as though they have control over their own failure. It is easier for students to say, "I failed because I didn't have enough time" rather than saying," I failed because I am incapable of completing this task."

What should Mrs. Wormwood do?

Mrs. Wormwood should encourage Calvin to explore his interests in a stress-free setting. This way, Calvin will be able to learn on his own terms without his fear of failure coming into the picture. Specifically, the students could individually research a topic in which they were curious and then discuss it in class. This will help promote a learning environment over a performance environment.

Above is a textbook example of an "academic wooden leg" (Covington 1992) which is when students blame a particular fault they can't control on their failures, rather than using coping skills or truly doing the work to do well. He describes himself as lazy which is just an excuse, "I just don't test well" he is self-handicapping. His excuses are symptoms of his performance avoidance. It's implied that Ms. Wormwood's critiques are public and in front of the whole class, so she is emphasizing performance and social comparison instead of scholarly learning and improvement. Performing and comparing is not a constructive way to teach a class, in fact she is only humiliating Calvin.

What should Mrs. Wormwood do?

Ms. Wormwood should emphasize "absolute standards, self-improvement, or participation" (Ames and Archer 1988). Each student should be held to the same standards and encouraged to participate and improve their scholarship. This way, students will more likely be concerned with strategies for mastery learning above their fears about how they compare to their peers or failing. She should have open discussions in class, vocalize positive feedback if he tries to participate, and guide him to the right answers, . Then she would be encouraging him to improve and participate.

In classrooms that enforce performance oriented instruction, students tend to feel discouraged towards work that they might have worked really hard on but received a poor grade. In such a scenario, research suggests that students tend to become uninterested in the subject and fail to perform enthusiastically in future settings. However, when teachers reinforce mastery orientated instruction, students tend to engage in challenging tasks because learning is stressed more than performance.

In this scene, Calvin is frustrated by his test score. Receiving an "average" score has indicated that Calvin's work is "average". Further performance orientated instructions could lead to Calvin completely giving up on learning in the class.

What should Mrs. Wormwood do?

To counter this, Ms. Wormwood should encourage learning more than performance for Calvin, giving him positive feed back for his work and participation. She should tell him steps he could take to improve his grade and tell him what he did well. She could make the assignment or test effort based rather than grade based.

In this cartoon, Calvin demonstrates the performance avoid characteristic. Calvin waits until the very last minute to ask his mother about the materials that he needs to complete his school project. When she says that they do not have paper for his paper mâché he then blames the bad grade he figures he will receive on his mother. In this way it is clear that Calvin has purposefully waited to ask for supplies in order to lower the expectations Mrs. Wormwood has for his project.

What should Mrs. Wormwood do?

In this scenario, it may be best that Mrs. Wormwood have a conversation with Calvin's mother about having designated times at home to complete homework. This may help Calvin by giving him less opportunities to sabotage himself. In turn, he will likely begin receiving better grades on assignments and may develop better coping skills.