Calvin and Hobbes

In this image, we see that Calvin is not being engaged, and Ms. Wormwood doesn't seem to care about that even remotely.

In this image, we see Calvin requesting an alternative learning method that adheres to his attention span and capacity for absorbing information.

Calvin's Motivational Pattern

In Calvin’s case, he is not intrinsically or extrinsically motivated to do schoolwork. Intrinsic motivation in the classroom looks like students being interested in what is being taught and wanting to learn more. Extrinsic motivation in the classroom, which is more common, is driven by rewards or an end goal. He is not intrinsically motivated because he is uninterested in his schoolwork, and he is not extrinsically motivated because he sees no external benefit to schoolwork.

Calvin is not meaningfully challenged, as most of his tests and classwork are simple questions, either about information he doesn’t deem valuable or basic arithmetic. He is not being adequately challenged, and when he does not perform well, his teacher does not provide him with meaningful feedback. He is criticized for his answers rather than praised for the effort he put in.

For Calvin, extrinsic pressure comes in the form of his teacher directing him, threatening him with a bad grade, and setting homework deadlines. All of these factors work together to destroy Calvin’s intrinsic motivation, with no extrinsic motivation left to compensate for the deficit. Extrinsic motivation can come in the form of rewards in the classroom or the belief that a task will help a future goal. Overly controlling students weakens their motivation, and they do not learn as well as when they feel as if they are in control. Calvin feels like he has no autonomy, so he is not learning.

Even when Calvin suggests an alternative learning method, Ms. Wormwood outright ignores it. His suggestion is meant to be humorous to the reader, but Ms. Wormwood's dismissal points to a larger problem of a lack of control. Ms. Wormwood frames Calvin as the problem, which further destroys his motivation.

Why?

Calvin is likely not feeling competent in the classroom or being intrinsically motivated in any way. Because his methods of learning are so far outside the norm, and are even seen as a disruption, they are constantly reprimanded. His interests are not being used to engage him in the classroom, so he's less inclined to learn. The comics make it clear that Calvin has several interests that could be used in school to engage him in the curriculum, but they're not taken advantage of. This reinforces both Calvin and the people around him's beliefs that he is incapable of learning the content; when in fact his overactive imagination and creativity (like dinosaurs helping him do addition) may even be a strength in some contexts and can help him absorb the information even better.

When Calvin's interest is piqued, we can see a direct impact on his motivation and attitude. Usually, Calvin displays an apathetic or condescending attitude toward his parent's ideas, but because in this strip he is offered something he values (money) we can see a spike in his self-determination as he develops the motivation to apply his newfound allowance to larger goals.

He has the motivation and creativity he needs to become self-determined, but it is not being applied in his learning.

Ms.Wormwood

In the Calvin comic readings, Ms. Wormwood shows more of a controlling autonomy teaching style (Reeve et al., 1999). She demonstrates a this through wanting only the “right” answers, using authority to discipline Calvin, and not promoting autonomy through learning. Ms. Wormwood often gets frustrated with Calvin. His answers are usually off topic because he is a creative student and tries to put imagination into his learning, because this is the area in which he is intrinsically motivated. She often reinforces the rules with Calvin to make his “unfit” behavior more fit for the classroom environment she wants. Instead of getting frustrated with him, Ms. Wormwood could give Calvin examples of how the information he is learning now may be useful to him in the future. He does ask about practicality, and Ms. Wormwood dismisses him and tells him to work harder; she should work on being more willing to help and answer questions (Reeve et al., 1999). She could ask him what he wants to do as a career in the future and relate the content back to that. Calvin is also shown thinking about dinosaurs sometimes, so maybe finding a way to include them in her lessons or assignments would help foster intrinsic motivation (Reeve et al., 1999). Some ways she could do this are suggesting he bring something dinosaur related to show-and-tell or using small paper cutouts of dinosaurs to aid in counting during math problems.

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