Class 4

Helping Students Believe They Can Achieve

Transcript

Chapter 1: What is Expectancy?

Helping Students Believe They Can Achieve

Transcript:

Expectancy is the “I can!” part of motivation and plays an important role in a student’s academic success and experience in school.

Motivation Suite Bird's-Eye

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This module is part of a series on student motivation.

In this module you will receive an overview of what expectancy is and how it impacts motivation. You will then learn some basic strategies for diagnosing and enhancing students’ expectancy - or the belief that they CAN

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achieve.

There are two other modules in this series. The module “Helping Students Want to Achieve” explores the value a student attaches to a task, or school in general.

The module “Student Motivation Theory: I Can and I Want” provides important background regarding the expectancy-value theory and how it impacts student motivation. If you haven’t visited the motivation theory module yet, it’s a good idea to do so before continuing on in this one.

Elements of Expectancy

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Elements specific to expectancy are: ability, self-efficacy, and perceived required effort. Ability refers to academic and organization skills a student may or may not possess.

Self-efficacy is a students’ belief that they can do well on a task.

Perceived required effort is the amount of effort a student thinks they will have to expend in order to complete a task.

You will now explore each element of expectancy. You will learn more about each element, what to look for, and specific strategies to apply.

( Copyright © 2017 Arizona Board of Regents. Copyright 2021 Inspire Teaching & Learning. All rights reserved For a complete list of references, refer to the On-Demand Module ‘Helping Students Believe They Can Achieve.’ ) ( 2 )

Chapter 2: Ability

What is it?

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Ability refers to the actual knowledge and skills that a student does or does not possess for a given task or content area. Ability also encompasses a student’s time management and organizational skills. Ability can affect a child’s expectancy - or his belief that he can achieve. Therefore, it is an important factor in motivation.

Students with low ability may think “I can’t do this! I don’t know how!” If a student is unable to complete a task, it’s hard for her to be motivated to do it in the first place.

Ability Tabs

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Click on each tab to learn student behaviors that might indicate a student struggling with ability. You will also learn about, questions to ask in order to learn more as well as strategies to try.

Questions for Students

Strategies

Conclusion

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Your school may have an intervention team. This is typically a team of educators and parents who collaborate to create a plan that supports the academic and behavioral development of a student. Reach out to this team

for any needed support.

It should also be noted that if a student has an Individualized Education Program in place, you must implement the accommodations specified in it.

A student who has a deficit in an academic or cognitive skill will have difficulty accessing, processing, and organizing the task. Students who struggle in this area truly can’t do the work.

Ability is related to expectancy because if a student does not have the skills to complete a task, they will be missing a crucial component of the “I can” part of motivation.

Chapter 3: Perceived Required Effort

What is it?

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Students who struggle with this element of motivation have the skills necessary to complete the task, but believe that the required effort is too great. The concept of perceived required effort originated in behavior analysis. Psychology researchers Patrick Friman and Alan Poling (1995) state that “the rate of response to a task decreases as requirements increase.” That is to say that as the demands, or amount of effort required for a task increase, a person’s willingness to undertake the task decrease.

This concept is relatable to the field of education. Consider a situation where the teacher assigns a project and a student simply believes it’s “too much work.” This student will be less motivated to complete the project because he feels overwhelmed by the amount of effort.

Perceived required effort and perceived benefit are both elements of motivation. They are similar because they both assume that a student has the skills required to successfully complete a task. They also have to do with a student’s beliefs surrounding the task.

To understand the difference between these two elements, let’s look at an example. Consider two students who have been assigned a science fair project.

A student who struggles with perceived required effort has difficulty with the process of completing the project. They think that the effort needed to get there is just too great. They may become overwhelmed with these

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For a complete list of references, refer to the On-Demand Module ‘Helping Students Believe They Can Achieve.’

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feelings and become unmotivated to even begin the project. This student can do the project, but is turned off by how much work it will take to complete.

A student who has difficulty with perceived benefit struggles with the end product. They may not feel that the science fair project is useful or important, or worth their time. It’s not that they can’t do it - they simply don’t want to.

Perceived Effort Tabs

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Click on each tab to learn about behaviors that might indicate a struggle with perceived required effort. You will also learn about, questions to ask in order to learn more as well as strategies to try.

Questions for Students

( Copyright © 2017 Arizona Board of Regents. Copyright 2021 Inspire Teaching & Learning. All rights reserved For a complete list of references, refer to the On-Demand Module ‘Helping Students Believe They Can Achieve.’ ) ( 7 )

Strategies

Conclusion

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It’s a human tendency to avoid tasks that feel overwhelming.

Have you ever been given an assignment or task that just felt like too much work? You may have become unmotivated and put off the task until the last minute, or avoided it altogether.

Perceived required effort will vary from student-to-student. And as an educator you have the opportunity to identify these behaviors. You now have strategies to help make the amount of effort required to complete a task feel more manageable and do-able for your students.

Chapter 4: Self-Efficacy

What is it?

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Self-efficacy is a students’ belief in his or her ability. This belief can vary from subject to subject. For example, a student who has high self-efficacy in reading may have low self-efficacy in math.

According to research, students who “believe that they have the ability to complete a task do better and have higher levels of motivation” (Wright, 2011).

A student struggling with self-efficacy typically possesses the skills needed to complete a task or to be successful in a content area. What they don’t have is a belief in their ability to do well.

Self-Efficacy Tabs

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Click on each tab to learn about behaviors that might indicate low self-efficacy. You will also learn about, questions to ask in order to learn more as well as strategies to try.

Questions for Students

Strategies

Closing

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Think about a time you tried to do something where you did not feel confident you would be successful. How did it feel? How motivated were you to start the task?

Students who struggle with self-efficacy often possess the academic skills required to complete a task, they just don’t believe they can.

Self-efficacy plays a crucial role in a student’s motivation to learn. As educators, we play a vital part in developing and supporting this important element of motivation.

Module Conclusion

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Let’s examine how elements of expectancy can co-exist and impact each other.

Some students may possess the necessary skills, but feel that the effort required of a task is too great. Alternatively, a student’s struggle with ability may be that they lack basic academic skills for a task or content area, and their self-efficacy may begin to decline. As educators, we are in an excellent position to notice struggles then work to support students to increase their expectancy.

( Copyright © 2017 Arizona Board of Regents. Copyright 2021 Inspi.re Teaching & Learning. All rights reserved For a complete list of references, refer to the On-Demand Module ‘Helping Students Believe They Can Achieve.’ ) ( 10 )