CEP 802 Design Project

Maggie Gearns
Fall 2020
Case Study- Introducing “Charlie”
● “Charlie” - 7th Grade Math Student
● Friendly, caring personality
● Quiet with few friends in class
● Exhibited some “class clown” type behavior early in the
year.
● Parents are divorced- splits time between his mother and
father’s houses.
● Put forth little effort in 6th grade math and made many
excuses
● IEP for reading and writing
Setting
● 6th-8th grade middle school in a suburban area
● Currently virtual setting
● Appears to be working at a desk in his bedroom
● Keeps camera off
● He has a stable internet connection and access
to materials he needs
● Charlie has no siblings or pets
● Block Schedule- attends 3 days per week
Motivation Problem
● Frequently unprepared for class
● Frequently unengaged/unresponsive
● Many missing assignments
● Low assessment scores
● Many excuses
○ I didn’t know it was due
○ I had baseball practice
Motivation Problem (continued)
● Seems to exhibit “learned helplessness”
(Wentzel & Brophy, 2014)
● Low self-efficacy
○ Frequent excuses
○ Gives up easily
○ Low expectations for success
● Slow learner (NWEA score in 3rd
percentile nationally)
Motivation Assessment (Observations)
● Frequently not engaged and non- responsive during class
○ NWEA test example
○ Did not take quiz despite being present
○ Did not join whiteboard.fi
● Frequent missing assignments
● Strategies tried
○ Effective praise
○ Cooperative learning groups
○ Variety of learning activities
● Aspects of TARGET present- authority, grouping, evaluation
● Aspects of TARGET to work on- task, recognition, time
Motivation Assessment (Data Collection)
● Attribution questionnaire
○ Indicated low expectancy but not low value
○ Feels he has little control over grades
○ Feels he can improve with effort
● Low self-efficacy
○ Gives up quickly
○ Low expectations of success
○ Feels he is bad at math
● Failure syndrome
○ Possibly due to frustration with being a slow learner
Motivation Intervention (TARGET)
● Task
○ Individualized activities- warm-up problems, MAP accelerator
■ Appropriate to Charlie's skill level
■ Immediate feedback
○ Use of Whiteboard.fi to monitor, support and ensure success
■ Provide support/tutoring as needed
■ Build self-efficacy and confidence
● Authority
○ Choices- partner or no partner, use textbook or work online
○ Choice between flipgrid video and writing
○ Help Charlie relate choices back to performance
Motivation Intervention (TARGET)
● Recognition
○ Use effective praise
■ Recognize Specific accomplishments
■ Genuine
○ Communicate positive expectations
■ Point out past success
■ Help Charlie focus on his own progress, not compared to
classmates
● Grouping
○ Cooperative groups
○ Work on building relationship with groups
Motivation Intervention (TARGET)
● Evaluation
○ Attribution retraining
■ Use of quiz self-reflection form
■ Help attribute grades to controllable factors
● Time
○ Allow Charlie to choose when to take breaks
■ 10 minute breaks per 2 hour class period
■ 5 minute break per 1 hour class period
○
Expected Results
I expect Charlie to become more motivated an increase his
participation in class.

● Have already seen initial success with monitoring, recognition and

effective praise.
● Self-efficacy and attribution retraining strategies will build
confidence and motivation.
● Will monitor engagement in class and track assignment
completion to see if interventions are successful
Concluding Thoughts
● Hope to help increase Charlie’s internal motivation
● Internal motivation is associated with better outcomes than
motivation by external controls.
● Using strategies instead of rewards
● Hope to increase competence, relatedness and autonomy
○ Competence- self-efficacy training
○ Relatedness- cooperative grouping
○ Autonomy- choices and attribution retraining
References:
Oka, E. (2019). Developing Positive Attitudes Toward Learning, CEP 802. Class

Lecture. Michigan State University.

Wentzel, K. R. & Brophy, J. E. (2014). Motivating students to learn. New York, NY:

Routledge

Images credit: