In the 2nd section of Eccles and Wigfield's Motivational Beliefs, Values and Goals (2002), they speak of Theories Focused on the Reasons for Engagement. In the Goal Theories sub-section, Eccles and Wigfield (p.117) comment on Wentzel (1993,1994) and his statement that, "Higher-achieving students have higher levels of both social responsibility and achievement goals than lower-achieving students." Wentzel (1994) documented the many roles that high-achieving students balance throughout their day. Having see this in real time, I totally agree.
Wentzel (1994) notes high-achieving students possessing the prosocial goal of helping others. High-achieving students are very gracious in their willingness to help others. At least at the middle school level, they seem to be unaware that their GPA in their junior year determines their class rank. Wentzel writes higher-achieving students possess the academic prosocial goal of sharing learning with their classmates. Again, they are more than willing to share information that their classmate may have missed. Their lower-achieving peers appear to trust and value them for their integrity and honesty which matches Wentzel's peer social responsibility goal of following through on promises made to peers. They always have the academic social responsibility goal of following a teacher's instructions.
Because high-achieving students are more complex than the mere observations made in the above paragraph, let me continue on with Wentzel's thoughts. The academic prosocial goals of working with other students does indeed produce peer acceptance. Rather than get good grades and keep distance from other students, they share their knowledge and others are appreciative. High-achieving students keep their academic goals high yet have the acceptance of their peers. Academic responsibility goals create a positive relationship with teachers but could alienate peers, if not for their gracious sharing and usual good humor. They are amazingly cognizant of human expectations. Since they are academically responsible, teachers will ask them to do more or even take part in being a peer teacher. Of course they will not refuse because of their desire to connect positively with their teachers and reach their personal academic goals.
High-achieving students do at times become overwhelmed. I see it in their faces. They are involved in so many activities, clubs, sports, band, and possibly outside school activities that at times they go numb. They are responsible. The do set high goals and reach them. They do balance their relationships with their peers, teachers and let's not forget their parents. Wentzel (1991, 1996) writes that both social and academic goals relate to adolescents' school performance and behavior. Seeing oneself successful, dependable, wanting to learn new things, and wanting to get things done (Wentzel, 1991) does describe the high-achieving student who demonstrates higher levels of both social responsibility and achievement goals.
How does my understanding of this topic inform my teaching? Because high-achieving students balance such a heavy load of academic goals, interpersonal prosocial goals, and extracurricular activities, I would now be more careful when asking them to do more. When I see an high-achieving student going numb from their load, I would make it a point to get together with them one on one to problem solve managing their load. I don't want to talk them out of their goals, just help them adjust it so they can carry it. These motivated students set unbelievably high expectations for themselves; I will be more alert to their unspoken needs since academically they are usually a pleasure.
7 comments:
Hi Denise,
I completely agree with the idea of decreasing high-achieving students' work loads. As an elementary school teacher, I believe we are (especially in Turkey) giving too much responsibility (homework daily readings, etc.) to the students, and they do not have much opportunity to enjoy with their childhood.
My niece participated in a notional exam LGS (similar with SAT), and we were waiting for the results. Last two weeks she had nausea, headaches because of the stress, and (thank God) yesterday we learned that got accepted from one of the Turkish Universities. Overall, even though she succeeded to get acceptance, she (and her peers) had an extremely stressful year. I just believe that the way we designed the education, dramatically effects physiological development of these youngsters.
Best
Osman CIL
Hi Denise,
I agree with your ssessment about high-achieving students! I've seen it firsthand with my own daughter. Teachers ask them to do more and more and they think if they refuse that they are sending the message that they are not driven, no longer care, etc. Take something like National Honor Society for instance...in order to be in it you have to have a certain GPA initially. Then you have to maintain that GPA as well as tutor other students once per week (in my daughter's school anyway. I don't know if it's the same everywhere or if there are varying guidelines). So when the student has her own work to do, this gets overwhelming. Then there's the fun stuff. My daughter tried out for a play and got a part but that seriously interfered with NHS as well as some extracurriculars that teachers had asked her to do. What is a kid to do? We all require them to make choices and that's part of growing up too but we are putting the opportunity for them to become overwhelmed right in their faces, then we're saying "make a decision". Seems contradictory to me at times. Maybe I am sensitive to this because I saw my own kid struggle with not wanting to let down her teachers, perrs, etc and it pained me to see her make decisions that she knew would let others down.
Hi Denise!
I, like Osman and Jen, have personal experience with this attitude of kids needing to "be involved". For example, now it's important for them to have an "activities resume" (yes, we just visited a college yesterday for my son and they actually ask for this compilation of extracurricular activities through which you show you are a worthy functioning member of society). Excuse my sarcasm but seriously, these kids are 15 and 16 years old! The pressure to "be involved" is crazy on top of achieving academically and just enjoying some downtime with friends. From what I gather, it has resulted in students joining clubs and not even actively participating (because they have no time) but rather just getting their name on the roster so they can add it to their activities section of their applications. How is that good for anyone?
Some kids really do want to be involved in a multitude of activities and are really good at juggling (actually thrive as a result). My younger son is like that but my older one is not. Shouldn't that be okay?
I have seen the resulting stress on parents and kids both as a parent and as an educator from such little downtime.
I agree with your suggestions Denise and for some students, you could be that one adult in their life that can take a step back and look at the whole child. Parents (myself included) are often too close to see it so to have another adult to turn to and help them navigate their busy schedules (even if it's just to be able to admit they feel overwhelmed and have someone hear them) seems like it would be really comforting.
This all ties back to the need to recognize how there may be (and often are) outside factors that influence learning and how important it is to recognize it's not just all about the content we are teaching/presenting. I believe this should be a large component of teacher educator programs as too often pre-service teachers don't recognize all that goes into teaching that isn't about the content.
Hi Denise,
Your reflection really sparked some thoughts that I really had not thought about for a while. What you had said was quite opposite of what I saw when I was a HS student. At that time I remember there were a lot of individuals who really didn't care much about school, their main goal was to be able to play a type of sport or participate in other extracurricular activities, all of which had a minimum GPA. In this case I always thought that extracurricular activities really helped to encourage these individuals to put more effort into their studies. So for me, I thought this was positive.
Although, from reading your reflection, I see that there is another side of the story. I guess I didn't ever really think about those students who were naturally motivated (or had motivation for reasons other than just playing sports). I can see the stress that could be put on these students, and it is right to ask when it's all to much. I think it is important for a teacher to step back and talk to these individuals about all the things that they have on their plate.
Hello Denise, et al,
After reading your initial post and our classmates' responses, I keep going back to something that creeps just under the surface of many of these articles. I think Mary was suggesting the need for students to be able to discuss this overactive, high-stakes resume-building culture with adults other than their parents, and that just reminds me: it's the relationships we make with these young people that are such a huge part of the motivating behavior. The theoretical perspectives are certainly fascinating and provoke great discussion amongst us, but aren't all these different models in some basic way a result of the caring, nurturing, challenging, respectful and playful relationship between two people, who also happen to be teacher-student/mentor-mentee? When I read these studies and reflect upon the teachers I know or have had in the past, I am quick to connect the motivating/non-motivating teaching behavior with that individual's respect for students as young people.
I hope we're nearing a tipping point where we can come back to letting kids be kids, and letting learning be fun again.
Hi Denise:
Thank you for bringing up this extremely importance issue about the heavy social responsibility burden that is expected of high performing students. I was shocked to read that some colleges/universities now require an activities resume. I think that many of these post-secondary administrators and decision makers have lost the point in what should be the reason(s) for a young person becoming socially involved: interest, commitment, and a desire to either make a difference or do something different. In addition, these decision makers are now expecting quantity as opposed to quality and substance.
For example, I love to sing and as a little girl, I was a member of the various choirs my church established: Toddler(ages:3-5), Youth(ages: 6-12), Teen(ages: 13-19), and Adult(20 and older). In elementary and secondary school, I was a member of the school choir. In terms of external activities, I was part of the the Bronx Borough-Wide Chorus throughout my middle school years. When I entered HS, I became a member of the All-City Chorus (9th & 10th grade years)and for my last two years of HS (11th and 12th grade), I joined All-State and attended the School of Choral Studies during my summer break. When it was time for me to apply to college, I was able to show a long-term commitment to my musical studies and discuss the diverse group of people that I met and interacted with over the course of my young life as well of the myriad way I had to be discipline and responsible. Furthermore, I was able to talk about the ways in which I helped some of my peers who had gotten into trouble. Specifically, I talked many of my friends into joining the choir with me when I informed them about the various places we travelled to for a performance.
The overall point I am making is that just as with learning, social activities should be meaningful and relevant to a young person and it should not be about accumulating a check box of activities that superficially reflects social awareness.
Best,
~Aja
I believe student assessments should be more diverse such as porfolios, projects. Giving students piles of traditional homework does not reflect the learning styles and creativity instructors/districts need to foster, variety will tap into the multiple intelligences of all students, thus increasing motivation to create and succeed.
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