Psychology and Motivation

TheMudge The Real Mudge 2520 post s 17-Jan-2008 8:30 PM	Here is a dilemma on which I'd like some comments. In the English 101 course that I teach, the typical attrition rate across all sections (regardless of the instrutor) is anywhere from 30% to 50%. In other words, among all students who enroll in any given section at the beginning of the semester, at least a third drop the class, are withdrawn by the instructor (for nonattendance or failure to keep up), or fail it. Because they are new to the college environment, most are unaware that this happens. Especially in a community college, where many look upon the freshman year as a sort of 13th grade, students expect to pass almost automatically because they were often automatically promoted to the next grade in school after doing minimal or no work. Here is the dilemma: Which is psychologically the better motivating tool – to make students aware of this fact from the outset or to leave them in the dark? Is letting them know that 30% to 50% are "at risk" if they don't do the work likely to make them exert more effort, or will it just discourage them from trying because they think they are doomed? ---------- Rich Turner (The Curmudgeon Himself) Last Edited on 17-Jan-2008 8:33 PM
Sapninman 353 post s 19-Jan-2008 10:21 AM	For the sake of motivation, let them know ahead of time. Motivation aside, it's the honest thing to do.
Pogo 220 post s 19-Jan-2008 11:27 AM	Ask them if they want to flip burgers all their lives. I first heard of social promotion in the late '50s, when a teacher mentioned to our class. We were aghast! But the last two or three generations do not know what school is for, I think. In 1994, a co-worker told me that her husband's 14-year-old son had snapped, "I don't have to do homework. I already know how to apply for welfare, and I only have to wait four years to do that." Not long ago, Elizabeth Moon (novelist and mother) told of inviting the neighborhood's children over one night to observe Saturn through her telescope. One pre-teen girl looked and exclaimed, "It's real!" Turned out she'd thought most school subjects had been made up by teachers so they'd have things they could make their pupils memorize.
Bradd 423 post s 19-Jan-2008 6:57 PM	Having been in more than one of those situations in my life - where we were told "some of you won't make the cut" - that just made us all the more intense in trying to avoid "not making it". Such a "threat" never made us give up from the beginning, it made us try harder. Whether this psychology applies to your situation, I have no idea. But I think it's worth a try.
CeeBee 1504 post s 19-Jan-2008 7:07 PM	I would tell them upfront, but subtly by asking for their opinion -- "Should I warn each class that 30% to 50% are 'at risk' if they don't do the work?" Turn it into a class discussion. Last Edited on 19-Jan-2008 7:12 PM
TheMudge The Real Mudge 2524 post s 19-Jan-2008 7:26 PM	CeeBee, you're joking, right? As soon as I say, "Should I tell you this?" I've told 'em. ---------- Rich Turner (The Curmudgeon Himself)
CeeBee 1505 post s 19-Jan-2008 8:27 PM	I did say "subtly." Perhaps I should have said "rhetorically." Yes, Mudge -- As soon as I say, "Should I tell you this?" I've told 'em. It's like Caesar telling the Senate, "I won't mention that my soldiers are marching without shoes, and I won't add that most of the horses have died." Only if the class verbally and emotionally invests in the discussion will it become reality, especially to those who would otherwise let the information go in one ear and out the other. I've had three bosses during the past 23 years. Only one was a leader. She held round-table discussions with her staff and gathered our educated and experienced opinions in order to make decisions that worked. The other two considered themselves leaders, made decisions despite the staff, and marched alone into disaster. Last Edited on 19-Jan-2008 8:51 PM

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