Student BELIEFS

1. Student BELIEFS Elise Kechele, Jeannine O’Brian & Graham Smith

2. Student Beliefs Activity • We need 4 volunteers for an activity about student beliefs! Please come up to the front of the room.

3. What are the components of student beliefs? • Self-Efficacy • Connectedness

4. Self-Efficacy • Self-efficacy refers to how capable people feel in achieving their goals (Savitz-Romer & Bouffard, 2012). • Four factors of self efficacy beliefs (Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2012). • Previous personal accomplishments • Vicarious learning • Social Persuasion • Physiological state

5. Self-Efficacy • Research shows that students with higher self-efficacy beliefs have higher GPAs (Pajares, Britner, & Valiante, 2000). • More praise of student work promotes self-efficacy and higher levels of self efficacy lead to better grades (Jackson, 2002).

6. Connectedness • School connectedness is the experience of positive social interactions with teachers and peers, liking school, participation in school activities, and feeling safe at school(Gottfried, 2010). • Decreasing school connectedness is associated with increasing school nurse visits, cigarette use, alcohol use, and absenteeism (Bonny, Britto, Klostermann, Hornung, & Slap, 2000).

7. How do self-efficacy and connectedness work together? • Research shows that a strong sense of connectedness increases a students’ self-efficacy; i.e. a strong community environment yields a much stronger belief in one’s own abilities (Karcher, 2005).

8. Self-Determination Theory • People inherently want to grow. • Three needs that lead to positive outcomes (Ryan & Deci, 2000). • Competence • Relatedness • Autonomy • One positive outcome = self-efficacy (Schunk & Pajares, 2002).

9. What can teachers do to improve self-efficacy and connectedness? • Rapport • Be approachable and friendly to students. • Failure • Reframe failure as an opportunity to learn and expand a student’s knowledge. • Meaningful Praise • Praise students for their successes, but do not over praise in a condescending way(Willingham, 2009).

10. What can teachers do to improve self-efficacy and connectedness? • Help students set SMART goals • Provide Feedback • De-emphasize social comparisons within the classroom • Encourage students to notice their own progress – Are you doing better than you were yesterday? (Schunk & Pajares, 2002)

11. How can I build rapport with my students? • P- Protecting the student by providing a safe environment • L- Listening to the student • E- Express interest • A- Acknowledging the student verbally and nonverbally • S- Supporting with praise • E- Exchanging information with the students (Amundson, 2005)

12. Scenarios • Cindy has two busy parents who do not spend a lot of time with her. They have high expectations, but they provide very little support. Her grades have been falling all semester. • What can you do as her teacher?

13. Scenarios • Benjaminrecently turned in his history paperand he did not receive a very good grade.  The ideas for his paper were well thought out, but his formatting and citations were problematic.  • As a teacher what can you do to help Benjamin improve his paper writing skills and promote his self-efficacy? 

14. Main Takeaways • Self Efficacy • Connectedness • Self Determination Theory • Competence • Autonomy • Relatedness • Rapport, Failure, Meaningful Praise • Compare student progress only to themselves • P.L.E.A.S.E.

15. References • Amundson, N.E., Harris-Bowlsbey, J., & Niles, S.G. (2005). Essential elements of career counseling. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall. • Bonny, A.E., Britto, M.T., Klostermann, B. K., Hornung, R.W., & Slap, G.B. (2000). School disconnectedness: Identifying adolescents at risk. Pediatrics, 106(5), 1017-1021. • Gottfried, M.A. (2010). Evaluating the relationship between student attendance and achievement in urban elementary and middle schools: An instrumental variables approach. American Educational Research Journal, (47)2, 434-465. • Jackson, J. W. (2002).  Enhancing self-efficacy and learning performance. Journal of Experimental Education. 70 (3), 243-254 • Karcher, M. J. (2005). The effects of developmental mentoring and high school mentors‘ attendance on their younger mentees' self-esteem, social skills, and connectedness. Psychology In The Schools, 42(1), 65-77. • Niles, S. G., & Harris-Bowlsbey, J. (2012). Career development interventions in the 21st century  (4th ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill Prentice Hall. • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78. • Savitz-Romer, M., & Bouffard, S. (2012). Ready, willing, and able: A developmental approach to college access and success. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. • Schunk, D. H. & Pajares, F. (2002). The development of academic self-efficacy. In A. Wigfield & J. Eccles (Eds.), Development of achievement motivation (pp. 16-29). San Diego: Academic Press. • Willingham, D. T. (2009). Why don’t students like school? A cognitive scientist answers questions about how the mind works and what it means for the classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.