Tips Suck!

1. Tips Suck! Combating the quick-fix culture by using motivation theory to inform learning skill practice Peter Walsh, M.Ed. McMaster University Richard “Zack” Zajchowski, M.Ed. Camosun College

2. Agenda • Why Tips Don’t Work • Motivational Assessment and Intervention • Readiness for Change • Self Regulation • Learning Processes • Learning Strategies • Discussion(s)

3. The Quick Fix Culture Why ‘Tips’ Don’t Work

4. ‘Tip’ Examples • When in doubt, pick C. • Yellow helps you “concentrate.” • The first answer is your best answer. • Check marks are more “motivating” than crossing items off your To Do List. • Strawberries make you smarter.

5. Tips vs. Strategies • A tip is a: • short, superficial recommendation • easy to implement • Often has some intuitive or novel appeal • A strategy* is: • specific approach to a learning task • you choose to use • that improves your learning effectiveness *From Learning for Success 4thed, Fleet, Goodchild, Zajchowski

6. ‘Tips’ in Research • Poor research to begin with • Fails to address individual variability • A student is not an ‘average’ but a self aware, multidimensional, evolving “data point” • Fails to teach the situational utility of the technique when, where, how • Doesn’t motivate For a good comprehensive beginner level review of research on learning and thinking see the public document of Jennifer Cromley’s report on Learning to Think: Learning to Learn (2000). National Institute for Literacy. http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/fellowship/cromley_report.pdf.

7. Why Teaching ‘Tips’ may be Worse • No theory to assist choosing the right technique (cf. “tools” approach) • Fail to develop the student’s ability to be adaptive, flexible, and self directed. • Ignores what happens when the “tip” doesn’t work! IN SHORT … They … • Trivialize the complexity of human learning and human change processes

8. Discussion #1 • What are your thoughts about the quick fix culture? • Other examples of Quick Fix? • Solutions?

9. Motivational Assessment and Intervention in the learning skills context

10. Readiness for Change • Self Regulation Issues • Understanding Learning Process • Specific Learning Strategies

11. Change isn’t Easy • Telling doesn’t mean doing • Persons under stress revert to more ‘primitive’ coping strategies • Newby’s Law: Stress ↑  Organization of Info↓ • 30 attempts to establish a habit (unknown source) • RESISTANCE – e.g. YBS: yes but syndrome

12. Stages of Change Model Remind Again Later 1 Pre-Contemplation Raise Awareness & Doubts Encourage to Try Again 2 Contemplation Develop a Theory & Tip the Balance 3 Planning 6. Relapse Get Concrete 4 Action Stay the Course, Encouragement, support 5 Maintenance Modified from Changing for good, by Prochaska, Norcross., and Diclementi (1994)

13. Malleable Attribution E.g. time, effort, strategy ‘If at first you don’t succeed …’ Persist and succeed Fixed Attribution E.g. IQ, Ability, Character ‘Either you got “it” or you don’t.’ Drop out and fail What keeps people trying? Attribution: an explanation of success or failure Biggest challenge for a Counsellor is to move a student from a Fixed Attribution Bias to a Malleable AttributionBias. * Adapted from Perry (2003), Perceived academic control and causal thinking in achievement settings, Canadian Psychology, 44 (3) 312-331. Also see Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman.

14. Implications for Counselling • During the first 5 minutes, I assess readiness for change. • Use counselling strategies appropriate to the stage they are in • If I get too many “yes buts” to a learning strategy, I go back to an earlier stage.

15. Motivational Presenting 1 Pre-Contemplation Create Cognitive Dissonance Deglitch and Adjust 2 Contemplation Provide an “Ah Hah!” 3 Planning 6. Relapse Get Concrete 4 Action Problem Solve 5 Maintenance Modified from Changing for good, by Prochaska, Norcross., and Diclementi (1994).

16. Discussion #2 • What do you think of the model? • What struggles have you had around motivation, Yes But, and resistance? • What do you do to motivate students? • What did you do to overcome resistance and the yes but syndrome? • How do you create cognitive dissonance?

17. Tiered Assessment & Intervention • Readiness for Change • Self Regulation Issues • Understanding Learning Process • Specific Learning Strategies

18. Observer You Control Monitor Action You Meta-Cognition & Self Regulation Executive Intention Will Power “Motivation” “Just do it” Feedback Reflection Adapted from Nelson, T. O. & Narens, L. (1996). Why investigate metacognition. In Metacognition: Knowing about knowing (Ed. Metcalfe, J. & Shimamura, A. P.). London, England:Bradford/MIT.

19. Why is meta-cognition important • Research links incompetence to weaknesses in meta-cognitive skills*. • Specifically, it was found that failure to monitor competence lead to self delusion about one’s abilities. • Training in meta-cognitive monitoring skills increased competence. * Kruger, J. & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 1121-1134.

20. Meta-Cognition and theFeeling of Knowing (FOK) • FOK is the subjective felt sense of knowing something in the absence of verifiable demonstration of knowledge. • In most routine tasks, FOK judgments are 80% accurate. • However, inflated or misguided FOK judgments can lead to student learning problems. • Maybe maturational. From Metacognition: Knowing about knowing (Ed. Metcalfe, J. & Shimamura, A. P.). London, England:Bradford/ MIT.

21. Implications for Counselling • Failure to monitor and adjust will undermine any learning strategy • Examples of strategies gone wrong… • Hi-Lighter Hypnosis • Human Xerox Machine • Coma Reading • “Look over” studying/reading

22. Tiered Assessment & Intervention • Readiness for Change • Self Regulation Issues • Understanding Learning Process • Specific Learning Strategies

23. So how does ‘technique’ fit? • Specific techniques must be served on a platter of theory of when, why, and how to use the technique given personal attributes and context. * This is called “Explicit Instruction” and “Strategic Learning Instruction” in the literature.

24. Tiered Assessment & Intervention • Readiness for Change • Self Regulation Issues • Understanding Learning Process • Specific Learning Strategies

25. Simile: Skills and Tools • A skill is developed over time, requires effort, allows for confusion and inconsistent initial results • A tool is an interface between a TASK and a PERSON • The more Tools you have, the easier the “job”

26. Role Play Discussion #4 Implementing this in your practice

27. SUMMARY 1 Pre-Contemplation • Readiness • Self Regulation • Learning Processes • Learning Strategies Create Cognitive Dissonance Raise Awareness & Doubts 2 Contemplation Develop a Theory & Tip the Balance Provide an “Ah Hah!” 3 Planning Get Concrete 4 Action Stay the Course, Encouragement, support 5 Maintenance Modified from Changing for good, by Prochaska, Norcross., and Diclementi (1994)

28. Bibliography Motivational Interviewing, Second Edition : Preparing People for Change (2002) by Miller and Rollnick Changing for Good (1995) by Prochaska, Norcross, & Diclemente. Assisting At-Risk College Students with Attribution Retraining and Effective Teaching (1994). By Menec, Peer, Struthers, Shonwhetter, Hechter, and Eichholz. Journal of applied social psychology, 24(8), 675-701 Learning to Think, Learning to Learn: What The Science Of Thinking And Learning Has To Offer Adult Education (2000).Jennifer Cromley. Accessed online at http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/fellowship/cromley_report.pdf. Perceived academic control and causal thinking in achievement settingsby PerryCanadian Psychology, 44 (3) 312-331

29. Requested Additional Resources • Zack’s book: Learning for Success 4th ed, Fleet, Goodchild, Zajchowski, 2005. Thompson-Nelson publishers (you can likely get a instructor’s copy) • Peter’s Videos: http://maclife.mcmaster.ca/academicskills/workshops.cfm?wid=1

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