Leadership magazine Nov/Dec 2018 V48 No. 2 | Page 26

The research of the Mindset Scholars Network on the interaction of a task rel- evance and a student’s level of motivation suggests motivation levels aren’t important when performing fun, simple or rewarding tasks. Student motivation and thus engage- ment becomes visible when tasks are difficult or mundane. Next, we see the vastly differ- ent pathways a student’s sense of relevance can have on their engagement. Finally, it is important we understand this is a recipro- cal process where the process perpetuates itself. Not understanding the relevance of a task can lead to lowered engagement and performance, which further diminishes mo- tivation and confirms a student’s belief in the lack of relevance. Researchers have shown that we can help students re-engage with school by helping them understand how a particularly chal- lenging task or subject connects to their values and identity. Hulleman and Har- ackiewicz (2012) explored the impact of a writing intervention, asking students in a high school science class to write how the material connects to their lives. The authors 26 Leadership found that this brief intervention demon- strated “…that encouraging students to make connections between science course material and their lives promoted both in- terest and performance for students with low success expectancies. The effect on per- formance was particularly striking, because students with low-success expectancies im- proved nearly two-thirds of a letter grade.” Is there something I can do about it? Much of our job as educators is to get kids to do hard things and things they are not yet good at. These are necessary actions in the learning process. We should not expect stu- dents to work hard, recover from mistakes and take chances if they do not believe their actions will have any direct inf luence on their learning. Why would students persist, study, ask questions and not give up if they believe their efforts have no bearing on the outcome? This is why directly teaching students the control they have over their learning and achievement is an important aspect of being an exceptional teacher. In “Mindset,” Dweck (2006) explains that students who attribute outcomes to factors under their control, particularly effort, are more: • Persistent, • Receptive to instruction, • Willing to learn from others, • Honest about their performance, • Willing to take on challenges, • Willing to take risks, • Accurate in their estimations of their abilities, • Likely to view failure as temporary, • Likely to take action when depressed, • Resilient after failure. How many educators would like to see more of those traits in their students? For- tunately, there is a wealth of research and literature about how we can teach students a growth mindset. This is typically done by providing short, simple lessons teaching students about neuroplasticity and how the brain grows and changes with experience. Is this a threat or an opportunity? As discussed previously, when we don’t feel safe, our body and mind are focused on self preserveration. In these situations, we focus on not making mistakes and we worry about what others are saying and thinking about us. In contrast, when someone interprets a chal- lenging situation as a chance to take the next step toward their dream, their body and mind focus on the task at hand, so that mental and physical resources are working in unison to take advantage of the opportunity. When a teacher passes out a test, by defi- nition it should be challenging and the body and mind will produce hormones and chemi- cals to respond to this challenge. If students see the test as a threat, worrying that they are going to fail and others will laugh at them, they are likely to focus on not making a mis- take and underperform. However, if they see this as the moment they have prepared for, there may be more of a positive jolt of energy as the body and mind prepare to take advan- tage of the opportunity. The test is neutral; how our students perceive the test has impor- tant implications on their performance. Like many of the research interven- tions highlighted in this article, there are a number of examples of how we can shift a student’s focus from threat to opportunity;