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Siegle,
D. & McCoach, D.B.
Davidson Institute
for Talent Development
2004
This Tips for Parents article is from a seminar hosted by Del Siegle and D.
Betsy McCoach. It includes a summary of tips and strategies on helping
underachieving students to become achievement-oriented individuals. The
authors include a discussion of the psychology and rationale for each tip.
All individuals have the ability to learn and attain self-fulfillment,
however many young people are at risk of failing to achieve their academic
potential. Gifted students are one group of exceptional learners who are not
normally considered at risk for academic failure. However, the
underachievement of academically gifted students is an area of concern and
frustration for many parents, teachers, and counselors. Why do some students,
who seem capable of outstanding performance, fail to realize their potential?
What causes some gifted students to underachieve in school? Can we predict
which gifted students are at the greatest risk for underachievement? What can
we do to reverse a student's academic underachievement?
While there are many factors that contribute to achievement,
students who are achievement-oriented appear to exhibit three key perceptions
and a behavior. First, and foremost, they find value in their school
experience. School is meaningful. They enjoy what they are doing or believe
that what they are doing will produce beneficial outcomes. Second, they believe
that they have the skills to be successful. Third, they trust their
environment and expect that they can succeed in it. When students have
positive attitudes in each of these three areas, they are more likely to
produce self-regulated behavior. Self-regulated learners set realistic
expectations and implement appropriate strategies for academic success. Some
of these four components may play a stronger influence than others, but
overall, we believe that achievement-oriented individuals possess some combination
of them.
Valuing
Academic Tasks
First and foremost, students must value academics. "When students value
a task, they will be more likely to engage in it, expend more effort on it,
and do better on it" (Wigfield, 1994, p. 102). Students who do not value
the goals of school do not find any purpose in what they are learning, they
don't see any pay-off for learning it, and they're not interested in learning
it, so they turn off and tune out. The following are some minor modifications
that will increase the task value of activities for students:
·
Encourage and promote your students' interests and passions.
·
Help students to see beyond the immediate activity to the
long-term outcomes. A school assignment may seem unimportant, but pursuing a
dream career may be an outcome that your student is willing to strive toward.
Parents and educators may wish to share how they use various skills learned
in school.
·
Help students to set short and long-term academic goals.
Small, short-term goals work better for younger students. It is essential
that the goals are meaningful to students. Talk with them about possible
goals. Remember, goals that adults value may have little meaning to children.
·
Students are more likely to become engaged with material that
is optimally challenging. Ensure that all students are challenged (but not
frustrated) by classroom activities.
Self-Efficacy
Young people must also believe they have the skills to perform the task.
Self-efficacy refers to individuals' judgment of their capacity to perform
specific activities. The perceptions students have about their skills
influence the types of activities they select, how much they challenge
themselves at those activities, and the persistence they exhibit once they
are involved in the activities (Bandura, 1986).
Students need to believe that they have the skills to be
successful. This can be accomplished by helping them recognize the skills
that they have developed. Two factors need to be present: First, they must
believe they have the skills to do well and second, they must be aware that
they didn't always have those skills (the skills were something they
developed).
The way we compliment young people has an impact on how
successful they perceive themselves. It is important to be specific with
comments. A general compliment such as "Good work" does not carry
the weight of something more specific such as "You really know your
threes times tables." The latter provides more information about what
has been performed well. The student will likely reflect on the comment and
think, "Yes, I am good at threes." Students are able to better
cognitively appraise their progress when feedback is specific or when we've
helped them be aware of specific things they do well. Of course, compliments
must be genuine and earned. Complimenting children for tasks that they did
not perform well or for unchallenging tasks can be counterproductive and
diminish their trust.
In addition to helping students recognize the skills they
have, you need to help them understand that their abilities are not strictly
innate. Dweck (1975) demonstrated that students who believe abilities can be
developed and are not fixed are more likely to attempt challenging tasks and
persevere more in the face of difficulties than students who believe
abilities are innate. When we discuss a student's achievement with him/her,
we ought to mention specific skills he/she has developed by drawing attention
to the skill and to its development. We need to balance the role effort and
ability play. This can easily be accomplished by recognizing the skill as
something the student developed (without drawing undue attention to the
effort used). For example, "Look at how well you've learned your threes
tables" is more effective than "You are good at your threes
tables." The word "learned" indicates that this is a skill
that didn't always exist and implies that future skills can also be acquired.
Environmental
Perceptions
Students who view their environment as friendly and one that will provide
positive outcomes are more likely to demonstrate achievement-oriented
behavior. It is not enough to be confident that they have certain skills,
they must expect that they will succeed if they put forth effort. Rathvon
(1996) hypothesized that, "The underachiever's failure to assume responsibility
arises from his unconscious belief that his own efforts do not affect the
events or individuals in his world" (p. 66).
Student's perceptions of the friendliness of the environment
may or may not be accurate. The first step is to determine whether students'
perceptions are distorted. If they are not, then changes need to be made in
the environment. These changes must be implemented with input from the
student. For example, if a child feels it is too noisy to study at home, ask
the child what needs to be done to make it quiet enough. It may be as simple
as asking, "What would it take for you do well?" Students must be
involved in helping find solutions to the environmental roadblocks they
perceive.
Self-Regulation
The factors of task value, self-efficacy, and environmental perceptions are
critical to being motivated. But being motivated may not be sufficient.
Students must be engaged in and complete the task. They may feel that math is
important, believe that they can do well in mathematics, and like their
school and teachers, but they do not follow through and execute the math
assignment.
Many gifted students may lack the self-management strategies
of time management and study skills. Because gifted students often progress
through the early years of school without being challenged, they sometimes
fail to develop the self-management skills that other students master. In the
early grades, good memory and fast processing skills can compensate for note
taking and other study skills. Often, educators attempt to teach students
study skills before students need those skills to be successful. This process
usually frustrates both the teachers and the students. Self-regulatory skills
are more likely to be internalized when they are needed to solve the problem
at hand. A solution to the problem is to provide gifted students with an
academically challenging curriculum early, and throughout their school
careers.
Another aspect of self-regulation involves setting personal
standards. Some students may feel that what they are doing is "good
enough." If students haven't been academically challenged in the past,
they may believe they can achieve satisfactory results with very little
effort. Gifted students may also underachieve to hide their need for
perfectionism.
The third category of self-regulation is self-monitoring.
These skills include monitoring distractibility, practicing delayed
gratification, and awareness of performance avoidance.
·
Encourage students to pursue excellence, rather than
perfection. Adults can model acceptance of their mistakes while striving for
excellence. Gifted students should not be expected, or expect, to complete
every task, in every area, with 100% accuracy.
·
Help students plan tasks. This serves two functions. First, it
develops a mindset that the task is doable. Young people are often reluctant
to begin a task because they are unsure how to begin. Second, it minimizes
the unknown. Through planning, children can visualize a task coming to
fruition.
·
Help students set realistic expectations. This involves
setting goals that are difficult enough to be challenging, yet not so
difficult as to be unachievable and discouraging. Learning occurs best when
new material cannot be mastered without assistance, but can be mastered with
minor direction from someone more knowledgeable (Vygotsky, 1939/1962).
Much
that motivates young people is still a mystery. The suggestions presented in
this article provide insights into some strategies that promote
achievement-orientation. Adults can support students and encourage them to
pursue their interests and passions. With a little effort, educators and
parents can help students to see that what they are doing serves a purpose,
to believe they have the skills to perform well, to trust that their
environments will encourage their productivity, and to set realistic
expectations for themselves. Early encouragement of achievement-oriented
behaviors is a major step toward helping young people lead productive and
fulfilling lives.
References
Bandura,
A. (1986). Social foundations
of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Dweck,
C. S. (1975). The role of expectations and attributions in the alleviation of
learned helplessness. Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 674-685.
Rathvon,
N. (1996). The unmotivated
child: Helping your underachiever become a successful student. New York:
Simon and Schuster.
Vygotsky.
L. S. (1962). Thought and
language. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (Original
work published 1939)
Wigfield,
A. (1994). The role of children's achievement values in the self-regulation
of their learning outcomes. In D. H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Self-regulation of learning and
performance: Issues and educational applications (pp. 101-124). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
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