Introduction Fifth grade teacher, Mr. Baer has a challenge on his hands. Although school has scarcely started, he has already noticed that ten-year-old Annie is withdrawn during Language Arts class. When she blurts out, “I just can’t do this writing stuff!” he knows that she has already given up on herself as a writer. Somehow, he must get to the root of why she has given up and help her regain her joy of learning. He must provide her with the help she needs, make writing interesting and enjoyable for her, and help her regain confidence in her skills as a writer.
A Lack of Self-Efficacy: Understanding Annie’s Comment Mr. Baer remembers reading about Albert Bandura, who stands out among behavioral psychologists because of his focus on self-efficacy – the importance of believing in oneself to accomplish difficult tasks (Slavin, 2016 pp. 117-118). How students perceive themselves plays a significant role in their learning. If they earn plaudits, or experience a sense of pride and accomplishment after completing a task, they will return to it over and over– even if the task is difficult – because it is pleasurable (Ferguson & Jaeger, 2017). On the other hand, if they fail and become frustrated by a task, they will avoid it, believing themselves to be incapable. Bandura focused on the importance of human …show more content…
114). During the attentional phase, students must become eager to learn. To “hook” Annie, Mr. Baer modifies some of the writing prompts to include topics which pique her interest. Equally important as the material is the classroom environment, since students are motivated by vicarious experience, as they learn from the successes or failures of their peers (Slavin, 2016, p. 114). Mr. Baer asks successful students to coach Annie with her writing, acting as peer
A Lack of Self-Efficacy: Understanding Annie’s Comment Mr. Baer remembers reading about Albert Bandura, who stands out among behavioral psychologists because of his focus on self-efficacy – the importance of believing in oneself to accomplish difficult tasks (Slavin, 2016 pp. 117-118). How students perceive themselves plays a significant role in their learning. If they earn plaudits, or experience a sense of pride and accomplishment after completing a task, they will return to it over and over– even if the task is difficult – because it is pleasurable (Ferguson & Jaeger, 2017). On the other hand, if they fail and become frustrated by a task, they will avoid it, believing themselves to be incapable. Bandura focused on the importance of human …show more content…
114). During the attentional phase, students must become eager to learn. To “hook” Annie, Mr. Baer modifies some of the writing prompts to include topics which pique her interest. Equally important as the material is the classroom environment, since students are motivated by vicarious experience, as they learn from the successes or failures of their peers (Slavin, 2016, p. 114). Mr. Baer asks successful students to coach Annie with her writing, acting as peer