I’m Just Not Good at It- John

Final Design Project

1
 Case Summary

John is a seven-year old student in my second-grade classroom. John is very social and

well-liked by his peers, yet he has trouble participating academically in the classroom. Initially

upon finding out that John would be in my classroom this year, past teachers of John reached

out to share their “stories” of their own experiences with John. I learned that although

generally sweet and funny, John was a reluctant student. John’s first grade teacher even stated

that by the end of the year, she ran out of ideas to help John stay engaged, particularly in

writing. Anything that had worked for her in her 35 years of prior teaching experience had

failed with John. As a newer teacher to the profession, I was clearly worried. However, my goal

is to give each student a “fresh start” each year, and I tried not to let prior experiences

influence my relationship with John.

Within the first few weeks of school, it was clear that John hadn’t changed much over

the summer months. John is an average student academically, and isn’t struggling by any

means. However, John tends to be a “perfectionist”. If he’s not sure about his ability to do

something, then he just won’t do it. In the classroom, students often participate in various

thinking routines and “turn and talk” with partners. With such open-ended conversations, John

shuts down and refuses to participate. He will evade the situation by acting silly and disruptive

to draw attention away from his lack of participation.

The only subject that John enjoys and feels confident in is reading. In turn, this is the

only part of the day where John can be seen actively engaged in the material. Looking at John’s

abilities, the area in which he struggles the most is writing. It’s hard to determine if John is

capable of meeting grade-level standards in writing because of his consistent reluctance to

2
write anything down. In past grades, John had struggled with writing as well. However, John

also doesn’t want to put in the work that it takes to improve his skills in writing. During whole-

class minilessons, John often appears distracted. He can be seen looking around the room,

staring blankly, or playing with his clothes or shoes. Other times, John is trying to distract others

around him and make other students laugh by making silly noises, funny faces, or poking at

other students to try to get their attention. This, in turn, becomes very disruptive to both John’s

learning and the learning of his peers.

During independent worktimes, John’s work reluctance continues. Despite multiple

check-ins with myself and daily goal setting, in addition to the small ground conferences and

strategy groups that he is involved in, John refuses to write anything down. When asking John

about his writing plans for the day, John can often verbally tell me what he wants to write

about. In my classroom, students have choice in their daily writing topics. As long as students

are writing on the genre that we are studying, they are free to choose whichever topic interests

them. When John verbally describes his stories, they often revolve around Pokémon (which is

his favorite topic). Once we establish a topic and talk about his ideas, John is off to write

independently. Instead of writing, John typically finds other things to occupy his time.

Sometimes he is distracting other students by walking around the room, getting up to sharpen

his pencil, or talking to others at his table. Other times, John serves as his own distraction by

drawing pictures on his paper, playing with items in his pencil box, or looking around the

classroom. John’s lack of confidence in his writing skills and his lack of motivation to address the

problem and improve himself is a road block in his education and an issue that needs to be

addressed for John to be successful in coming years.

3
 Revised Motivational Assessment

The Learning Activity

In my initial assessment of John, I observed and took notes of John during a typical

writing workshop lesson. These lessons consist of a brief “mini-lesson”, followed y small group

or independent practice of the new skill that was learned. Since this is the area where John

struggles the most, this was the subject that I wanted to focus on. In the initial assessment, I

taught a mini-lesson on “crafting powerful beginnings” in student’s narrative small moment

stories. We studied mentor texts together as a class to generate ideas of what expert authors

do to make the beginnings of their stories powerful and students collaborated with each other

to discuss a plan for how they could do this in their own writing. Students then had an

opportunity to look through their own writing pieces that they have been working on in their

folders and re-read their beginnings. After analyzing their own beginnings in their writing

pieces, writers set a goal for themselves for how they will improve their beginnings, writing that

goal on a sticky note. Students were then sent back to their seats to edit/revise/write

independently for the remainder of the writing workshop.

The Learning Setting

My classroom has 24 students, 1 teacher (myself), and 1 paraprofessional who is in and

out of the classroom throughout the day to support a different student in my class. Students

are seated around 5 round tables. Each student has a box of their own personal supplies, a seat

pocket that holds their notebooks/folders, and a basket of shared supplies at each table.

Students sit at the front carpet for whole group instruction. On the carpet, students have

4
assigned “sit spots”. Students are seated in these spots next to their assigned carpet partner.

These are heterogenous academic and social pairings. My classroom has a library, a nook with

crate seats and a large chair, a space for backpack hooks, individual student mailboxes, as well

as a “teacher space” where my desk and kidney table are located for small group instruction.

Motivational Observations
On the carpet during whole group instruction, John appears disconnected and

uninterested. He does not raise his hand to participate in the discussion. With his carpet

partner, John does not display any signs of active listening. He is not looking at his partner,

facing his partner, or responding to his partners ideas. When it is John’s turn to share with his

partner, he is acting silly instead. He is making faces and funny noises to try to make his partner

laugh. Partnerships around him are starting to get distracted as well. As students are turning

and talking, I am circulating throughout the room. I redirect John by kneeling down next to him

and asking what ideas he had to share about what makes a good beginning to a story. John says

that he didn’t have any ideas to share.

Students then transition from the carpet and back to their desks for independent writing

time. I immediately bring John over to my desk to discuss his goals for writing for the day.

Together, he tells me the topic that he’s going to write about (a trip he had taken to Lego Land)

and we set a manageable goal for writing volume (about half of a page). I write a dot halfway

down his page so that John’s goal is visible to him. John is then sent back to his seat to begin

writing on his own while I conference with small strategy groups. While John is back at his seat,

he is not talking to others around him or distracting others, but he is also not accomplishing any

writing. John seems to be staring blankly at his paper. He’s playing with his sweatshirt, drawing

5
on his eraser, and playing with marker tops from his pencil box. I can see the off-task behavior

from my desk and call out to John to begin writing. Between each group (every 5-10 minutes), I

check in with John to see what he’s accomplished. John has nothing written on his paper. He

continues to say that he’s thinking about what he’s going to write. I encourage him to just write

whatever comes to mind, and we will have time to edit and revise later. As I continue with

strategy groups, I notice that John is starting to talk to the student at his table. I move John to a

desk that is secluded so that he can have a quiet place to concentrate, free of distractions. John

moves, without argument, and begins drawing a picture at the top of his page. 25 minutes into

our 30-minute writing block, John still does not have any words written on his paper. I ask John

to verbally tell me his story and explain the picture to me, and then we can organize his ideas

onto paper in words. John states, “We went to Lego Land and I had fun.”. I encourage John to

write that sentence onto his paper, and he tells me that he needs to go to the bathroom. By

this time, the writing block has finished and students pack up their supplies, with no words

written on John’s paper still.

Motivational Analysis
Looking at the preconditions for learning, I believe that John views school as a safe environment

in which he enjoys attending. He has many friends at school and is accepted by his peers

(although they sometimes become frustrated with John when his behaviors become too

distracting). The classroom is set up for collaboration among students, with students facing

each other around round tables and partnerships seated close to each other on the carpet.

However, I could see how this can aid in distractions for John when it comes time to focus, since

he is near friends. I’ve worked to build a classroom community in my classroom from the

6
beginning of the year. We have daily morning and afternoon meetings, engage in community

building games/activities at least once a week, and speak openly and honestly with each other.

John actively participates in these activities and loves to socialize in non-academic ways. My

purpose is to build a relationship with John so that we build mutual respect and values towards

learning, instead of constantly having to redirect John. My current approach for motivation for

John in writing is to give him choice in his writing topic so that he is more interested in writing. I

wanted to move away from extrinsic rewards/motivation for John, which previous year’s

teachers have already tried.

Features of the TARGET Model

Task- I work to make the task (writing) interesting and engaging by allowing students to

choose their topics and write about whatever is meaningful to them. Additionally, John benefits

from setting a goal before each independent writing session begins. The goal is challenging, yet

obtainable so that John can still be motivated to participate without feeling overwhelmed.

Authority- I work to share my authority with students by allowing them to explore new

skills in partnerships and individually taking ownership in helping create tools in the classroom

such as our writing anchor charts.

Recognition- In my initial analysis, I wanted to improve upon recognition with John.

Although I encouraged John to get his thoughts on paper, I noticed that I never celebrated small

steps that he was taking to get there, such as drawing the picture of his small moment on the

page. I’ve since worked to become more aware of not only the amount of recognition that John

is receiving, but also the kind of praise as well. It’s important for me to not only celebrate John’s

victories, but to give him targeted feedback that will aid in growing his writing abilities.

7
 Grouping- In my classroom, many of my student partnerships are arranged

heterogeneously. There is typically one “higher” student paired with one “lower” student. Since

John struggles in writing, he is the “lower” student in his partnership. I could see how this could

make lower achieving students feel inferior when working in partnerships with students who

are achieving at a higher level. Since my initial assessment, I have tried various types of

partnerships during writing to attempt to alleviate John’s lack of confidence in his previous

partnership. Currently, in our non-fiction unit of study, students are partnered based on

interest. Students who are choosing to write their non-fiction books on similar topics are

grouped together to share ideas and collaborate for the improvement of their stories

Evaluation- I evaluate students on their writing progress individually, noting their

individual growth and not comparing students to each other.

Time- In my initial analysis, I believed that I could improve upon the rigid time

constraints that I place on our writing block. I wanted to explore other learning activities that

may not be confined to this small allotted block. Since then, I’ve tried to incorporate writing

tasks across different content areas. For example, when working on writing persuasive letters,

students transferred this work across to social studies and wrote persuasive letters to the

citizens in our community on why it’s important to not litter.

Proposed Motivational Intervention/Rationale

In my original assessments of John, I believed that he mainly worked for extrinsic

rewards and wouldn’t complete tasks unless there was a reward tied to them. Although

external factors may play a role in motivating John, I believe that his motivation issues lie within

his self-efficacy perceptions. Upon further observation and analysis, I’ve noted that John can be

8
a “perfectionist”. In math, his numbers need to be lined up perfectly and his answers neatly

written. During guided reading groups, John is talkative and eager when he’s confident in his

answers, but shuts down completely if he becomes unsure. Writing has always been an area

where John has struggled with work production and avoiding the tasks. He’s never received the

strong positive reinforcement of his ability to succeed in writing, and hasn’t had any experience

succeeding to base his efforts off of. According to the text, “If they (students) doubt their

capabilities for succeeding, students are likely to try to avoid the situation, or if this is not

possible, to give up easily when they encounter frustration or failure” (Wentzel & Brophy, 2014,

pg. 145).

To gather more data on my self-efficacy suspicions for John, I reflected on the

“Questions for Teachers to Monitor Practices that Affect Achievement-Related Beliefs” as

provided in Appendix 7 of Stipek, 2002. I decided to give John a survey collecting his thoughts

on his abilities to perform in various subject areas throughout the day successfully, as well as

his interest and enjoyment of writing specifically. I wanted to compare how John’s self-efficacy

perceptions vary based on the subject at hand and how this, in combination with his interest

level, could play a role in his motivation. The results of the survey (shown below) were

consistent with my beliefs- John lacks confidence in his ability to perform task successfully and

directly influence his work refusal.

STUDENT INTEREST SURVEY

1. I think I’m a good writer.

Not at All Sometimes Most of the Time All of the Time

9
 2. I think I’m a good reader.

Not at All Sometimes Most of the Time All of the Time

3. I think I’m a good mathematician.

Not at All Sometimes Most of the Time All of the Time

4. I understand what to do during writing workshop.

Not at All Sometimes Most of the Time All of the Time

5. I feel confident that I can write good stories.

Not at All Sometimes Most of the Time All of the Time

6. I enjoy writing workshop.

Not at All Sometimes Most of the Time All of the Time

7. I wish I had more time to write.

Not at All Sometimes Most of the Time All of the Time

The Expectancy x Value model provides an explanation on why John lacks the

motivation to participate in writing. “The expectancy x value model of motivation holds that the

effort that people are willing to invest in an activity is the product of (a) the degree to which

they expect to be able to perform the activity successfully if they apply themselves (and thus

expect to get whatever rewards that successful performance will bring), and (b) the degree to

which they value those rewards as well as the opportunity to engage in the processes involved

in carrying out the activity itself” (Wentzel & Brophy, 2014, pg. 141). For John, it’s important for

both value and confidence to be in place for motivation to participate to occur. According to

the text, John is likely exhibiting dissembling. This occurs when “students recognize value in the

10
activity but do not feel capable of meeting its demands. They are uncertain of what to do, how

to do it, or whether they can do it” (Wentzel & Brophy, 2014, pg. 143).

TARGET Framework

In order to increase John’s self-efficacy perceptions, my goal is to help John become

more comfortable with the idea of working through challenges and becoming familiar with the

power of “yet” (e.g. I don’t understand this YET, but I can try different strategies). Growth

mindset lessons and objectives will be incorporated into John’s writing tasks in the form of

SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely) goals.

Task- Students will continue to have choice in their writing topics. As long as students

are writing on the genre that we are currently studying, they are free to write about a topic that

is meaningful to them. Prior to beginning independent writing, John will create a SMART goal

for his writing time, in collaboration with the teacher. Once the SMART goal is created, together

we will create concrete steps that John can take in reaching that goal. John will be able to check

each step off of the list once he has completed that task. This ensures that John not only knows

what the expectation for writing time is, but he is equipped with a tool to help John know

where to begin and what he needs to do next to accomplish that goal. The emphasis is on

John’s personal growth towards achieving his goal, “rather than with emphasis on tests, grades,

or extrinsic rewards” (Wentzel & Brophy, 2014, pg. 30).

Authority- SMART goals will be created in collaboration with the teacher and the

student. The student initiates the goal-setting conversation with what he personally wants to

improve upon. The teacher may provide help in aiding John towards choosing a goal if John

needs support, using anchor charts, rubrics, etc. However, John must agree upon and feel

11
comfortable with the goal that is set. The teacher will also provide frequent “check-ins” during

independent writing time with John to ensure that he is moving towards achieving his goal. At

this time, the teacher will provide specific feedback that will aid in moving John forward in his

thoughts and ideas and give him concrete ideas to work on in his writing until his next check-in

point. Although supported by the teacher, the student is at the forefront of the goal setting

process and most of the authority from the teacher is released.

Recognition- Any noteworthy progress that John is making towards progressing

towards his goal will be recognized. This recognition could take place during the “check-in”

points during independent writing, or during the goal setting meetings prior to independent

work. In order for John to feel confident in his abilities on his own, he needs to be praised

appropriately for the positive steps that he’s taking. If John progresses in his checklist that was

created in order to achieve his goal, this will be celebrated, while being sure to include in the

praise why it’s so important that he accomplished this. This will increase both self-efficacy

perceptions and value together.

Grouping- During the “share” portion of writing workshop, partnerships and

groupings will be rearranged frequently. Instead of basing groupings heterogeneously based on

academic achievement (as I’ve done in the past), interest-based groupings will be implemented.

Students who are writing about similar topics will be partnered together. This will help alleviate

competitive feelings between students, or thoughts that one student in the partnership is

“better” than the other.

Evaluation- John will be evaluated based on the amount of noteworthy progress that

he is making towards his goal. The progress towards the goal and the amount of time spent

12
working towards each goal will be documented. Since goal-setting will be based off of second-

grade standards, evaluating progress towards goals is appropriate. Daily “time-on-task” notes

will also be documented to assess if the use of SMART goals is aiding in John’s ability to

participate in writing workshop with appropriate stamina. Together, progress towards the goal,

time spent working towards each goal, and daily time-on-task notes and evaluation will provide

a complete picture of how effective that SMART goals are. Re-administering the “Student

Interest Survey” could also be used as an assessment tool to see if John’s self-efficacy

perceptions are increased after SMART goal implementation.

Time- Since John’s writing stamina is currently low, the time expectation placed on

John during independent writing will gradually increase over time. Originally, John may be

writing for 5-10 minutes at a time, then working on pictures in his writing for an additional 5-10

minutes before returning to writing. John can have a “writing stamina” chart in his writing

folder. Each day, the teacher will mark how many minutes John was on task so that personal

growth will be visual and visible to John each day.

Expected Outcomes/Results

Through the implementation of this motivational intervention, the desired outcome

would be for John’s self-efficacy perceptions in writing and his motivation to participate in

writing workshop to be comparable to his peers. However, it’s important to remember that

John’s issues with motivation have been developing over a series of years in his education, and

it will take time before a notable shift could occur. I believe that if SMART goals are

implemented into John’s daily routines with fidelity and both John and the teacher are

consistent with its framework, then John will make small shifts in the volume of writing

13
produced and the stamina he displays during writing workshop. Currently, since John is only

actually writing for 2-3 minutes at a time before becoming frustrated or distracted, I would

expect to see John’s writing stamina increase to 5-6 minutes at a time within the first month of

implementing this motivational intervention. Additionally, what I believe to be an important

outcome as well is a significant increase in John’s self-efficacy perceptions. If John starts to view

himself as capable of being a successful writer, he can begin to knock down the barriers that he

has created around himself from believing that he’s not able to do it. In turn, this will help John

to be able to handle challenges that are thrown his way and become a successful student in

years to come.

References

Stipek, D. J. (2002). Motivation to learn: Integrating theory and practice. Allyn & Bacon

Wentzel, K.R., & Brophy, J. (2014). Motivating students to learn (4th Ed.). New York:
Routledge.

14