Acknowledgments
Introduction
Not a Vignette
A Revolution in My Teaching Spirit
AST Will Work for You and Your Students
Three Potential Hurdles: Mistaken Beliefs that Interfere with Professional Development
- Mistaken Belief 1: It's the Students' Fault
- Mistaken Belief 2: Teachers Cannot Change
- Mistaken Belief 3: Controlling Teachers Are the Best Teachers
Relation to Other Psychologies of Student Motivation
- Grit: Passion and Determination with Angela Duckworth and Cal Newport
- Fixed and Growth Mindsets with Carol Dweck
- Why We Learn the Ways that We Learn, with Josh Eyler
Structure of this Book
Part I: Theory
Chapter 1: Self-Determination Theory
A Brief History of the Psychology of Student Motivation
Self Determination Theory and the Three Basic Psychological Needs
- Autonomy
- Competence
- Relatedness
- Supporting Basic Psychological Needs
- Why the Students Wouldn't Read Macbeth
The Many Forms of Extrinsic Motivation
- Continuum of Extrinsic Motivation
Internalization and the Regulation of Beliefs, Values, and Behaviors
- No Regulation of Beliefs, Values, and Behaviors
- External Regulation of Beliefs, Values, and Behaviors
- Externalized Regulation
- Introjected Regulation
- Internalized Regulation of Beliefs, Values, and Behaviors
- Identified Regulation
- Integrated Regulation
- Intrinsic Regulation of Beliefs, Values, and Behaviors
Chapter 2: Autonomy Supportive Teaching
Vignette 1, Where Online Students Missed the First Deadline
Vignette 2, The One with Lethargic Graduate Students
Autonomy Supportive Teaching
Seven Strategies for Supporting Student Autonomy
- Strategy 1: Autonomy Supportive Teachers Adopt their Students' Perspective
- My Experience Taking Students' Perspective
- Strategy 2: Autonomy Supportive Teachers Invite Students to Pursue their Interests
- My Experience Inviting Students to Pursue their Interests
- Strategy 3: Autonomy Supportive Teachers Present Learning Activities in Need Satisfying Ways
- Autonomy
- Competence
- Relatedness
- My Experience Presenting Learning Activities in Need-Satisfying Ways
- Strategy 4: Autonomy Supportive Teachers Provide Explanatory Rationale
- My Experience Providing Explanatory Rationale
- Strategy 5: Autonomy Supportive Teachers Acknowledge Negative Feelings
- My Experience Acknowledging Negative Feelings
- Strategy 6: Autonomy Supportive Teachers Use Invitational Language
- My Experience Using Invitational Language
- Strategy 7: Autonomy Supportive Teachers Practice Patience
- My Experience Practicing Patience
The Gestalt of Autonomy Supportive Teaching
Chapter 3: Evidence Supporting Autonomy Supportive Teaching in Higher Education
Evidence that AST Works in Higher Education
- Physical Education and Other General Education Courses
- Remedial Writing Courses
- Music and Performing Arts
- Psychology and Social Sciences
- Sciences and Liberal Arts in South America
- Arts and Humanities, Health Sciences, Engineering, and Exercise Sciences in Europe
- Online and Asynchronous Courses
- Graduate School
- Gender Differences in Highly Specific Cases
Intercultural and International Applicability
Conclusion
Part II: Application
Chapter 4: Self-Determination Theory Workshop
Basic Psychological Needs
Regulation of Beliefs, Values, and Behaviors
Chapter 5: Assessing Autonomy Supportive Teaching Workshop
A Preliminary Note on the Difference Between Assessment and Evaluation
Situations in School Inventory
- Assessing Structure
- Assessing Chaos
- Assessing Autonomy Support
- Assessing Control
- Completing the Inventory and Analyzing the Results
Situations in School Inventory
Learning Climate Questionnaire
Classroom Observation Checksheet
Chapter 6: Taking Students' Perspective Workshop
Methods for Getting Student Feedback
- Distribute Slips of Paper Asking for Anonymous Suggestions
- Hold an Open Town Hall Type Forum
- Create a Virtual Survey or Poll
When to Avoid Taking Students' Perspective
Put It into Practice
- Homework Activity #1: Distribute Comment Cards
- Homework Activity #2: Seek Candid Reviews of Course Content
- Homework Activity #3: Invite Students to Comment on Lesson Plan for the Day
Problems to Expect, and How to Deal with Them
- Students Have No Feedback to Share
- Students Don't Seem to Be Interested in Their Own Suggestions
- Students Have Only Positive Feedback to Share
Chapter 7: Supporting Students' Intrinsic Motivation Workshop
AST Strategy Two: Invite Students to Pursue Their Interests
- Homework: Identify an Aspect of the Course with Which You Are Comfortable Allowing Students to Participate in Choosing
AST Strategy Three: Present Learning Activities in Need-Satisfying Ways
- Competence
- Relatedness
- Put it Into Practice
- Homework Activity #1: Stop and Assess Where Your Students Are
- Homework Activity #2: Emphasize Relatedness by Encouraging Students to Work Together
- Problems to Expect and How to Deal with Them
- Students Have a Range of Skill Levels
- Students Are Not Interested in Working Together
Chapter 8: Supporting Students' Internalization Workshop
AST Strategy Four: Provide Explanatory Rationale
- Put it into Practice
- Homework Activity #1: Explain Why You're Doing the Next Thing You Will Be Doing
- Homework Activity #2: Integrate Rationale into Assignment Instructions
- Homework Activity #3: Explore the TiLT Model of Teaching
AST Strategy Five: Acknowledge Negative Feelings
- Homework Activity #1: Acknowledge and Accept the Negative Affect of One Student
- Homework Activity #2: Use Collective Negative Affect as a Diagnostic Tool
- Homework Activity #3: Reflect on the Ideal Emotional Profile of Students
AST Strategy Six: Rely on Invitational Language
- Homework Activity #1: Rewrite Activity Instructions Using Invitational Language
- Homework Activity #2: Design an Alternative Assignment
AST Strategy Seven: Practice Patience
- Homework Activity #1: Adjust the Amount of Time Needed for Completing an Activity
- Homework Activity #2: Patient Listening
Part III: Finishing Touches
Chapter 9: Sample Assessment: Using AST in Online Courses
AST in Online Courses: An Understudied Relationship
Design
- Control Condition
- AST Condition
- List of Sample Activities for AST Condition (Human Growth and Development)
Results
- Learning Climate Inventory
Discussion
Additional Results
Student Comments about the AST Condition
Discussion of Assessment Results
- Mistake Number 1: Expectations Were Unclear
- Mistake Number 2: My Understanding of AST Was Limited
- Mistake Number 3: I integrated Too Few AST Strategies
Conclusion
Chapter 10: A Case Study of Teacher Transformation
My 2016 Letter to Students
- Course Deliverables
- Desire2Learn
- Be Yourself
My 2022 Analysis of the 2016 Letter to Students
- The Letter is Long
- The Letter is Formatted Using Headings
- There is a Block Quote
- The Letter is Not Written from the Students' Perspective
- Students Are Expected to Be Guided by Intrinsic Motivation
- There is Little Explanatory Rationale
- There is No Room for Affect
- It's My Way or the Highway
- Selective Patience
- It Isn't All Bad
A Digital Letter Written to an Online Health Psychology Course in 2022
Conclusion: Troubleshooting Problems and Looking Ahead
Some Instructors Will Do This Naturally
Anticipating Problems
- The Need for Structure
- Logistical Problems with Adopting Autonomy Supportive Teaching
- Confusion about What the Strategies Entail
- Disagreement about the Teachability of Certain Strategies
- External Pressures to Be Controlling
A Call for More Research on AST in Higher Education
AST in Large Lecture Halls (Less than 70 students)
Asynchronous Online Courses
Professional and Organizational Development
References
Index
About the Author