ATTRIBUTION AND INTERVIEW ANALYSES ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

OVERVIEW

Understanding why we do what we do appeals to many, especially educators. This assignment provides an opportunity to compare learners’ needs, interests, values, goals, thoughts, and beliefs about themselves and the subject matter to identify influences on their motivation to learn. Through analysis of interview transcripts, this assignment supports your developing qualitative research skills and your knowledge of motivation principles regarding learning.

This assignment has two parts. Part I requires the completion of two short attribution analysis exercises. Part II requires reviewing two excerpts from interview transcripts to evaluate what is revealed about each student’s motivation, affect, emotions, or any combination of the three variables. In your written report, you will describe how observing students in an educational setting and documenting any behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement is either easier or more challenging to document. Lastly, you will identify and explain other ways, besides observation, in which students’ engagement can be documented or measured for research purposes.

INSTRUCTIONS

Submit Part I and Part II of this assignment as two separate documents as follows:    

Part I – Complete the Attribution Analysis Worksheet provided with this assignment.

Part II – To complete this part of the assignment, you must first review the two interview transcripts below. Next, complete a written response to the two interview transcripts using the following outline to organize your response. Each section below should have 1-3 paragraphs (4-16 paragraphs total) of at least 5-7 sentences and 250-350 words for each paragraph.

•        Analysis of Students – Describe what is revealed about each student’s motivation, affect, emotions, or any combination of the three variables. 

•        Results – Summarize the themes/patterns that emerged during your analysis of the interview transcripts. Synthesize your results with the foundational and theoretical principles of metacognition and self-regulated learning. Discuss what you have learned during this activity. 

•        Discussion – Identify and describe other ways, besides observation, in which students’ motivation and engagement can be documented or measured for research purposes. Include citations for at least three sources to support your discussion. Acceptable sources include the textbook and scholarly articles published within the last five years. 

Include a title page and a reference section. An abstract is not required. Use current APA formatting throughout your paper.

Submit both parts of this assignment (i.e., your completed Attribution Analysis Worksheet and written response) in the assignment submission area for this assignment.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

Interview Transcript 1

A college student (the adult) interviews two first-grade male students.

Adult:        What happens inside your head when you are learning the new words of the week in class? [The children learn five new words each week, plus two bonus words.]

Student 1: I’m like, I’m scared…I’m embarrassed that I might be wrong, and people will make fun of me.

Student 2: Read them…helps to remember them.

Interview Transcript 2

A 15-year-old male tenth-grade student described as a high achiever is interviewed by a college student (the adult). 

Adult:

How do you study for a test?

Student:

I sit down and ask Mom to quiz me. Sometimes I read over
the stuff and cover the answers and see if I can guess it. I try to find
things that rhyme to keep it together, or sometimes I listen to music while I
study and then listen to the same music in study hall before my test. It
brings it back to mind.

Adult:

What is the best way for you to learn something?

Student:

I like to watch it be done and ask many questions. I wait
until the teacher is done explaining, then I try to do it and ask if it’s
right. If they say yes, I keep doing it. If they say no, I ask how to improve
it.

Adult:

From a lecture, what do you remember?

Student:

I’m not good at dates. Facts I kind of remember. I remember
things I don’t need to know. I remember interesting things or stuff about
things I like. I learn more about things I like. Now we’re doing the American
Revolution, and I don’t learn much about that, but if we did ancient Rome or
Egypt, I’d learn everything.

Adult:

If you read a book, about how much of it would you
remember?

Student:

That’s a difficult question. I’m trying to think about what
I’ve read so far. About half, I guess. I remember more from books that are
interesting. Books with people and people’s struggles.

Adult:

What subject is easiest for you to learn? Why?

Student:

History.
Well, a tie between History and Art. Those are the two things I like the
most. I just put more energy into what I do. And I can listen to the history
and think of what I’ve watched on the History Channel. I guess a lot depends
on how lax the class is. Some are strict with lots of information; lax
classes don’t do as much, but sometimes you get more. I guess you’ve got to
have balance. You don’t want a teacher who hits you with a ruler, but you
don’t want to be able to shoot the teacher in the head with a rubber band and
get no reaction either…

Adult:

What is the best way to set up a class for you to learn?

Student:

Lots of structure is good. If people talk a lot, I can’t
concentrate. Quiet means not a lot of distractions. Like, in a loud class,
someone will tell a joke, then you’re taking a test later that week, and you
remember the joke instead of the stuff you need to learn. So structure and
quiet are good.