Description
Book SynopsisUsing ordinary everyday language, Autonomy Supportive Teaching in Higrher Education: A Practical Guide for College Professors organizes and summarizes the mountain of research that has been conducted using autonomy supportive teaching (AST) in the classroom. Hundreds of books, articles, and presentations have been synthesized into a series of chapters and easy-to-follow workshops. By using this book, interested faculty can begin applying the principles of self-determination theory to their classrooms today.
This resource is divided into three sections: 1) AST in Theory, which summarizes the state of the art of motivation psychology in the classroom; 2) AST in Practice, which provides eight workshops where readers are led through dozens of evidence-based and classroom tested strategies for applying AST to their own classrooms; and 3) AST Results, which explores faculty and student reflections on the strengths and weaknesses of AST as it was applied by a group of faculty at an American university.
This book is for college faculty who are tired of student apathy, disinterest, and confrontation, who are interested in helping their students cultivate inner motivational resources. Autonomous learners are interested in more than getting a good grade or doing as they’re told. These are the motivations that increase need satisfaction, lead to lifelong learning, and support a wide variety of independent learning objectives.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
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
