Grit
Interest

• what has the role of interest been in what you do extracurricularly

  • not a lot of effort put into joining clubs and stuff

  • crocheting - not very good but still work hard

  • always looking for new projects that you can successfully complete

  • prioritize, spend more time, doesn’t feel like work

  • how did this develop?

    • wanted to make the harry styles sweater for anielle

    • under quarantine and bored

• interest:

  • both a cognitive and affective motivational variable (there’s a thinking and emotional aspect)

  • experienced-based

  • not age-related

  • always content-specific - not general

  • conceptualized as the interaction between a person and specific content

  • associated with increased learning, positive affect, persistence, and goals

• four-phase model of interest development

  • describes how interest evolves from situational to individual

  • person and task variables

  • learner’s wants and needs

• two types of interest

  • situation: what triggers interest

    • fleeting

    • happens early on in the process

    • elicited by environmental aspects

      • human activity or life themes

        • life themes: things all humans are sparked by like challenges, feedbacks, social interaction

      • features (ex: the ways tasks are organized / presented)

    • how to maintain?

    • affect is most important (this is the fuel of interest)

  • individual

    • what happens next

    • moves from being a property of the situation to a property of the individual

    • relatively enduring tendency of an individual to engage in a particular activity, topic, or object

    • value and curiosity is most important

• phase one: triggered situational

  • properties of the person:

    • surprise

    • character identification

    • personal relevance

    • intensity

  • properties of the task / activity:

    • group work / collaboration

    • puzzles (instigates curiosity)

    • computers

  • learners

    • attend fleetingly

    • need support to engage

    • affect is positive or negative

    • not necessarily aware

  • learners want

    • ideas respected

    • directions

  • learners need

    • effort appreciated

    • concrete suggestions (people structuring and encouraging interest)

• phase two: maintained situational

  • properties of the person

    • meaningfulness of task

    • personal involvement

  • properties of the task

    • project-based learning: especially with a long horizon, sustains interest

    • cooperative group work / social interactions and feedback

    • 1-on-1 tutoring: interested, want to persevere

• phase three: emerging individual

  • properties of the person

    • positive feelings

    • value

    • knowledge

    • sense of effortlessness

    • chooses to engage with the content

    • generates curiosity questions

    • defines tasks for self

    • exceeds requirements

    • is resourceful when challenges arise

  • learners

    • independently re-engage

    • curiosity

    • seek answers

  • learners want

    • ideas respected

    • to express their ideas

    • not to be told what to do (don’t need external interests)

  • learners need

    • to feel ideas and goals are understood and efforts are appreciated

    • feedback that enables them to meet goals

• phase four: well-developed individual

  • properties of the person

    • positive feelings

    • relatively more value and knowledge

    • sense of effortlessness

    • anticipates subsequent steps

    • uses deep strategies

    • uses contextual and conditional knowledge when problem solving

    • engages in long-term creative and constructive endeavors

  • persists in the face of challenges

  • seeking opportunities for engagement and interest supersedes potential frustrations

• learners:

  • self-regulate / persist

  • recognize discipline

• learners want:

  • information / feedback

  • balance personal standards with discipline

• learners need

  • constructive feedback

  • feel ideas and goals are understood