Psychology of the Gifted Summer 2015 Mississippi State University How to Motivate Gifted and Talented College Students? presented by: Kasia Gallo

Psychology of the GiftedSummer 2015Mississippi State University

How to Motivate Gifted and Talented College Students?

presented by: Kasia Gallo


First: an activity. Look at the picture, and generate a list of

words/expressions based on it. Be creative!

Any kind of association is OK. Generate as many as you can.

You have 3 minutes.Go!



How many have you generated? (may serve as simplified measure of fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and

originality – OR your interest in the task)

Are you curious how you compare to others?

(may indicate extrinsic motivation)

Did you give up before the time was up?(may indicate lack of resistance to premature closing – OR your passion/

interest in the task)


Presentation Overview

Motivating the gifted/talented in the (college) classroom:

Gifted vs. Talented

Motivation vs. Passion

Gifted/Talented and Motivation

Role of Parents

Role of Peers

Role of Teachers/Mentors


Gifted vs. TalentedMotivation vs. Passion

• Gifted: pertains to academic achievement• Talented: pertains to art, music or sports

• “Achievement motivation: the striving tendency towards success with the associated positive effects and towards the avoidance of failure and the associated negative effects.”

Busato, Prins, Elshout, & Hamaker, 2000; in: Hammond, McBee &Hebert, 2007

• “Passion: strong inclination and desire toward an activity one likes, finds important, and invests time and energy.”

Vallerand, 2003; in: Fredricks, Alfeld, and Eccles, 2010


Gifted/Talented = Motivated?

• Factors that kill motivation in school (in “regular” classrooms)

• Alienation from peers• Boredom due to lack of intellectual challenge• No control over one’s learning• Material irrelevant to their personal life• Teachers catering to “regular “ students• Teachers displaying low levels of enthusiasm and

motivation• Teachers not providing frequent and clear feedback


Gifted/Talented = Motivated?

• Attribution theory:• Success/failure is analyzed along three

dimensions: Controllability (controllable or not), Stability (stable or not), Locus of control (internal or external)

• Mastery vs. Performance Orientation (approach vs. avoidance)

• Fixed vs. Growth Mindset


Role of Parents

• Garn et al (2010)• 30 parents of 39 gifted kids (4-17 y.o., 20 males)• “Parents as experts” (80%): develop challenges and augmented homework

assignments to keep kids motivated to do school work; deemphasized teachers as experts.

• “Scaffolding” (80%): help with assignments but not giving answers (breaking down into smaller pieces, time management, strategy selection help).

• “Behavior modification” (30%): rewards and punishment for academic work efforts.

• Hammond et al (2007)• 6 gifted honors college alumni (4 males)• Breaking away from family viewed as essential to becoming independent

and for identity development. • Moving away may strengthen the relationship in the long run.


Role of Peers

• Group affiliation has been shown to predict acheivement (as well as elinquency).

• Prior acheivement brings like-minded students together.• Supportive group can foster acheivement for minorities

and women.• Gifted students are more likely to succeed in college while

surrounded by peers with similar abilities, motivation, and prior acheivement.

• Balance of ”being different” and ”being similar.” (High need for uniqueness results in innovation; low need for uniqueness results in conservative approaches)

• Ties with peers help with identity development.

Hammond et al (2007)


Role of Teachers

• Gifted students often need to be challenged.• Teachers/mentors foster self-understanding which

leads to clear sense of purpose and direction. • Help feed gifted students’ hunger for knowledge.• Recognition of acheivement. • Fostering the culture of acheivement.

Hammond et al (2007)


Passion and giftedness

• Found in classroom less; often found in sports and arts • Passion: “strong inclination and desire toward an activity one

likes, finds important, and invests time and energy.” (Vallerand, 2003; in: Fredrics et al, 2010)

• Two types: obsessive and harmonious• Factors that support passion:

• Choice of activity (degree of autonomy)• Clear goals and unambiguous feedback• Tasks are difficult but obtainable• Tasks are authentic and personally meaningful• Tasks provide opportunities for collaboration• Company of motivated/passionate peers• Mistakes are encouraged as a part of learning

Fredricks et al (2010)


Mentoring Gifted & Talented

• Independence from family• Facilitating connections with like-minded peers• Providing real yet attainable challenges• Providing choice • Fostering intrinsic motivation, mastery orientation, growth

mindset• Recognizing achievement• Help finding harmonious passion

Hammond et al (2007), Fredricks et al (2010)


Questions?

Thank you.


Questions?

Garn, A. C., Matthews, M. S., & Jolly, J. L. (2010). Parental influences on the academic motivation of gifted students: A self-determination theory perspective. Gifted Child Quarterly, 54(4), 263-272.

Hammond, D. R., McBee, M. T., & Hebert, T. P. (2007). Exploring the motivational trajectories of gifted university students. Roeper Review, 29(3), 197-205.

Fredricks, J. A., Alfeld, C., & Eccles, J. (2010). Developing and fostering passion in academic and nonacademic domains. Gifted Child Quarterly, 54(1), 18-30.

Documents

Psychology of the Gifted Summer 2015 Mississippi State University How to Motivate Gifted and Talented College Students? presented by: Kasia Gallo