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FROM A STUDENTS PERSPECTIVE

From a Students Perspective

Tiffany Poritz
Alverno College

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FROM A STUDENTS PERSPECTIVE

Abstract
The entirety of this paper is centralized around an interview with a 7th grade student. The
interview process allowed the opportunity to probe the mind of a young adolescent and how their
attitude about life and school can reflect several different types of educational frameworks. A
couple of educational frameworks that were most pronounced included: Bernard Weiner and
Albert Bandura. The 7th grade student, Max has some very interesting approaches to
understanding success and motivation.

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FROM A STUDENTS PERSPECTIVE

From a Students Perspective

Mrs. Poritz, Im a math genius! This is just one of several exclamations that student
Max would reveal during the interview. Max is a 7th grade student. Max attends a rural middle
school with over 500 students. At first glance Max appears to be like any other normal middle
school student. He is a very energetic, enthusiastic, and all around a pleasant student to have in
class. This paper highlights his interactions in school, what he reveals about himself during the
interview, and how his insight can be applied to several different kinds of educational
frameworks and theories.
Max: The student
One very interesting and rather obvious component of the interview with Max was his
elaborate air of confidence and his understanding of his educational performance. To provide a
bit of background about Max and his abilities as a student -- it is rather important to understand
that Max is a student with a specific learning disability in the areas of reading and math. It is also
important to consider the impact of his disabilities and how they represent specific education
frameworks and theories.
Students with disabilities and their reality in school
Max is a student identified with a specific learning disability. Maxs current MAP reading
score registers Maxs reading abilities at a low 3rd grade level. Max also struggles in the content
area of math. Maxs present level of performance for math also ranges from 3rd4th grade level.
Fortunately, Max is successful in the general education classroom with appropriate
accommodations and modifications.

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FROM A STUDENTS PERSPECTIVE

Maxs current accommodations include participation in a co-taught Language Arts

classroom with a Special Education teacher and general education Language Arts teacher. Max
also participates in a self-contained Math class. In Language Arts class the students are required
to read 20 minutes a night for homework. Max will return to school the next morning with 2
hours of reading logged. Max is thrilled by the amount of time he has spent reading and the
number of books he has read. Max believes that he is a reading genius. Generally speaking, Max
will read 2 hours a night for class. However, within the two hours of reading Max will only
complete an estimation of 10 pages.
A confident reader
Max is definitely confident in his ability to read and does not show an awareness or
concern for his ratio of minutes or hours read versus the amount of pages he has read during that
time. Why is it that Max does not have awareness for his lack of fluency when he reads or lack of
comprehension? Is there a disconnect that occurs between a learners abilities, their confidence,
and the grade level performance that students should perform at?
The above questions are valid, especially when working with Max. However, one can
look at Albert Banduras Cognitive Theory and see what educational frameworks are present in
the case of Max and his outlook at education and his path to success. A students sense of
achievement and success can be viewed through the scope of Banduras Social Learning Theory.
Albert Bandura and Social Learning Theory
Max spends more than 50% of his time in the General Education classroom. Maxs high
sense of achievement and his relationship to success can be linked to Banduras Theory of Social
Learning. According to Bandura, he believed that learning could occur through observation. As

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FROM A STUDENTS PERSPECTIVE

Bandura was conducting his observation and research he wondered about the role of individuals
beliefs about their ability to succeed also known as self- efficacy. According to Learning and
the Adolescent Mind, His research determined convincingly that individuals who believe they
can succeed at a task are more likely than others to actually succeed. During the interview with
Max I asked him a lot about his opinion of school and what was most challenging to him. Max
responded with I do not have any challenges. School comes easy to me. Again, I thought this
was a very interesting response.
Max was very genuine with his response of not having any challenges in school. Max
strongly believes that he is a genius in school. I know firsthand that it not from him not being
challenged at school academically. I strongly believe that Max has a strong sense of success and
truly believes that he will succeed at anything he puts his mind on.
Aside from Maxs relationship between his sense of achievement, motivation is another
interesting concept discussed with Max during the interview. One question that was asked of
Max was, What motivates you to do your best? Maxs response to motivation is one that may
seem confusing at first. Maxs response was extremely short. I want to do my best. When Max
was probed to explain further, his response was Because. Because? Maxs response was just,
because. Why? When speaking to other Middle School aged students there is some sort of
motivation. The motivation may be intrinsic or extrinsic.
Bernard Weiner and Motivation
When focusing on the topic of motivation, it is important to look at Bernard Weiner and
his theory of motivation. Weiners initial conceptualization of motivation includes the following,
Motivation is also determined by individual differences (motives), Incentive (value) is

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FROM A STUDENTS PERSPECTIVE

conceptualized as an affect, pride is accomplishment, and incentive (value) is inversely related to

expectancy of success so that pride is presumed to be greater given success at a difficult task,
What does this mean? It means that most individuals are motivated by an incentive. The
incentive then drives or motivates the individual to work towards the goal. Maxs incentive
differs from his peers. It has been my experience that most middle school students look for
extrinsic rewards. Students are looking for rewards that include but are not limited to; candy,
prizes, and special privileges for example having friends over. I find it extremely interesting
that Maxs motivation is high but he does not have an extrinsic force motivating him or rather his
motivation is just doing his best. I strongly believe that Maxs view of motivation is very mature.
I definitely see Max as a student that does not allow his disabilities limit him and his abilities.
Conclusion
To conclude, this paper skimmed the surface of only two educational theories Albert
Banduras Social Learning Theory and Bernard Weiners Attribution Theory. These two theorists
framework were most prominent when speaking with Max during the interview. One can make
the general assumption that Max is a unique student who is very sincere in wanting to succeed
and does not let his disabilities stunt his success.
One can also draw the conclusion that Max has a supportive family. Having a strong
family as a foundation also encourages Max to do his best and to succeed. Both the idea of
success and motivation go hand in hand and are important concepts to understand when working
with students of all ages. It is important for students to have a strong sense of success. If the
sense of ability to succeed is missing, a student will be deemed for failure. Therefore, it is crucial
to have a basic understanding for motivation and what can motivate the student to do their best.

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FROM A STUDENTS PERSPECTIVE

1. What motivates you to do your best?

Thinking hard. Helping. I try my best. Getting good grades.
2. What things outside of school makes it difficult to be in school?
Sleeping. I like to sleep in and it is sometimes hard to get up early and come to

school.

3. Once you leave school, what do you do at home until bedtime?

I do my homework when I get home. When I am done with my homework I read. When my
mom asks me to help do chores I help her -- I normally take out the garbage.
4. Where do you learn best?
My favorite classes are Language Arts and Math. I think I learn best in those two classes.
5. Do your parents help you with homework?
Yes, my parents help me with homework. Every day when I come home from school my parents
ask me if I have homework,
6. Do your parents want you to go to college?
My parents want me to go to college and finish my education.
7. Who do you seek out for help at school? At home?
I ask my teachers for help at school. I am not afraid of asking my teachers for help. When I am at
home my mom will help me.

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FROM A STUDENTS PERSPECTIVE

8. Do you feel like your teachers respect you?

Yes. I like all of my teachers. I feel like they listen to me and respect me.
9. What motivates you to do your best at school?
Doing my best motivates me. I like getting good grades too. I work hard to make sure I have
good grades.
10. What is the most challenging part about school?
I dont have any challenges. School comes easily to me.
11. What makes you, you?
Im a good math person. That makes part of me -- being good at math. I am also a musician. I
like to play in the school band.
12. How do you like to learn?
I dont know how I like to learn? I like to listen to things but I also have to see them. How I like
to learn also depends on what class I am in. I learn anyway that my teachers decide to teach me.

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References
Albert Bandura. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2014.
http://learningandtheadolescentmind.org/people_06.html
Weiner, B. (n.d.). The Development Of An Attribution-Based Theory Of Motivation: A History
Of Ideas. Educational Psychologist, 28-36.