Week 3 Lecture

1. Motivation and Goals, Part 1
College 1
Pasadena City College
Fall 2012

2. FOCUS QUESTION #1
What determines how motivated you are
in school?
What can you do to keep yourself
consistent motivated this semester…and
beyond?

3. An Equation for Motivation
VxE=M
• Value – benefits you think you’ll gain through a particular
educational experience
• Expectation-how likely you think it is that you can reach your
educational goal with a reasonable effort
– weigh abilities, previous education vs. difficulty of reaching
goal, willingness to sacrifice
• Motivation
• Low value placed on goal or low expectation  lower
motivation

4. Value of Outcomes
1) Make a list of outcomes you desire for this
semester
– GPA
– Learning goal for each class you are registered in
(not just grades!)
– Learn 500 new vocabulary words
– Other (E.g., make two new friends)
2) Next for each desired outcome, list the value
or the reason why each outcome is import to
you.

5. Value of Outcomes
Desired Outcomes Value
Earn a GPA of 3.8 or better and A high GPA will look great on my transcript when
make the dean’s list this I apply to transfer and/or apply for a job. Also, it
semester will give me a boost of self-confidence
In my English class, write at I want to be able to write anything without
least one essay that contains worrying that someone who reads it is going to
no more than 10 grammar think I’m stupid or illiterate in English
errors.
In College 1, learn at least I feel stressed with all I need to do, and learning
three strategies for managing to manage my time will lower my stress level.
my time more effectively.
Get an A in Econ 1A I want a career in Finance or Accounting and this
course is a first step toward my career goal.
Make three or more new friends I want to have friends that I can speak English
from different backgrounds. with, hang out and have fun on weekends, and
learn about their cultures.

6. Value of Experiences
• People manage emotions by maximizing
positive experiences and minimizing negative
ones
• Question: If someday you were to tell
someone that college was one of the best
experiences you had ever had, what
specifically would you have experienced?
• Mohandas Gandhi: “You must be the change
you wish to see in the world.”

7. Value of Experiences
Desired Experiences Value
Fun Living in a new culture is stressful. I know I have to work
hard in college, but I want to have fun, too. I think if I’m
enjoying myself, that’ll make all the assignments and my
living situation more bearable.
Academic confidence I’ve never done very well in school, although my teachers
said I could be a good student if I applied myself more. I
want to feel just as smart as any other student in my
clsases.
Excitement about I didn’t really like my classes in high school. I want to get
learning excited about learning in at least one class, so I look
forward to the homework and sometimes the class goes
so fast I can’t believe when it’s over.
Personal confidence I have always been a shy person, and I want to be more
outgoing so I can do well on future job interviews and be
more assertive in my career so I get the promotions I

8. FOCUS QUESTION #2
If your life were as good as it could
possibly be, what would it look like? What
would you have, do, and be?

9. Developing Personally
Meaningful Goals
• Role = an activity we regularly devote large amounts of time
to
– Involves particular kinds of relationships to other people
– E.g., college
student, friend, employee/employer, athlete, brother/sister,
son/daughter, roommate, husband/wife, partner, church
member, tutor, musician, neighbor, volunteer, other…
– Most people can identify 4-7 major life roles. (If you have
more than 7, you may be spreading yourself too thin!)
• Think about a long-term goal for each role. What do you hope
to accomplish in each role in the text 2-5, or even 10, years?
– E.g., Get an AA degree? A 4-year BA degree? An MA

10. How to set a goal: DAPPS
• The process of adjusting to a new culture begins from
the time we decide to go abroad
• Stage 1: excitement, curiosity, stimulation
• Stage 2: Culture shock: feeling of confusion &
disorientation
– Smells, flavors, feeling of the air, language, behavior…
– Everyone experiences it
– Passes with time
• Stage 3: Negative feelings:
disappointment, frustration, depression, anger, hostility
• Stage 4: Learning & understanding  more
competent and comfort

11. Goal Examples
• Weaker Goal: I will improve my vocabulary this
semester.
• Stronger Goal: By December 15th, I learn 400 new
academic vocabulary words well enough to use them
correctly in my writing at least 75% of the time

12. Resource (on Canvas)
• Downing, Skip. On Course: Strategies for
Creating Success in College and Life.
Boston: Wadsworth.