Department of Psychology

1. Enabling the Endeavoring: Hope’s Role in Education Kevin L. Rand Department of Psychology

2. Name the author… Each life converges to some centre Expressed or still; Exists in every human nature A goal

3. Name the author… Each life converges to some centre Expressed or still; Exists in every human nature A goal -Emily Dickinson

4. My Thanks To… •My colleagues in the Psychology Department • My graduate students: Amanda Shea Chloe Nicksic Courtney Johnson Emily Rock • The undergraduate students at IUPUI

5. Overview: Where are we going? • What is hope? • How does hope influence learning? • What are the practical implications of hopeful education?

6. Research on Hope • Higher hope → increased effort at tasks • Higher hope → greater pain tolerance • Higher hope → superior athletic performance above and beyond athletic ability • Higher hope → better recovery from illness & injury • Higher hope → better mental health

7. Snyder’s (1994) Hope Theory • Goals – the common thread to all purposive human behavior • Pathways – ‘Waypower’ • Agency – ‘Willpower’ • Emotions– information feedback about goal pursuit • Negative – blocked goal • Positive – progress or accomplishment

8. Goals • Mental Target • Some Probability of Reaching • Short & Long Term • Avoid vs. approach • Hierarchical

9. Hierarchical Nature of Goals Abstract (“Be”) Ideal Self Be Healthy Be Happy Exercise Diet Swim Run Concrete (“Do”)

10. Pathways • Perceived Ability to Produce Plans • Crucial When Encountering Blockages • Most Preferred & Alternate Routes

11. Agency • Mental Determination • Self-talk: “I will do this…” • Channeling of Mental Energy to Appropriate Routes • Source can be internal and/or external

12. Hope

14. Adult Hope Scale HOW TRUE IS EACH STATEMENT OF YOU 1= Definitely False 4= Slightly False 5= Slightly True 8= Definitely True ___ 1. I can think of many way to get out of a jam. P ___ 2. There are lots of ways around any problem. P ___ 3. I can think of many ways to get the things in life that are important to me. P ___ 4. Even when others get discouraged, I know I can find a way to solve the problem. P ___ 5. I energetically pursue my goals. A ___ 6. My past experiences have prepared me well for my future. A ___ 7. I’ve been pretty successful in life. A ___ 8. I meet the goals that I set for myself. A

15. Hope Scale Data • Average total score for adults is 48 • High agency/pathways ≥ 26 • Low agency/pathways ≤ 20 • No gender differences • Some ethnic/racial differences

16. Hope & Learning: Theory • Hope allows students to select, commit to, & work toward goals • Hope engenders positive emotions, which foster learning & perseverance • Broaden & build functions of positive emotions (Frederickson) • Reduction in debilitating effects of anxiety

17. Hope & Learning: Research • Higher hope → more engaged & less disengaged coping with academic stressors • Chang, 1998; Alexander & Onwuegbuzie, 2007 • Higher hope → less test anxiety • Onwuegbuzie, 1998; Snyder, 1999 • Higher hope → academic success above and beyond intelligence • Curry, Snyder, et al., 1997; Rand, in press; Snyder, Hoza, et al., 1997;

18. Snyder et al. (2002) • 6-year prospective study of college students • Hope measured first-semester of freshman year • Higher-hope: • Higher overall GPA (controlling for ACT) • Lower dismissal rate • Higher graduation rate

19. Rand (in press) • Semester-long prospective study of college students in psychology course • Hope, optimism, & grade expectations measured at beginning of semester • Higher-hope: • Higher grade expectations → higher final grade • Higher final grade (controlling for GPA)

20. Optimism GPA .25 .87 .22 Goal Attitude Class Grade .22 .87 .19 .31 Predicted Grade Hope

21. Rand, Martin, & Shea (2008) • Semester-long prospective study of first-year law students • Hope & optimism measured at beginning of semester • Higher-hope: • Higher semester GPA (controlling for undergraduate GPA & LSAT)

22. LSAT .13 .38* Law School GPA UGPA .78 .25* .39* Life Satisfaction Hope .38* .56 Optimism

23. Hopeful Education • Ideally, education is about more than becoming knowledgeable in a particular area • In some ways, “what” students learn is simply a vehicle to teach students “how” to get what they want in life – this is the instillation of hope • Drew Appleby’s concept of “Overt” vs. “Covert” curriculum • Mr. Miyagi & “Wax on, wax off.” • Practically applying Hope Theory facilitates bothspecific and general education goals • Goals, Pathways, Agency

24. Hopeful Goals • Goals should be concrete & approach-oriented • Set stretch goals for students • Learning vs. performance goals • “Understand the 4 types of experimental validity” • “Get a 90% on my next psychology exam” • Ironically, learning goals improve performance • Avoid forced grade distributions • Make your “covert” curriculum goals explicit • Explicitly make the connection between learning goals and higher-order skills and mastery goals

25. Goal Clarification Value Why? Learning Goal

26. Goal Clarification Improve critical-thinking skills Why? Deepen your understanding of a published research study

27. Fostering Pathways Thinking • Be explicit about what behaviors will lead to success • Kevin’s 10 pathways to successful learning • “Generate 3 multiple-choice test questions” • “Give 3 examples from your life of phenomena discussed in lecture” • Offer multiple ways to success • Papers, tests, in-class activities

28. Goal Clarification Learning Goal How? Pathway

29. Goal Clarification Deepen your understanding of a published research study How? Generate an alternative theory that explains the study findings

30. Fostering Agency: Class Structure • Multiple methods of reinforcement • Offer more than just grades • Connect learning goals to other life domains • Give meaning to learning goals • Protects against habituation & burnout • Depersonalize grading system • It’s about their behaviors, not about them • Failure is simply information that they should try something different

31. Fostering Agency: Class Style • Exude Energy • Teach with enthusiasm & humor • Energy is contagious • Positive affect = better learning • Be a Storyteller • Humans are wired to learn & share stories • Organize lecture as a narrative; use jokes, anecdotes • Personalize the Class • Learn & use student names • Offer anecdotes from your own life • Talk about things that are relevant to college students

32. Optimize Your Hope • Have a circumscribed set of goals for the class • Sometimes, less is more • Teach what excites you • Cover more of what you are interested in & less of what you are not interested in • Don’t assume responsibility for students’ goals • You can only lead the horses to water… • Reframe student failure for yourself • Failure, while unpleasant, is not inherently bad

33. Thank You • If you have questions about hope theory, please contact me: Kevin Rand (klrand@iupui.edu) Department of Psychology LD 120E 274-6771

34. Goal Clarification Value Why? Goal How? Pathway

35. Higher-Order Goals “Be” Goals Improve your creativity and problem-solving skills that can be used to achieve goals in other domains of your life. Become a more educated consumer of information and make better choices/decisions in getting the things you want. Understand how to use the scientific method and logic to answer questions and gain information to help you navigate life. Why? Learning Goal: Deepen Your Understanding of a Published Research Study How? Generate an alternative theory or hypothesis that would equally explain the findings of the study. Assuming the results of the study (and the theory they support) are true, how would you apply this knowledge to your own life? What questions do these results raise? Design a follow-up study to answer one or more of these questions. Lower-Order Goals “Do” Goals