Teaching activity
Student Motivation via Personal Growth Contracts
University of Iowa
11/09/2026
DOI: 10.25820/work.008579
Abstract
Student motivation and engagement remain persistent challenges across disciplines, often intensified by grade inflation, AI concerns, and rising disengagement. Grounded in situated expectancy-value theory, this teaching idea reframes student resistance not as apathy but as a signal to examine instructor beliefs and course design. The proposed intervention, a Personal Growth Contract, invites students to co-create accountability structures tied to their own career development rather than externally imposed standards. Delivered in two phases: initial goal-setting and later self-assessed progress, the assignment prioritizes depth of reflection over perfection, drawing on evidence-based practices in self-evaluation and inclusive teaching to foster psychological safety and sustained motivation.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Student Motivation via Personal Growth Contracts
- Creators
- Allison Levine - University of Iowa, Counselor Education and Supervision
- Resource Type
- Teaching activity
- DOI
- 10.25820/work.008579
- Publisher
- University of Iowa; Iowa City, Iowa, United States
- Number of pages
- 8 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2026 Allison Levine
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 11/09/2026
- Academic Unit
- Counselor Education and Supervision; Center for Social Science Innovation
- Record Identifier
- 9985252317202771
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