Teacher Modeling Intellectual Humility Increases Interest in Math

• In Event: Looking Beyond Achievement Behaviors in Motivation Research: Additional Antecedents and Consequences

Abstract

Do students benefit when teachers express intellectual humility - reveal that they do not know everything about their subject, that they sometimes make mistakes, and that they can learn from students? In our preregistered online experiment, high school students (N = 142) were more interested in a hypothetical math class when the teacher modeled intellectual humility compared to a neutral control condition and a requesting intellectual humility condition. Modeling intellectual humility also increased students’ sense of acceptance by the teacher and willingness to express intellectual humility themselves. These findings suggest that modeling intellectual humility has the potential to promote positive motivation in school.

Authors

• Tenelle Porter, Ball State University
  Presenting Author

• Andrei Cimpian
  Non-Presenting Author