Self-Determination Theory and Graduate Teaching Instructors’ Mindsets: A Circumplex Approach

• In Event: Sustainability and Support

Abstract

Self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985) is a macro-theory illustrating how and why motivation and personal growth occurs and is a way to understand how teaching behaviors are supportive for students’ motivation and success. A SDT-based circumplex model (Aelterman et al., 2019) explains how instructor’s interactions with students can be supportive or thwarting of students’ motivational needs (Vermote et al., 2020). As universities frequently rely on graduate student instructors (GSIs) for instruction in undergraduate classes, there is a critical need to better understand how GSIs are supportive of students in the classroom. Likewise, there are few studies examining perceptions of these teaching behaviors from GSIs. The purpose of this research is to provide a critical review of GSIs perceptions of teaching behaviors to lay the groundwork for a forthcoming pilot study.

Author

• Audrey Roberts, Bowling Green State University