Ch 11/12 case study analysis

1. Does William have a mastery goal or a performance goal in his art class? Justify your response.

William has a mastery goal for his art class. He has no desire to make a good impression the only thing which he cares about is if his artwork is perfect. He wants to master it before he will let anyone see it.

2. How would you best characterize William's attribution? (Internal/External, Controllable/Uncontrollable, Stable/Unstable) Use specific examples from the text to justify your response.

I would characterize William's attribution as Stable/Unstable. He is like the example in the book of "you have trouble making friends because you're overweight."
He believes he is not good at art because he has to work hard at it.

3. Are Mr. Mercurio's teaching strategies likely to promote performance goals or mastery goals? Justify your response. What more might Mr. Mercurio do to help William and other students like him?

Mr. Mercurio's teaching strategies are likely to promote mastery goals. This is because he wants the students to practice, let him give them feedback, and he wants his students to do their best and to improve. Mr. Mercurio could give them credit for partial work, they were trying to finish it, but have too high of expectations and so if Mr. Mercurio gave them credit for that, they wouldn't fail his class.

4. Describe some needs that William seems to have. How might those needs be better met in Mr. Mercurio's classroom?

William needs friends. He mentions that all the other kids are laughing and enjoying themselves, but it sounds like he works by himself and doesn't want any of the other kids to see his work. Another need he has is to gain self-confidence. He mentions more than once that his artwork is stupid or that no one will like it. His needs might be better met if Mr. Mercurio had a group project where he chose the groups. This could help William meet new people and gain friends. Mr. Mercurio could also find part of William's artwork and show it to other people to see if they like it. If they do he can let William see this.