Divers versus Thrivers – what do successful university students do differently?
Summary
In 2016, three researchers at the Universities of Pittsburgh and Toronto set about studying what made first year undergraduates tick. They were interested in those who had made a successful transition to HE and ended up scoring in the top 10% of their year group (the ‘thrivers’), and those who’d struggled and scored in the bottom 10% (the ‘divers’). One of the most striking differences between the groups was the way students expressed their goals. Thrivers were more effective goal-setters who could sustain hard-work for longer as a result. In this session, we’ll be exploring the research findings, drawing out lessons for advisors working with students pre-university, and sharing three key activities advisors can run that encourage more effective goal-setting in the students they guide.
We’ll deliver using powerpoint, drawing out the main findings of the research and combining it with our own observations as teachers and academic researchers and writers.
Learning outcomes:
- The difference between ‘be’/‘have’ goals that are expressed as a passive outcome by divers: (“I want to be rich” “I want to receive a high level of education” “I want to be an actuary” “I want to have my own house and car”) and ‘do’ goals, typical of thrivers, that place emphasis on process not outcome (“I want to fix people’s problems”, “I want to build my network” “I want to tackle overpopulation” “I want to provide assistance to others in need of help”).
- The importance of self-awareness and personal values in expressing the ‘why’ of education, and a technique advisors can use to encourage students to think this way.
- The power of purpose-driven goal-setting and the impact it can have on subsequent motivation, plus a technique advisors can use to encourage students to set purpose goals.
