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Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation: Daniel Pink Gets It Right


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The question of performance rewards for teachers and studentssurfaces from time to time. Do you remember the neighborhood kids whose parents  paid for allAs on a report card?

Most of us think that money talks when it comes to motivation.Daniel Pink is telling us it doesn’t and why. Pink writes in Drive that the best way to encouragehigh performance is to allow people to take charge of their own work, toinitiate and create, and to improve. Amazingly, this results in highsatisfaction as well.

Pink’s research is irrefutable. Get rid of the carrots andsticks and give people an environment in which they can create and explore. Weall want to be part of something bigger and greater than we are. Move overDilbert! Look out Charlie Brown! Give students the tools they need - not Summerhill,but Mountainbrook (Google’s headquarters.)

New Hierarchy of Student Needs:

Autonomy: People want to have control over their work.

Mastery: People want to get better at what they do.

Purpose: People want to be part of something that is bigger than they are.

For more information read:
 http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/1594484805/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332958091&sr=1-1

Watch the TED Talk:http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html



Year-Round-School


When I think about it, no other plan makes sense, so why have Americans been dragging their feet on year-round-school? Dr. Matthew Lynch, Assistant Professor of Education at Widener University and  author of three books, believes that year-round-school would be disruptive to families. His concerns are valid, but I believe that there is a solution for each of them.


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All advanced nations have more school days than the U.S. Will we be a nation of innovators and leaders, or a nation of waiters and housekeepers? President Obama believes we need to lengthen the school day or year to help our students be better prepared.


“We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children at home plowing the land at the end of each day,” Obama said. He continued to say “That calendar may have once made sense, but today, it puts us at a competitive disadvantage. Our children spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea. That is no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy.”


The alternative to increase student achievement is to reduce time in PE like Bucks Couty, PA, will do. This is not a solution, nor is a longer day. Children need to be children, not with 10 weeks of summer vacation, but with time during the day to assimilate knowledge, explore and create. With the proper foundation this can be accomplished through year-round-school. 


Are you willing?


Read the full article at: 
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/matthew-lynch-the-disadvantages-of-year-round-schools/


and President Obama's appeal:
http://www.eduinreview.com/blog/2009/03/obama-proposes-longer-school-days-extended-school-year/

BFFs No More


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Teachers in three cities in the United Kingdom are banning BFFs (best friendsforever) reports Harry Hawkins of The Sun. It sounds like something outof a sci-fi novel. 

Psychologist Gaynor Sbuttoni, who doesn’t appear to supportthe measure, explains the attempts to ban best friends are being done in theinterest of the children.

"They are doing it becausethey want to save the child the pain of splitting up from their best friend.But it is natural for some children to want a best friend. If they break up,they have to feel the pain because they're learning to deal with it,"clarifies Sbuttoni.


If best friends are banned can chocolate be far behind? What else will people who "know better" take away?

Read the full article and many comments at: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4203460/Schools-ban-children-making-best-friends.html

More Learning "Hooks"


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Theproblem of engaging students’ attention is not new. In 1886, Charlotte Mason, anoted British educator, wrote about “informing ideas” to gain the learner’sattention and give a purpose for learning. She believed that the purpose of teaching was to prepare a feast ofideas, not the watered-down “twaddle” she found in some textbooks.  Mason saw children as “thinking, feelingbeings, spirits to be kindled, not vessels to be filled,” and she began eachlesson with a motivator. 

Ifyou are inspired, your students will be also. Make a commitment to yourself to begina lesson a day with an “informing idea.” Try these:

A costume - You canprobably find what you need in your closet to dress as a figure from history.  Look up your persona in Wikipedia; there’susually a picture. If not, try the costume shop in your closest city. Introduceyour class to a person you want them to remember, speaking and acting like thatperson in history. Are you shy about donning a costume? Start with a hat.

A question - Bloom, Bloom,Bloom. Use Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives to develop questions thatrequire analysis, evaluation and synthesis of knowledge. 
  • What would be different if . . . the British had won the American Revolution? 
  • What are the decisions Peter Rabbit made after his mother warned him to stay away from Mr. McGregor’s garden? Which decision was the most important?
  • How would you design a logo of yourself?

A visualization - The most dramatic introduction to a book I have everwitnessed was for middle school students preparing to read The Giver by Lois Lowry.  The teacher placed colored construction paperaround the classroom walls.  She directedthe students to write their personal feelings associated with each color on thepapers.  The students discussed theirdifferent impressions with one another, becoming fully aware of thesignificance of color in their lives. Then she explained that they were going to read about a society in whichthere was no color.  The students werestunned.  Thus engaged, some of themfinished the book over the weekend.  Thisfree idea came from www.teachersgazette.net by Nicola Kuhn, of Hagensbor, British Columbia.

Fishing for Learners? Use a Hook: Nine Ways to Catch Learners in Your Net




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Thefirst 20 seconds. Use them - or lose them. Teachers have one third of a minuteto gain and hold the attention of their students. What will you do with your 20seconds? Will you say, “Turn to page . . .,” or will you offer a lure, atempting morsel for the mind, to stimulate their interest?

AdairHinds, Head of School at Oakbrook Preparatory School in Spartanburg, SouthCarolina, has spent his career working with students across the country. Hestates, “When a teacher begins a class, I believe she has about 20 seconds tocapture the attention of her students. Today’s students are used to texting andupdating their Facebook status whilecarrying on a separate face to face conversation; their attention is dividedamong multiple tasks simultaneously. I believe students make decisions in amatter of seconds about how much attention they will devote to our lesson,which in turn determines their level of engagement.”

Openyour lesson with something memorable. Present ideas to intrigue your students,expand their imaginations, or even shock them. There are many ways to approach this. Here are some connections forvideo hooks:

Studentscan watch movies on their own time, but a short clip makes an energizingintroduction to a lesson.  Teachwithmovies.orgprovides lesson plans and learning guides for all subject areas for$11.95/year.  Are you introducing theorchestra?  Watch a clip from The Bolero.  AnAmerican Tail teaches about immigration and growing in Americanvalues.  Are you Finding Nemo?  Nemo is aclownfish who has a symbiotic relationship with a sea anemone, a perfect fitfor an oceanography unit.

Seethis example from Jenny Luca, a teacher-librarian from Melbourne, Australia.

http://plpnetwork.com/2012/03/16/ted-in-my-classroom/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PowerfulLearningPracticeLLC+%28Powerful+Learning+Practice%29

Thing Ten



Google, Inc. management wrote “10 Things,” orguiding principles, which they revisit every couple of years to see if theystill hold true.

How does this “thing” apply to education?

PrincipleNumber Ten: Greatjust isn’t good enough.

“We see beinggreat at something as a starting point, not an endpoint. We set ourselves goalswe know we can’t reach yet, because we know that by stretching to meet them wecan get further than we expected. Through innovation and iteration, we aim totake things that work well and improve upon them in unexpected ways . . . Evenif you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for; finding an answer on the webis our problem, not yours. We try to anticipate needs not yet articulated byour global audience, and meet them with products and services that set newstandards. . . . Ultimately, our constant dissatisfaction with the way thingsare becomes the driving force behind everything we do.”

This isdefinitely an entrepreneurial focus, and it can be applied to schools.Teachers, overall, are idealists. They dream of inspiring students to greatachievement, but they seem thwarted by demands of the educational system. Ihave observed their innovations for years. They are continually refining theirexpectations and practices to meet the needs of their students.

The guiding thought in the quote aboveis,
 “Our constant dissatisfaction with the waythings are . . .”

Beingdissatisfied is not a bad thing if it leads us to improvement. Whatimprovements are you making?


Effective Feedback for Student Writing Assignments



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One of the difficulties implied in feedback is that it isone-way communication. Students write. Teachers read, evaluate and make comments(maybe.) Does student writing improve? Again . . . maybe.

What would happen if a writing assignment was interactive fromthe start? Beginning at elementary levels I can imagine a cover sheet thatasks: “What is the main idea of your article/story?” The student answers andthe teacher responds, “I got it (or not.) You showed the main idea by  . . .”

For older students a teacher might ask, “What section showsyour best work?  What part of thisassignment is difficult for you? How can you improve it?” The student writes and the teacher responds.

This method would involve reworking one assignment over aweek’s time, but it would be time well spent. Will it work in your classroom?

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/giving-feedback-on-student-writing-an-innovative-approach/

Encouraging Empathy

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What kind of people will our children become? That is afrequently voiced concern of those of us who parent and teach. The digitalnetworks our teens and tweens use every day are new to us, and we sometimesworry if they spend too much time on Twitter and Facebook. Will this socialnetworking submersion affect them adversely? A new World Vision 30-Hour Faminestudy has found that these sites may aid teenswith developing empathetic skills.

According to their published description, “World Vision is aChristian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children,families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential bytackling the causes of poverty and injustice.”
The30-Hour Famine event began inCalgary, Alberta, in 1971, where 14 teenagers fasted to raise money for WorldVision’s hunger program. Their purpose was to experience hunger for a limitedperiod of time, and to use this self-denial as a means to raise funds toprovide food for those who are continually hungry. In 1995, David L. Wylie, a nondenominational youth leader in Georgia,wanted the youth he worked with to care about all people, worldwide. Much likethe Tennessee principal who wanted her students to have a greater vision of theworld began what became The Paper Clip Project; Wylie activated group membersby fasting. Teens find sponsors to support them in their fast, just likerunners for charity.  
See:http://www.30hourfamine.org/en/about

After the February 24-25, 2012 Famine, World Vision polledparticipants. Fifty-five per cent of students said they became more aware ofthe needs of others through Facebook and Twitter, up from 44% in 2011. Ninety-oneper cent of the respondents agree that it is important to volunteer locally.

The next scheduled famine is April 27-28, 2012. 

How can teachers involve students in helping others?

Read the full article at: http://www.educationnews.org/technology/study-social-media-helps-with-teenage-empathy-awareness/

Thing Nine


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Of all the guiding principles of Google, Inc., “Ten ThingsWe Know to Be True,” this one has the greatest application for the classroom.

PrincipleNumber Nine: You can be serious without asuit.

Google founders, Larry Page andSergey Brin, built the company around the concept that “work should be challenging, and the challenge should be fun.”Being without a suit refers to the relaxed atmosphere of Google, as opposed to the1950s at IBM where everyone was known to wear a gray suit, blue shirt and tie.(Guess who wasn’t there dressed in that uniform?)

They believe, and have proven,that creativity occurs in a particular type of environment. To establish this environment they emphasize teamachievements and individualaccomplishments. They provide workspace for both. Most importantly, they valuetheir employees. This is shown in many ways by the freedom and responsibilitygiven.

  • Google workers are connected to the world through theInternet. They have access to all the information currently available to answertheir questions.
  • Google workers eat nutritious meals and snacks. You won’tfind a soda dispenser on their campus. You willbe able to savor three, free,healthy meals daily, as well as snacks.
  • Google workers collaborate on their projects. They shareideas and make discoveries. They spend their mealtimes eating outside on apatio, playing with ideas and sparking one another’s imaginations.
  • Google workers are free to stop “work” and play volleyballon a sand court, play an etude on the grand piano, take a walk or a swim.
  • Google workers have both individual offices and quiet openareas where they can think and complete their projects.

And, my favorite:
  • Google workers are expected to spend 20% of their time onthe job pursuing an idea that interests them, chasing a sunbeam that may haveno connection with their assigned work. At every turn they are rewarded fortaking initiative.


Is there a way to incorporate some of these practices inyour classroom?

Does the Common Core Make Sense?

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Chester Finn, proponent of high standards, humanities, andcharter schools, speaks out in favor of Common Core. Finn sees “four greatassets” in the Core.

1.      Rigorous content-and-skill expectations.
2.      Voluntary development by states, using privatedollars.
3.      Comparisons of student, school, and districtperformance on a common metric—and gauging achievement against that of othercountries.
4.      Students moving from one locale to another canexpect to enroll in schools that are teaching the same topics at the same gradelevels.

Finn’s analysis of the attacks on Common Core, ranging fromcomplaints about flawed standards to expense, to national vs. state are foundin this article.

http://www.edexcellence.net/commentary/education-gadfly-weekly/#the-war-against-the-common-core-1.html

Would the Common Core be helpful in your classroom?

A Different Take on Collaboration in the Classroom


Courtesy of Wikipedia


Susan Cain is speaking up for introverts and against thepractices of brainstorming and group projects in the classroom and theworkplace. She backs up her opinion with plenty of statistics, but as usual,there are statistics on the other side of the argument.

If you are an introvert, you’ll be happy to read thisarticle, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opinion/sunday/the-rise-of-the-new-groupthink.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all,and her new book, Quiet: The Power ofIntroverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.

I agree that students need to learn to work on assignmentsfor extended periods of time. I agree that some people are most creative whenthey are alone. Cain quotes William Wordsworth, who described himself as “Amind for ever/ Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.”

My personal experience is that many of my creative ideascome through contact with others. I love the activities of brainstorming (myfavorite exercise) and mind mapping in a small group. When the notes arecompiled I set to work on my own, but I always rely on trusted others forfeedback.

Teachers want to be sensitive to the learning needs of theirstudents. Some are introverts (%), and more are extroverts (%.) But if Cain’sdata findings are true, we must organize the school day with quiet, thoughtfultime and collaborative opportunities.

Is this something you can do in your classroom?

Thing Eight


Google, Inc. wrote “10 Things,” orguiding principles, which are revisited by corporate leaders every couple ofyears to see if they still hold true. (There’s a refreshing concept foreducators as well.)

How does this “thing” apply to education?

PrincipleNumber Eight: The need for information crosses allborders.

Teachershave a way of seeing their classrooms as self-contained. I’m sure there arereasons for this, but the practice tends to be short-sighted. Google has neverbeen a California company. They have always seen themselves as world changers.

Oneof the channels for worldwide communication is language. Google offers searchinterface in more than 110 languages at last count. Users can translate intotheir own language. Thus we have access to information from its originalsource.

Courtesy of Google Images
Languageisn’t the only worldwide connector. Teachers like Vickie Davis, writing andteaching from a small Georgia town, have had an exponential effect on teachingand learning. Vickie is enthusiastic about learning with technology and isn’tafraid to try anything. See http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/.