"You Matter." These two simple words can make such a tremendous difference to someone. In her TED talk, posted below, Angela Maiers points out just how easy it can be to make someone feel important. We all share a deep need to feel significant, to be important, yet it is so rare for someone to tell another person that they matter. If everyone has this same desire, why is it so hard for us to communicate it with one another? Angela carries around a notebook and writes down things that she notices - what she sees people (adults and children) doing, and then she goes up to them and tells them "hey, you matter, and here's why - I noticed that you ..." It could be "helped a friend in math class," for example. Angela suggests that we should all do this. Tell someone they are a genius and it will change their mood and how they feel about themselves. She argues that it's not just a statement, it's a call to action - if the person believes what you said, then they will act like it.
In my classroom last week, a parent came in and did a team building activity with our class. The students counted off into 5 groups. One group stood at a time, while the rest of the class sat at their desks with their heads down (no peeking!). The parent read statements like "tap someone's shoulder who you look up to" and the group that was standing would go around the room tapping their classmates shoulders. The taps were anonymous and they could tap as many people as they wanted to. The groups rotated, so everyone had a chance to tap shoulders. After each round, students would lift their heads up and they were beaming. They were counting the taps they got. At the end of the activity, students shared some of the things that surprised them. They said things like, "I got tapped for being creative, I never thought I was creative!" and "Someone tapped me for having a big heart, and that made me feel really happy."
Everyone left the class that day feeling great. Especially my students who don't hear positive things about themselves nearly enough. Those students who are always getting in trouble and being told how "bad" they are - they need to hear that they're important, that they matter and that they bring value to the world. I was especially carefully to give those students taps, and not only did they feel good to get that recognition, but it felt really good to give it. I think that we often don't tell people how much they matter because it feels silly or stupid to say, but when you do say it, it feels so good! We all need to hear that we matter, so start telling people that they do!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The Puzzle of Motivation: A Reflection on Dan Pink's TED Talk
I recently watched Dan Pink's TED Talk: The Puzzle of Motivation. The title of this talk caught my interest because I've been thinking a lot about the topic of motivation in my classroom lately. I don't know if it's the time of year - it's Spring and students have been completing state testing, or if my cooperating teacher and I have just become too lax with the rules, but the behavior in the classroom has become a little wild. I saw this TED talk posted and wanted to see what Pink had to say about motivation.
In our classroom, we use a token economy to encourage positive behavior - students earn fake money for doing homework, being respectful, helping others, etc. and discourage negative behavior - students lose money when they don't do homework, don't follow the rules, are rude, and so on. Everything I've learned in my graduate classes and read in books goes against using these behavior systems, and yet every classroom I've ever been in has one. It seems to me that these reward systems promote short-term behavior solutions, but fail to truly teach or motivate students. In order to truly motivate students, we have to create intrinsic motivation. We have to help them develop a sense of social responsibility and create opportunities for emotional development.
In this talk, Pink identifies the same discrepancy between what science knows and how we behave in terms of motivating people. He talks about business, not classrooms, but the idea is the same. He provides evidence that providing people with an extrinsic reward actually produces inferior results when asked to complete a task that requires some critical thinking. People are less creative and less able to solve problems when they are working toward an extrinsic reward. People who are intrinsically motivated perform overwhelmingly higher on cognitive tasks than people who are extrinsically motivated.
Pink's case points toward eliminating extrinsic motivation in order to encourage more creative thinking and, ultimately, better work. This, however, is where the argument gets tricky. It's easy to see why intrinsic motivation creates more creative thinking, innovation, and problem solving when people are doing tasks that interest them and that they want to be doing. However, what happens if we take extrinsic rewards away from people who are doing jobs or tasks that they don't have any interest in and they don't want to be doing? One of his key points is that for intrinsic motivation to work, mastery of the task or job must be seen as possible. I think this is an interesting point because it also applies to students in a classroom. Many students lack intrinsic motivation because they don't see school as something that they can or want to "master." The difference between business and school is that in the classroom, it's the teacher's responsibility to create interest and a sense that mastery is possible for everyone. If we supported our students by creating interest in academic activities, helped them feel like they could master these activities, and put more focus into character development, we could eliminate these behavior systems and see what wonderful things their intrinsic motivation brings them to do.
In our classroom, we use a token economy to encourage positive behavior - students earn fake money for doing homework, being respectful, helping others, etc. and discourage negative behavior - students lose money when they don't do homework, don't follow the rules, are rude, and so on. Everything I've learned in my graduate classes and read in books goes against using these behavior systems, and yet every classroom I've ever been in has one. It seems to me that these reward systems promote short-term behavior solutions, but fail to truly teach or motivate students. In order to truly motivate students, we have to create intrinsic motivation. We have to help them develop a sense of social responsibility and create opportunities for emotional development.
In this talk, Pink identifies the same discrepancy between what science knows and how we behave in terms of motivating people. He talks about business, not classrooms, but the idea is the same. He provides evidence that providing people with an extrinsic reward actually produces inferior results when asked to complete a task that requires some critical thinking. People are less creative and less able to solve problems when they are working toward an extrinsic reward. People who are intrinsically motivated perform overwhelmingly higher on cognitive tasks than people who are extrinsically motivated.
Pink's case points toward eliminating extrinsic motivation in order to encourage more creative thinking and, ultimately, better work. This, however, is where the argument gets tricky. It's easy to see why intrinsic motivation creates more creative thinking, innovation, and problem solving when people are doing tasks that interest them and that they want to be doing. However, what happens if we take extrinsic rewards away from people who are doing jobs or tasks that they don't have any interest in and they don't want to be doing? One of his key points is that for intrinsic motivation to work, mastery of the task or job must be seen as possible. I think this is an interesting point because it also applies to students in a classroom. Many students lack intrinsic motivation because they don't see school as something that they can or want to "master." The difference between business and school is that in the classroom, it's the teacher's responsibility to create interest and a sense that mastery is possible for everyone. If we supported our students by creating interest in academic activities, helped them feel like they could master these activities, and put more focus into character development, we could eliminate these behavior systems and see what wonderful things their intrinsic motivation brings them to do.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Collaborating on Cultivation: Our Journey Through Discovering Our PLNs
Kitri and I collaborated on our experiences of cultivating our PLNs throughout this semester. We may have had a little too much fun creating this presentation, but we hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed creating it!
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Taking Time to Reflect
I was listening to NPR this morning and they were continuing to comment on the status of the suspect in the Boston Marathon Bombing case. I almost changed the channel because I needed to take a break from the whole thing. Even 3000 miles away from home, the events of this past week have completely consumed me; part of my mind was always thinking about what was going on there. But instead of going into details about the case, the segment was about 'taking time to reflect'. Sunday is often a day during which we finally have a chance to pause, to relax, and to think about the week we just had and the week coming up. This week, taking that time seems particularly important. Though for many people (in Boston, Texas, around the world) this week was filled with sadness and fear, it was also filled with love, kindness, hope, and an incredible sense of unity. Today I am feeling grateful that my loved ones are safe and especially thankful for the many amazing people who keep us safe every day. It's easy to get caught up in the stress of daily life, so take some time to relax and reflect on the things that are really important.
Here is a video from yesterday's Red Sox game, Neil Diamond showed up to play Sweet Caroline live. This will surely boost any Bostonian's mood, but hopefully the rest of yours, too.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Autism Awareness Month
Her dedication to spreading awareness and gaining support to help those in need is truly inspring. I wanted to share some resources about Autism and how you can help. Check out Ashley's blog, Redefining Rich, to get more information about Jobs4Austism and other causes that she supports. Also check out Austism Speaks to see all the amazing contributions from around the world, from Major League Baseball to President Obama to the Tower of Pisa lit up in blue. You can also follow @autismspeaks on Twitter to get updates and information. Consider donating, if you can, and if not, take some time to do a little research about Autism and how it impacts children, adults, and families in your community.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Are We Feeding Our Kids to Death?
Lately, the topic of nutrition seems to be popping up more frequently in my life. It has come up at my school, in the news, in talking with family and friends, and this morning I even got an email that a classmate (Bernice) started a nutrition board on learnist. Health and nutrition play a key role in all of our lives and as adults we have the freedom (to an extent) to make our own choices in how we treat our bodies. Children, however, are given food and told what to eat and, unfortunately, they're not always offered healthy choices.
I began thinking about the role of schools in providing children with an education about nutrition and access to healthy choices. My students are working on persuasive writing and one of the topics that they keep bringing up is 'Healthier lunches in school'. Students are asking to be given more nutritious (and, yes, better tasting) food to eat at school. I recently watched a TED Talk by Ann Cooper, head of nutrition for Berkeley schools, who advocates for "revolutionizing the way kids eat in schools." Ann mentions an alarming statistic, saying that children born in the year 2000 could be the first generation to die at a younger age than their parents, and the reason comes down to poor nutrition. She talks about the work she has done in Berkeley schools to turn this trend around. She has worked to replace the packaged, processed foods thats kids were being served with locally grown, organic whole foods that are free from hormones and chemicals. These foods provide children with the nutrients they need to be healthy people and the energy to be active learners. She talks not only about the food we feed kids at school, but about opportunities for exercise and movement. Through proper eating habits and regular exercise, students have more energy for learning. I think that we need to advocate for our children by fighting for an education system that values health and supports teaching children how to be healthy.
I began thinking about the role of schools in providing children with an education about nutrition and access to healthy choices. My students are working on persuasive writing and one of the topics that they keep bringing up is 'Healthier lunches in school'. Students are asking to be given more nutritious (and, yes, better tasting) food to eat at school. I recently watched a TED Talk by Ann Cooper, head of nutrition for Berkeley schools, who advocates for "revolutionizing the way kids eat in schools." Ann mentions an alarming statistic, saying that children born in the year 2000 could be the first generation to die at a younger age than their parents, and the reason comes down to poor nutrition. She talks about the work she has done in Berkeley schools to turn this trend around. She has worked to replace the packaged, processed foods thats kids were being served with locally grown, organic whole foods that are free from hormones and chemicals. These foods provide children with the nutrients they need to be healthy people and the energy to be active learners. She talks not only about the food we feed kids at school, but about opportunities for exercise and movement. Through proper eating habits and regular exercise, students have more energy for learning. I think that we need to advocate for our children by fighting for an education system that values health and supports teaching children how to be healthy.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Cultivating My PLN
It is now about halfway through the semester. I have been learning about various online tools that can be used to develop my Public Learning Network, PLN, in addition to the advantages of creating a web-based learning network. I will admit, it was a bit overwhelming to see how many websites, apps, blogs, and other resources are out there. I thought that I was pretty internet savvy and that my knowledge of social network was up to date. I was very wrong. I found myself avoiding these tools because I was so intimidated by the task of creating my own PLN. It seemed impossible to learn how to use all of these tools and then to actually get into the habit of using them. Before now, blogging and tweeting and pinning seemed like a chore rather than a beneficial use of my time. However, I began to see the creation of a PLN in a different way. I realized that I don't need to use or even understand all of these tools. So, I spent some time weeding through the abundance of tools and resources, finding the path to what works for me. I am developing a habit of using the internet as a valuable tool for my own knowledge and professional growth. It's actually kind of exciting to share information and knowledge with the broader world of educators. The celebrities of the education world are no longer distant and unreachable, I can see their ideas instantly on Twitter, watch interviews that happen through Google Hangout, read their blogs, and even communicate back to them.
Like any habit, developing my online presence hasn't happened instantly. Keeping up with the rapid flow of information and contributing to that flow is something that I am learning to incorporate into my routine. Some areas of my PLN came more quickly than others. Some things, I realized, I was even already doing! I think that reading and archiving have been two of my strengths, since these are the quieter, more behind the scenes aspects of a PLN. Sharing my own ideas through writing, tweeting, and commenting has proved to be a bigger challenge. I do enjoy writing in my blog as it provides a good opportunity reflect, and I think the fear of putting myself out there is waning. In order to better develop my PLN, particularly in my weaker areas, I plan to create a PLN routine. Each night, I will dedicate at least 20 minutes to my PLN. Some nights this may be longer, like when I blog and read, but other nights 20 minutes will be enough to check out Twitter, share a tweet or two, or comment on my peers' blogs. Additionally, I will use those spare minutes that typically go to checking Facebook toward a more productive use of internet time by putting it toward my PLN. I will continue to read and archive regularly, as I truly value this practice as part of my own learning and planning for the classroom. While I work to make these tasks a habit, I will keep a weekly checklist. I will document my activity to ensure that I am meeting my goals.
Though I haven't been great at developing my PLN, I have begun to use many of the web-based tools we have learned in my classroom. It's fun and exciting to share these tools with my students and cooperating teacher. I look forward to continuing the process of developing my PLN and taking advantage of the abundant and available learning opportunities.
Like any habit, developing my online presence hasn't happened instantly. Keeping up with the rapid flow of information and contributing to that flow is something that I am learning to incorporate into my routine. Some areas of my PLN came more quickly than others. Some things, I realized, I was even already doing! I think that reading and archiving have been two of my strengths, since these are the quieter, more behind the scenes aspects of a PLN. Sharing my own ideas through writing, tweeting, and commenting has proved to be a bigger challenge. I do enjoy writing in my blog as it provides a good opportunity reflect, and I think the fear of putting myself out there is waning. In order to better develop my PLN, particularly in my weaker areas, I plan to create a PLN routine. Each night, I will dedicate at least 20 minutes to my PLN. Some nights this may be longer, like when I blog and read, but other nights 20 minutes will be enough to check out Twitter, share a tweet or two, or comment on my peers' blogs. Additionally, I will use those spare minutes that typically go to checking Facebook toward a more productive use of internet time by putting it toward my PLN. I will continue to read and archive regularly, as I truly value this practice as part of my own learning and planning for the classroom. While I work to make these tasks a habit, I will keep a weekly checklist. I will document my activity to ensure that I am meeting my goals.
Though I haven't been great at developing my PLN, I have begun to use many of the web-based tools we have learned in my classroom. It's fun and exciting to share these tools with my students and cooperating teacher. I look forward to continuing the process of developing my PLN and taking advantage of the abundant and available learning opportunities.
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