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.

 

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!


 

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.

Autism Awareness Month

April is World Autism Awareness month and I wanted to dedicate this post to some of the wonderful things that people are doing to contribute. My sister's longtime best friend (my non-blood related sister next door), Ashley, has embarked on a truly inspiring journey of helping others. This year, her new year's resolution was to dedicate herself to one charity each month of the year. Over the past several months, she has dedicated her time and worked to increase awareness and raise money for causes including The DJ Dream Fund, which honors a high school classmate's life with a mission “to share DJ’s love of sports by providing the financial resources to enable children and young adults to say ‘YES’ to healthy lifestyles through athletics and wellness programs,” House of Possibilities, which offers programs and care for children and adults with developmental challenges, Team Intestinal Fortitude, which raises money and awareness for those suffering with Chrone's Disease, and finally, this month, Jobs4Autism, which is working to offer pre-employment internships and job matching services for people with autism. 

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. 

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.

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.

Digital Citizenship

During the last few weeks, I've spent a lot of time learning about and exploring new technologies. I have been attempting to incorporate new websites, online resources, and technology-based tools as part of my classroom instruction and as part of my own learning. I have seen how abundant this online world really is and I have begun to experience just how powerful it can be. However, in the midst of my excitement around the positive impact the internet can have on learning and sharing information, knowledge, and insight, I was reminded of the dangers of the web. 

This week, I experienced cyber bullying happening in my classroom. Though bullying has been around forever, the internet has provided a means for instant and viral attacks, insults, or harassment. The internet also removes the school day time restraints of traditional bullying, as it is available around the clock. Additionally, the bully doesn't even have to have a face-to-face interaction with the victim, meaning that it may be easier to act as a bully or that the bully can remain anonymous. The problem of cyber bullying is widespread and extremely detrimental.

So, how can we help ensure that the internet and all of the technological tools that we give our kids are being used safely? In a school with 1:1 iPads, concerns around online safety and responsibility are constant. I think there needs to be more teaching around bullying and the power of our words, in person or through technology. Check out Common Sense Media for more information about how to teach digital citizenship. The site includes videos, curriculum, lessons, and age-specific teaching tools.