Reading Post I
I decided to read up on Daniel Pink's Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us considering how closely aligned it is with my current action research project. Initially, my project set out to define problem behaviors in my classroom and how I could effectively reduce these problem behaviors while cultivating a positive learning community in my classroom. I discovered through two phases of research that underperformance was not so much a function of problem behaviors, but lie much deeper within a student's motivation. In my attempts to motivate my students, I found that the only student able to pass the course after failing most of the semester was the only student not motivated by the promise of a pizza party. This student believed that if he truly wanted to succeed in my class, he would need to generate his own motivation to get the job done.
If only I had read up on Daniel Pink before the second phase of my research. Feel free to tab through my research above in order to find out more details about my research. As I mention in my Phase II discussion, the use of a reward was rather off the top of my head, not based on literature, but rather, personal experience. If Pink were to read my research, he would immediately start raising red flags. After reading the first chunk of his book, I have learned that extrinsic motivating factors (such as rewards) do not guarantee an increase in output, can hamper creativity, and can in fact be detrimental to a student's learning process.
The example he uses is that of a study performed by Deci (1971). Students in this study were given a task, and Deci found that when students were extrinsically motivated, their output temporarily increased. However, once that motivation was removed, their production plummeted, below the level at which they started. I can't be buying my students pizza every week they complete an assignment, so Deci would argue that production would be bound to decrease.
I am excited to use Pink's work as a guide to my next action research approach (Phase III and IV). I will be working with an individual student to attempt to develop a plan the help him meet his competencies in my class. As Pink would support, rather than extrinsically motivating this student, I will be seeking to develop a unique learning plan that will incorporate his own interests into the learning; make the content more meaningful to him. I am also receiving support from our school's IEP counselor, which is making the process of helping this student more meaningful across all disciplines, and hopefully, beyond secondary education.
In my experience, schools are far behind the level they need to be at. Public schools are stigmatized as places of boredom and obligation because, well, they are. Education seems to be entrenched in the old world of learning, where knowledge is measured by accuracy on a multiple choice test (do not get me started). Rather, teachers should be focused on making learning exciting and desirable. Students should want to learn. The only way we can do this is if can support a student's creativity rather than confine him or her to a strict set of knowledge that has remain unchanged for decades.
Can't wait to read through this one!
I decided to read up on Daniel Pink's Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us considering how closely aligned it is with my current action research project. Initially, my project set out to define problem behaviors in my classroom and how I could effectively reduce these problem behaviors while cultivating a positive learning community in my classroom. I discovered through two phases of research that underperformance was not so much a function of problem behaviors, but lie much deeper within a student's motivation. In my attempts to motivate my students, I found that the only student able to pass the course after failing most of the semester was the only student not motivated by the promise of a pizza party. This student believed that if he truly wanted to succeed in my class, he would need to generate his own motivation to get the job done.
If only I had read up on Daniel Pink before the second phase of my research. Feel free to tab through my research above in order to find out more details about my research. As I mention in my Phase II discussion, the use of a reward was rather off the top of my head, not based on literature, but rather, personal experience. If Pink were to read my research, he would immediately start raising red flags. After reading the first chunk of his book, I have learned that extrinsic motivating factors (such as rewards) do not guarantee an increase in output, can hamper creativity, and can in fact be detrimental to a student's learning process.
The example he uses is that of a study performed by Deci (1971). Students in this study were given a task, and Deci found that when students were extrinsically motivated, their output temporarily increased. However, once that motivation was removed, their production plummeted, below the level at which they started. I can't be buying my students pizza every week they complete an assignment, so Deci would argue that production would be bound to decrease.
I am excited to use Pink's work as a guide to my next action research approach (Phase III and IV). I will be working with an individual student to attempt to develop a plan the help him meet his competencies in my class. As Pink would support, rather than extrinsically motivating this student, I will be seeking to develop a unique learning plan that will incorporate his own interests into the learning; make the content more meaningful to him. I am also receiving support from our school's IEP counselor, which is making the process of helping this student more meaningful across all disciplines, and hopefully, beyond secondary education.
In my experience, schools are far behind the level they need to be at. Public schools are stigmatized as places of boredom and obligation because, well, they are. Education seems to be entrenched in the old world of learning, where knowledge is measured by accuracy on a multiple choice test (do not get me started). Rather, teachers should be focused on making learning exciting and desirable. Students should want to learn. The only way we can do this is if can support a student's creativity rather than confine him or her to a strict set of knowledge that has remain unchanged for decades.
Can't wait to read through this one!