Blythe, T., & Allen, D. (2004). The facilitator's book of questions. New York City, NY: Teachers College Press.
In this book, the authors provide guidance, frameworks, and activities to promote the use of protocols and facilitation. The book is a helpful corollary to The Power of Protocols. It has several chapters that allow people who are eager to improve their use of protocols to get better. These include chapters on what facilitators do, what kinds of questions to ask, any challenges that come up and how to choose, adapt and create protocols.
The chapter I found most helpful in thinking about collegial coaching was in chapter 2. The authors argue that collegial conversations, especially when guided by protocols, create an environment for teachers to grow in their own skill and judgment. They compare the use of protocols that is an essential part of collegial conversation and inquiry with a more traditional model of workshops or training. They also differentiate between traditional coaching/ mentoring and collegial conversations that happen when protocols are used.
The book focuses on how the "locus of expertise" needs to be on the participants in order to have rich and engaging conversations that improve teaching and ultimately student outcomes. The theory of why combining protocols with collegial relationships is so important is that it allows teachers to deepen their own understanding, develop new teaching approaches based on the understanding which will change the way they teach and increase student achievement. This theory seems very plausible but is hard to assess other than anecdotally.
"Mentoring or coaching relationships involve a bit more negotiation. The mentor or coach might have certain ideas, based on her observations of the teacher being coached, about the issues the coached teacher most needs to focus on. Just as often, however, the teacher being coached is likely to say, "What I need right now is help with..." In collegial conversations, especially protocols, the group itself usually determines the goals for the conversation and how the members will pursue those goals. The goals may reflect school-wide focus areas; however, such focus areas typically are interpreted, or "customized," by the group." (p. 28)
"The special province of protocols is in creating a space in which participants, by virtue of their experience-- no matter what the experience is-- can make important contributions to the conversation and, consequently, to the group's learning." (p. 28)
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Building School-Based Teacher Learning Communities
McLaughlin, M., & Talbert, J. (2006). Building school-based teacher learning communities. New York City, NY: Teachers College Press.
Summary/Analysis:
In this book, McLaughlin and Talbert provide evidence and examples of school-based teacher learning communities that are having success with improving student outcomes. The book uses examples from successful communities to provide a blueprint for other school leaders to follow. It includes processes to try, resources and explanations of teacher learning communities. It is argued that schools have a tremendous amount of pressure and teachers are required to be skilled in so many ways that developing a school's professional learning community will help. In these professional learning communities, teachers work collaboratively, examine their instruction, and analyze the evidence of student work to ultimately improve and change their craft. The change that needs to happen in schools need to be localized to the community that is working with the children. The authors describe this approach as both "macro-" and "micro-" in that teachers are simultaneously focused on global changes as well as the realities of their classroom and students. Professional learning communities can be across grade levels, within departments or across an entire school. They ideally operate and reinforce one another at multiple levels within a school community.
One of the important aspects of a professional learning community is the shared language that a school develops. This shared language allows schools to talk about practice, student work, and to promote coherent norms and expectations across a school. This enables a shared vision and true collaboration that is essential to a strong professional learning community. The idea of developing and using a shared language is key to collegial collaboration and teacher growth.
The book describes how professional learning communities are different from traditional ones and offers strategies for developing a professional learning community. There are several chapters in the book that focus on how to incorporate high-quality off-site professional development as a support for improving teacher effectiveness. These chapters were of less interest to me since I am more focused on how teachers support one another. I was able to glean some helpful ideas on how to develop a professional learning community.
Relevant Quotes/ Concepts:
"Shared language reflected the strength of the schools' technical culture around inquiry. While intermediate-stage schools had begun the process, advanced-stage schools had built a vocabulary around inquiry that figured prominently in teachers' conversations. As one high school teacher explained, "We have a common language at this school. At [my previous] school, there was only a small group of people who understood what an outcome was, what a standard was, what a rubric was. I could only have a conversation with three people about those things. Here, there's a possibility for these conversations anywhere in the school." This shared language and understandings created the basis for schoolwide conversations about how data and research would inform decisions and plans for the future." (p. 35)
"School-based teacher learning communities are found at grade levels, within departments, or sometimes across a whole school. Ideally, they operate at multiple levels within a school, complementing and reinforcing teachers' work. Teacher learning communities within schools serve interrelated functions that contribute uniquely to teachers' knowledge base, professionalism, and ability to act on what they learn. Three such functions stand out: they build and manage knowledge; they create shared language and standards for practice and student outcomes; and they sustain aspects of their school's culture vital to continued, consistent norms and instructional practice." (p. 5)
Summary/Analysis:
In this book, McLaughlin and Talbert provide evidence and examples of school-based teacher learning communities that are having success with improving student outcomes. The book uses examples from successful communities to provide a blueprint for other school leaders to follow. It includes processes to try, resources and explanations of teacher learning communities. It is argued that schools have a tremendous amount of pressure and teachers are required to be skilled in so many ways that developing a school's professional learning community will help. In these professional learning communities, teachers work collaboratively, examine their instruction, and analyze the evidence of student work to ultimately improve and change their craft. The change that needs to happen in schools need to be localized to the community that is working with the children. The authors describe this approach as both "macro-" and "micro-" in that teachers are simultaneously focused on global changes as well as the realities of their classroom and students. Professional learning communities can be across grade levels, within departments or across an entire school. They ideally operate and reinforce one another at multiple levels within a school community.
One of the important aspects of a professional learning community is the shared language that a school develops. This shared language allows schools to talk about practice, student work, and to promote coherent norms and expectations across a school. This enables a shared vision and true collaboration that is essential to a strong professional learning community. The idea of developing and using a shared language is key to collegial collaboration and teacher growth.
The book describes how professional learning communities are different from traditional ones and offers strategies for developing a professional learning community. There are several chapters in the book that focus on how to incorporate high-quality off-site professional development as a support for improving teacher effectiveness. These chapters were of less interest to me since I am more focused on how teachers support one another. I was able to glean some helpful ideas on how to develop a professional learning community.
Relevant Quotes/ Concepts:
"Shared language reflected the strength of the schools' technical culture around inquiry. While intermediate-stage schools had begun the process, advanced-stage schools had built a vocabulary around inquiry that figured prominently in teachers' conversations. As one high school teacher explained, "We have a common language at this school. At [my previous] school, there was only a small group of people who understood what an outcome was, what a standard was, what a rubric was. I could only have a conversation with three people about those things. Here, there's a possibility for these conversations anywhere in the school." This shared language and understandings created the basis for schoolwide conversations about how data and research would inform decisions and plans for the future." (p. 35)
"School-based teacher learning communities are found at grade levels, within departments, or sometimes across a whole school. Ideally, they operate at multiple levels within a school, complementing and reinforcing teachers' work. Teacher learning communities within schools serve interrelated functions that contribute uniquely to teachers' knowledge base, professionalism, and ability to act on what they learn. Three such functions stand out: they build and manage knowledge; they create shared language and standards for practice and student outcomes; and they sustain aspects of their school's culture vital to continued, consistent norms and instructional practice." (p. 5)
Professional Practice Schools: Linking Teacher Education and School Reform
Lieberman, A., & Miller, L. (1992). Teacher development in professional practice schools. In M. Levine (Ed.), Professional practice schools: linking teacher education and school reform (pp. 105-123). New York City, NY: Teachers College Press.
Summary/ Analysis:
Lieberman and Miller provide a historical perspective for teacher development. Starting in the 1950s, they saw development termed "inservice training" as a deficit model that attempted to create "teacher-proof" curricula and to train teachers in using externally developed instructional materials. While they believe this approach to be a failure, they recognize that schools continue to hire outside "experts" to transmit their knowledge to a room full of teachers acting as passive recipients of the information. In the 1970s, they recognize a shift towards having "staff development" where the link was better made between the development of teachers as individuals and the growth of the school. In this model, schools worked with "at least a portion of a staff over a period of time with the necessary supportive conditions." (p. 106) Like the "inservice training" model, this new way of training teachers was not ideal because it continued to require and focus teachers on being able to adopt and internalize an externally designed curricula. The authors focus on a third and more recent model which they call "teacher development" where the teacher is seen as a reflective practitioner who grows and improves by ongoing inquiry, analysis, reflection and self- evaluation. In essence, this model is one of continuous culture building among a staff.
This type of teacher development requires five essential elements: norms of colleagueship, openness and trust; opportunities and time for disciplined inquiry; teacher learning of content in context; reconstruction of leadership roles; and networks, collaborations and coalitions. These ideals create the atmosphere of "shared work, shared problem solving, mutual assistance, and teacher leadership in curriculum and instruction" (p. 108) that is critical to inquiry and growth. The authors call the types of schools that engage in this work, "professional practice schools."
In professional practice schools, teachers are engaged in study groups, curriculum writing, teacher research projects, peer observation, case conferences, program evaluation and documentation, trying out new practices, developing teacher resource centers, and participation in outside events and organizations. In terms of teacher observations, teachers make informal contracts to visit one another's classroom and observe one another's teaching in partnerships. These observations can be geared towards helping their colleague in a specific area of concern, supporting their work with an individual student or group of students, or some other pre-determined focus. The visiting teacher always provides descriptive feedback to the teacher he or she observed. In this type of contract, it is teacher-initiated, teacher-driven and can be altered or terminated when both teachers agree for that to happen. Professional practice schools seem to combat the isolation that can exist for teachers in certain schools. Explicit connections need to be made between improving an adult culture and improving student achievement.
Relevant Quotes/ Concepts:
"In a school where teachers assume leadership in curriculum and instruction and where reflective action replaces routinized practice, providing opportunities and time for disciplined inquiry into teaching and learning becomes crucial... the research sensibility must be infused into the daily life and work of the school. Such an infusion takes time and commitment. It begins with an acknowledgement of the importance of norms of colleagueship and experimentation; it builds on shared problem identification and a mutual search for solutions; it depends on taking a risl in the classroom; and it requires the support of colleagues." (p. 108-109)
"Networks, collaborations, and coalitions take many forms. They may be informal collections of people, or they may be more formalized partnerships among institutions... In the past 2 years, groups of teachers have dealt with issues of equity, teachers' leadership, restructuring schools, grouping practices, early childhood education, and at-risk students. The groups' power stems from the fact they they are self-directed, define their own agendas, and provide the opportunity for teachers of like-mind and like-disposition to exchange experiences and ideas in an atmosphere of support and common understanding." (p. 115)
Summary/ Analysis:
Lieberman and Miller provide a historical perspective for teacher development. Starting in the 1950s, they saw development termed "inservice training" as a deficit model that attempted to create "teacher-proof" curricula and to train teachers in using externally developed instructional materials. While they believe this approach to be a failure, they recognize that schools continue to hire outside "experts" to transmit their knowledge to a room full of teachers acting as passive recipients of the information. In the 1970s, they recognize a shift towards having "staff development" where the link was better made between the development of teachers as individuals and the growth of the school. In this model, schools worked with "at least a portion of a staff over a period of time with the necessary supportive conditions." (p. 106) Like the "inservice training" model, this new way of training teachers was not ideal because it continued to require and focus teachers on being able to adopt and internalize an externally designed curricula. The authors focus on a third and more recent model which they call "teacher development" where the teacher is seen as a reflective practitioner who grows and improves by ongoing inquiry, analysis, reflection and self- evaluation. In essence, this model is one of continuous culture building among a staff.
This type of teacher development requires five essential elements: norms of colleagueship, openness and trust; opportunities and time for disciplined inquiry; teacher learning of content in context; reconstruction of leadership roles; and networks, collaborations and coalitions. These ideals create the atmosphere of "shared work, shared problem solving, mutual assistance, and teacher leadership in curriculum and instruction" (p. 108) that is critical to inquiry and growth. The authors call the types of schools that engage in this work, "professional practice schools."
In professional practice schools, teachers are engaged in study groups, curriculum writing, teacher research projects, peer observation, case conferences, program evaluation and documentation, trying out new practices, developing teacher resource centers, and participation in outside events and organizations. In terms of teacher observations, teachers make informal contracts to visit one another's classroom and observe one another's teaching in partnerships. These observations can be geared towards helping their colleague in a specific area of concern, supporting their work with an individual student or group of students, or some other pre-determined focus. The visiting teacher always provides descriptive feedback to the teacher he or she observed. In this type of contract, it is teacher-initiated, teacher-driven and can be altered or terminated when both teachers agree for that to happen. Professional practice schools seem to combat the isolation that can exist for teachers in certain schools. Explicit connections need to be made between improving an adult culture and improving student achievement.
Relevant Quotes/ Concepts:
"In a school where teachers assume leadership in curriculum and instruction and where reflective action replaces routinized practice, providing opportunities and time for disciplined inquiry into teaching and learning becomes crucial... the research sensibility must be infused into the daily life and work of the school. Such an infusion takes time and commitment. It begins with an acknowledgement of the importance of norms of colleagueship and experimentation; it builds on shared problem identification and a mutual search for solutions; it depends on taking a risl in the classroom; and it requires the support of colleagues." (p. 108-109)
"Networks, collaborations, and coalitions take many forms. They may be informal collections of people, or they may be more formalized partnerships among institutions... In the past 2 years, groups of teachers have dealt with issues of equity, teachers' leadership, restructuring schools, grouping practices, early childhood education, and at-risk students. The groups' power stems from the fact they they are self-directed, define their own agendas, and provide the opportunity for teachers of like-mind and like-disposition to exchange experiences and ideas in an atmosphere of support and common understanding." (p. 115)
Improving Teacher Quality: The U.S. Teaching Force in Global Context
Akiba, M., & LeTendre, G. (2009). Improving teacher quality: the u.s. teaching force in global context. New York City, NY: Teachers College Press.
Summary/ Analysis:
In this book, Akiba and LeTendre compare and contrast the efforts made to improve teacher quality between the United States, Japan, Australia, and 12 other countries. In chapter 5, Teacher Induction and Professional Development, the authors explore how the various countries provide ongoing and continuous support for teachers within the profession to grow and improve. Their research found that teacher learning is most positively affected when it is (a) sustained and continuous, (b) coherent with teachers' learning goals as well as the school missions and reform goals, (c) focused on teaching practices and student learning in the context of actual classrooms and (d) provides opportunities for teacher collaboration. The researchers collected data on how frequently teachers engaged in observations and conversations of their colleagues to help them improve their own teaching. They looked at the the frequency with which teachers discuss teaching methods, the frequency with which teachers prepare materials together, the frequency with which teachers observe one another, and the frequency with which teachers are observed by their peers. In the U.S., fewer than 25% of teachers engaged in professional development where they reviewed student work, developed materials or conducted demonstration lessons with their colleagues. In Japan, by contrast, teachers are doing all of these things consistently in the context of their actual classrooms. In the U.S., teachers were about twice as likely to have their lessons observed as they were to observe others. The frequency of this happening in the U.S. was lower than in the other countries and happened on average 1.3 times a month and 0.7 times a month, respectively.
At the end of the chapter, the authors provide recommendations for U.S. policymakers, state and local education agencies. They base their recommendations on their research into mentoring and professional development and how to best impact teacher growth. Their first recommendation is for states or schools to develop a professional development map of activities along a professional continuum. The second recommendation is to require induction and mentoring of new teachers, a required amount of professional development and to financially support these programs. The third recommendation is for schools to require a reduced workload for new teachers and to embed professional development into the regular school day. The authors argue that this time is critical to helping teachers improve and would allow them more time to observe veteran teachers and collaborate with colleagues around instruction, materials and curriculum. It seems that this argument could be taken a step further and should not just apply to new teachers. Veteran teachers would also benefit from embedded professional development, time to observe their colleagues and time to discuss, collaborate and plan together.
Relevant Quotes/ Concepts:
"Among the four types of teacher collaboration, observing lessons taught by other teachers and having lessons observed provide learning opportunities in the context of actual classrooms. By observing teaching approaches and student responses and work, teachers learn what promotes student learning. When their lessons are observed by other teachers, they can receive objective feedback on their instructional approach, teaching materials, and how their approach enhances student learning. These learning opportunities through lesson observation can also promote shared understanding of their instructional goals and effective methods, and a sense of community focused on professional learning. To maximize their professional learning, it is important for U.S. teachers to be provided with more opportunities to observe lessons taught by other teachers." p. 117
Summary/ Analysis:
In this book, Akiba and LeTendre compare and contrast the efforts made to improve teacher quality between the United States, Japan, Australia, and 12 other countries. In chapter 5, Teacher Induction and Professional Development, the authors explore how the various countries provide ongoing and continuous support for teachers within the profession to grow and improve. Their research found that teacher learning is most positively affected when it is (a) sustained and continuous, (b) coherent with teachers' learning goals as well as the school missions and reform goals, (c) focused on teaching practices and student learning in the context of actual classrooms and (d) provides opportunities for teacher collaboration. The researchers collected data on how frequently teachers engaged in observations and conversations of their colleagues to help them improve their own teaching. They looked at the the frequency with which teachers discuss teaching methods, the frequency with which teachers prepare materials together, the frequency with which teachers observe one another, and the frequency with which teachers are observed by their peers. In the U.S., fewer than 25% of teachers engaged in professional development where they reviewed student work, developed materials or conducted demonstration lessons with their colleagues. In Japan, by contrast, teachers are doing all of these things consistently in the context of their actual classrooms. In the U.S., teachers were about twice as likely to have their lessons observed as they were to observe others. The frequency of this happening in the U.S. was lower than in the other countries and happened on average 1.3 times a month and 0.7 times a month, respectively.
At the end of the chapter, the authors provide recommendations for U.S. policymakers, state and local education agencies. They base their recommendations on their research into mentoring and professional development and how to best impact teacher growth. Their first recommendation is for states or schools to develop a professional development map of activities along a professional continuum. The second recommendation is to require induction and mentoring of new teachers, a required amount of professional development and to financially support these programs. The third recommendation is for schools to require a reduced workload for new teachers and to embed professional development into the regular school day. The authors argue that this time is critical to helping teachers improve and would allow them more time to observe veteran teachers and collaborate with colleagues around instruction, materials and curriculum. It seems that this argument could be taken a step further and should not just apply to new teachers. Veteran teachers would also benefit from embedded professional development, time to observe their colleagues and time to discuss, collaborate and plan together.
Relevant Quotes/ Concepts:
"Among the four types of teacher collaboration, observing lessons taught by other teachers and having lessons observed provide learning opportunities in the context of actual classrooms. By observing teaching approaches and student responses and work, teachers learn what promotes student learning. When their lessons are observed by other teachers, they can receive objective feedback on their instructional approach, teaching materials, and how their approach enhances student learning. These learning opportunities through lesson observation can also promote shared understanding of their instructional goals and effective methods, and a sense of community focused on professional learning. To maximize their professional learning, it is important for U.S. teachers to be provided with more opportunities to observe lessons taught by other teachers." p. 117
How Teachers Learn: Toward A More Liberal Teacher Education
Proefriedt, W. (1994). How teachers learn: toward a more liberal teacher education. New York City, NY: Teachers College Press.
Summary/ Analysis:
Citing the work of John Dewey, Proefriedt writes about the importance of connecting learning with life, and establishing a strong link between schools, society and individual lives. He argues that teacher education should be modeled after Dewey's notions of schooling. In chapter 9, he explores the necessity of schools to create institutions in which teachers learn as well as teach. According to this approach, schools need to provide authentic avenues for communication and collaboration among the teachers. He points out specific examples of teachers learning and working with one another. This can most often happen through committees of teachers who meet to discuss student issues, curriculum decisions and pedagogy. It can also happen through teachers visiting and observing one another in their work. The author stresses the importance of these observations and collegial conversations in being teacher-initiated and not forced to happen by a school administrator. This brings up an interesting point that other teachers frequently mention-- the collegial coaching can be much more effective when it happens organically. However, if the culture exists for all staff to support one another in collegial coaching, it may make it logistically easier and make it more likely to happen if it is mandated and organized by an administrator.
Relevant Quotes/ Concepts:
"The interaction occurring in discussions among teachers concerning curriculum or other school policies can be extended to teachers visiting one another's classrooms... Perhaps two others have read together the approach of one of the literary critics they discussed and would like to emulate it in the sorts of questions they ask their students and in the assignments they develop. They might plan their classes together and observe each other's efforts, exchange feedback, and reformulate their classroom strategies. Such teacher learning can be extraordinarily energizing-- can, in fact, bring new life to one's teaching. The teacher's experience, as Dewey would have it, is heightened and brought under conscious control by the observation and interaction. Top-down mandating of these sorts of activities undermines their educational purpose. The interactions must be teacher-initiated. Teachers must find colleagues from whom they can learn, whom they can trust to be supportive and honestly critical, and who themselves are open to new perspectives on their teaching." p. 129
"The construction of reflective experiences within schools ought not to be viewed as an isolated part of the education of teachers... The habits of reflections and the significant issues raised in earlier parts of the teacher's education find specific applications in the school; they, in fact, enable teachers to define and alter that experience and to deepen and enlarge their own education. Teachers need the time and space to reflect on their work lives." p. 130
Summary/ Analysis:
Citing the work of John Dewey, Proefriedt writes about the importance of connecting learning with life, and establishing a strong link between schools, society and individual lives. He argues that teacher education should be modeled after Dewey's notions of schooling. In chapter 9, he explores the necessity of schools to create institutions in which teachers learn as well as teach. According to this approach, schools need to provide authentic avenues for communication and collaboration among the teachers. He points out specific examples of teachers learning and working with one another. This can most often happen through committees of teachers who meet to discuss student issues, curriculum decisions and pedagogy. It can also happen through teachers visiting and observing one another in their work. The author stresses the importance of these observations and collegial conversations in being teacher-initiated and not forced to happen by a school administrator. This brings up an interesting point that other teachers frequently mention-- the collegial coaching can be much more effective when it happens organically. However, if the culture exists for all staff to support one another in collegial coaching, it may make it logistically easier and make it more likely to happen if it is mandated and organized by an administrator.
Relevant Quotes/ Concepts:
"The interaction occurring in discussions among teachers concerning curriculum or other school policies can be extended to teachers visiting one another's classrooms... Perhaps two others have read together the approach of one of the literary critics they discussed and would like to emulate it in the sorts of questions they ask their students and in the assignments they develop. They might plan their classes together and observe each other's efforts, exchange feedback, and reformulate their classroom strategies. Such teacher learning can be extraordinarily energizing-- can, in fact, bring new life to one's teaching. The teacher's experience, as Dewey would have it, is heightened and brought under conscious control by the observation and interaction. Top-down mandating of these sorts of activities undermines their educational purpose. The interactions must be teacher-initiated. Teachers must find colleagues from whom they can learn, whom they can trust to be supportive and honestly critical, and who themselves are open to new perspectives on their teaching." p. 129
"The construction of reflective experiences within schools ought not to be viewed as an isolated part of the education of teachers... The habits of reflections and the significant issues raised in earlier parts of the teacher's education find specific applications in the school; they, in fact, enable teachers to define and alter that experience and to deepen and enlarge their own education. Teachers need the time and space to reflect on their work lives." p. 130
Monday, February 21, 2011
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink
Pink, Daniel H. Drive: the Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. New York, NY: Riverhead, 2009.
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink is a book aimed at uncovering the "untruths" of motivation.
The book gives insight about answering a number of questions revolving around motivation. What motivates you to do your best work and how do you get the most out of the people that work for you? If you reward something you get MORE of the behavior you want? If you Punish something do you get less of the behavior you want? These questions as well as numerous studies that looked at incentivizing tasks to improve performance were fascinating. The underlying and repeated theme in the book seems to be, giving people autonomy increases productiveness in the the workplace as well as increases employee job satisfaction.
I was struck by how easy and motivating reading this book was. I have never been someone who reads a lot of books. I enjoy reading once I get into it, but most of the times I enjoy “doing” something more. However I find I can reach a sustained state of “flow” when it comes to reading something with a purpose in order to “do” something later or in conjunction that something is important to my immediate relevance to my life.
I took much of what I quickly read in this book back to my colleagues and administrators at my school site. I have two teachers that are interested in reading the book now that I’m finished with it. About halfway through Drive, I started to pick up Kathleen Cushman’s book Fires in The Mind and made many connections between Pink’s ideas and how Cushman put those ideas to work in the classroom. I was also inspired to read a few chapters from Mihaly Csikszentmihaly’s books Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience and Creativity. Pink credits much of what he learned from Csikszentmihaly’s publications and makes concise connections to today’s workplace.
A theme that seems to appear frequently in the book is the idea of paying people a decent wage for the job they do. Pink states, “If you pay people enough, money won’t be an issue for work performance. They stop thinking about money and actually think about the work they have to do”. This simple idea came as a “No Brainer” to me but then I began to think of scenarios where this might be abused by dishonest people or the complexities of analyzing job performance and wondered how a companies are dealing with this. Throughout the section Pink also talks about performance reviews that people can give themselves to analyze their own productiveness and job satisfaction. The chapter discusses a very relevant issue facing education at this moment in time. How do we successfully evaluate the effectiveness of our teachers? We cannot solely rely on the results of our students state mandated test to judge a teacher effectiveness or value to a school. There has to be another system to ensure that great teachers are accessible to any student.
The section that I spent the most time investigating was in Part 2 of the book discussing the three elements of Intrinsic Motivation, Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose. It begins by discussing our origins as humans and our “default setting”. “When we enter the world, are we wired to be passive and inert or are we wired to be active and engaged?” Pink’s explanation for student and adult boredom and apathy in school and the workplace is that somewhere, throughout our development and education, our “default setting” of being active and engaged has been taught out of us. Pink sites Deci and Ryan in stating, “Autonomous motivation involves behaving with a full sense of volition and choice, whereas controlled motivation involves behaving with the experience of pressure and demand toward specific outcomes that comes from the forces perceived to be external to the self.” The studies and theories of autonomy are conveyed simply to the reader in a way that motivated me to read more frequently, re-read sections, take notes and further research the topics on my own. When discussing changes to management pink states, “This era doesn’t call for better management. It calls for a renaissance of self-direction.”
These ideas started to resonate loudly within my own journal writing and in conversations with colleagues.
I found the brief section on Five Steps Closer to Mastery to be a great starting point to discuss mastery with students and teachers. I read this part of the book to my classes and they had many thoughts and ideas about how they could use these steps to improve their mastery of a skill, topic, or any area of interest. I included the entire section below.
“One key to mastery is what Florida State University psychology professor Anders Ericsson calls “deliberate practice” – a lifelong period of…effort to improve performance in a specific domain.” Deliberate practice isn’t running a few miles each day or banging on the piano for 20 minutes each morning. It’s much more purposeful, focused, and yes, painful. Follow these steps – over and over again for a decade – and you just might become a master:
- Remember that deliberate practice has one objective: To improve performance. “People who play tennis once a week for years don’t get any better if they do the same thing each time” Ericsson has said. “Deliberate practice is about changing your performance, setting new goals and straining yourself to reach a bit higher each time.”
- Repeat, repeat, repeat. Repetition matters. Basketball greats don’t shoot ten free throws at the end of team practice; they shoot five hundred.
- Seek constant, critical feedback. If you don’t know how you’re doing, you won’t know what to improve.
- Focus ruthlessly on where you need help. While many of us work on what we’re already good at, says Ericsson, “those who get better work on their weaknesses.”
- Prepare for the process to be mentally and physically exhausting. That’s why so few people commit to it, but that’s why it works.
(p.158-159)
Quotes:
From Compliance to Engagement
“Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement. And this distinction leads to the second element of Type I behavior: Mastery – the desire to get better and better at something the matters.”(p.111)
“One source of frustration in the workplace is the frequent mismatch between what people must do and what people can do. When what they must do exceeds their capabilities, the result is anxiety. When what they must do falls short of their capabilities, the result is boredom.”(p.119)
“One key to mastery is what Florida State University psychology professor Anders Ericsson calls “deliberate practice” – a lifelong period of…effort to improve performance in a specific domain.” (p.159)
Questions:
How can I teach my students to monitor and create their own periods of “flow”?
How can I “reset” my student’s preconceptions of “practice”?
How can we as educators use these ideas in our own classrooms to reform or infect education from the inside out?
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Review of Daniel Pink's Drive
Daniel Pink’s Drive is an intriguing book on motivation which attempts to dispel all the ideas that people have about what motivates them. The book begins by discussing motivation and how it has changed in the 21st century as a result of the huge influence of technology on the lives of the developed world. He then discusses how rewards can either increase, or more often, decrease motivation for people who are involved in various tasks. Drive then focuses on how people actually motivate themselves and it results in a very interesting look at how people strive to make their own path in the world. Ultimately it is this, and the desire to create new things which end up being the supreme motivators.
I was particularly struck by the Tom Sawyer experiment and how Pink attempts to explain how it fits into the idea of motivation. Ever since I was a child I have been interested in the event described in Twain’s famous novel. I even sometimes put it to the test as I was growing up, with differing results. Pink describes the event very well, but I think misses the most important factor in the whole “Sawyer Effect” (I’ll mention this a bit later). Pink says that rewards can “transform an interesting task into a drudge”, which got me thinking about what this says about rewards, and a rewards system for high school students. I don’t necessarily believe that this is true with students. I have given students similar assignments to complete, and without fail the assignments that have a larger weight on their final grade are always completed much better by most students. Anyone reading this will say that grades do motivate some students but that the assignments themselves should be designed in such a way so as to motivate students to want to achieve without the threat of a low grade should they not motivate themselves and do their best on the assignment. I fully agree with this but don’t always seem to be able to create assignments that motivate students and seem to fall back on the threat of assigning low grades for poorly completed assignments. I actually think that the Sawyer experiment is a classic example of peer pressure and has less to do with “human motivation”. I think that peer pressure is often the ultimate human motivator and I often clandestinely attempt to curry favor with the students I feel have the most influence on their peers. My thoughts are that if I am able to “win them over” that the rest of the class will fall in line. I am confident that the meek Becky Thatcher would not have been able to recruit anyone to paint the fence even if she had done it in exactly the same way as Tom did. She simply is not someone who had the influence on people like Tom did. This really gets me thinking about choosing groups for projects and assignments, and the motivating factor some students are for others in the class.
I was also very interested in how Pink very cleverly describes how incentivizing humans can often result in worse results than if you had offered nothing as a reward for the same task. Pink explains how paying someone a meaningful reward can result in motivation, but shockingly he says that “higher incentives lead to worse performance”. This again got me thinking about how this relates to the classroom and student grades. I remember during my time in high school working much harder for the teachers who were not keen to give out high grades. Students who are incentivized by teachers who give high grades learn that they are going to get a satisfactory grade for being mildly motivated, and as results often don’t work as hard for those “easy” teachers as they might for the teachers where they have to “earn” their grades. I was very interested in the experiment that Pink did that showed incentivized workers in India are actually destined to do tasks in more time than those that are not incentivized. Pink however did not take into account the threat of not being paid if the work was not done correctly.
Quotes: “We work to master the clarinet on week ends although we have little hope of making a dime (Motivation 2.0) or acquiring a mate (Motivation 1.0) from doing so. We play with puzzles even when we don’t get a few raisons or dollars for solving them”.
Question: How do we get students to take ownership of a task or project and go beyond expectations just because it makes them feel good?
Quote: “Lakhani and Wolf uncovered a range of motives, but they found that enjoyment-based intrinsic motivation, namely how creative a person feels when working on a project, is the strongest and most pervasive driver”.
Question: If choice for young people is often driven by enjoyment, how do I design projects to ensure that students enjoy them enough to want to be motivated throughout the project?
Quote: “If Britain decided to pay citizens to donate, that would actually reduce the country’s blood supply”.
Quote: “Children careen from one flow moment to another, animated by a sense of joy, equipped with a mindset of possibility, and working with the dedication of a West Point cadet”.
I was particularly struck by the Tom Sawyer experiment and how Pink attempts to explain how it fits into the idea of motivation. Ever since I was a child I have been interested in the event described in Twain’s famous novel. I even sometimes put it to the test as I was growing up, with differing results. Pink describes the event very well, but I think misses the most important factor in the whole “Sawyer Effect” (I’ll mention this a bit later). Pink says that rewards can “transform an interesting task into a drudge”, which got me thinking about what this says about rewards, and a rewards system for high school students. I don’t necessarily believe that this is true with students. I have given students similar assignments to complete, and without fail the assignments that have a larger weight on their final grade are always completed much better by most students. Anyone reading this will say that grades do motivate some students but that the assignments themselves should be designed in such a way so as to motivate students to want to achieve without the threat of a low grade should they not motivate themselves and do their best on the assignment. I fully agree with this but don’t always seem to be able to create assignments that motivate students and seem to fall back on the threat of assigning low grades for poorly completed assignments. I actually think that the Sawyer experiment is a classic example of peer pressure and has less to do with “human motivation”. I think that peer pressure is often the ultimate human motivator and I often clandestinely attempt to curry favor with the students I feel have the most influence on their peers. My thoughts are that if I am able to “win them over” that the rest of the class will fall in line. I am confident that the meek Becky Thatcher would not have been able to recruit anyone to paint the fence even if she had done it in exactly the same way as Tom did. She simply is not someone who had the influence on people like Tom did. This really gets me thinking about choosing groups for projects and assignments, and the motivating factor some students are for others in the class.
I was also very interested in how Pink very cleverly describes how incentivizing humans can often result in worse results than if you had offered nothing as a reward for the same task. Pink explains how paying someone a meaningful reward can result in motivation, but shockingly he says that “higher incentives lead to worse performance”. This again got me thinking about how this relates to the classroom and student grades. I remember during my time in high school working much harder for the teachers who were not keen to give out high grades. Students who are incentivized by teachers who give high grades learn that they are going to get a satisfactory grade for being mildly motivated, and as results often don’t work as hard for those “easy” teachers as they might for the teachers where they have to “earn” their grades. I was very interested in the experiment that Pink did that showed incentivized workers in India are actually destined to do tasks in more time than those that are not incentivized. Pink however did not take into account the threat of not being paid if the work was not done correctly.
Quotes: “We work to master the clarinet on week ends although we have little hope of making a dime (Motivation 2.0) or acquiring a mate (Motivation 1.0) from doing so. We play with puzzles even when we don’t get a few raisons or dollars for solving them”.
Question: How do we get students to take ownership of a task or project and go beyond expectations just because it makes them feel good?
Quote: “Lakhani and Wolf uncovered a range of motives, but they found that enjoyment-based intrinsic motivation, namely how creative a person feels when working on a project, is the strongest and most pervasive driver”.
Question: If choice for young people is often driven by enjoyment, how do I design projects to ensure that students enjoy them enough to want to be motivated throughout the project?
Quote: “If Britain decided to pay citizens to donate, that would actually reduce the country’s blood supply”.
Quote: “Children careen from one flow moment to another, animated by a sense of joy, equipped with a mindset of possibility, and working with the dedication of a West Point cadet”.