An absolutely fascinating look at what motivates us.

I was skipping through Scootle this evening and someone linked to a video about where the current system of education was born, why reforms are needed and the overall motivations for countries to change their public education systems  Another video in the sidebar caught my eye...

This is a video primarily about business but it will also help us to come to a much more enlightened view of what's happening in our classrooms.

Hmm... Time to reflect back on my classroom... and where is it relevant?

• Why is engagement often so difficult to achieve in a regimented daily routine?
• Why do reward systems sometimes have no effect?
• Why does Developmental Play work so well?
• Why are we constantly told about Student Ownership of their work?

Autonomy is a great engager,  Achievement for the sake of achievement in something you are interested in makes autonomy a supreme motivator and one of the greatest personal rewards. When addressing an area of the curriculum, while still allowing a degree of autonomy, you are tapping into a fundamental reward system that is all but coded into our DNA.  Even at the prep/foundational level it's a theory that works and has proven results many of us can relate to.

Lightbulbs come on one after another when watching this video.

This has even had an impact on my understanding of my life.  Why I chose to become a CRT, why I chose to become a CRT Network Coordinator, why I chose to become a presenter of professional development. Each of these things allow me the autonomy to challenge myself in new ways on a frequent basis.  Through these different avenues I am getting a well-rounded view of things that allows me to imagine myself on the road to mastery of at least some of them...

Great video.  I hope you enjoy it and get at least some of what I did out of it.

 

Just to make sure the above isn't a little out of context;  Too much choice can be a bad thing!  As with everything, especially in our classrooms, autonomy is ruled by Goldilocks;  Not too little, not too much.

Lesson Plan: When the Wind Changed book activity.

So let's pull something simple apart and see some of the ideals of these two videos in action:

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This is a simple activity based on the book "When the wind changed" by Ruth Park.  It was designed as a short and sharp activity on facial proportions that could be delivered and completed in a short space of time (45 minutes to an hour) while keeping students on-task when they knew you weren't going to be there for too awful long (rotations, makeup-classes of students not going on excursions, etc).

When the Wind Changed is a fun book centered around "you make that facc and the wind changes you'll get stuck with it!" and making the best of bad situations in a positive manner.  As mentioned I've taken those themes and turned them towards facial proportions.  The story is engaging, entertaining and well-suited to grabbing attention and getting the students focused and in the right frame of mind.

It provides a rigid framework to work within while allowing an appropriate degree of autonomy (choice) within that framework.  This level of choice encourages creativity but at the same time does not punish conformity.

Upon completion the pictures are assembled into a book and then the pages divided into a flip book where varying faces can be made from the different faces they each created.

• This activity produces a useful product; a book.  This allows them a sense of mastery having their own book alongside all of the other books in the classroom (and some schools I have done this in have these books in their library).  
• This means that the final product of the activity is a fun activity in itself.  They can flip through it making funny faces (as can all students if it ends up in their library).  This provides a sense of having accomplished something with a transparent and ongoing purpose (as opposed to the abstract purpose of school which is "to learn").

While challenge is a little on the low side because of why the activity was created, it allows the right level of autonomy.  Autonomy is restricted by it being a group effort so you have to do things within certain "rules" but those rules have an inherent and visible purpose.  After that it allows the autonomy necessary to encourage creativity.  Creating a finished product of lasting classroom presence is gateway to the inherent rewards of mastery and a sense of purpose.

The act of turning the completed work into a fun book, rather than sticking it in their workbook or placing it into their portfolios, is a simple vehicle carrying them towards the inherent rewards we all strive for at any age but are so often denied within classrooms.

Quite a big difference in student ownership for the bargain-basement cost of 3-4 staples and 2 cuts in the pages ;).  Of course these effects came around a little by accident as this activity was built "on the fly" by myself and another teacher when driven to it by necessity; we were also a little surprised by the enthusiasm with which the students attacked the task.  Despite this, when looking back it's still a nice illustration of how finding simple ways to incorporate solid avenues to these ideals can have a real and positive effect on the lessons you deliver.

See you next time!

Mel.