Friday, July 21, 2017

July 21, 2017 Part I Drive

I am going to take a few of the sections of text that made me really think, and put them out to all of you for your consideration.


"Indeed, most scandals and misbehavior that have seemed endemic to modern life involve shortcuts."


As a society we are a quick fix and get 'er done fast group.  I believe that there are many things in life that are tough, challenging and simply put require a lot of work.  I equate this to the instruction of writing.  Students and some teachers look for a quick way to get students to write the answer.  There is nothing quick about writing, even for the best writers.  Writing requires thinking and getting those ideas out; it requires looking at what you have written and seeing whether or not it will communicate to your audience effectively.  I think with school and education we try to make things easier (mostly because we care about kids) and sometimes (or more often in life) things are not easy.


"Rewards, by their very nature, narrow our focus.  That's helpful when there's a clear path to a solution.  They help us stare ahead and race faster."


I included this section from page 42 simply because it makes me think about what it does to creativity.  There was a great deal in this section that spoke to creativity and how it can be halted with extrinsic rewards. 


"Instead, give people meaningful information about their work.  The more feedback focuses on specifics (great use of color) -- and the more the praise is about effort and strategy rather than about achieving a particular outcome-- the more effective it can be."

I read Carol Dweck and GROWTH MINDSET all over this one.......................

24 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. I didn't know how to edit my post so I copied and pasted it below with the edits.

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  2. Jen, I felt it tied in heavily with Mindset as well! I mentioned in a comment to Dawn on her July 12th post that there are students who are highly capable of achieving "A's" yet are hindered by the fact that the criteria of attaining that "level" of mastery is not their own. If they set a goal they want to meet, it's more likely they will achieve it. Standardized test scores and grades mean nothing to some students. This book is helping me understand why that may happen in kids and even adults. I have always been the teacher that doesn't give candy or rewards to the students for good behavior or other things I feel they should just be doing. Maybe it works for others, but I have always found that the students you want to feed into the reward systems are usually the least persuaded. This book has really gotten me thinking about how addicting rewards can become and how they move from rewards to expectations after a while. I think it might have the potential to become a vicious cycle with students and even our children at home.

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    1. Nancy- what you say here is in support of finding that intrinsic fire. How do we as educators, in our system, allow kids or even help students to find that inner fire? Can we? Does our system allow for students to set their goals. As you said in your post, Master "level" is not the students' own goal necessarily.

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    2. I don't think that our system really lets kids set their own goals and work towards them. I say this because I have two children who have gone through a school that does require them to set goals and work towards them. However, they also have goals set by the teacher as well. So, they do have a say in what they work towards within set parameters, but it seems like a pseudo goal setting process. In a specified block of every week they do a "genius time" which lets them explore topics they want to find out more about and create some sort of product to show what they learned. This might be a way to help students find their inner fire?

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  3. The writing comment above makes me think. Writing is a process and does take time but some students have absolutely no motivation to write. There is a lack of interest and care at times. How do we instill motivation, external or internal, to this type of student? People are intrinsically motivated to do the things that bring them happiness and joy. What brings happiness and joy is different for all. I am not sure how to motivate a student who wants to drop out of school? This reminds me of a student who would not complete the English Common Core exam at the end of the year. I told him I would be his cheerleader or do whatever to help motivate him to finish the exam. He wanted nothing and was content writing that he could not complete the last portion of the test, so he could move on to life and get out of school. I am just struggling because I feel like motivation is something that an individual has to work on personally. With that said, I will continue to try to help motivate my students academically. I just think it will be internal for those interested and others may need the extrinsic motivational push.

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    1. My son once had a teacher that said, "Doing well on something is it's own best reward." I always remembered that and often repeat it to students who ask why they have to do something...or re-do somethings, as the case may be!

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    2. Dawn,
      Again, I connect your comments and Kathy's comments to Nancy's comments. Some students will never care about or like to write. Very few students will find passion in taking tests? Our system might not be set up to help us succeed with motivation. Like someone has said in this blog, it is an uphill battle. How do we teach students to value education. I have always said to my own children that education is the one thing that NO ONE can ever take from you. That has not been enough. We do not practice a rewards system very well. Having said that, I feel that my own children are spoiled. This book has made me think about teaching my own kids to find and explore the things that they care about. I also encourage them to work hard and sometimes that hard work might result in failure-- but failure is not the end. How do we transfer this to students? We do not have an easy job, at all.

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    3. Jen,
      Your post here hits home with me. I too think that my kids at home are spoiled. They have never really had to work hard for something. My older daughter is now struggling with what to study in college and where to go. She has goals and ambitions to go to a "specific" type of school, but doesn't understand that you have to think about what you want from the school you attend and how much of a bang you will get for your buck in the long run. It is very difficult trying to get her to set a goal, be reasonable about where she might go, and follow through on the prep towards meeting that goal.

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    4. I relate to both Nancy and Jen regarding their children and what I have experienced with my own. The thing is...you cannot teach motivation, it's a feeling one gets when one has worked hard and feels a sense of accomplishment. If we're lucky this feeling becomes contagious for our children. I think as parents and educators we have to talk about this inspirational "feeling" and capitalize on moments when our children or students are experiencing it. We need to discuss why this "feeling" occurs and encourage our kids and students to take risks, pursue what they're passionate about, and work hard. I do feel that parents and teachers may need to offer extrinsic rewards to get initial buy in, but then we have to slowly wean our children off these tangible awards to allow our children to develop their intrinsic senses.

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    5. Dawn,
      I really connect to your comment about students lacking motivation and how motivation is a personal thing. Even students at my level often struggle to be motivated intrinsically about school and aren't motivated by extrinsic influences that we have control of in school either. I had a student who was about to start receiving AIS services because he wasn't progressing. Mom pushed back and said he wasn't growing because he was bored and unmotivated by school and didn't want to learn what I was teaching. He ended making some growth but his motivation was to stay out of AIS services. So in this scenario his extrinsic motivation was to have less learning and academic support, he made some gains, but is that in his best interest in the future? I agree that motivation is so personal and to tap into those kids who motivated by structures that are not like school is going to continue to be an issue.

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  4. I feel that Pink spoke to the idea of rewards perfectly. While there are various differences from the home my step son sees when he is with his dad and I versus the home he sees with his mother and step father, the differences between "reward systems" really relate to Pink's ideas. When my step son is with us, he simply cleans up the plates on the table and asks if I need help bringing in groceries and various other tasks. He does this without prompting, without any reward aside from our love. When he is not with us, he has specific days where he has to clean his room/living room in order to receive a special stuffed animal for that week. However, will he clean those rooms on any other day other than his assigned day? No. But will he help with groceries or bringing in the recycling bins any day? Yes. The idea of only doing something for a reward pushes kids away from doing what they should be doing anyways. I feel that this can relate to students, especially at the high school level. Many of them struggle with taking math courses because "when am I ever going to use this?" Same goes for any regents exam, although CC ELA seems to be the closest link. What reward is a student going to get for knowing how to write a Part 2 or Part 3 essay? Sure, graduation will come easier, but they aren't getting anything else out of it (at least in their minds).

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    1. Amanda,
      So much of what you mention here has been on my mind as well, especially as my position as a curriculum coordinator. How do we juggle providing equal access to ALL STUDENTS, allow teachers to ignite their own passions, and motivate students. I do not have an answer. I was glad that you brought up the issues you did. I was thinking about a lot of the same things.

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  5. I agree with many of the comments I have read so far. As teachers, we are always working to motivate "our kids" to do what they need to do to be successful. Unfortunately, we are often fighting an uphill battle. Whether the work is writing, reading, or a content area, there seems to be a rush to just get it done, without concern for quality or understanding.
    Reading the first section of this book honestly caused me a lot of anxiety! What are we (as a society) doing to our kids? Why did the class I took back at Geneseo teach me that I should have a stock of M & Ms to get students to do their work? (Don't worry - if there are M & Ms in my classroom, they are for me!) Are we wrong for implementing and putting so much time and effort into PBIS? I realize that the book is focused on the business world rather than school, and I see examples daily in our communities. I am hoping that we will discover some ideas to make our students (and people in general) more intrinsically motivated to find success.

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    1. I laughed about the M & M comment because I remember learning about rewards for students. I think my first year of teaching I purchased stock in stickers and doughnuts-- that was 27 years ago.
      I believe that PBIS has strong research and I can't answer your question of whether or not we are wrong. I think Pink could ask us some great questions about why and how and what we are doing with PBIS. There are teachers who are skeptical of PBIS as well. You raise great questions.

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  6. As I read through everyone's comments I found myself nodding in agreement! So many thoughts running through my brain. Like Kristen, I too wonder how we can discover ways to make students more intrinsically motivated, and it made me also question the work we do with PBIS. Do you think the people in charge of that should read this book?

    But true confessions...when I took the test Jen suggested I was labeled as an extrinsically motivated person (Type X). I guess we all like positive reinforcements! So, perhaps there is a balance to achieve? As the author suggests on page 60..."For routine tasks, which aren't very interesting and don't demand much creative thinking, rewards can provide a small motivational booster shot without harmful side effects." Loved the list on page 57- Carrots and Sticks- the Seven Deadly Flaws. For me, these two concepts reinforced the importance of encouraging creative thinkers. Which makes the comment on page 28 even more meaningful, "Routine work can be outsourced or automated; artistic, empathetic, non routine work generally cannot." Are we preparing our students to be artistic, empathetic and creative? And this made me think of Amanda's comments about essays and testing. Interesting stuff.

    Growth Mindset also came to my mind as I read this book! I was glad the Pink referenced it. I think the ideas in that book are the foundation for much of this newer research. I am glad we studied it!

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    1. In regards to your thoughts about PBIS, Peter, our school counselor, has been a fantastic resource for figuring out how to implement PBIS and foster intrinsic motivation. As I read the book, I kept coming back to things that he has talked with us about. He is a great person to talk with when designing these supports.

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    2. I think your comment and recommendation speaks loudly. I think we should all get the opportunity to hear and talk to Peter Kramer. Very interesting... and good to konw.

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  7. Doesn't every task have a reward? It may not be a tangible item, but I feel like everything one does has a reward. For example, I faithfully go to zumba class on Saturday morning. I feel I am intrinsically motivated to go, as I do not need a push to get there. I look forward to going, enjoy the exercise and people who attend. Even though I am intrinsically motivated to go, I feel like the extrinsic reward is there too. The reward may be feeling better about myself, shedding a pound or two and/or better overall health (physical and mental). I am not sure the reward will have to change to keep me going. I do believe that the reward may need to change to see a certain physical result, as one must shake up their fitness routine to continue to see results, but every time I leave the class, I am excited because I have fun and just feel better overall.
    Again, I just go back to the point that intrinsic motivation is either there or not for certain activities.

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    1. Dawn---

      I think you're absolutely right. Individuals are either motivated by an activity or not. However, there are lots of activities that don't motivate me and I do them anyway. I may follow through with an undesirable activity because I know it's the right thing to do, or I don't want to let someone down, or maybe I don't want to deal with a negative consequence. In thinking about unmotivated students, I think the one thing we can do is build meaningful relationships with our students. If our students know we truly care about them and we know their hopes and dreams for the future we can help guide them to value their education and the many activities teachers design to help them grow socially, emotionally, and academically.

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  8. Reading this book has been very interesting and it has caused me to reflect on how we encourage students. As I read everyone's comments, I was thinking about how we frequently encounter specific students who are difficult to motivate. As teachers, we know the value of students doing their best and when they don't we want to quickly jumpstart them. Unfortunately, these things can take time and changing someone's mindset requires an environment that fosters risk-taking and puts the focus on productive struggle. Using the PBIS model should encourage these ideas and it needs to be adjusted when it does not. The focus should be taken off of if-then motivators and put more on praising "effort and strategy" (p.66). Rewards could still be given as bonuses but not dangled out there to get buy in. As a district, we need to strike the balance between short term gains of extrinsic motivators and building the long term culture that heads off some of these struggles before they become a problem.

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  9. Oh Andrew- I couldn't possibly agree any more with you than your last sentence... "As a district..." YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just worry that this is societal as well and wonder how educators can change that alone?

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