Thursday, July 6, 2017

Welcome Summer 2017 BCSD Book Bloggers

Before you read....

Before you read Drive, I encourage you to go to the following site and complete the survey. It takes approximately 5 minutes.

www.danpink.com/drivesurvey

What type are you?  I was surprised by my "type".



Summer Blog/ Reading Schedule

July 10 - 21            Read pages 1-79. Respond to the post 
                               and respond to at least 1 comment.

July 24 -                 Read pages 83-152.  Respond to the new post 
August 5                 and respond to at least 1 comment.

August 7-19           Read pages 153-226.  Respond to the new post 
                              and respond to at least 1 comment.


7 comments:

  1. I know we weren't supposed to comment yet, but I just have to say, I am very surprised by my "type."

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  2. I did things a little backwards. I read a good chunk of the book and now am logging in for the first time. I did take the survey, but I am not surprised at all by the results. However, it is very difficult for me to answer some of the prompts because I believe that my answers would change based on what hat I am wearing at the time. For example, I may answer one way as a mother and a different way as an employee of a school district. I feel I would answer in yet another way as a teacher. With that said, I know what answers the book is looking for to get Type I or Type X. I am Type X.
    I believe this book was written for someone in more of a business world job than one in education. While reading it I find that I am viewing it more from the perspective of employee and employer instead of student and teacher. I am continually wondering and asking why and how as I read certain parts of the book. For example, "in eight of the nine tasks we examined across the three experiments, higher incentives led to worse performance" (Pink 39). I wish the author would delve into why that is the case vs. just making the statement that the outcome proves that incentives don't work like we think they work. For the various studies mentioned in Part I, I would like to know more information on how people joined or became part of that study. Is it like our students where they turn five and are expected to be in school until they graduate after they turn 18, or did people willingly sign up for these studies? What I am looking for is ways to motivate myself to move forward in education, as well as ways to motivate students who do not want to be in the classroom. With what is stated in the book thus far, I do not believe I am going to get this, but I will try my best to continue on to find ways to use the information presented.
    The carrots and sticks portion is interesting to me because I am thoroughly motivated by a carrot that is appealing to me, and I do not want to face any sticks, so I aim to do things accurately. I am mortified when "punished" for doing something wrong and will do anything to not face that punishment again. I can see how a reward can become routine which will lead to less interest or having to increase the reward. What does everyone else think? I believe that the trick to a reward is that it is individual to each person. For example, I can give my one son an M&M for going potty on the potty for a certain amount of time and that is satisfying to him. However, my other son could care less if he ever eats an M&M in his life, so it would do nothing for him. This reminds me of information the BTA union was looking for at the high school level to discuss supervising students in the morning prior to school starting. For those familiar with the early supervisory opportunity that may or may not go through next year, I would not take that position for the money offered, as it is not worth it to me; however, if offered time instead of money, I would apply for the position in a heartbeat.
    My biggest take away from this section was the point made about how one factor has to be met before moving forward with all of this. That is that people must be paid a fair and adequate amount. If paid that way then money is not a main focus for people. What is fair and adequate for one is not for another, so how does this work?
    To finish I wanted to leave people with this quote and thought. "Programs to promote good deeds can make them disappear" (Pink 33). Does this mean our district should start looking at eliminating PBIS?
    I am sorry for my scattered comments and for rambling on and on, and I look forward to the many responses to come.

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    Replies
    1. I agree that this book is absolutely written for the business world, however, the ideas about intrinsic vs extrinsic motivations definitely apply to students, I think. That may be why some students don't care about working for an A (even though it's not tangible) when we know that they are fully capable because they no longer feel that they're in control of their learning and in a sense it's like earning a reward to them. It becomes less about mastery and purpose and more about meeting someone else's goal (much like the standardized test scores).

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  3. Dawn,
    The most striking part of your comment to me from your blog- although there were many- was the example of giving your boys M&Ms. I understood what you meant immediately because as I have read all of the first part of the book is that every single person is different. I know that Pink is offering a number of scientific and researched examples but I think every single individual is so different and what motivates him/ her is so different. I know that we have used food to encourage high school students to come in for review classes after failing their required commencement level exam for English- and it works for some. Students who did not know where they would get pizza, pop, and cookies - or any food- where showing up and working hard. I really think each individual is different. This also supports what you said about taking the extra duty for earned time off but not for the pay that they offered...

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  4. One of the quotes that really stuck out to me was "jobs have become more complex, more interesting, and more self-directed" (Pink 27). When I read this I wondered where teaching fit within this. With Common Core standards and Modules becoming so important and required, is teaching really more interesting and self-directed? (I agree that teaching is complex). While all teachers are still able to add their own personal flair, when the same module or curriculum is being taught, how interesting and self-directed are we as teachers?

    Another part that grabbed my interest was "companies need people who are self-motivated" (Pink 30). Seeing the lack of motivation in high school students recently, I wonder where their futures will lead them. Are they simply sick of school or procrastinating entering the real world or will their lack of motivation follow them into their careers? In high school they have so many people to support, motivate, and push them to do their best, but then in the real world they are left to rely on this self-motivation that may or may not be there.

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  5. Due to the many challenges teachers face today I absolutely feel that teachers need to be creative and innovative with their lesson design and delivery of instruction in order to truly meet the needs of their students, while teaching a guaranteed and viable curriculum. In order to do this, teachers need to be self-motivated and self-directed to create meaningful lessons that their students can connect with. Just because we have required standards to teach with modules as resources to use, we should in no way think that this is simplifying our work as teachers. We have to use these modules/resources as guides or tools to help create lessons that we "own".

    I also worry about our high school students after graduation, however, I don't think students' success or lack of success in high school truly indicates what students can achieve after graduation. I've seen average to below-average students do quite well in the real world due to their own passion/drive and I've seen average to above average students flounder after graduation because they don't know what they're passionate about. Many students are successful in school because they simply follow the rules and do what's expected of them. After students graduate the steps aren't laid out for them and they have to take risks, self-direct themselves, and persevere. Since Dan Pink is "convinced Type I behavior is the natural state - the default setting - for most human beings ... the good news is that the science demonstrates that once people relearn the fundamental practices and attitudes, and unlearn the negative ones, their motivation, and their ultimate performance, often soars."(Pink 77). This gives me hope for our graduates!

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