We had a great principals meeting yesterday, and during the high
school breakout we talked about some of the contradictions in what we do. We want students to be held accountable and
exposed to a rigorous curriculum, but we have to do it in a way that doesn’t
push even more students who lack intrinsic motivation out of school.
One of the e-mail clippings (AASA News of the Nation) I
received this morning mentioned an article that relates to this dilemma. The Learning Network (NY Times) entry by
Larry Ferlazzo references Daniel Pink’s summary of the research in Drive.
Current research says we can motivate people to do what we want with enough of the right incentives. For instance, with a large enough cash incentive most people will comply with completing expected tasks; however, they’ll soon resort back to their old habits if the incentive disappears.
Current research says we can motivate people to do what we want with enough of the right incentives. For instance, with a large enough cash incentive most people will comply with completing expected tasks; however, they’ll soon resort back to their old habits if the incentive disappears.
Edward Deci, a professor at the University of Rochester and
author of Why We Do What We Do, says
the real question should be: “How can
people [teachers] create the conditions within which others will motivate
themselves?”
There are three things that educators can do to help students
develop intrinsic motivation:
- Praise effort over intelligence. Research indicates praising student effort, especially with difficult and challenging tasks, helps students develop a “growth mindset.” So, never say a student is smart, but highlight the great strategies they employed to complete a difficult task.
- Help students understand and develop self-control. Delayed, rather than immediate, gratification is the key.
- Assigning a 15 minute writing assignment on values to build confidence. A writing assignment that occurs three to five times during the year builds resiliency and self-worth. Researchers have found that when people reflect on important values they often have a greater sense of self-worth. This can result in long-lasting academic benefits.
