motivation...what works?
S.O.L.E. and the nature of Motivation.
One of the most commonly observed bi-products of S.O.L.E. is an increase in student motivation. In over 400 S.O.L.E. sessions we have never had to ask a child to leave because of behaviour. Different students engage to different degrees; but generally it would be fair to say that motivation is high. Why should this be the case? Is it a factor of the content the environment or the teacher? Or could it be that S.O.L.E. taps into the very nature of motivation? We heard Dan Pink speak at EduTech 2013. He made a number of very salient points about the essence of motivation.
Extrinsic rewards work effectively only when the tasks are mechanical or repetitive. They are less effective during cognitive tasks because the individual focusses on the reward not the task. He pointed out that "rewards, by their very nature, narrow our focus, concentrate the mind; that's why they work in so many cases".
The key elements that are contained in highly motivated environments are autonomy, mastery and purpose. That is where the individual has some level of ownership of the activity, a chance to develop some depth with the investigation and a reason for doing it. Pink compares the progress of two on-line encyclopaedias. Encarta had experts, highly paid and with targets; whilst Wikipedia contributors were unpaid and did the work purely because they wanted to. The success of Wikipedia has been phenomenal and is a strong endorsement for what Pink referred to as uncommissioned work. S.O.L.E. provides the learner with obvious autonomy over learning because it is based on a Minimally Invasive Teaching Model. Students research broad questions in depth and are given free rein to explore the smaller pathways of knowledge contained within the big idea. The students filter out what is relevant and pursue the important.
So why is the type of environment S.O.L.E. provides important in the 21st Century for our students and our societies? To quote Pink - "Routine, rule-based, left-brain work - certain kinds of accounting, certain kinds of financial analysis, certain kinds of computer programming - has become fairly easy to outsource, fairly easy to automate. Software can do it faster. Low-cost providers around the world can do it cheaper. Manufacturing is dropping off, car companies are leaving, and more and more mechanical tasks are disappearing. The types of jobs that are increasing are the problems that don’t have a single solution where the rules are blurred - where the environment are changeable."
So why don’t we use a method of teaching that provides autonomy, mastery and purpose and occurs in an environment that is fluid and changeable? We feel that the S.O.L.E. approach is one way of providing these elements.
One of the most commonly observed bi-products of S.O.L.E. is an increase in student motivation. In over 400 S.O.L.E. sessions we have never had to ask a child to leave because of behaviour. Different students engage to different degrees; but generally it would be fair to say that motivation is high. Why should this be the case? Is it a factor of the content the environment or the teacher? Or could it be that S.O.L.E. taps into the very nature of motivation? We heard Dan Pink speak at EduTech 2013. He made a number of very salient points about the essence of motivation.
Extrinsic rewards work effectively only when the tasks are mechanical or repetitive. They are less effective during cognitive tasks because the individual focusses on the reward not the task. He pointed out that "rewards, by their very nature, narrow our focus, concentrate the mind; that's why they work in so many cases".
The key elements that are contained in highly motivated environments are autonomy, mastery and purpose. That is where the individual has some level of ownership of the activity, a chance to develop some depth with the investigation and a reason for doing it. Pink compares the progress of two on-line encyclopaedias. Encarta had experts, highly paid and with targets; whilst Wikipedia contributors were unpaid and did the work purely because they wanted to. The success of Wikipedia has been phenomenal and is a strong endorsement for what Pink referred to as uncommissioned work. S.O.L.E. provides the learner with obvious autonomy over learning because it is based on a Minimally Invasive Teaching Model. Students research broad questions in depth and are given free rein to explore the smaller pathways of knowledge contained within the big idea. The students filter out what is relevant and pursue the important.
So why is the type of environment S.O.L.E. provides important in the 21st Century for our students and our societies? To quote Pink - "Routine, rule-based, left-brain work - certain kinds of accounting, certain kinds of financial analysis, certain kinds of computer programming - has become fairly easy to outsource, fairly easy to automate. Software can do it faster. Low-cost providers around the world can do it cheaper. Manufacturing is dropping off, car companies are leaving, and more and more mechanical tasks are disappearing. The types of jobs that are increasing are the problems that don’t have a single solution where the rules are blurred - where the environment are changeable."
So why don’t we use a method of teaching that provides autonomy, mastery and purpose and occurs in an environment that is fluid and changeable? We feel that the S.O.L.E. approach is one way of providing these elements.
marzano
The Key to Classroom Management - Robert J. Marzano and Jana S. Marzano
The following extract is taken from The Key to Classroom Management and it describes the
"School may be the only place where many students who face extreme challenges can get their needs addressed. The reality of today's schools often demands that classroom teachers address these severe issues, even though this task is not always considered a part of their regular job.
In a study of classroom strategies (see Brophy, 1996; Brophy & McCaslin, 1992), researchers examined how effective classroom teachers interacted with specific types of students. The study found that the most effective classroom managers did not treat all students the same; they tended to employ different strategies with different types of students. In contrast, ineffective classroom managers did not appear sensitive to the diverse needs of students. Although Brophy did not couch his findings in terms of teacher-student relationships, the link is clear. An awareness of the five general categories of high-needs students and appropriate actions for each can help teachers build strong relationships with diverse students."
Don't Leave Relationships to Chance
"Teacher-student relationships provide an essential foundation for effective classroom management and classroom management is a key to high student achievement. Teacher-student relationships should not be left to chance or dictated by the personalities of those involved.
Instead, by using strategies supported by research, teachers can influence the dynamics of their classrooms and build strong teacher-student relationships that will support student learning."
The following extract is taken from The Key to Classroom Management and it describes the
"School may be the only place where many students who face extreme challenges can get their needs addressed. The reality of today's schools often demands that classroom teachers address these severe issues, even though this task is not always considered a part of their regular job.
In a study of classroom strategies (see Brophy, 1996; Brophy & McCaslin, 1992), researchers examined how effective classroom teachers interacted with specific types of students. The study found that the most effective classroom managers did not treat all students the same; they tended to employ different strategies with different types of students. In contrast, ineffective classroom managers did not appear sensitive to the diverse needs of students. Although Brophy did not couch his findings in terms of teacher-student relationships, the link is clear. An awareness of the five general categories of high-needs students and appropriate actions for each can help teachers build strong relationships with diverse students."
Don't Leave Relationships to Chance
"Teacher-student relationships provide an essential foundation for effective classroom management and classroom management is a key to high student achievement. Teacher-student relationships should not be left to chance or dictated by the personalities of those involved.
Instead, by using strategies supported by research, teachers can influence the dynamics of their classrooms and build strong teacher-student relationships that will support student learning."
