How can schools motivate teachers to excel and engage students in learning? Not by using the tired carrot-and-stick approach, said Daniel H. Pink, author of “A Whole New Mind” and “Drive.”
Pink, who spoke at Thursday’s opening general session of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Conference, offered teachers in attendance tools to move away from carrots and sticks in the classroom and in school systems.
Pink, whose work focuses on using behavioral science to challenge conventional wisdom, said schools and other organizations need to focus on three things to increase motivation: autonomy, mastery and purpose.
Today’s management is designed for compliance, and schools and teachers should be more focused on engagement through self-direction. “You want to dial up autonomy over time, teamwork and technique,” he said.
Pink highlighted several companies, including Google and Atlassian, that set aside time for employees to work on whatever project they want. Those companies found that some of their best ideas are generated during “free” time.
Pink said some teachers have successfully allocated such time in their classrooms and that such autonomy could also lead to better professional-development days for teachers.
Motivation also depends on feedback and subject mastery, Pink said. Teachers and students desire to get better, but they receive feedback too late in the process, in a society used to nearly immediate feedback. He suggested that teachers regularly review their performance and that they have students create a list of goals for themselves to guide their learning.
Most organizations, including schools, go overboard on how to do things, but they often don’t explain the purpose. “If people don’t know why they are doing it, they are going to do it less well,” Pink said.
Teachers might need to work hard to relay the purpose of schoolwork to students. However, Pink said, teachers don’t have that problem for themselves. “You do it because you have an incredible sense of ‘why.’ … You have a ‘why’ bigger and more important than anyone in the country,” Pink said.
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Dr. Patrick, that was included in the "Carrot and Stick" approach discussed. The stick would refer to punishment, or invoking a fear of punishment as motivation. That would include all specifics, namely firing teachers or threatening to fire teachers in the case you described. To incite that Mr. Pink somehow is at fault for what you allege is a calculated decision not to address a very specific issue (when he was dealing with a broader theory the entire discussion) is absurd and lacking in integrity. If you think he left it out, simply say "and I would have added…" but you insinuate that he had some motive behind the omission. That would be a fault. On your part.
(I would put my title here, but who cares.)
Dr. Groff,
I'm afraid you are making a dangerous insinuation about Daniel Pink. He did make reference to the absurdity and foolishness of motivating others by fear. He dedicates an entire chapter to organizations that make such mistakes.
His book, "Drive," was written for the business- and education-world. Perhaps he goes into more detail on this very topic in his live presentations/workshops to teachers. Or, perhaps another book dedicated to the education field is up next?
I totally agree with Dr. Groff, I am a teacher of urban dual language learners with special needs. I am watching first hand how teachers and librarians are becoming Public Enemy Number One. This system is punitive and unfair. When will the "powers that be" understand we are raising children not corn crops? There is no such thing as a standardized child! Many of the children in our school do not come to school ready to learn! These two things are true in life, we all come from a womb and we all spend most of our childhood hours WITH a teacher. Children are our future and we need to make a firm NATIONAL investment in them.
Wait a sec, James and Ken — Patrick is making a point here about the eachers' need for trust, engagement, and development, and in this discussion it's need particularly by those who have dedicated their lives to working in high-poverty schools. I am an NBCT who participated in that conference (and I work in a urban high school where 95% of the students receive free or reduced lunch), and as I listened carefully to Mr. Pink, it came clear to me that he is someone who has bought into the idea of "getting rid" of the lowest-performing teachers — as determined by norm-referenced measure and not a criterion-referenced metric — would be the most expedient way to close the achievement gap, or so it is claimed. Mr. Pink is putting this forward, as Sec. Duncan did, as part of "a bargain" or "starting a conversation" about teacher retention or dismissal. Both Mr. Pink and later Mr. Duncan discussed this need to acknowledge that "teaching's not for everyone" and — **and** — the carrot is that some teachers might earn double their salaries! Mr. Pink pointed out "it's a bargain!". The problem is that there is no research-base on which to frame this as a part of the solution. The Finns and the South Koreans have not earned top performance rankings on the PISA because they decided to fire the "bottom 10%" of teachers every year — a concept promoted by Arne Duncan and President Obama. The fact is that it is exceptionally challenging to increase test scores of students who come from high poverty backgrounds, and it takes an enormous social investment in creating the conditions for success — look at what it's taken via Geoffrey Canada and the Harlem Children's Zone. Look at the private partnerships coupled with public investment at some high performing charter schools like Noble Street in Chicago. So it's no secret — it currently costs a lot to make these moves, so those who are "trying to start a conversation" are those who have in mind a simple, low-cost, data-determined solution using "value added" teacher evaluations to fire those whose children perform low on multiple choice tests. Patrick is right in that the indignity is aimed directly at those teachers. The approach that Mr. Pink and Mr. Duncan are putting forward is just another way to avoid public investment in our highest-need populations.
[...] Popular author Daniel Pink said this week that schools and other organizations must focus on three things to increase employee motivation: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Speaking at the annual conference of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), Pink said the carrot-and-stick approach won’t work with educators, blogged blogger Amy Dominello. [...]
By the time I was assisting some career orientation trainings, I learned how important is for a teacher to be able to place himself in the shoes of his student. This is the only way you`ll make your students listen to you. And, furthermore, to make your students get an objective view about themselves and what they`re doing, reinforce their motivation, enhance their performance. Along with the time, I found out that things stay just the same in companies. Beyond the fact that rewards and recognition come in different shapes, as <a rel="follow" href="http://www.online-lcu.com/mshs/human-services-degree-masters-degree.asp">masters in human services teach us, motivation of the employees requires pretty much pulling the same psychological strings.
Stewart middle school in Tacoma, Washington has been operating on Pink's thinking for over a year now. While there have been growing pains, teachers do seem to be more motivated (some to transfer to another school). Students when given similar choices are more engaged and motivated in the learning and assignments given.