Motivation in the Classroom and in the World: It's Not That Different

  The topic of motivation which is addressed this week in the articles is especially pertinent to us as educators. Dan Pink’s explanation that although money can motivate individuals on simple, mechanical tasks, monetary rewards do not increase motivation on tasks that require cognitive skills. Pink’s findings were related to the business world but can easily be applied to education. According to Pink, people are far more motivated by “autonomy, mastery, and purpose.” Relating this to students, I think that students are most engaged in their learning when they have some choice, when they believe it matters, and when they really want to get good at something. One of the most successful projects that I did with kids was having them research a human rights organization or charity and prepare a presentation encouraging others to get involved. Some kids took it to heart and one group, who researched the Susan G. Komen Foundation, even registered for the Race for the Cure that year. It made me realize how hard kids will work when they see a real purpose for something.  I find that teachers are the most creative and effective when they are given the freedom to develop curriculum and deliver instruction the way that they see fit.

      Arzt, in her article about “Online Collaborative Inquiry,” writes about how blogging motivates kids while reinforcing 21st century skills. Blogging can give kids a real audience and purpose for their writing and I look forward to using blogs in my English classroom this year.

      Finally, Castek et al (2011) discuss online reading comprehension in “The New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension.” In fact, they argue that online reading can motivate struggling readers because they are oftentimes more successful at that than they are at offline reading. The shorter texts and multimodal nature of online reading fosters comprehension. I will be investigating the skills involved in online reading further in my research paper later this semester.