motivation

by

Motivated to learn…

There’s no need to be ashamed or to hide it; I am a lifelong learner.  bva-7From the time I could read, learning has intrigued and empowered me in ways I could never explain.  Such is the case this week as our MISD leadership team grapples with these five critical questions during our two-day conference with the Schlechty Center:

  1. How do we get others to “buy-in” as we continue our journey to transform into the leading learning organization in the nation?
  2. What are some tools and resources we can employ to get to know our “who” (our learners and classroom leaders) to determine if they are engaged and why?
  3. How do we provide and receive meaningful feedback and encouragement to and from our colleagues on this journey?
  4. What work inspires autonomy, mastery, creativity, and a sense of purpose?
  5. How do we bring JOY to the learning everyday?

These are not easy questions to ask nor easy questions to ponder for answers!  We know there is a strong link between engaged students, teachers, administrators, support staff, parents, and community members, and increased levels of overall performance and achievement for all.  In their book, The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer discuss it this way:  “Intrinsic motivation is the love of the work itself—doing the work because it is interesting, enjoyable, satisfying, engaging, or personally challenging.  Intrinsic motivation—deep engagement in the work—can drive people to surprising displays of effort.”  This is true of children in classrooms and adults in real jobs everyday!  Ask yourself the five questions above about your own work; what are your thoughts?  How do we build intrinsic motivation and deep engagement in young learners so they successfully reach their fullest potential?

As always, I welcome your thoughts and perspectives as we continue to tackle these questions…

Note:  In the meantime, thanks for providing some extrinsic motivation (in the form of $) to pump up our POWER of Miller success this week!  🙂

by

Motivating Factors…

Having a definite and positive desire to do something is what motivation is all about here at LME!  According to a fifth grade friend who recently visited with me on this subject, “inspiration, interest, and desire are the keys needed to motivate me, Mrs. Van.”  This sounds like the very definition of the word in fact!  Take the new STAAR assessment for example . . . classroom leaders are motivated to learn all they can about how learners will be tested and what the questions may look like, but the state has been forthcoming only in small increments.  Learners are motivated to do their personal best by listening and participating in their instruction and learning so they achieve at their personal best (and from actively monitoring our entire building this week, it appears everyone is definitely trying their best!).

As a learning community, we do our best to build each other up all the time (especially in stressful times) by sharing funny stories and pep talks, giving lots of smiles and hugs…the list is endless. Take Ms. Daniell’s sweet first graders sharing treasures with their book buddies in Mrs. Kids’ fourth grade class—they had great words of encouragement to give.  There were similar kind gestures throughout our building this past week!

We always appreciate the support and encouragement we receive from you as  partners and participating members of our learning community.  You are a big part of the motivating factors nurturing our learners and classroom leaders each day.  We also thank you for your patience this week during our closed campus—you’ve been most kind about it! 🙂  Here’s hoping motivation finds you fulfilling all manner of opportunities today!

by

DRIVEn and Motivated!

An admired colleague of mine recently visited with me about a fascinating book I started a few months back (and then put down for other more pressing reads)—Daniel Pink’s DRIVE.  As a lifelong learner and reader, I do my best to keep up with current trends.  Mr. Pink’s works are always thought-provoking and challenging reads; after all, he is often called an “accidental scientist.”  He specifically focuses in this book on the science behind motivation–what really motivates anyone to do good work?  What really motivates someone to always want to do great work?  He shares three factors for enduring motivation:  autonomy, mastery, and purpose.  Continuing the book, he got me to thinking about our classrooms here at Miller and how we work within all three areas.  I asked some tough questions:

  • How can we foster autonomy (the ability to direct time, task, and technique) for our learners and their classroom leaders?
  • How can we provide mastery opportunities for all learners and their classroom leaders?
  • How can we ensure learners and classroom leaders find purpose (beyond extrinsic rewards) in their school work?

These are hard questions to ponder as we move into (what I affectionately call) “new STAARy horizons in public education.  We are so much more than a test score, and because of societal changes, we are expected to do so much more than teach the basic curriculum now.  WHEW…it’s mind-blogging at best!  Here’s hoping you find ways to foster autonomy, provide mastery, and ensure purpose with us because we need you!

Note:  Our campus field trip is tomorrow!  We’re so excited!