Motivating Teachers

A colleague asked for some tips on motivating teachers for a school and district that are facing conflict and tensions.  I thought I'd collect my ideas here if it would be helpful to others. Actually, the request was simply for inspirational videos, as I have used videos in the past for motivation.

However, I thought it important to say some things about the context and culture that need to be in place for sustainable motivation to occur. Showing an inspirational video during a time of crisis may lead to temporary feelings of re-commitment or renewed energy, but we need the determination that comes from day to day motivation that can only be achieved through attention to culture over the long run.


My thoughts are based on my own experience and Daniel Pink's book Drive, which outlines the three main drivers for motivation in the knowledge worker economy.  Those drivers are Purpose, Mastery, and Autonomy.

Purpose

In order to motivate teachers, it's critical to reconnect them with the goal of our work.  This is not a difficult task.  It's not like we're selling vacuum cleaners.  What teachers do every day is, without question, life changing and transformational even on an ordinary day.  Videos and discussion about the purpose of learning will reengage teachers with their initial calling to work with children.  More importantly, the day to day actions of leaders must be congruent with the goal of improving learning opportunities for all students.

Leaders need to ask, What is the purpose of our school?

Sometimes, it's best to let the kids start the conversation. Adora Svitak can get them to see What Adults Can Learn from Kids



and teachers can answer the question Do you Believe in Me, by Dalton Sherman.

Furthermore, Rita Pierson will remind teachers,  Because Every Kid Needs a Champion.



If you are rethinking your school mission, vision, or purpose, you may want to watch Simon Sinek's excellent talk on How Great Leaders Inspire Action.



While working on purpose, one must focus on the future and not the past. Opportunities for new learning are everywhere.  Get your staff thinking about kids,  while imagining and creating an amazing future together.

Maybe you want to discuss Dan Meyer's Math Class Needs a Makeover



or Ken Robinson's provocative How Schools kill Creativity.



You could also read Seth Godin's treatise on Stop Stealing Dreams: What is school for?.  Some of his ideas will anger or frustrate but they will get your teachers talking about the future of schooling and encourage them to band together to write their own story for their students.

Mastery

Everyone who shows up for work wants to be known for excellence.  Leaders can create the environment where excellence can thrive.  You need to embrace the growth mindset, which says that everyone can learn. Leaders should highlight existing strengths within their staff and elevate teachers to lead the learning.  Teachers should be encouraged to share their best work by blogging and sharing through other social media streams.

Leaders need to ask. How can I create a school where adults and students are always learning?

There are so many examples of individuals who have overcome struggles to achieve great things.  I always get emotional when I see the story of Jason McElwain, the autistic basketball manager who finally gets in a game and then ... well, you'll just have to watch it.



Of course, some athletes achieve greatness because of their God given abilities but hard work is still needed especially when it comes to other areas of their life. This decorated and famous University of Georgia football player was a highly sought out recruit who decided to become a great reader too.



Everyone wants to work in an environment where they have the tools, collegial relationships, and encouragement to produce their best work.  Leaders who inspire provide all the ingredients necessary for mastery to occur.  They provide clear and explicit targets with lots of timely feedback that helps every learner in the school learn and grow.  There is great satisfaction in mastering something that beforehand seemed impossible or out of reach.  Teachers are motivated when they are improving in their craft and they see the fruit of their mastery in the lives of students.

Autonomy

Finally, when teachers take ownership of their learning to improve their craft, they will be highly motivated to do the work that lies before them.  There is no one who will eagerly pursue rote implementation of programs and curriculum that are handed down from the state, district, or even the Principal.  Teachers should be deeply involved in the development of the course of action at a school as well as its implementation.  Do you want motiavted teachers?   Give them a voice.  Give them choice.  Give them "autonomy" to define how they accomplish the goals you have set for your school.

You can do this in any number of ways.  Leadership, grade level, and course alike teams are all vehicles through which teachers can chart a course (with guidelines of course) that make sense to them and allow them to define their reality.  In Ed Catmull's excellent book Creativity Inc he describes the feedback that directors receive on their films from a group called The Braintrust.  Although The Braintrust gave many suggestions, ideas, and feedback, ultimately it was the director  of the film alone who was tasked with choosing from all of these suggestions to modify and adapt the film based on the feedback.  Teachers need that same structure and power if they are to be motivated to pursue excellence  in the classroom every day.

Leaders need to ask the question. What structures and processes can I create so that you can do your work better?

So, if you want to motivate teachers to create schools where students AND adults can flourish, then by all means, show some video!  However, you also need to commit to doing the work every day that builds the kind of environment where motivation is ongoing and sustainable.

What other ideas do you have for motivating teachers?

Flow and Learning

I came across this quote from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book Flow and it reminded me of the work we are doing around success criteria, feedback, and visible learning.

One reaches flow in activities where ... "a sense that one's skills are adequate to cope with the challenges at hand, in a goal-directed, rule-bound action system that provides clear clues as to how well one is performing."

This quote demonstrates several truths that are the hallmark of quality learning experiences.

First, the learner must believe that she has the skill to meet the challenge so a) there must be some challenge and b) the challenge cannot be so great that the learner doesn't believe that she can attain the goal.  

Second, sufficient structure must be provided so that the learner can navigate the activity with a certain degree of certainty.

Finally, feedback must be connected to the goal that one is pursuing and must be explicit in describing the current performance against the ideal state.

Does this square with your beliefs about what quality teaching and learning looks like?

Reading Instruction from the Master

Richard Allington, in his recent article at Educational Leadership has some concrete steps that teachers can take to improve reading instruction.   He unmasks two villians of poor reading instruction 1) Overusing and misusing  oral reading and 2) Asking Low Level Questions.  Here is his remedy for oral reading.

1. Use oral reading selectively. By the middle of 1st grade, most reading should be done silently.
2. If you elect to have students read a text aloud, consciously bite your tongue as they read. Wait until the student has completed at least a full sentence before you interrupt, and then interrupt with a comment that encourages the student to self-regulate.
3. Ensure that other students who might be following along or listening to the student read aloud also do not interrupt the reader.
4. If you're concerned that you cannot monitor the accuracy of students' reading when they read silently, remember that all you really need to do is ask them to retell what they've read. Misreadings become obvious during retellings.

(numbers not in original, because bullets drive me crazy.)

And here is what he prescribes in place of Low Level Questions

In a study of high-poverty schools, Taylor and colleagues (Taylor, Pearson, Clark, & Walpole, 2000; Taylor, Pearson, Peterson, & Rodriguez, 2003) found that more effective teachers asked five times as many higher-order questions and offered twice as many opportunities for discussion as less effective teachers did.  The more effective teachers were also more likely to ask students to respond in writing to higher-order questions.

He goes on to describe a familiar routine of turn pair and share that is an excellent structure in which to engage students in literate conversations answering high level questions, while also including writing about what they are reading.