Keller points out four main components of motivation: Gaining and maintaining attention, Enhancing relevance, Building confidence, and Generating satisfation. As I think of a situation that I have encountered where co-workers have been resistant to using technolgy due to a component of motivation, I think of using power-points and streaming video with the LCD projector to teach. Our teachers used overhead projectors. The two bigest obsticles were being able to connect the equipment and the amount of time that it takes to prepare the material. If I put together the slides, and hooked up the equipment, then my co-worker was more than willing to use the resources and enjoyed the lessons.
The area in Keller's motivational design that I would focus on would be building confidence and generating satisfaction. She was attentive to the technology because we worked in an open space school and had only book shelves seperating our classrooms. She could see and hear everything that I did all day. She also found the process to be relavant. Hooking up the technology would be easy. With practice she would have no problem with that. Part of the time issue is that she was still building the skills for using power-point and we could not stream during the day so you had to download all of the streaming video either before or after school. I got to where I would save the video onto a thumb drive and then transfer the data to each computer. These are tips that I could share. The other issue with time is that as teachers your time is thin and it is hard to add more time consuming activities.
One way that I could help with confidence is to sit with her and facilitate the power-point process. I can share short cuts and how to find pre-made power-points on the internet. We can divide the curriculum for the week and each work on 1 or 2 presentations instead of each doing one for every presentation. I can be available to help work out technical difficulties and be supportive and encouraging when a lesson is really succesful.
I could help generate satisfation by putting together a student survey to get feedback from the students on the use of the technology in the class. Other teachers could observe her lessons and learn from her. This would build both her confidence and her satisfaction. I could use encouragment and positive feedback to support her use of new ideas and technology.
Components of Motivation
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Keller,
motivation,
power-points,
technology
Saturday, August 1, 2009
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5 comments:
IT certainly sounds like you work in an interesting physical environment. How many classrooms are only separated by the shelving?
Also, your focus on building confidence and satisfaction seems very well placed. I especially like your willingness to help her out and partner with her until her confidence has risen, and her satisfaction clear.
Shannon
Thanks for changing the contrast of your blog colors. For me, it is so much easier to read! Thanks so much!
Yes, I am curious too - how do you like that open classroom design? How do the students like it? I was a student in an open classroom in 7th grade, and I definitely have my opinion about it That was over 35 years ago, and I am guessing it may have changed since then. So I am curious as to your reaction.
I think George Siemens would say that you are an important part of your colleagues network, a key node! I think you are the epitome of how perhaps educators should be. A Siemens-Keller Production!
Koh
Brad,
Imagine a large rectangle with pillar in the middle. around the perimeter of the rectangle are 14 classrooms divided by book shelves and chalk boards. There are also hallways formed. Grades 2-5 are in the open space; K and 1 have their own classrooms off the main space. The cafeteria and office have doors to the right of the rectangle. The library is sunken into the middle of the rectangle and the computer lab is in one of the open classrooms. The middle rooms (pillar) holds the music room, sppech and counselors office, and the media office and copier...
It takes some adjustment, but you learn to do group work in a very controlled way. The kids still work together, but we have procedures and expectations. Yet at the same time, it is a free learning experience. You watch other classes walk in the "hall way". It is especially interesting during testing. I will try to add a short pan of my classroom that I recorded before we moved.
It was a very good situation when you had a good working relationship with your team. If you were teaching the same lesson, you might hear her say something and say, "oh, yes, what Ms. --- said...." I could go on and on, but it is an interesting situation with pros and cons.
Koh,
The first couple months I cried often :) I interviewed over the phone from Ohio and walked into the classroom in Arkansas (a week later) and my jaw probably hit the floor. Had I seen it first, I probably would have not taken the job. However, by the time I left I was dragging my feet to stay. Our kids grow up in the environment so they adjust fairly well. Once in a while, a child has a difficult time adjusting. It is not for all learners and is harder for students that move into the school. My own children did well there. They can focus in about any environment after having gone to school there. You definitely have to have good classroom management skills.
Some of the advantages are that you get to know a lot of the children in the school, the children are used to the administration walking through the classroom (building good relations), and students learn to block out distractions.
Disadvantages include classrooms beside you being louder when you are trying to do quiet activities, giving presentations so that all students can hear, but you aren't disturbing other classes, and behavior issues are noticed by every classroom while walking (or kicking :) down the "hallway".
I would be interested in hearing about your experience.
Thanks Shannon.
I think it is safe to say that I did not learn one thing in my 7th grade year. There was constant noise which was too distracting. For me, it may have been worse because I have this hearing problem and background noise is very distracting. Also at the hormonal age when peer acceptance and pressure meant everything, we were always more curious at what everyone else was doing and paid no attention to the teacher. (We didn't have bookshelves to divide us. So 100 students in one great big room, divided into four different classes by air.)
I think you are right though that if we had been that way from the start, it may have made a difference. But all 7th graders came from self-contained 6th grade classrooms. So we didn't adjust well.
Koh
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