The Puzzle of Motivation

According to the video “The Puzzle of Motivation” by Dan Pink there is a mismatch between what science knows and what education does. Our model of education and business centers on rewards, these however, have not worked in real life because they kill creativity. Therefore, the outcome is poor or it takes too long. People gets used to only doing what they are expected to do, or even less. However, if they are allowed a little more freedom to be engaged on something that is interesting to them, then the productivity grows and new ideas get developed. There are several companies who have already taken the idea and they have found themselves having new ideas and being more productive. This also happens with students. They are used to follow and do what they are expected. But, what if we as teachers allow them to work on something they are interested on, let them research, discover problems and specially find ways out and solutions to them. This would necessarily help students not only be more creative but also more productive, with a higher understanding of something they were interested in to start with. We should move from the grading system we have, because getting a good grade is a reward. We should have students focusing in achieving a goal and learning. It will also likely have to do with something connected to their real life. Teachers should always be concerned about creativity, learning and connections to real issues.

Introduction to Project Based learning PBL

Project Based Learning was not new to me because while teaching at another school in Mexico we had to work through the Project Based Learning and although I only taught science as a special class, it helped me provide the students with a more meaningful and interesting way to learn and apply scientific contents. I like working this way because students are very engaged and see how what we are learning can be applied to everyday life, students learn all throughout the process and from experience, therefore, I like it being hands-on. It also helps bring out students’ strengths when working collaboratively. It is also a very rewarding way for students to learn, since they work on it from beginning to end and are very proud of their work and research when it is finished. Specially because they have to present their work to real audiences. My idea of PBL did not change after watching the video but it was interesting to see how students in that school were focused on aviation. Currently at ASF we are working with PBL in different grade levels, from the Operas and Exhibitions in Elementary to the Green House Project in Middle School and currently in my class we are working with the Energy Project. This project has to do with an island that is going to be researched and the students are hired to make a plan on how to create energy using the islands resources and environment.

Differences between projects and PBL

The differences between PBL and “just doing projects “are numerous. The most significant in my opinion are those that are core to projects. PBL is a student led inquiry where students use open-ended questions to guide their research and apply what they learn in every step. The teacher is a facilitator and a guide but is not who decides what is learned. In PBL assessment is done throughout the process and not only grading the end product commonly assessed through rubrics, which are usually created by the students themselves. The development of diverse skills when doing PBL is great and collaboration along with critical thinking are top of the list contrary to memorizing which happens with regular projects. PBL also allows students to work at their own rhythm and interest contrary to projects where the teachers decides the content and how students will learn.