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.