I blogged earlier today about my Current Issues in Motivation and Learning course. So far this semester we are on Week 9, and each week has been a new set of motivational theories. As a newbie psychologist, this has been a bit overwhelming. I felt confused about the ways the theories built on each other and the sometimes subtle differences between them (Dear Psychologists: self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. This is maddening.). At any rate, I made a giant map of all the things we’ve read so far and I’ll be updating it as we finish up. I’ve embedded it below. Also (for my classmates), if you have your own Prezi.com account, I’ve made this able to be copied so that you can take it and make it your own.
Tag Archives: motivation
Something
September 14, 2010 – 12:26 am
I like to think of myself as a writer. Or, at the very least, a person who, when called upon to write, can produce something coherent and interesting.
Additionally, I like to think of myself as an efficient machine: I do not let procrastination win. No–I work all hours of the day and night, squeezing in email sessions while my kids play in the sandbox in order to permanently hover around inbox 0. I scribble on napkins; I compose in the shower.
Yet here I find myself, emails piling up, words unwritten, blank screens and an evil cursor blinking, blinking, blinking….
Sometimes, writing is painful.
In my last post, I welcomed everyone to my learning, and today I seem to be inviting everyone to my hideous writer’s block.
In other news, the semester started and I am currently enrolled in “Technology, Society and Culture,” taught by the brilliant Yong Zhao. He is the author of one of my favorite books on education reform, Catching Up or Leading the Way, and I feel very privileged to be taught by him in his last semester here at Michigan State. For our first assignment, we’ve been asked to read the following and write about them:
- Paul R. Ehrlich (2002). Human Natures: Genes, Cultures, and the Human Prospect. New York: Penguin Group.
- Jared Diamond (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: Norton.
- Larry Cuban (2001). Oversold and Underused: Computers in Classrooms, 1980-2000. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Clayton Christensen, Curtis W. Johnson, Michael B. Horn (2008). Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns. New York: McGraw Hill.
I am not quite through all of the texts, but as I complete them, I plan to blog about them here. The final essay/s will also appear in this space as part of my open education journey.
Motivation interview with Paul Oh
July 17, 2010 – 11:34 pm
In CEP 900/930, we were tasked with creating an audio interview that demonstrated motivation in learning. Here is my interview with Paul Oh, senior program associate with the National Writing Project.
I chose to interview Paul Oh for many reasons. First and foremost, he is one of the most motivated learners I know. He is a curious person who is willing to engage in many topics, to see all sides of an issue, and to help others think deeply. He seems to do this, at least from my vantage point, out of a strong sense of an intrinsic need to know more and do better. Paul has been using social media to connect with numerous teachers across the nation, and from my interview with him, I learned that Paul cares deeply for his work, just as he deeply values the intellectual engagement of his many activities. In my final audio below, I note that the most significant aspect of our almost two hour conversation (don’t worry: I agonized to cut it down to two-and-a-half minutes) was how incredibly valuable it is to Paul to have the opportunity to engage in the exchange of ideas in his own way. This sense of autonomy is fostered by both his work and his use of social media. I think as teachers, it is easy to forget that our students have their own curiosities and ways of learning, and that by fostering those we can in turn foster a motivation to learn throughout a lifetime.
2011-12 Annual Review