Thursday, February 21, 2013

My Notes from a Presentation by Daniel Pink

Daniel Pink on Motivation
February 20, 2013
Fresno, CA.

See Youtube video to get an idea of some of his thoughts:

RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us


Scenario:
Preschool Children
One group of kids did a task and they were expecting a reward.
Second group of kids did a task and received an unexpected reward.
Third group of kids did a task and did not receive a reward.

A few weeks later the students were asked to do a similar task.  Results?  All students grew in their proficiency and effort except which group?

The first group went backwards!!

The conclusion:  The reward is not causing problem but it is the expectation.

The “if-then” scenario is a form of control.
Humans have two responses - comply or defy.

Performance Pay for Teachers?
Studies show no difference between teachers rewarded for higher test scores as compared to those who were not.

There was some growth for teachers who were given a front of the year bonus, but were asked to return the money if student test scores were not met.

Study: artists asked to create paintings based on a commission and a comparison group were asked to create paintings with no commission.

Results:
1.    The technical quality for both groups were the same
2.      However, the non- commissioned group was more creative

Why?  This was due to the fact the commissioned work had more constraints.  The artists had to comply with the customer demands.

Point made: Schools have few opportunities for non-commissioned work.

Fact: money is a motivator.

Suggest to:
1.    Raise base pay for teachers, but
2.    Make it easier to remove underperforming teachers 

3 key motivators for people: 
·           Autonomy
·           Mastery 
·           Purpose

Management is a technology to get people to be compliant found in 50's.

Human beings engage by self-direction over tasks people team etc.

The best school principals have high standards and provide teacher autonomy. 

Mastery
Human beings like to get better at doing "stuff." 

Study: how do people describe the days that are most meaningful in their work:  the days they make progress.

But, people need feedback and many of our school and teacher feedback mechanisms for students are sluggish.

Suggest for teachers do own their own performance reviews - do this with peers monthly?  Teaching is one of the few professions where there is little timely and adequate feedback.

Most successful people in their fields:
Are high performers who set their own goals and compile their own feedback.  They are great at monitoring their own performance.

What about kids?  What if they were involved in doing their own report cards? 

Understanding purpose is a huge motivator:
The sign in the hospital that created the most change was the one that stated, “Washing your hands saves patients!” 

This is in contrast to other signs with no effect such as, “Please wash your hands to avoid spreading germs.”

This sign worked because it appealed to purpose. 

We get too caught up in how versus why.


3 key ingredients in effective presentations:
1.  Brevity
2.  Levity
3. Repetition  - is an effective form of emphasis 

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