Thursday, November 3, 2011

Being part of something important

[Cue Aretha Franklin singing R.E.S.P.E.C.T.]

From: Bersin & Associates

A new book "RESPECT: Delivering Results by Giving Employees What They Really Want", which Brenda Kowske co-authored with Jack Wiley outlines the following as motivators for employees.
"[Respect] stands for:
  • Recognition
  • Excitement
  • Security
  • Pay (only 25% of answers were in this category!)
  • Education
  • Conditions at work - social and physical
  • Truth
Makes sense, right? But here’s the kicker: companies that executed on the principals of RESPECT had higher customer satisfaction ratings, higher financial metrics, and tracked a percentage point above the S&P 500. Simply put, and the third reason I’m proud of this book, it’s the ultimate win-win at work."
So let's translate that to education: happy teachers result in happier students (customers). It links pretty closely to what Dan Pink outlines in his TED talk on the surprising science of motivation:
"It's an approach built much more around intrinsic motivation. Around the desire to do things because they matter, because we like it, because they're interesting, because they are part of something important."

A great question to ask is 'does what I am teaching help students to feel like they are part of something important?'

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