Abstract
Autonomy, project based learning, and democratic classrooms came to characterize most of my learning experiences in the NLGL program. Often we students were asked to come up with our own compelling questions, gather and analyze data from our classrooms and scholarly articles, and facilitate learning through creative expression. Personal choice, or autonomy, allowed me to read books and respond to them in ways that helped me grow as an individual. It also allowed me to create things that I have a purpose for and am passionate about. This autonomy allowed me to care deeply about my learning because it grew me as an individual and furthered my goals as a professional educator.
My increased motivation and passion for learning made me eager to see how I could apply Pink's theory of motivation (autonomy + mastery + purpose = drive) in my own classroom to intrinsically motivate my sixth grade students. I wondered how much autonomy middle school students could handle, what that autonomy would look like in a 6th grade language arts classroom, and what affect this new freedom might have on my students’ motivation and literacy achievement.
I conducted research to see the effect of autonomy on student motivation. I found that “middle grades students are more likely to work diligently if they see that their voices are valued and incorporated into what happens during the school day because they do not feel as if things are being done to them” and students are motivated by choice and more engaged when directing their learning (Daniels, 2011; Casey, 2009, p. 289). Also, that "a sense of autonomy has a powerful effect on individual performance and attitude. According to a cluster of recent behavioral science studies, autonomous motivation promotes greater conceptual understanding, better grades, enhanced persistence in school and sporting activities, higher productivity, less burnout, and greater levels of psychological well being,” (Pink, 2009, p. 33%). Finally, I concluded that teaching students autonomy involves teaching them to “act with choice” and direct their own lives. The ability to chose is an important value in our democracy, so schools must model the democratic process and involve students in making decisions if we expect them to do that as adults.
In the classroom, autonomy translates to students’ ability to control their time, task, technique, and team,” (Pink, 2005, 79%). This year with my 5th period class, I experimented with autonomy through book clubs, research projects, student blogs, and project based learning. As the year draws to a close, this particular class ranks high above the others in terms of individual motivation, writing ability, and skills in new literacies. Increased autonomy has increased motivation, it allows for better inclusion and acknowledgement of diversity, and supports mastery grading. It absolutely has a place in middle grades in language arts.
My increased motivation and passion for learning made me eager to see how I could apply Pink's theory of motivation (autonomy + mastery + purpose = drive) in my own classroom to intrinsically motivate my sixth grade students. I wondered how much autonomy middle school students could handle, what that autonomy would look like in a 6th grade language arts classroom, and what affect this new freedom might have on my students’ motivation and literacy achievement.
I conducted research to see the effect of autonomy on student motivation. I found that “middle grades students are more likely to work diligently if they see that their voices are valued and incorporated into what happens during the school day because they do not feel as if things are being done to them” and students are motivated by choice and more engaged when directing their learning (Daniels, 2011; Casey, 2009, p. 289). Also, that "a sense of autonomy has a powerful effect on individual performance and attitude. According to a cluster of recent behavioral science studies, autonomous motivation promotes greater conceptual understanding, better grades, enhanced persistence in school and sporting activities, higher productivity, less burnout, and greater levels of psychological well being,” (Pink, 2009, p. 33%). Finally, I concluded that teaching students autonomy involves teaching them to “act with choice” and direct their own lives. The ability to chose is an important value in our democracy, so schools must model the democratic process and involve students in making decisions if we expect them to do that as adults.
In the classroom, autonomy translates to students’ ability to control their time, task, technique, and team,” (Pink, 2005, 79%). This year with my 5th period class, I experimented with autonomy through book clubs, research projects, student blogs, and project based learning. As the year draws to a close, this particular class ranks high above the others in terms of individual motivation, writing ability, and skills in new literacies. Increased autonomy has increased motivation, it allows for better inclusion and acknowledgement of diversity, and supports mastery grading. It absolutely has a place in middle grades in language arts.