Introduction
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”
Simon Sinek
In his TED Talk, Simon Sinek emphasizes the importance of the why of what we do. He cites examples from Apple, the Wright brothers, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to prove his point that consumers of goods and ideas do not respond to what we do, but why we do it.
As I reflect upon my personal motivations as a classroom teacher and my innovation plan where I will be implementing an in-class blended learning experience for my students, I must come to a clear vision of why I am motivated to make changes in my students’ learning environment.
What is my “Why”?
Now is the time
With each passing year of my career, it has become increasingly difficult to engage my students with the lessons and teaching strategies that worked in the past. My students no longer depend upon me as a source of information. As John Seely Brown tells us in “Rethinking Learning: The 21st Century Learner,” the learners of today are gamers who see out quests. As a teacher, I need to recognize who today’s students are and adjust their learning environment to meet their needs. Consequently, I need to allow them opportunities to explore and discover new ideas for themselves instead of merely providing information to them. The sense of urgency comes from the reality that I will be a less effective teacher/coach if I do not provide with them with personalized learning experiences appropriate to the world in which they live. In the end, if I fail to enact change, my students will be the ones who lose.
What motivates people to change? Various thinkers have their own version of the answer to that question, but a common theme that many share is that the heart plays an important role in decision making. In his TED Talk, “Why TED Talks don’t change people’s behaviors,” Tom Asacker talks about the fact that people are not machines that analyze facts and arrive at logical choices. John Kotter echoes this belief in his video, “The Heart of Change.” He says that appealing to another’s emotions has a more powerful influence on behavioral change than appealing to the mind.
Today’s students know how to get the grade that they want. However, earning a “good” grade does not necessarily indicate deep and lasting learning. It will take some convincing for them to accept and adopt the in-class blended learning experience that I am implementing. If I only appeal to their minds, my students will continue to focus on the grade. They have been conditioned to see the grade as the end goal instead of the learning. However, if I appeal to their hearts by offering them an opportunity to personalize their own learning experiences, I believe that they will come to see that learning in a different way is more personally fulfilling.
References
21st Century Educational Leadership. (2009, April 2). 21st century education vs.
20th century education [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/
HiD1UqLPrOg
John Kotter – Leading change: Establish a sense of urgency [Video file]. (2013,
August 15). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/2Yfrj2Y9IlI
John Kotter – The Heart of Change [Video file]. (2011, March 23). Retrieved from
https://youtu.be/1NKti9MyAAw
MacArthur Foundation. (2010, December 1). Rethinking learning: The 21st century
learner [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/c0xa98cy-Rw
TED Talks. (2013, September 29). Start with why – Simon Sinek TED talk [Video
file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/sioZd3AxmnE
TEDx Talks. (2014, June 30). Why TED Talks don’t change people’s behaviors: Tom
Asacker at TEDx Cambridge 2014 [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://youtu.be/W0jTZ-GP0N4
Growing my Classroom 