Motivation and Change

One take-away phrase from Gee: "Teachers have to be rewarded for innovating themselves." Somehow, I don't think a system that bases most decisions having to do with staffing largely or solely on seniority does that...

Anyway, I found myself agreeing with Gee a lot. He grasps that global competition is the new standard. No matter what standards are decreed by the Fed and passed along by the state, or what ideological axe we are grinding, or whether we think there should be vouchers or not, there is a standard being imposed on us from without. We have to innovate, and do so really, really soon.

Are computer game platforms a way we can do this? If fighter pilots can learn to fly jets better by using them, I'm thinking we could find a way to teach economics well with them, too, and in a way that engages students. So far, it seems that we have lacked the creativity, and have not dedicated the programming skill, to make this happen. The hardware is beyond ready. It's now a matter of imagination, software, and will.

I think something Gee could have dwelt on even more is motivation, although he did hit it. Computer games are very motivating. Intrinsic motivation is far more compelling than extrinsic reinforcement. Game platforms could provide a major doorway to motivation, a doorway we have so far pretty much refused to open, or failed to open, either because of feelings of bias against games or lack of imagination.

By the way, I have received corroborating input that there is a WHOLE lot of writing taking place on fan fiction sites, and that many people are indeed learning how to write English through them, English that doesn't sound like the writer learned it out of a text book, or last week. That's more of a forum concept, as opposed to a game, but it has the same level of engagement and motivation, which is the key.

I have one final thought that links back up with the looming force of globalism. Fifteen years ago or so, I was a security analyst for an investment firm in Ann Arbor. Among other things, I studied the tech sector. It was always a push for me to get the idea across to older decision makers within the firm that technology was going to permeate every aspect of our lives and that, as it did, it would immensely change how we do things. Sometimes, I felt like the guy who had tried in vain to convince the business machine company executive that the personal computer would be useful for many things beyond being a repository for recipes in the kitchen. Citing research, I argued that the pace of change would occur at an ever-increasing rate and that it would destroy many business paradigms once thought fixed. I remember discussions about lowering barriers to entry, evaporating barriers of geography, and that the pace of change would be too fast for many companies and industries to respond to, once it was upon them.

Much of this has come to pass. I suspect that most of us don't fully realize how disruptive it has been, or how much more disruptive it may be in the future. Education is not exempt. Gee hints at this.

Gee is reigniting my interest in the capacity for human beings to embrace technological tools and empowerment for the better. The American education enterprise needs to strive to be better in touch with the opportunities and possibilities in this area.