Motivation and Mastery

Motivation and Mastery

The book group focused its conversation on a number of debatable issues. These included:

1. Can you motivate someone, or is this a quality inherent to a person? Can we only manipulate, control or create the appearance of motivation? If we can't motivate, how do we create the conditions for people to develop their own intrinsic motivation? Do we have the time to allow this to happen organically?
2. Given Kohn's view on grading, what would the ideal set of reports look like? Can we as a school escape the unwanted demands of 'higher' institutions (employers and universities) to create a system that is best supported by known educational research?
3. What does Kohn's book have to say about merit pay? 

One spin off conversation from question 2 was looking at the increasing amount of content made available online, for free. Much has been written about Khan Academy, iTunes U or TEDed, and a number of universities are now opening up content to their courses. One company has gone a step further. The BBC recently produced a report on Udacity, a company set-up within Stanford offering tutored, certificated courses for free, online. 

Stanford already had a large presence on iTunes U, but the model offered by this company is somewhat different. Though Udacity is not affiliated with Stanford, the implications of its existence are fascinating. Udacity already claims to have 100,000 users. It suggests that it is able to offer an economically viable model of free, online and, certificated education without socio-economic ('I can't afford it') or physical ('I can't get there') boundaries. In theory, companies like Udacity who are offering non-exclusive higher education could create positive trickle down effects in schools. There are no barriers to signing up for a course other than your motivation and your prior knowledge. If you wish to learn, learn, unhindered by economic restraints or the need to acquire numerous qualifications as social currency. Mastery becomes the motivation, not collecting marketable qualifications.


It is worthwhile considering some of the long-term implications of such courses. Are we witnessing a new fad in education that will disappear as soon as it arrives, or is this the start of a sea-change in approach? If the latter, is it for the better, or will there be some unintended consequences?


Check out the videos below to explore this topic further. 


CNN Report here:

EdX report by Wall Street Journal here:

MITx Launch Video here: