ERIC Number: EJ1205908
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Feb
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0276-928X
EISSN: N/A
What Creates the Motivation to Change?: 2 Key Factors Influence Teachers' Willingness to Modify Their Practice
Arnett, Thomas
Learning Professional, v40 n1 p55-58 Feb 2019
Good teaching does not come from mere check-box compliance. Teachers who have real impact with their students continually use their expertise and intuition to evaluate, adapt, and improve how they implement new strategies within their classrooms. New practices rarely make a difference unless teachers engage eagerly and thoughtfully in adopting and refining them. The answer to what motivates teachers to adopt new practices with more enthusiasm and an eye for continuous improvement lies in the conditions that fuel a teacher's appetite for change. Two key factors influence teachers' willingness to modify their practice: (1) Administrators' understanding of the desires and circumstances that define the jobs teachers are trying to accomplish to make progress in their work; and (2) School leaders addressing the circumstances that determine the desirability of a particular solution. Christensen's job theory, about two forces that move people toward progress, and two other forces that move people away from behavioral change is explained. In the end, uptake for most new instructional programs lives or dies based on how well the programs address the forces that act on teachers' motivation to change. When school leaders create strong pushes and pulls for a program and minimize teachers' habits and anxieties, the program can develop momentum of its own that runs ahead of their deliberate efforts to promote adoption.
Descriptors: Motivation Techniques, Teacher Effectiveness, Teacher Motivation, Blended Learning, Computer Uses in Education, Educational Strategies, Technology Integration, Change Strategies, Administrators, Teacher Administrator Relationship, Teachers, Leaders, Anxiety, Habit Formation, Teacher Student Relationship, Behavior Change
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A