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LEARNING PHILOSOPHY + Version A ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

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LEARNING PHILOSOPHY + Version A ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

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NOTE FOR LEARNERS WHO ARE IN ENGL 211: because you will be completing this assignment in ENGL 211 and I don't want you to do any wasted busy work or duplicate your efforts, you will complete VERSION A of this assignment, which is provided at the end of this document and is identified by a GREEN HEADER. We will discuss the particulars of this assignment in class.

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THE ART OF LEARNING Part One Acquisition NOTES VERSION

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Metacognition and the Learning Philosophy, Melanie Bellwood

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Metacognition and the Learning Philosophy, Melanie Bellwood

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© 2021 by Jessica Riddell, Lisa Dickson, Shannon Murray and Cécilia Alain. Created with Wix.com

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Bayo Akomolafe: The Times are Urgent; Let's Slow Down

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Bayo Akomolafe: The Times are Urgent; Let's Slow Down

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This is why we think that the current paradigm of protests, branding and volunteerism will not address the deep substructures of experience that need to shift. We must go deeper...a lot deeper than merely protesting the status quo.

The mainstream approach of civic society is not contesting the deep layers of experience, or challenging the normative ways of experiencing the world. While our work as activists has surely made our voices heard, and amplified the need to rethink our systems, it is worrisome that not-for-profits, funding organizations, civic society organizations and NGOs have themselves become an industry of service-providers, PowerPoint presentations, proposals, prestige, slogans, and busy schedules. People very often take on the shape of that which they strenuously resist.

Though civic efforts have been worthwhile, they have done nothing to change our relationships with the planet, with people and with ourselves; we are still tethered to the deadening values of consumerism, and have not reclaimed our roles as living co-creators of a society we prefer to live in.

Civic society has not provided irresistible alternatives for both the activist and the non-activist - or at least provided the conditions for the emergence of these possibilities. We have become highly corporatized - only seeing the changes that could come from behind the lenses of our roles and bureaucratic processes.

The monolithic triumph of corporatization and approach to society has reduced the complexity of human expression to a few, easily recognized series of processes and answers. This is why we think we need more than institutions to address the challenges of today. We think the powerful need of today is to reclaim lost territory, and heal the rift created by a commodified world.

We discern that the urge of the times is not to fix a broken system, but to acknowledge our inherent power to summon other worlds.

We know a way. Our cultures teach us that in turning to each other, we become disruptive to old realities and hospitable to new ones. Because we will not co-create the world by proxy, we need to turn to ourselves again, and rekindle the realness we have lost. The closer we get to the ways we can grow food, the less we have to depend on or fight against genetically modified products in brazen shopping malls.

In these human-scaled circles of rejuvenation, we will weave a new social fabric; a new world will be a tantalizingly present and dynamic reality, not a distant ideal. In these places of 'vulnerability', we will reclaim a terrain that is free from the paralyzing influences of NGO-speak and politics.

This is not about conventional movements.

We envision a meta-network, a new politics of engagement that draws in the non-activist and activist and helps them recognize the power they already are.

In those circles, our hands will be occupied with the serious business of reclaiming territory, creating value, and reconnecting with others in ways that we might actually be able to try ourselves. As we do this, there will be less need to depend on the fading structures and frameworks that now populate our inner and outer landscapes.

This is not a call for funding, new institutional regulations, or greater emphasis on the established parameters we are used to; we are not naïve enough to think institutions are the problem, but we are conscientious enough to recognize that the 'solutions' will not come from within them. We can however have both...institutions that address the issues, and a meta-project, a shared alliance or network that strives to connect these unbranded 'circles of reclamation' emerging across the planet now.

In his recent keynote speech, Bayo Akomolafe suggests ways we can build 'an invisible revolution'. His position is not final or doctrinaire, but given in the spirit of exploration - and held by the disruptive archetype of the trickster mythology in our indigenous settings.

We are also truly happy about the new 'Johannesburg Compass' - comprising of questions and soft orientations that capture the concerns of the activists that gathered at the Global Summit. We think of it as a truly commendable way to inspire widespread conversations about new possibilities.

This is why we write then. We write because there are conversations that we are yet to have about our true power; we write because we are not as limited and constrained as we suppose. We write because we suspect that this is the finest hour for civic action today. We recognize that for many of you reading this, what we hint at - a new form of deinstitutionalized activism, if you will - represents a leap into the dark...embracing the unknown. Our people think of the dark not as a place of horror and grief, but the place where surprises are stitched, where miracles are sown, where colours are alchemically combined, and where the new tapestries of a preferred existence is buried in wait.

We call on activists around the world to think of what they do, to recognize that this is a time to address the syndrome, not the symptoms. This is an opportunity for us all to join the chorus of voices now summoning a new world.

We would be honoured if you could acknowledge this letter as a means of deepening the conversation.

If we beat the system at its own game, we've lost. It is no longer time to rush through the contested world blinded by fury and anger - however worthwhile these are. Now, we think, is the time to 'retreat' into the real work of reclamation, to re-member again our humanity through the intimacy of our relationships. The time is very urgent - we must slow down.

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The Times are Urgent: Let's Slow Down * Writings - Bayo Akomolafe

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An Open Letter to CONCORD-DEEEP, CIVICUS, GCAP, Civic Society Organizations and Activists Working for a 'Better' World. This article is co-authored by Bayo Akomolafe and Marta Benavides. With deep gratitude for the stories of transformation now emerging across the planet, and for the renewed hope we share for a different kind of world, we greet you from our hearts.

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This helpful page explores the difference between internal and external motivation and their relative helpfulness in learning. It also discusses the difference between surface, strategic and deep learning. A concise read.

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Cite this guide: Yarborough, C. B., & Fedesco, H. N. (2020). Motivating students. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [todaysdate] from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu//cft/guides-sub-pages/motivating-students/.

Introduction

Fostering student motivation is a difficult but necessary aspect of teaching that instructors must consider. Many may have led classes where students are engaged, motivated, and excited to learn, but have also led classes where students are distracted, disinterested, and reluctant to engage-and, probably, have led classes that are a mix. What factors influence students' motivation? How can instructors promote students' engagement and motivation to learn? While there are nuances that change from student to student, there are also models of motivation that serve as tools for thinking through and enhancing motivation in our classrooms. This guide will look at three frameworks: the expectancy-value-cost model of motivation, the ARCS model of instructional design, and self-determination theory. These three models highlight some of the major factors that influence student motivation, often drawing from and demonstrating overlap among their frameworks. The aim of this guide is to explore some of the literature on motivation and offer practical solutions for understanding and enhancing student motivation.

Expectancy - Value - Cost Model

The purpose of the original expectancy-value model was to predict students' achievement behaviors within an educational context. The model has since been refined to include cost as one of the three major factors that influence student motivation. Below is a description of the three factors, according to the model, that influence motivation.

Expectancy refers to a student's expectation that they can actually succeed in the assigned task. It energizes students because they feel empowered to meet the learning objectives of the course.

Value involves a student's ability to perceive the importance of engaging in a particular task. This gives meaning to the assignment or activity because students are clear on why the task or behavior is valuable.

Cost points to the barriers that impede a student's ability to be successful on an assignment, activity and/or the course at large. Therefore, students might have success expectancies and perceive high task value, however, they might also be aware of obstacles to their engagement or a potential negative affect resulting in performance of the task, which could decrease their motivation.

Three important questions to consider from the student perspective:
1. Expectancy - Can I do the task?

2. Value - Do I want to do the task?

* Intrinsic or interest value: the inherent enjoyment that an individual experiences from engaging in the task for its own sake.

* Utility value: the usefulness of the task in helping achieve other short term or long-term goals.

* Attainment value: the task affirms a valued aspect of an individual's identity and meets a need that is important to the individual.

3. Cost - Am I free of barriers that prevent me from investing my time, energy, and resources into the activity?

It's important to note that expectancy, value and cost are not shaped only when a student enters your classroom. These have been shaped over time by both individual and contextual factors. Each of your students comes in with an initial response, however there are strategies for encouraging student success, clarifying subject meaning and finding ways to mitigate costs that will increase your students' motivation. Everyone may not end up at the same level of motivation, but if you can increase each student's motivation, it will help the overall atmosphere and productivity of the course that you are teaching.

Strategies to Enhance Expectancy, Value, and Cost

Hulleman et. al (2016) summarize research-based sources that positively impact students' expectancy beliefs, perceptions of task value, and perceptions of cost, which might point to useful strategies that instructors can employ.

Research-based sources of expectancy-related beliefs

Expectancy source

Definition

Research-based sources of value

Research-based sources of cost

Sources:

Barron K. E., & Hulleman, C. S. (2015). Expectancy-value-cost model of motivation. International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 8, 503-509.

Hulleman, C. S., Barron, K. E., Kosovich, J. J., & Lazowski, R. A. (2016). Student motivation: Current theories, constructs, and interventions within an expectancy-value framework. In A. A. Lipnevich et al. (Eds.), Psychosocial Skills and School Systems in the 21st Century. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

ARCS Model of Instructional Design

The ARCS model of instructional design was created to improve the motivational appeal of instructional materials. The ARCS model is grounded in an expectancy-value framework, which assumes that people are motivated to engage in an activity if it's perceived to be linked to the satisfaction of personal needs and if there is a positive expectancy for success. The purpose of this model was to fill a gap in the motivation literature by providing a model that could more clearly allow instructors to identify strategies to help improve motivation levels within their students.

ARCS is an acronym that stands for four factors, according to the model, that influence student motivation: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction.

Attention refers to getting and sustaining student attention and directing attention to the appropriate stimuli.

Relevance involves making instruction applicable to present and future career opportunities, showing that learning in it of itself is enjoyable, and/or focusing on process over product by satisfying students' psychological needs (e.g., need for achievement, need for affiliation).

Confidence includes helping students believe that some level of success is possible if effort is exerted.

Satisfaction is attained by helping students feel good about their accomplishments and allowing them to exert some degree of control over the learning experience.

To use the ARCS instructional design model, these steps can be followed:

Define

Classify the problem

Analyze audience motivation

Prepare motivational objectives (i.e., identify which factor in the ARCS model to target based on the defined problem and audience analysis).

Design

Generate potential motivational strategies for each objective

Select strategies that a) don't take up too much instructional time; b) don't detract from instructional objectives; c) fall within time and money constraints; d) are acceptable to the audience; and e) are compatible with the instructor's personal style, preferences, and mode of instruction.

Develop

Prepare motivational elements

Integrate materials with instruction

Evaluate

Conduct a developmental try-out

Assess motivational outcomes

Strategies to Enhance Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction

Keller (1987) provides several suggestions for how instructors can positively impact students' attention, perceived relevance, confidence, and satisfaction.

Attention Strategies
Incongruity, Conflict

Introduce a fact that seems to contradict the learner's past experience.

Present an example that does not seem to exemplify a given concept.

Introduce two equally plausible facts or principles, only one of which can be true.

Play devil's advocate.

Concreteness Variability

In stand up delivery, vary the tone of your voice, and use body movement, pauses, and props.

Vary the format of instruction (information presentation, practice, testing, etc.) according to the attention span of the audience.

Vary the medium of instruction (platform delivery, film, video, print, etc.).

Break up print materials by use of white space, visuals, tables, different typefaces, etc.

Change the style of presentation (humorous-serious, fast-slow, loud-soft, active-passive, etc.).

Shift between student-instructor interaction and student-student interaction.

Humor Inquiry Participation
Use games, role plays, or simulations that require learner participation.

Relevance Strategies
Experience Present Worth
State explicitly the present intrinsic value of learning the content, as distinct from its value as a link to future goals.
Future Usefulness

State explicitly how the instruction relates to future activities of the learner.

Ask learners to relate the instruction to their own future goals (future wheel).

Need Matching Modeling Choice

Provide meaningful alternative methods for accomplishing a goal.

Provide personal choices for organizing one's work.

Confidence Strategies
Learning Requirements Difficulty
Organize materials on an increasing level of difficulty; that is, structure the learning material to provide a "conquerable" challenge.
Expectations Attributions

Attribute student success to effort rather than luck or ease of task when appropriate (i.e., when you know it's true!).

Encourage student efforts to verbalize appropriate attributions for both successes and failures.

Self-Confidence
Satisfaction Strategies
Natural Consequences Unexpected Rewards

Reward intrinsically interesting task performance with unexpected, non-contingent rewards.

Reward boring tasks with extrinsic, anticipated rewards.

Positive Outcomes

Give verbal praise for successful progress or accomplishment.

Give personal attention to students.

Provide informative, helpful feedback when it is immediately useful.

Provide motivating feedback (praise) immediately following task performance.

Negative Influences Scheduling
Source: Keller, J. M. (1987). Development and use of the ARCS model of instructional design. Journal of Instructional Development, 10, 2-10.

Self-Determination Theory

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro-theory of human motivation, emotion, and development that is concerned with the social conditions that facilitate or hinder human flourishing. While applicable to many domains, the theory has been commonly used to understand what moves students to act and persist in educational settings. SDT focuses on the factors that influence intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, which primarily involves the satisfaction of basic psychological needs.

Basic Psychological Needs

SDT posits that human motivation is guided by the need to fulfill basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Autonomy refers to having a choice in one's own individual behaviors and feeling that those behaviors stem from individual volition rather than from external pressure or control. In educational contexts, students feel autonomous when they are given options, within a structure, about how to perform or present their work.

Competence refers to perceiving one's own behaviors or actions as effective and efficient. Students feel competent when they are able to track their progress in developing skills or an understanding of course material. This is often fostered when students receive clear feedback regarding their progression in the class.

Relatedness refers to feeling a sense of belonging, closeness, and support from others. In educational settings, relatedness is fostered when students feel connected, both intellectually and emotionally, to their peers and instructors in the class. This can often be accomplished through interactions that allow members of the class to get to know each other on a deeper, more personal level.

Continuum of Self-Determination

SDT also posits that motivation exists on a continuum. When an environment provides enough support for the satisfaction of the psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness, an individual may experience self-determined forms of motivation: intrinsic motivation, integration, and identification. Self-determined motivation occurs when there is an internal perceived locus of causality (i.e., internal factors are the main driving force for the behavior). Integration and identification are also grouped as autonomous extrinsic motivation as the behavior is driven by internal and volitional choice.

Intrinsic motivation, which is the most self-determined type of motivation, occurs when individuals naturally and spontaneously perform behaviors as a result of genuine interest and enjoyment.

Integrated regulation is when individuals identify the importance of a behavior, integrate this behavior into their self-concept, and pursue activities that align with this self-concept.

Identified regulation is where people identify and recognize the value of a behavior, which then drives their action.

When an environment does not provide enough support for the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, an individual may experience non-self-determined forms of motivation: introjection and external regulation. Introjection and external regulation are grouped as controlled extrinsic motivation because people enact these behaviors due to external or internal pressures.

Introjected regulation occurs when individuals are controlled by internalized consequences administered by the individual themselves, such as pride, shame, or guilt.

External regulation is when people's behaviors are controlled exclusively by external factors, such as rewards or punishments.

Finally, at the bottom of the continuum is amotivation, which is lowest form of motivation.

Amotivation exists when there is a complete lack of intention to behave and there is no sense of achievement or purpose when the behavior is performed.

Below is a figure depicting the continuum of self-determination taken from Lonsdale, Hodge, and Rose (2009).

Although having intrinsically motivated students would be the ultimate goal, it may not be a practical one within educational settings. That's because there are several tasks that are required of students to meet particular learning objectives that may not be inherently interesting or enjoyable. Instead, instructors can employ various strategies to satisfy students' basic psychological needs, which should move their level of motivation along the continuum, and hopefully lead to more self-determined forms of motivation, thus yielding the greatest rewards in terms of student academic outcomes.

Below are suggestions for how instructors can positively impact students' perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Strategies to Enhance Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness

Autonomy Strategies

Have students choose paper topics

Have students choose the medium with which they will present their work

Co-create rubrics with students (e.g., participation rubrics, assignment rubrics)

Have students choose the topics you will cover in a particular unit

Drop the lowest assessment or two (e.g., quizzes, exams, homework)

Have students identify preferred assignment deadlines

Gather mid-semester feedback and make changes based on student suggestions

Provide meaningful rationales for learning activities

Acknowledge students' feelings about the learning process or learning activities throughout the course

Competence Strategies

Set high but achievable learning objectives

Communicate to students that you believe they can meet your high expectations

Communicate clear expectations for each assignment (e.g., use rubrics)

Include multiple low-stakes assessments

Give students practice with feedback before assessments

Provide lots of early feedback to students

Have students provide peer feedback

Scaffold assignments

Praise student effort and hard work

Provide a safe environment for students to fail and then learn from their mistakes

Relatedness Strategies

Share personal anecdotes

Get to know students via small talk before/after class and during breaks

Require students to come to office hours (individually or in small groups)

Have students complete a survey where they share information about themselves

Use students' names (perhaps with the help of name tents)

Have students incorporate personal interests into their assignments

Share a meal with students or bring food to class

Incorporate group activities during class, and allow students to work with a variety of peers

Arrange formal study groups

Convey warmth, caring, and respect to students

Sources:

Lonsdale, C., Hodge, K., & Rose, E. (2009). Athlete burnout in elite sport: A self-determination perspective. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27, 785-795.

Niemiec, C. P., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7, 133-144.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York: Guilford.

Additional Strategies for Motivating Students

Below are some additional research-based strategies for motivating students to learn.

Become a role model for student interest. Deliver your presentations with energy and enthusiasm. As a display of your motivation, your passion motivates your students. Make the course personal, showing why you are interested in the material.

Get to know your students. You will be able to better tailor your instruction to the students' concerns and backgrounds, and your personal interest in them will inspire their personal loyalty to you. Display a strong interest in students' learning and a faith in their abilities.

Use examples freely. Many students want to be shown why a concept or technique is useful before they want to study it further. Inform students about how your course prepares students for future opportunities.

Use a variety of student-active teaching activities. These activities directly engage students in the material and give them opportunities to achieve a level of mastery.

Teach by discovery. Students find it satisfying to reason through a problem and discover the underlying principle on their own.

Cooperative learning activities are particularly effective as they also provide positive social pressure.

Set realistic performance goals and help students achieve them by encouraging them to set their own reasonable goals. Design assignments that are appropriately challenging in view of the experience and aptitude of the class.

Place appropriate emphasis on testing and grading. Tests should be a means of showing what students have mastered, not what they have not. Avoid grading on the curve and give everyone the opportunity to achieve the highest standard and grades.

Be free with praise and constructive in criticism. Negative comments should pertain to particular performances, not the performer. Offer nonjudgmental feedback on students' work, stress opportunities to improve, look for ways to stimulate advancement, and avoid dividing students into sheep and goats.

Give students as much control over their own education as possible. Let students choose paper and project topics that interest them. Assess them in a variety of ways (tests, papers, projects, presentations, etc.) to give students more control over how they show their understanding to you. Give students options for how these assignments are weighted.

Sources:

Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

DeLong, M., & Winter, D. (2002). Learning to teach and teaching to learn mathematics: Resources for professional development. Washington, D.C.: Mathematical Association of America.

Nilson, L. (2016). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass.

This teaching guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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by Chelsea Yarborough and Heather Fedesco Print Version Cite this guide: Yarborough, C. B., & Fedesco, H. N. (2020). Motivating students. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [todaysdate] from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu//cft/guides-sub-pages/motivating-students/. Introduction Expectancy - Value - Cost Model ARCS Model of Instructional Design Self-Determination Theory Additional Strategies for Motivating Students Introduction Fostering student...

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This article provides a concise overview of the role of intrinsic motivation in student learning. It will be relevant to your reflections on the Motivation element of your learning philosophy.

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This guide outlines the history of intrinsic motivation, related theories-including extrinsic motivation-and how professors can instill motivation in the next generation of learners. Currently, some students may feel as if their courses and assessments are irrelevant to their career goals and thus, they may not see the value in learning about, for example, Freud, or deciphering the periodic table of elements, reading up on the nervous system, or anything else.

Motivated students develop as a result of seeing the value in their work. When students are intrinsically motivated, they're likely to become inclined to take part in class discussions and be an active leader in group projects-the number of students who are reward motivated should decline in tandem.

Table of contents

1. What is intrinsic motivation?
2. What is self determination?
3. Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation
4. Rewards and intrinsic motivation
5. How can you harness intrinsic motivation in class?
5.1. Making choices
5.2. Optimal challenge
5.3. Collaboration
5.4. Gamification
6. Conclusion
7. References

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1. What is intrinsic motivation?

Intrinsic motivation is a person's willingness to engage in an activity for entertainment or a challenge rather than reward. To some, the reward is the behavior itself, as opposed to meeting a tangible goal or reaping benefits.

Intrinsic motivation is found in all aspects of life. An example is learning a new language for the fun of it and to experience new things, not because your job requires you to do so. Another example is painting or sculpting for personal enjoyment, instead of profit.

It's important to foster intrinsic motivation in students as early as possible, so students want to learn for the enjoyment of learning, rather than their desire to get an A+ on their upcoming exam. Supportive learning environments-areas free from discrimination that encourage students to raise their hands to answer questions, even if they are unsure-foster intrinsic motivation among learners. Intrinsic motivation may also stem from encouraging student curiosity and goal-setting. As a result, students who are able to choose their own research topic report higher levels of enthusiasm, which makes their learning more enjoyable.

Finally, professors play a role in intrinsically motivating their students. For example, an energetic tone can lead students to believe that the curriculum has intrinsic value. This belief can motivate learners to want to know more-they're motivated by curiosity instead of the need to ace an upcoming assessment.

Intrinsic motivation has a long history, starting with Harvard Professor Emeritus Robert White. White's effectance motivation theory was developed in 1959. He argued that we want to feel effective and productive and want to work on developing ourselves: his theory measures the relationship between task challenge and degree of pleasure elicited, the role of social agents and the reinforcing environment and internalization of a self-reward system. Optimal incongruity theory was proposed by Joseph McVicker Hunt at the University of Nebraska in 1965. According to Hunt, when there's an inconsistency between a stimulus and a personal standard, an individual will be intrinsically motivated to act until the discrepancy is resolved.

A final set of researchers-Edward Deci and Richard Ryan from the University of Rochester and Richard DeCharms from Washington University-challenged Hunt's optimal incongruity theory. In 1968, DeCharms proposed that what motivates people is personal causation: where people incite their own behaviors out of will rather than being forced to act only to gain rewards. To complement DeCharms' findings, Deci and Ryan advocated for competence and self-determination-which will be discussed in the next section. DeCharms and Deci and Ryan's theories overlap in that people are motivated by the degree of control that they have over others, external objects or themselves.

2. What is self determination?

Self determination theory (SDT) was proposed by Deci and Ryan in 1975. SDT suggests that people have three psychological needs: the needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness. Competence arises from positive feelings about an activity or from successful experiences or encounters. An example is the way toddlers explore a new toy and then experience joy once they figure out how to operate it. Contrastingly, negative experiences with a new toy may result in less intrinsic motivation within the toddler. Autonomy goes hand-in-hand with competence, whereby individuals must be given choices, acknowledge their feelings or given an opportunity for self-direction. Students' sense of autonomy may increase with peers or professors supporting an individual's choices and being responsive to their opinions. Finally, students must feel connected, or related, to their learning communities-this increases engagement since it can make students feel like they belong. A strong connection to school often indicates academic and personal success. When people feel competent, autonomous and self-determined, they will voluntarily seek out what's interesting to them.

When put into practice, self determination can be beneficial for our mental and physical health. Satisfying the domains of competency, autonomy and relatedness leads to improved mental health-resulting in lower depression, anxiety and a higher quality of life-as well as improved physical health, involving more exercise and a healthier diet.

Intrinsic motivation is a by-product of self determination and the satisfaction of the three innate psychological needs which make up SDT. Intrinsic motivation relies on the interaction between individual perceptions of the environment and perceptions of ourselves. In the classroom, professors may support autonomy and competency, but if the student isn't interested in a learning activity, then they won't be intrinsically motivated. Students can still be self determined if they can "integrate an activity into their sense of self." Once students realize the value of certain tasks or roles, they can then approach scenarios with a sense of will rather than pressure.

3. Intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic, sometimes called external motivation, is where people are motivated to act or behave in a certain way in order to receive a desirable outcome. Here, a person is motivated by external factors in order to avoid negative consequences or to achieve positive outcomes, especially money and/or praise. An example of extrinsic motivation is where a physician treats patients in return for money rather than a desire to help the ill. Another example is where a child does their chores, not because they want to, but because they will receive allowance money from their parents.

Per Deci and Ryan, extrinsic motivation can be internalized. A student who is uninterested in their biology assessment can become self determined if they integrate their postsecondary journey-the stepping stone towards their career-into their sense of self. The student must understand the value of their assessments in order to focus on skill building and their personal growth in their higher education journey. By seeking out the value of an assessment-and what knowledge or skills the student can gain from it-learners will then openly approach a task instead of avoiding it.

Reaping rewards and avoiding potential punishment are at the heart of extrinsic motivation, but with intrinsic motivation, people are motivated by personal benefits and the desire to partake in an activity for the fun of it. Athletes may be extrinsically motivated when they focus on winning awards, but are intrinsically motivated when they find the sport enjoyable.

4. Rewards and intrinsic motivation

Rewards can convince people to participate in a task. Rewards are the ultimate goal of someone who is extrinsically motivated. Extrinsic rewards can potentially weaken intrinsic motivation-and can be seen when rewards begin to control behavior. Extrinsic rewards may boost intrinsic motivation because rewards can inform people about their abilities in an encouraging way. Studies on the correlation between rewards and intrinsic motivation vary. A study by Deci finds that intrinsic motivation decreased when rewards were task contingent-where undergraduate students would earn another dollar by completing a puzzle. The outcome of a reward on intrinsic motivation depends on which message is more salient to recipients. Rewards can influence saliency: if someone feels pressured or as if they are completing a task for external rewards, their intrinsic motivation for that task will decrease.

On the other hand, rewards can have a positive effect on intrinsic motivation. A separate study asked undergraduates to work on a task where half the participants in each group were paid, and the other half weren't. The participants receiving the reward had higher levels of intrinsic motivation than their peers who didn't get paid. Positive feedback counts as a reward as well. Receptive feedback on a school assignment can lead to enhanced self-efficacy-which in turn contributes to increased task interest. Positive verbal feedback especially increases intrinsic motivation: after a nervous student delivers a presentation to their class and their teacher congratulates them on a job well done, the student is less likely to fear giving a presentation in a similar scenario again. One positive acknowledgement from a grader can lead to students wanting to complete an assignment out of interest rather than pressure, in turn boosting their intrinsic motivation.

5. How can you harness intrinsic motivation in class?

Intrinsic motivation is a key part of ensuring students' success in the classroom. Academic intrinsic motivation can be measured by each, or a combination, of the following:

The ability of the learner to persist with the task assigned

The amount of time spent by the student on tackling the task

The student's innate curiosity to learn

Their feeling of efficacy related to an activity

Their desire to select an activity

Involving students in the learning process is a good first step towards helping learners see the value of their education. Students' intrinsic motivation can also increase when they monitor and reinforce their own progress in their courses, using tools in some learning management systems such as Moodle, Canvas and Brightspace.

Here are some practical strategies on increasing intrinsic motivation in class.

5.1. Making choices

The ability to choose and have agency over one's coursework can increase intrinsic motivation among students. According to a study by the University of Southern California, students are more likely to engage in an activity if they believed they had chosen it, providing them with a perception of increased autonomy. After attending a series of lectures and being placed into groups, students' social perception on food consumption was tested-certain words from the lecturer, such as "delicious," as well as group decisions led to participants serving a specific dish.

Choice should result in positive motivational and performance outcomes according to self determination theory. Providing students with choices may lead to an increased sense of personal control, enhanced motivation, liking and interest for a task. For instance, letting students choose their own groups as opposed to professors assigning groups can lead to higher task motivation and the willingness to complete a project. Control from others diminishes intrinsic motivation, says the research, adding that it has a detrimental effect on students' motivation and learning.

5.2. Optimal challenge

Students don't get intrinsic motivation from tasks that are beyond or below their comprehension levels. Research finds that the optimal challenge for students in the classroom comes from professors who match their expectations with their students' learning abilities. If the material taught is too easy, then students will likely achieve the highest level of mastery-but their full potential of growth may be hindered. Becoming accustomed to easy-to-grasp material doesn't prepare students for higher education or the workplace. Contrastingly, content that is too difficult won't allow students to achieve the highest level of mastery in a given time frame.

Studies test how students are affected by optimal challenges in the classroom. Students' optimal level of learning is tested through 10-13 assessment points in a weekly course. A study conducted by Minnesota State University finds that frequent assessments and feedback facilitate learning by introducing self-regulated learning, mastery learning, improved communications between students and the instructor, learning motivation and increased retention of the material. Frequent assessments also permit ongoing improvement in the course-from both teaching and learning perspectives-and match the instructors' expectations with their students' aptitudes. These findings are highly applicable in active learning classrooms, where the learning process is more engaging and can encompass assignment-setting and evaluation.

5.3. Collaboration

Collaboration in higher education can also increase students' intrinsic motivation. Collaboration allows students to learn from one another and can make fuzzy material clear-potentially enabling students to see the value in an assessment or course they previously would have dismissed as irrelevant. Educators should ensure opportunities for collaboration are distributed across the semester and not in a one-off instance on the first day. Some suggestions on how you can implement collaboration in your classroom can be found here.

Working together boosts students' motivation, according to psychological research by Stanford professor Gregory Walton and graduate student Priyanka Carr. Walton and Carr split participants into two small groups: the "psychologically together" group and the "psychologically separate" group, which gave participants the impression that they were either working on a puzzle as a team or individually, respectively. The first group thought they could complete the puzzle together while each of the second group's members felt they needed to complete the puzzle by themselves. Walton finds that those in the "psychologically together" group:

Persisted 48-64 percent longer on a challenging task

Reported more interest in the task

Became less tired by having to work on the task

Became more engrossed in the task and performed better on it

The results found that students' intrinsic motivation increased just from the impression of working in groups-even though those groups had no effect on competition or pressure to join others in an activity.

5.4. Gamification

Gamification is the use of game design to boost participation, engagement, loyalty and competition in the classroom. Points, leaderboards, competitions among peers and badges are good ways to make learning more engaging for students. One surprising example of gamification in the classroom is replacing traditional grades and instead implementing "experience points." Experience points help students feel rewarded once completing a task and can validate their time spent working. These points act as a visual measurement of students' progress towards their goals and can motivate students to continue working in order to receive another token of recognition.

"Good" grades are achieved by the quantity of the work completed, not the quality. Students can feel rewarded for their effort in completing a task instead of feeling disheartened about an assignment they may have performed poorly in.

Does incorporating games into your curriculum boost your students' intrinsic motivation? One study aimed to answer whether gamification in 200- and 300-level engineering courses increases students' intrinsic motivation. In exercises taught using gamification, 26 percent found the work engaging and 58 percent could tie the exercise to previous knowledge-and a total of 92 percent of students exposed to gamification showed signs of some kinds of intrinsic motivation themes, such as experiencing pleasure in taking part in an activity or perseverance.

The researchers concluded that gamification can greatly increase students' intrinsic motivation. They found that gamification helps students tie course concepts together and presents fun alternatives to otherwise mundane assessments. Increased intrinsic motivation will encourage students to engage in exploration, effort and participation due to curiosity and not explicit rewards-as seen through the engineering students in this study.

6. Conclusion

Intrinsic motivation varies from student to student-making it almost impossible for all students to be motivated in any course at the same time. Every classroom will have students with varying motivational orientations. Realistically, professors should aim for intrinsic motivation combined with more self-determined forms of extrinsic motivation, instead of pure intrinsic motivation. Giving students options in class, focusing on their optimal challenge and fostering collaboration and gamification can increase intrinsic motivation-and rewards can have just as much influence on students. The goal, however, is that once students can see the value in their courses and assessments, they will no longer be motivated purely by rewards but by the excitement or challenge that comes along with a given task. After all, the reward is the behavior itself.

7. References

1. deCharms, R. (1968). Personal causation: the internal affective determinants of behavior. New York: Academic Press.

2. Valerio, K. (2012). Intrinsic motivation in the classroom. Journal of Student Engagement: Education Matters, 2(1), pp. 30-35. Retrieved from https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=jseem.

3. Harter, S. (1978). Effectance Motivation Reconsidered. Toward a Developmental Model. Human Development, 21(1), pp. 34-64. Retrieved from https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/271574.

4. Oudeyer, P-Y., & Kaplan, F. (2009). What is intrinsic motivation? A typology of computational approaches. Frontiers in Neurorobotics, 1, pp. 1-6. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/neuro.12.006.2007/full.

5. Riley, G. (2016). The role of self-determination theory and cognitive evaluation theory in home education. Cogent Education, 3, pp. 1-7. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1163651?needAccess=true.

6. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), pp. 68-78. Retrieved from https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2000_RyanDeci_SDT.pdf.

7. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, pp. 54-67. Retrieved from http://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2000_RyanDeci_IntExtDefs.pdf.

8. Deci, E. L. (1975). Intrinsic motivation. New York: Plenum Press.

9. Eisenberger, R., et al. (1999). Does Pay for Performance Increase or Decrease Perceived Self-Determination and Intrinsic Motivation? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, pp. 1026-1040. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232562288_Does_Pay_for_Performance_Increase_or_Decrease_Perceived_Self-Determination_and_Intrinsic_Motivation

10. Pierce, W. D., et al. (2003). Positive Effects of Rewards and Performance Standards on Intrinsic Motivation. The Psychological Record, 53, pp. 561-579. Retrieved from http://homepages.se.edu/cvonbergen/files/2013/01/Positive-Effects-of-Rewards-and-Performance-Standards-on-Intrinsic-Motivation.pdf.

11. Dev, P. C. (1997). Intrinsic Motivation and Academic Achievement: What does their relationship imply for the classroom teacher? Remedial and Special Education, 18(1), pp. 12-19. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f364/a526307f73cbf8bbc44622d22449dcd5a406.pdf.

12. Patall, E., Cooper, H., & Civey Robinson, J. (2008). The Effects of Choice on Intrinsic Motivation and Related Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis of Research Findings. Psychological Bulletin. 134. 270-300. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.134.2.270.

13. Ahmed, S. (2017). Theory of Sustained Optimal Challenge in Teaching and Learning. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 61(1), 407. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1541931213601584.

14. Himmelsbach, V. (2019, February 21). 10 Team Building Activities for Students [Blog post]. Retrieved June 19, 2019, from https://tophat.com/blog/team-building-activities-for-students/.

15. Parker, C. B. (2014, September 15). Stanford research shows that working together boosts motivation. Retrieved June 19, 2019, from https://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/september/motivation-walton-carr-091514.html.

16. Holloway, S. (2018, May 2). Gamification in Education: 4 Ways to Bring Games to your Classroom [Blog post]. Retrieved June 19, 2019, from https://tophat.com/blog/gamification-education-class/.

17. Tito, G. (2010, March 18). Professor Abandons Grades for Experience Points. Retrieved June 19, 2019, from http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99224-Professor-Abandons-Grades-for-Experience-Points.

18. Banfield, J., Wilkerson, B. (2014). Increasing Student Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Efficacy through Gamification Pedagogy. Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 7(4), pp. 291-298. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1073237.pdf.

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Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom: The Ultimate Guide

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This guide outlines the history of intrinsic motivation, related theories-including extrinsic motivation-and how professors can instill motivation in the next generation of learners. Currently, some students may feel as if their courses and assessments are irrelevant to their career goals and thus, they may not see the value in learning about, for example, Freud, or deciphering the periodic table of elements, reading up on the nervous system, or anything else.

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Chadwick Boseman on Finding Yourself so that You Can Find Your Way

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Chadwick Boseman on Finding Yourself so that You Can Find Your Way

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First, who are you? https://t.co/BIIgjAtd91

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Don’t miss what’s happening

People on Twitter are the first to know.

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First, who are you? pic.twitter.com/BIIgjAtd91
— Ruha Benjamin (@ruha9) August 30, 2020

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First, who are you? https://t.co/BIIgjAtd91

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First, who are you? https://t.co/BIIgjAtd91

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Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity? TED

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Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity? TED

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Ken Robinson argues that creativity is as important as literacy to education.

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Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED

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Sir Ken Robinson: Changing Education Paradigms

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Sir Ken Robinson: Changing Education Paradigms

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Ken Robinson explores how our definitions of what education "is" determine how we do it, and how we define who is and who isn't "smart."

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RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms

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Learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experiences, studying, or collaborating with others. Learning is the acquisition and mastery of what is already known by an individual. Learning is the extension and clarification of meaning of an individuals experiences. Acquiring knowledge and skills to be mentally available from memory so an individual can figure out future problems and opportunities. Learning involves strengthening correct responses and weakening incorrect responses which involves adding or changing information to memory.

"We define learning as the transformative process of taking in information that-when internalized and mixed with what we have experienced-changes what we know and builds on what we do. It's based on input, process, and reflection. It is what changes us."
-From The New Social Learning by Tony Bingham and Marcia Conner
How do you now define teaching?
Teaching is the process of attending to people's needs, experiences and feelings, and making specific interventions to help them learn particular things. A teacher is anyone who affects the environment so that others learn.

An educator continues to learn and grow which means learning how to properly implement new principles into the classroom but in a thoughtful and purposeful way which has student learning outcomes in mind. What we as educators need to do is be able to tailor learning to meet individual goals/needs/interest and also give students the support they need to share and collaborate those goals/needs/interests.
How has your philosophy changed (or not) or been refined from the start of the course?
In the start of the course, my philosophies of learning adapted to a couple different philosophies of learning, the main one being Critical Theory. Critical Theory, for a student, is the analysis of real conditions of everyday life. The teacher, based off Critical theory, teaches to the students ability and according to their needs. The educational outcome is to create a world in which all children are valued equally towards more freedom and equality. This related to me because I think as people, anyone can learn anything to a degree with enough practice, and everyone should have the chance for the same opportunities. I also like to take what I am learning, and use it to benefit myself and people around me in my everyday life.

At the end of the course, critical theory is still appealing, as it teaches personalized learning. I also think each philosophy has its own place in education. Existentialism teaches authenticity and responsibility and emphasizes a variety of subject matters. Cognitivism for a student allows the students to pursue authentic interests in community with others. I believe cognitivism is perfect for teaching with emerging technologies, where communities are incredibly abundant. Cognitivism teaches real life learning opportunities relevant to the child's interests and needs. This really goes hand and hand with personalized learning which we as a class think is the future of learning. Social constructivism stresses collaborative learning by picking a topic and encouraging students to discover principles and create meaningful contexts for the application of knowledge.

I acknowledge each philosophy and see each one as a different opportunity to teach and learn. From conscious decision making, teaching equalities, self learning, community participation, to creating a better world, I have found benefits in each philosophy.
How does learning happen?
-Learning happens when old thinking is revisited.

-Learning happens when old errors are reflected on.

-Learning happens when complex ideas are re-approached from new angles.

-Learning happens when divergent concepts are contrasted.

Bloom's taxonomy is constantly analyzed, from the simple to the complex in an effort to maximize a student's opportunities to learn and demonstrate understanding of content involved.

I think most agree personalized learning is critical to education. The main attribute to a better education system is personalized learning rather than emerging technologies. I do believe that emerging technologies are beneficial in many ways, but I do agree that personalized learning is the most important attribute to better education.

What works for one students isn't going to work for another student nor the group as a whole. We all learn in different ways and want to learn about different things. When goals are similar, students can collaborate and get a awesome result. Online communities are a major part of learning.

Ways to learn include inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, direct instruction, peer-to-peer learning, school-to-school, eLearning, Mobile learning, the flipped classroom, and the possibilities are endless. Chances are, none are incredible enough to suit every bit of content, curriculum, and learner diversity in your classroom. A characteristic of a highly-effective classroom, then, is diversity here, which also has the side-effect of improving long-term capacity as an educator.
What roles should the teacher and student play in this new ecology of learning?
Education should be driven by student interests. As educators and learners, we all need to decide the best roles for the new ecology of education. The current education system is outdated, but I see people striving towards a better future for education and that is a win on its own. Ideas for lessons, reading, tests, and projects, the fiber of formal learning, should come from a variety of sources. If all forms of learning come from narrow aspects of resources, teachers and students are not learning at their full potentials. Teachers and students should consider sources like professional and cultural mentors, the community, content experts outside of education, and even the students themselves.
How do you know when learning takes place and what visible indicators or signs demonstrate that learning has taken place?
A teacher can assess the level of a student's attention by noticing visual focus, motor activity, and an environment with little to no distractions. When attention is obtained, a teacher can notice verbal or visual cues and the ability for students to participate in activities.

The cognitive processes by which thinkers encounter and work with knowledge include remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating which are all part of Bloom's revised Taxonomy.

Visible learning highlights learning through interpreting objects and artifacts, group learning, and documentation to make students' learning evident to teachers. Visible learning is demonstrated and visible when the learning is purposeful, social, emotional, empowering, and representational.

I believe the role of learning is that if a learner enters any learning activity with little to no natural curiosity, prospects for meaningful interaction with texts, media, and specific tasks are bleak. Curiosity, persistence, flexibility, priority, creativity, collaboration, and revision, are all great places to start to show visible learning.
What is the role of technology in your learning philosophy and what is a tangible example of how you plan to implement it in the future?
Technology is a beneficial aid to learning. I think it is important to use technology along with traditional types of learning. Technology does bring more options to learning, and can also make learning fun, or easier. Overall, the transition to digital within education brings about a ton of new opportunities.

The emergence of online learning and interactive media allows learning to be customized to the user, at a time that is convenient. New digital technologies have changed how people live and relate to one another, making workers and capital more productive, bringing us unprecedented wealth, and connectivity. It is important it is to implement, research, and study emerging technologies to improve education systems.

Most of us in class agree that technology can be useful and harmful to education. There is much research to be completed to upgrade our education systems. The internet has made it possible for people to explore their interests and create personalized products and projects. The amount of communication available to people today is unreal. With that, the amount we can learn from each other through the internet is truly an amazing thing, and I feel there is still so much more potential for improvement. The collaborative nature of emerging technologies today reaffirms the need for personalized learning and assessment.

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Learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experiences, studying, or collaborating with others. Learning is the acquisition and mastery of what is already known by an individual. Learning is the extension and clarification of meaning of an individuals experiences.

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The philosophy I've explained below on learning and teaching is a living philosophy that grows and changes as I learn and experience more about learning. It is not a final draft nor do I suspect there will ever be a final draft of this type of document in my case.

In this philosophy I describe the learning process, a way to visualize that process, and then I outline some of the important roles of the learner and teacher. Based on those roles and educational psychology research, I discuss some of the instructional implications that I feel can directly help learning occur more effectively.

Learning is the process of acquiring, maintaining and refining knowledge, skills, behaviors and attributes through experience, study or instruction.

One way to visualize the above learning process is by comparing it to a feedback loop where the learner interacts with people (peers, instructors, coworkers, friends, or family), the environment, materials, etc., in formal and perhaps more commonly informal settings. These interactions are almost like sending out probes to those things from which we are learning and interacting. These probes result in responses being fed back to the learner. A series of these interactions can lead to the learner interpreting and incorporating the responses into knowledge, skills, behavior and attitudes. As these responses are integrated into the student's existing cognitive and behavioral systems learning occurs.
Role of the learner
Whether we engage in the feedback process described above by interacting with others, our environment and learning materials, attending to the responses and integrating the perceptions into learning is the learner's choice. Based on this, there are significant roles that a student can take on to facilitate learning. I admit I do not know all of these roles or understand them completely but I believe five of them are:

1. Be motivated to learn

2. Take responsibility for learning

3. Engage in and attend to learning activities

4. Apply what is being learned

5. Share with or teach others what you have learned

One of the best evidences for learning is the ability to apply what we've learned and adapt to known and unknown situations; to question, analyze, create, and dig into real problems and situations and be able to contribute to them to reach a defined goal.
Teaching philosophy and role of the teacher
Learners can learn without teachers and even despite teachers. Some of the best learning occurs in this fashion. However I believe an effective teacher can catalyze the learning process, help students learn things that they might not otherwise discover on their own, and be a synergistic element in the learning process. My experience has taught me that the most effective teachers love their subject matter and love their students. I truly believe those are two fundamental ingredients that a teacher needs to impact learning. In addition an effective teacher has roles similar to that of a learner:

1. Take responsibility for helping students learn

2. Do all you can to motivate your students to want to learn

3. Establish clear relevant objectives and assessments aligned with those objectives

4. Create engaging, relevant learning activities

5. Help students gain a foundation in the content area and then apply what is being learned

6. Punctuate learning activities and application events with timely, relevant feedback

7. Consider learner characteristics and adapt accordingly

Instructional Implications
Based on some of the above roles I'd like to briefly describe a few implications for teaching that are founded in educational psychology theories that I believe support learning.

ARCS: This theory is important because it asks the teacher to consider the role of the learner and plan accordingly. For example, the teacher will ask and plan to the following questions. How will you capture and maintain learner attention and interest; how will you ensure learning outcomes are relevant to the learner (connect content to learner goals, interests and characteristics); how will you build learner confidence through examples of acceptable achievement and structuring lessons (announcing where students should be, what they should be doing, what they are responsible for, giving directions and providing organization, etc.); and how will you promote learner satisfaction through consistency, application of knowledge and recognition of success?

If you were to attempt to implement some of these ideas as a teacher you might consider capturing information regarding your learner's characteristics, expectations, and goals through a survey, an open conversation or while playing a game and then trace activities and outcomes back to the learner as you teach and provide feedback based on the learning objectives and the learner's goals. You might also consider at what points your students will begin to lose attention and interest and build in activities or breaks during those times. In addition you will do all you can to not just teach subject matter but rather teach students; to not just spew out content but truly help your students learn, apply and experience the subject matter. I like this example: http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/walterlewinvideos/videos/528-work---potential-energy-demo-lecture-11

Situated Learning (problem, situation, goal, or context based learning): As I have said I think that an effective approach to learning involves helping students gain a foundation in the content area and then apply what is being learned. In moving to the application stage situated learning can guide activities and teaching methods. For example, s ocial interaction is a critical component of situated learning, particularly helping learners become involved in a "community of practice." However, situated learning is usually unintentional rather than deliberate. Therefore, one example of how a teacher could support situated learning is to take students through a process of 1) ensuring students have organized resources that they understand and know how to us; 2) using c ase studies and worked examples to give students a foundation in the subject matter and then 3) providing stories, real life situations, and problems that require the application of knowledge to come to some conclusion and 4) allowing learners to work together on the situation.

Reduce cognitive load (cognitive load theory): Cognitive theory states that the mind has a cognitive structure or pathway (working memory, long-term memory, coding, and recall) and that learning is more likely when conditions are aligned with how our mind functions. This is important because it helps the teacher understand guidelines for introducing new concepts, revisiting concepts, and applying concepts. This theory could guide the following types of teaching practices:

1. Present new material using non-redundant visual and audio sources (dual coding) and physically integrate sources of information when presenting new content to reduce cognitive load.

2. Build in spaced review as part of your class.

3. Build assessments and give feedback not only for grading purposes but as learning tools to review and apply material so that it is more likely to "make it" into long term memory where it can be drawn upon in the future.

4. Reduce unnecessarily repetitive information by reducing redundancy.

5. In working memory, we can keep track of about five items or chunks at a time. Because the size of a chunk can grow with learning and experience, the complexity of the tasks we have students undertake successfully also should grow. Work from simple to more complex tasks.

Successful instruction nearly always includes performance-related feedback. I believe the two sigma problem (how to get tutor-like results with group instruction) reflects the importance of feedback since a tutor setting provides much more feedback to the learner. Teachers should provide appropriate feedback at the right time and in a variety of ways. For example, consider a student who answers a question with a voice inflection that reflects they are unsure of their answer. Research on feedback would help us know that this learner could benefit from elaborative feedback whereas a confident answer would be more supported by quick and succinct feedback. Also, I think there should be periodic feedback based on tracked data according to learner goals. Perhaps if students had some way in which assignments they wanted to participate in then the grades and feedback on those assignments would be more relevant. Feedback merits a much more lengthy discussion as far as my teaching philosophy goes but I feel it is integral part of good learning.

My philosophy is impacted by my background in biology, acquiring a second language, and teaching 19-21 year old young men and women a second language.

It is further impacted by the current and past theories and research related to educational psychology, at least the ones I am aware of!
Epistemology
I think that epistemology should be suited to the learning objectives. At the same time I realize that most of us tend to have default theoretical tendencies and preferences. It is difficult for me to say that I am a constructivist, or cognitivist or behaviorist because depending on the learner and learning objectives I feel strongly about each one. For instance, consider a learning situation for a SWAT team member. If they need to learn to naturally execute tasks based on many different stimuli, I could see myself leaning toward a somewhat behavioristic approach to begin. However once the foundation is in place and the SWAT team member is trained to react to the most common stimuli they'll encounter, I would then like to turn to a more cognitive/constructivist view and help the students see the principles behind those responses so that when they encounter new situations they can reason through them and think like an expert. With that said as I really think about my view of learning I would say my default tendencies lie more within the realm of constructivism.

My philosophical goals: study more Piaget, read more on learning theories and study the "Survey of Instructional Development Models" (Gustafson, Branch)

The table below is a summary of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. It is based on an Ertmer & Newby article. An interesting activity is to read through some of the definitions and features of each perspective and see which resonate with you.

Ertmer, P., Newby, T. 1993. Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Contructivism: Comparing Critical Features from an Instructional Design Perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly. Vol. 6(4), 50-72.

Behavioral objective

Learner analysis to see where to start

Master early steps first

Reinforcement (rewards, feedback)

Use cues with practice

Stress environment

Change learner by encouraging use of appropriate learning strategies

Learner analysis (so you know learner predisposition and how to design)

Feedback (guide mental connections)

Stress efficient processing strategies

Learning must include activity (practice), concept (knowledge), and context (many and new contexts)

Learning occurs in a real-world context

Use methods that assist learners in thinking like an expert (apprenticeship)

Construct own understanding then validate them in practice

Collaborative learning

Structuring instruction

Learner needs to know correct response and which cues trigger that response and then practice w/reinforcement

Advanced organizers

Relate new information to old

Help learners connect new info with existing knowledge

Stimulus (cues)

Consequences of performance, i.e., reinforcement

Practice

Reactive to environment (high emphasis on environment)

Learner is active participant (learner control, metacognition)

Explanations

Hierarchal analyses, femonstrations, illustrative examples, matched non-examples

Practice

Corrective feedback

Interaction of learner and environment allow learner to create knowledge rather than acquire it.

Not addressed, brain is black box

Forgetting=nonuse

Focused on what is occurring in the brain (knowing, or what leads up to a response, is the key not doing)

Forgetting=inability to retrieve information

Elaborate on and interpret information not know facts

Concepts evolve w/each new situation (memory is always under construction)

Recalling facts

Define and illustrate concepts

Apply explanations

Auto perform a procedure

Problem solving

Language

Concept formation

Info processing

Advanced knowledge use and acquisition

Complex and ill-structured problems

Where knowledge comes from?

Empiricism: experience (sensory input) as source of knowledge

Rationalism: knowledge comes from reason (the mind) w/o aid of senses

Rationalism: knowledge comes from reason (the mind) w/o aid of senses

Empiricism: experience (sensory input) as source of knowledge

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Personal Learning Philosophy - Shawn Cates

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The philosophy I've explained below on learning and teaching is a living philosophy that grows and changes as I learn and experience more about learning. It is not a final draft nor do I suspect there will ever be a final draft of this type of document in my case.

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I have been a student my entire adult life in both formal and informal settings. Since maturing after high school and realizing the importance of education, I begin to thoroughly enjoy learning. Prior to high school graduation I leaned on quite a few crutches that we made available to me by the Education system during my adolescent education. During this time, I found my time at school boring and unnecessary, I felt like I was learning nothing new that I could take into the real world and make a difference with. Almost all of my childhood education was "read and recall" a memorization method that once tested on information was cleared and forgotten to make room for the next set of facts to be remembered. After barley graduating high school, I found myself taking courses on a junior college campus for one semester. The reason being is I found myself the recipient of a small scholarship through my place of employment. It was more read and recall I felt no purpose in college education, feeling just as I did in high school.

It was around this time in my life that I was introduced to the Fire Service, as I was driving by our local volunteer fire department, the firemen were being certified in their annual physically ability tests. I was so curious that I pulled over, and got out of my vehicle and sat and watched at how these firemen pushed their physical abilities, climbing ladders, pulling fire house, carrying 100 lbs. mannequins. One of the Captains came over to me and asked if I wanted to try the course, being a strapping young lad I agreed and excelled in the events. The Captain quizzed me about life and school, I relayed to him my thoughts and views at the time and his words will forever stick with me. He addressed me: Son you are looking at everything all wrong, This profession we must stay sharpe, educated and motivated. When your parents lives are on the line, do you want someone showing up with your attitude. This was a defining moment in my life, switching over from someone who believed that education was overrated and being ok with washing cars as a career, to a young man who found purpose and a calling. My view of education changed I wanted to learn, picking up every firefighter book I could find and reading it cover to cover, that day ignited a passion in me that I never knew was there. I have given you a view into my past, to bring you where I am today. I believe that my philosophies straddle being Behaviorist were the learner develops their skill through changes in behaviors based upon the external environment they interact with. Cognitivist were focus on using the environmental experience and internalizing the learning while connecting to prior knowledge. Internalization of the experience and new knowledge increases self-efficacy and Humanist were the learner often is self-driven which leads them to fulfill their highest potential. This is definitely shaped by the students that I teach and the profession that I have been apart of for so long. I want students to take responsibility for their learning, learning to self regulate, or push forward in their quest for understanding a subject. I also believe that students learn more and retain more information when they have genuine interests in subject matter they are studying. If we started moving our education system to more real life learning opportunities relevant to the student's interests, I believe that students would engage at a younger age and open their minds to new ways of learning.

This makes it easier on the teachers as well, teachers are more willing and enthusiastic to teach about a subject they are passionate about, then being stuck teaching English when your passion may be Chemistry. Having a great understanding and a willingness to help others achieve life lessons prior to obtaining a high school diploma, could help change student's minds and attitudes towards learning but could change the entire educational system as we know it. The number of STEAM programs or Technical high schools that are showing up across the state of Texas is exactly what I am talking about.

Letting students have the opportunity to learn a trait that catches their attention, Let them start pursuing those dreams and sparking their passion as a young adult instead of a college drop out. Letting students out from behind text books and taking them on field trips to perspective employers, to museums, to historical places is leaving an impression on them unlike one of reading about subject.

I am a self driven learner, I read across a subject that I do not understand and find myself researching into the new topic to the same extent as the first.

I am a hands on learner, if I am reading about a topic in a book I can recall certain aspects or at least remember where i read the information to reference it in the future, however when demonstrating a subject or putting my hands on the materials, I retain the knowledge at a much high rate.

If I do not find personal value or meaning with in a subject, I do not develop or forge the knowledge within my own application as often as I should. I must mentally push myself to find meaning and application to objectives I am trying to meet.

References:

Brad Henry. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved February 26, 2017, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/bradhenry167821.html

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I have been a student my entire adult life in both formal and informal settings. Since maturing after high school and realizing the importance of education, I begin to thoroughly enjoy learning. Prior to high school graduation I leaned on quite a few crutches that we made available to me by the Education system during...

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Lisa Dickson's Pledge and Teaching Philosophy

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Lisa Dickson's Pledge and Teaching Philosophy

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Lisa Dickson Teaching and Learning Philosophy

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What happens when teachers share power with students? In this profound book, Ira Shor—the inventor of critical pedagogy in the United States—relates the story of an experiment that nearly went out of control. Shor provides the reader with a reenactment of one semester that shows what really can happen when one applies the theory and democratizes the classroom. This is the story of one class in which Shor tried to fully share with his students control of the curriculum and of the classroom. After twenty years of practicing critical teaching, he unexpectedly found himself faced with a student uprising that threatened the very possibility of learning. How Shor resolves these problems, while remaining true to his commitment to power-sharing and radical pedagogy, is the crux of the book. Unconventional in both form and substance, this deeply personal work weaves together student voices and thick descriptions of classroom experience with pedagogical theory to illuminate the power relations that must be negotiated if true learning is to take place.

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The Courage to Teach speaks to the joys and pains that teachers of every sort know well. Over the last 20 years, the book has helped countless educators reignite their passion, redirect their practice, and deal with the many pressures that accompany their vital work.

Enriched by a new Foreword from Diana Chapman Walsh, the book builds on a simple premise: good teaching can never be reduced to technique. Good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher, that core of self where intellect, emotion, and spirit converge-enabling 'live encounters' between teachers, students, and subjects that are the key to deep and lasting learning. Good teachers love learners, learning, and the teaching life in a way that builds trust with students and colleagues, animates their daily practice, and keeps them coming back tomorrow.

Reclaim your own vision and purpose against the threat of burn-out

Understand why good teaching cannot be reduced to technique alone

Explore and practice the relational traits that good teachers have in common

Learn how to forge learning connections with your students and "teach across the gap"

Whether used for personal study, book club exploration, or professional development, The Courage to Teach is rich with time-honored wisdom, and contemporary clarity about the ancient arts of teaching and learning.

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The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher's Life

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The Courage to Teach speaks to the joys and pains that teachers of every sort know well. Over the last 20 years, the book has helped countless educators reignite their passion, redirect their practice, and deal with the many pressures that accompany their vital work.

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Parker Palmer, The Courage to Teach Guide for Reflection and Renewal

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Parker Palmer, The Courage to Teach Guide for Reflection and Renewal

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The Courage to Teach Guide for Reflection & Renewal is a helpful companion to Parker J. Palmer's classic work on restoring identity and integrity to professional life. A superb resource for those who wish to extend their exploration of the ideas in The Courage to Teach, as individuals or part of a study group, the Guide provides practical ways to create "safe space" for honest reflection and probing conversations and offers chapter-by-chapter questions and exercises to further explore the many insights in The Courage to Teach.

The bonus online content includes a 70-minute interview with Parker Palmer, in which Palmer reflects on a wide range of subjects including the heart of the teacher, the crisis in education, diverse ways of knowing, relationships in teaching and learning, approaches to institutional transformation, and teachers as "culture heroes." Discussion questions related to the topics explored in the interview have been integrated into the Guide, giving individuals and study groups a chance to have "a conversation with the author" as well as an engagement with the text.

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The Courage to Teach: Guide for Reflection and Renewal: 20th Anniversary Edition - Center for Courage & Renewal

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The Courage to Teach Guide for Reflection & Renewal is a helpful companion to Parker J. Palmer's classic work on restoring identity and integrity to professional life. A superb resource for those who wish to extend their exploration of the ideas in The Courage to Teach, as individuals or part of a study group, the [...]

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John D. Caputo, More Radical Hermeneutics

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John D. Caputo, More Radical Hermeneutics

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In these spirited essays, John D. Caputo continues the project he launched with Radical Hermeneutics of making hermeneutics and deconstruction work together....

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Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (pdf)

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Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (pdf)

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Dickson, Murray, Riddell, Shakespeare's Guide to Hope, Life, and Learning

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Dickson, Murray, Riddell, Shakespeare's Guide to Hope, Life, and Learning

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Note: I include my own book here firstly because writing it really did change my life, but secondly, because the introduction lays out a learning philosophy that is then put into practice in dialogue with Shakespeare, our learning and teaching experiences, and our thought partners. So, it's a demonstration of how spending time articulating fundamental teaching and learning values can animate both a classroom and a research project.

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University of Toronto Press - Shakespeare's Guide to Hope, Life, and Learning

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"What is the most wonderful thing about teaching this play in our classrooms?" Using this question as a starting point, Shakespeare's Guide to Hope, Life, ...

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Jessica Riddell, Hope Circuits: Rewiring Universities and Other Organizations for Human Flourishing

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Jessica Riddell, Hope Circuits: Rewiring Universities and Other Organizations for Human Flourishing

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Hope Circuits | McGill-Queen's University Press

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Education: the Wonder Engine | Lisa Dickson | TEDxUNBC

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The Sun Rising: A Parable About Taking Time

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The Sun Rising: A Parable About Taking Time

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Just you make it until morning, and I’ll show you something special.Once, a long time ago, far away from here, on a rocky little backwater moon orbiting a moody, glowering gas giant, some folks lived their lives, farming and fishing and whatnot. One day, a warlord showed up with a lot of guys and guns and declared that he was there take over the place. So, the farmers and the fishers, they didn’t have any guns or anything, or much inclination toward fighting, so they went right on farming and fi

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Paradise and Myopia: Why we can't afford not to take the time

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Paradise and Myopia: Why we can't afford not to take the time

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A blog entry about a time when a pair of lost glasses demonstrated how deeply valuable it is to spend time building a learning community.

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Let me tell you a story of Paradise and Myopia.As we are skidding into the final weeks of the semester, my capacities have dwindled to a mere rime of salt in the part of the barrel that is too far away for the average arm to reach. I have survived by paring my activities to the bare minimum. I sleep as many hours as I can reasonably manage, going to bed with babies and rising with a lethargic winter sun. I have focused entirely on being in the classroom and that’s it. And I’m limping along to t

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Precarious Care: Critical Empathy and the Stories We Are

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In his book, Radical Hope, Kevin Gannon observes that time spent in college did not educate away the racist and anti-Semitic impulses of students who marched in Charlottesville shouting hateful slogans. Jonathan Dollimore notes in the revised introduction to his book, Radical Tragedy, that a love of art and music did not stop Nazis from perpetrating the atrocities of the Holocaust. These are the kinds of observations that leave a mark on the brain. Both of these texts point to the elephant in th

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Misreading Hell: The Pedagogy of Lucifer

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Misreading Hell: The Pedagogy of Lucifer

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What happens when we design spaces that allow for misreading, misappropriation and growth? We transform Hell from a prison into a school.

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Netflix Season 5 poster via Pop Culture Times

Throughout the six-season run of Lucifer (Fox/Netflix, 2016-2021), the Prince of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) believes that he's running a prison. In the end, he discovers that, all along, he's been running a school . In becoming himself, he ceases to be a reluctant jailor and becomes, instead, a detective, a therapist, a teacher and a compassionate, flawed seeker. He makes the case that salvation comes from learning and learning happens only when omniscience has left the building (or, in Lucifer 's case, the universe).

Based on the comic book character invented by Neil Gaiman , Lucifer Morningstar's pedagogical journey begins when the Devil decides to take a vacation, ending up running Lux, a nightclub in Los Angeles, living a life of debauchery, and granting favours. When one of his favourite favees is gunned down in front of Lux, Lucifer joins a Detective, Chloe Decker (Lauren German), on the trail of the killer and, after hijinks ensue, becomes a consultant with the LAPD. Each case brings Lucifer the opportunity to explore some aspect of his mercurial personality as he seeks to extricate himself from his destiny. He has serious "daddy issues" about his judgmental but absentee father and rankles at the idea that his every move is part of some manipulation on "dear old dad's" part to make him conform to and comply with a predestined story. He is really, really committed to the idea of freewill. He works with his therapist, Dr. Linda Martin (Rachel Harris), and, with her guidance and the help of his growing circle of long-suffering but devoted friends and family, finds himself in a loving relationship and in line to become God (God has vacated the universe to go live in a new one with the primordial Goddess of All Creation). By the end of the series, Lucifer turns down the corner office in Heaven and returns instead to Hell to become therapist to the damned. It's, pardon my expression, a hell of an arc.

ol' dad decided I was?

The problem of growth in the universe of an omniscient god is one that is as old as omniscient gods. Predestination is a braintwist that has twisted bigger brains than mine, so I'm not going to wrestle with that one, nor am I going to make any claims about religion at all; I'm not kicking any of those hornets' nests, but instead will keep my eye on the universe that the show has created. There's something interesting in Lucifer Morningstar's struggling against the constraints of a suspected but obscured guiding omniscience that can open up questions for pedagogy, foundational questions about how we structure the ethics of pedagogy, our ends and our means as teachers, and the trust gaps we open up when we offer an illusion of autonomy within a story that we ourselves, as the gods of our courses, have written for our students. In (mis)appropriating the story of Satan/Samiel/Lucifer, the TV series shifts us into the realm of urban theo-fantasy where the rules of both Earthly and metaphysical realms are suspended, allowing us to ask, as 3M National Teaching Fellow Aleksandra Zecevic did at a recent conference presentation : "What if everything were possible? What would you do?"

To answer that question, we have to make a brief pit stop in the metaphysics of pedagogy, where we can find some grounding in John D. Caputo 's discussion of recollection and repetition (where he holds our hands for a little ankle-wading into Plato, Hegel and Kierkegaard ). Recollection , according to Caputo, is a Platonic "nostalgic melancholy longing for a lost paradise" (15); knowledge in this paradigm is defined as anamnesis , the recollection of truths that exist in the realm of Forms. The knowledge is always already there, in other words, built-in and accessible by the operations of reason. So, moving forward in the pursuit of knowledge through deductive reasoning is actually a movement backward to recover something that we have forgotten. This is what Caputo calls a "teleo-archeology" (34), where knowledge "is not a discovery which forges ahead... but a recovery, a recollection that recoups a lost cognition" (13). In this paradigm, we can only follow along a path to a telos , a predetermined end (which is a lost beginning). Kierkegaard, on the other hand, makes a case for repetition, a "futurity of decisiveness" (15) in which "actuality must be continually produced, brought forth anew" (17). This model moves forward, accounting for the past but by way of the "exception" (31). Repetition in this model is always repetition-with-a-difference, and the difference is how we move toward the new by way of the unprecedented, the unexpected, and, especially in Lucifer's case, the failure to conform.

Lucifer , this sexy show about a sexy Devil solving crimes in LA, is at one level a cage match between Plato and Kierkegaard, recollection and repetition-with-a-difference. Lucifer's "daddy issues" are grounded in a fear of recollection, the inescapable suspicion that all of his actions are trapped in a reproduction of a story always already written. While Lucifer wants his father's love and approval, he does not want to be "approved" for becoming what has been prewritten. Rather, he wants to become what he becomes outside of that eschatological culmination. Which is why he's in therapy.

Lucifer's habitual misreading of Dr. Linda's advice is a running in-joke throughout the series. Her advice is invariably reasonable, good, and backed by authority, and his misunderstanding of this advice is well-intended, foolish, shallow, and hilariously earnest, seemingly constituting a sort of comic narrative loop in which each therapy session ends with Linda sighing a variation on the theme of "That is not what I meant, at all." But it's also precisely the mechanism of Lucifer's growth. Lucifer goes off every time to do the opposite of what Linda recommends; the dispatch from the doctor is lost, or intercepted, mis-read, reinterpreted and appropriated "incorrectly" in Lucifer's ongoing project to refashion himself. It is not by following carefully but by applying the knowledge of the authority in unorthodox ways that Lucifer comes to understand and rewrite himself over and over again. He does not move forward by returning to the rules, but by moving the rules forward in ways that the rules could not have anticipated. By all traditional measures, he is a "bad student" but he is a terrific learner .

Consider, for example, the fact that angels in the Lucifer universe "self-actualize." What an angel becomes arises from what they think they are and how they respond to the messy conditions of the human world they inhabit. Lucifer's brother, Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside), loses his wings and his ability to slow time because he fears he is no longer a favoured son, and regains them when he acknowledges that his ability to step outside of the flux of human time has obscured from him his love for humanity. Lucifer finds and loses and finds again his "devil face" as his own identity develops from a self-loathing conformity to the Devilish stories told about him, through a loss of purpose, to an assumption of power with a difference. As his love for Chloe Decker grows, he manifests various versions of himself as he attempts to conform to or to resist, first, the story imposed on him by "dear ol' dad," and then to the story imposed by his belief that he is unworthy of Chloe. In the end, he finds that he can determine for himself which face he wears. He takes up the "devil" again but with a difference, ultimately choosing to return to Hell, not as the jailor and torturer he has been, but as a teacher and fellow traveler with the damned. He makes this journey not by following the rules but by redefining and rewriting them. In his journey to his new sense of purpose, he models a critically hopeful pedagogy of becoming.

Critically hopeful education is how, to borrow a phrase from Homi K. Bhabha , "newness enters the world," where the learner not only recollects the "tradition" delivered to them by the teacher (in a "postal" dispatch from the past to the present, as Jacques Derrida describes it). Rather, the learner, crucially, also mis-learns , un-learns , re-inscribes and de-ploys the curriculum in ways that are not anticipated by the curriculum. For instance, this past year, I felt that I was a "bad" teacher because students did not produce projects that conformed to the criteria that have served me well in the past. However, they did produce projects that demonstrated how they were using the material to grapple with the crushing anxieties and uncertainties of learning in a pandemic present. Under a traditional model of assessment this kind of learning would have been invisible. Thinking in a more Luciferian way, however, I see that we constructed a space where together we could bring to the surface the very real conditions of our learning. Students asked for different kinds of assignments such as a "wellness inventory" in which they would get credit for not working and engaging in restorative rest . In adapting to the moment, we created a more compassionate space. In acknowledging their lived reality, they mis-appropriated the traditional structure of the curriculum and its outcomes and produced something new, a repetition with a difference that helped us to redefine ourselves by rewriting the rules of "productivity," "rigor" and "success."

Like a colonial subject appropriating a colonizer's book in Bhabha's " Signs Taken for Wonders ," the learner always takes up the posted letter of the curriculum in ways that assure that the letter "is always ambivalent, split between its appearance as original and authoritative and its articulation as repetition and difference (107). Such an understanding of learning demands a consideration of our practices-of assessment and grading, for instance-that often rest on a traditional, inviolable narrative of "success" and cannot capture a kind of generative learning that produces outcomes we did not anticipate in our design. Lucifer, the wayward son and "bad" student, occupies this space of ambivalence, seeking repetition rather than recollection, taking up the story he's given and living it with a difference: "broken" and rearranged through mishap, misreading and resistance. Through this process of will-full misreading, a new kind of god is born, a god of non-omniscience. A god-as-learner.

This kind of god is something that traditional models of education are ill-equipped to handle. In our traditional teleo-archeological models of education and "assessment," where students are led to a series of "outcomes" determined in advance, Luciferian excesses and deviations are coded as "errors." To be "counted" in the traditional system, the Luciferian learner must cease to be a Lucifer. What does not "recollect" is designated "incorrect." Lucifer's struggles, on the contrary, emerge as an admittedly chaotic series of interventions, creative, disruptive repetitions that ex-cede the boundaries of a fixed system of knowledge that "counts." It is for this reason that "dear ol' dad" is absent in Lucifer 's universe. In season 5, God (Dennis Haysbert) comes for a visit during which he and Lucifer reconnect and reconcile (5.9 "Family Dinner"). But that reconciliation culminates in God's exit from the universe altogether, and the world is left under the interim management of a very non-omniscient Devil-god-in-transition (5.14 "Nothing Lasts Forever"). Growth, the series suggests, cannot really happen until Elvis has left the building. The world of learning benefits less from all-knowing father figure who will keep the learner on a narrow path toward an assigned end, than from, it seems, a fellow-traveler like Lucifer, who is accepting especially of the brokenness of "deviants," and who believes that everyone has the ability to re-re-rewrite their own story.

Or is it? In the finale of season five (5.16 "A Chance at a Happy Ending"), Lucifer risks his existence to return to Heaven in order to bring Chloe Decker back to Earth. And who does he meet strolling around Heaven in a nice cable-knit sweater and chinos? "Said Out Bitch," Lee Garner, the only human ever to make his way to Heaven from Hell.

Lucifer Morningstar : I am here because

Lee Garner : Now who's making

Lee is without precedent. Having confronted his greatest fear, he has learned enough about himself in his unorthodox second Hell Loop to find his way to Heaven. The torture of endless return has instead been transformed into something else, a pure surprise and a path opening to a new way of thinking about Hell itself. In a traditional sense, Lee is an error, a violation of the rules. In involving Lee in solving the mystery of his own death, Lucifer has misappropriated the message and machinery of Hell-punishment through the inescapable and unchangeable story-and turned Hell instead into a site of unexpected growth. What was initially designed to be torment has been transformed by this misreading and misappropriation into a means of liberation .

Lucifer becomes who he is by breaking the rules, by entering Heaven and dying for love. When he ceases to be what he is, he becomes, in John Caputo's words, "we know not what," a being who rewrites the rules of Heaven and Hell. In the final episode (6.10 "Partners 'Til the End"), we find him in a replica of Dr. Linda's office, questioning the damned, not to torment them, but to point them toward Heaven. But this is not the "lost paradise" of a Platonic return; rather, it's a new kind of Heaven made not for the guiltless but for "we know not what." There, Amenadiel leads from God's seat, but commutes home to Earth to be with Linda and their son Charlie. We see him reacting with as much surprise as Linda does when Charlie suddenly sprouts wings at his birthday party. This is a god who lives in time , who can be surprised, who can learn new things and who helps the angels become something new, too.

Learners, Lucifer suggests, grow in the spaces where the teacher's omniscience is not in play, and where the learners know it's not in play. We can hear that Luciferian suspicion of a cagy omniscience when students ask us what we "really want" them to say. Unless learners know that we are not omniscient, that we're as embedded in time as they are (maybe with a little more time under our belts to give us some tools we can share), they will never trust their own learning, will always be looking for a hidden manipulation. There will always be a trust gap if students suspect that we're only pretending to let them grow, having already determined what they are expected to become. Rather, if we begin from a place where "all things were possible," where the end is not always already encoded in the design of the universe or the classroom, and if we make that known, we can let Lucifer become himself. We can be surprised by wings. Lucifer the series, comic, irreverent, challenging, sexy, asks us what a critically hopeful pedagogy would look like, if we could just embrace the misreadings, the misfires, the unexpected misappropriations of our "tradition" and make way for the coming of the new.

Lucifer Season 6, screen grab via Collider

Netflix Season 5 poster via Pop Culture Times

Throughout the six-season run of Lucifer (Fox/Netflix, 2016-2021), the Prince of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) believes that he's running a prison. In the end, he discovers that, all along, he's been running a school . In becoming himself, he ceases to be a reluctant jailor and becomes, instead, a detective, a therapist, a teacher and a compassionate, flawed seeker. He makes the case that salvation comes from learning and learning happens only when omniscience has left the building (or, in Lucifer 's case, the universe).

Based on the comic book character invented by Neil Gaiman , Lucifer Morningstar's pedagogical journey begins when the Devil decides to take a vacation, ending up running Lux, a nightclub in Los Angeles, living a life of debauchery, and granting favours. When one of his favourite favees is gunned down in front of Lux, Lucifer joins a Detective, Chloe Decker (Lauren German), on the trail of the killer and, after hijinks ensue, becomes a consultant with the LAPD. Each case brings Lucifer the opportunity to explore some aspect of his mercurial personality as he seeks to extricate himself from his destiny. He has serious "daddy issues" about his judgmental but absentee father and rankles at the idea that his every move is part of some manipulation on "dear old dad's" part to make him conform to and comply with a predestined story. He is really, really committed to the idea of freewill. He works with his therapist, Dr. Linda Martin (Rachel Harris), and, with her guidance and the help of his growing circle of long-suffering but devoted friends and family, finds himself in a loving relationship and in line to become God (God has vacated the universe to go live in a new one with the primordial Goddess of All Creation). By the end of the series, Lucifer turns down the corner office in Heaven and returns instead to Hell to become therapist to the damned. It's, pardon my expression, a hell of an arc.

ol' dad decided I was?

The problem of growth in the universe of an omniscient god is one that is as old as omniscient gods. Predestination is a braintwist that has twisted bigger brains than mine, so I'm not going to wrestle with that one, nor am I going to make any claims about religion at all; I'm not kicking any of those hornets' nests, but instead will keep my eye on the universe that the show has created. There's something interesting in Lucifer Morningstar's struggling against the constraints of a suspected but obscured guiding omniscience that can open up questions for pedagogy, foundational questions about how we structure the ethics of pedagogy, our ends and our means as teachers, and the trust gaps we open up when we offer an illusion of autonomy within a story that we ourselves, as the gods of our courses, have written for our students. In (mis)appropriating the story of Satan/Samiel/Lucifer, the TV series shifts us into the realm of urban theo-fantasy where the rules of both Earthly and metaphysical realms are suspended, allowing us to ask, as 3M National Teaching Fellow Aleksandra Zecevic did at a recent conference presentation : "What if everything were possible? What would you do?"

To answer that question, we have to make a brief pit stop in the metaphysics of pedagogy, where we can find some grounding in John D. Caputo 's discussion of recollection and repetition (where he holds our hands for a little ankle-wading into Plato, Hegel and Kierkegaard ). Recollection , according to Caputo, is a Platonic "nostalgic melancholy longing for a lost paradise" (15); knowledge in this paradigm is defined as anamnesis , the recollection of truths that exist in the realm of Forms. The knowledge is always already there, in other words, built-in and accessible by the operations of reason. So, moving forward in the pursuit of knowledge through deductive reasoning is actually a movement backward to recover something that we have forgotten. This is what Caputo calls a "teleo-archeology" (34), where knowledge "is not a discovery which forges ahead... but a recovery, a recollection that recoups a lost cognition" (13). In this paradigm, we can only follow along a path to a telos , a predetermined end (which is a lost beginning). Kierkegaard, on the other hand, makes a case for repetition, a "futurity of decisiveness" (15) in which "actuality must be continually produced, brought forth anew" (17). This model moves forward, accounting for the past but by way of the "exception" (31). Repetition in this model is always repetition-with-a-difference, and the difference is how we move toward the new by way of the unprecedented, the unexpected, and, especially in Lucifer's case, the failure to conform.

Lucifer , this sexy show about a sexy Devil solving crimes in LA, is at one level a cage match between Plato and Kierkegaard, recollection and repetition-with-a-difference. Lucifer's "daddy issues" are grounded in a fear of recollection, the inescapable suspicion that all of his actions are trapped in a reproduction of a story always already written. While Lucifer wants his father's love and approval, he does not want to be "approved" for becoming what has been prewritten. Rather, he wants to become what he becomes outside of that eschatological culmination. Which is why he's in therapy.

Lucifer's habitual misreading of Dr. Linda's advice is a running in-joke throughout the series. Her advice is invariably reasonable, good, and backed by authority, and his misunderstanding of this advice is well-intended, foolish, shallow, and hilariously earnest, seemingly constituting a sort of comic narrative loop in which each therapy session ends with Linda sighing a variation on the theme of "That is not what I meant, at all." But it's also precisely the mechanism of Lucifer's growth. Lucifer goes off every time to do the opposite of what Linda recommends; the dispatch from the doctor is lost, or intercepted, mis-read, reinterpreted and appropriated "incorrectly" in Lucifer's ongoing project to refashion himself. It is not by following carefully but by applying the knowledge of the authority in unorthodox ways that Lucifer comes to understand and rewrite himself over and over again. He does not move forward by returning to the rules, but by moving the rules forward in ways that the rules could not have anticipated. By all traditional measures, he is a "bad student" but he is a terrific learner .

Consider, for example, the fact that angels in the Lucifer universe "self-actualize." What an angel becomes arises from what they think they are and how they respond to the messy conditions of the human world they inhabit. Lucifer's brother, Amenadiel (D.B. Woodside), loses his wings and his ability to slow time because he fears he is no longer a favoured son, and regains them when he acknowledges that his ability to step outside of the flux of human time has obscured from him his love for humanity. Lucifer finds and loses and finds again his "devil face" as his own identity develops from a self-loathing conformity to the Devilish stories told about him, through a loss of purpose, to an assumption of power with a difference. As his love for Chloe Decker grows, he manifests various versions of himself as he attempts to conform to or to resist, first, the story imposed on him by "dear ol' dad," and then to the story imposed by his belief that he is unworthy of Chloe. In the end, he finds that he can determine for himself which face he wears. He takes up the "devil" again but with a difference, ultimately choosing to return to Hell, not as the jailor and torturer he has been, but as a teacher and fellow traveler with the damned. He makes this journey not by following the rules but by redefining and rewriting them. In his journey to his new sense of purpose, he models a critically hopeful pedagogy of becoming.

Critically hopeful education is how, to borrow a phrase from Homi K. Bhabha , "newness enters the world," where the learner not only recollects the "tradition" delivered to them by the teacher (in a "postal" dispatch from the past to the present, as Jacques Derrida describes it). Rather, the learner, crucially, also mis-learns , un-learns , re-inscribes and de-ploys the curriculum in ways that are not anticipated by the curriculum. For instance, this past year, I felt that I was a "bad" teacher because students did not produce projects that conformed to the criteria that have served me well in the past. However, they did produce projects that demonstrated how they were using the material to grapple with the crushing anxieties and uncertainties of learning in a pandemic present. Under a traditional model of assessment this kind of learning would have been invisible. Thinking in a more Luciferian way, however, I see that we constructed a space where together we could bring to the surface the very real conditions of our learning. Students asked for different kinds of assignments such as a "wellness inventory" in which they would get credit for not working and engaging in restorative rest . In adapting to the moment, we created a more compassionate space. In acknowledging their lived reality, they mis-appropriated the traditional structure of the curriculum and its outcomes and produced something new, a repetition with a difference that helped us to redefine ourselves by rewriting the rules of "productivity," "rigor" and "success."

Like a colonial subject appropriating a colonizer's book in Bhabha's " Signs Taken for Wonders ," the learner always takes up the posted letter of the curriculum in ways that assure that the letter "is always ambivalent, split between its appearance as original and authoritative and its articulation as repetition and difference (107). Such an understanding of learning demands a consideration of our practices-of assessment and grading, for instance-that often rest on a traditional, inviolable narrative of "success" and cannot capture a kind of generative learning that produces outcomes we did not anticipate in our design. Lucifer, the wayward son and "bad" student, occupies this space of ambivalence, seeking repetition rather than recollection, taking up the story he's given and living it with a difference: "broken" and rearranged through mishap, misreading and resistance. Through this process of will-full misreading, a new kind of god is born, a god of non-omniscience. A god-as-learner.

This kind of god is something that traditional models of education are ill-equipped to handle. In our traditional teleo-archeological models of education and "assessment," where students are led to a series of "outcomes" determined in advance, Luciferian excesses and deviations are coded as "errors." To be "counted" in the traditional system, the Luciferian learner must cease to be a Lucifer. What does not "recollect" is designated "incorrect." Lucifer's struggles, on the contrary, emerge as an admittedly chaotic series of interventions, creative, disruptive repetitions that ex-cede the boundaries of a fixed system of knowledge that "counts." It is for this reason that "dear ol' dad" is absent in Lucifer 's universe. In season 5, God (Dennis Haysbert) comes for a visit during which he and Lucifer reconnect and reconcile (5.9 "Family Dinner"). But that reconciliation culminates in God's exit from the universe altogether, and the world is left under the interim management of a very non-omniscient Devil-god-in-transition (5.14 "Nothing Lasts Forever"). Growth, the series suggests, cannot really happen until Elvis has left the building. The world of learning benefits less from all-knowing father figure who will keep the learner on a narrow path toward an assigned end, than from, it seems, a fellow-traveler like Lucifer, who is accepting especially of the brokenness of "deviants," and who believes that everyone has the ability to re-re-rewrite their own story.

Or is it? In the finale of season five (5.16 "A Chance at a Happy Ending"), Lucifer risks his existence to return to Heaven in order to bring Chloe Decker back to Earth. And who does he meet strolling around Heaven in a nice cable-knit sweater and chinos? "Said Out Bitch," Lee Garner, the only human ever to make his way to Heaven from Hell.

Lucifer Morningstar : I am here because

Lee Garner : Now who's making

Lee is without precedent. Having confronted his greatest fear, he has learned enough about himself in his unorthodox second Hell Loop to find his way to Heaven. The torture of endless return has instead been transformed into something else, a pure surprise and a path opening to a new way of thinking about Hell itself. In a traditional sense, Lee is an error, a violation of the rules. In involving Lee in solving the mystery of his own death, Lucifer has misappropriated the message and machinery of Hell-punishment through the inescapable and unchangeable story-and turned Hell instead into a site of unexpected growth. What was initially designed to be torment has been transformed by this misreading and misappropriation into a means of liberation .

Lucifer becomes who he is by breaking the rules, by entering Heaven and dying for love. When he ceases to be what he is, he becomes, in John Caputo's words, "we know not what," a being who rewrites the rules of Heaven and Hell. In the final episode (6.10 "Partners 'Til the End"), we find him in a replica of Dr. Linda's office, questioning the damned, not to torment them, but to point them toward Heaven. But this is not the "lost paradise" of a Platonic return; rather, it's a new kind of Heaven made not for the guiltless but for "we know not what." There, Amenadiel leads from God's seat, but commutes home to Earth to be with Linda and their son Charlie. We see him reacting with as much surprise as Linda does when Charlie suddenly sprouts wings at his birthday party. This is a god who lives in time , who can be surprised, who can learn new things and who helps the angels become something new, too.

Learners, Lucifer suggests, grow in the spaces where the teacher's omniscience is not in play, and where the learners know it's not in play. We can hear that Luciferian suspicion of a cagy omniscience when students ask us what we "really want" them to say. Unless learners know that we are not omniscient, that we're as embedded in time as they are (maybe with a little more time under our belts to give us some tools we can share), they will never trust their own learning, will always be looking for a hidden manipulation. There will always be a trust gap if students suspect that we're only pretending to let them grow, having already determined what they are expected to become. Rather, if we begin from a place where "all things were possible," where the end is not always already encoded in the design of the universe or the classroom, and if we make that known, we can let Lucifer become himself. We can be surprised by wings. Lucifer the series, comic, irreverent, challenging, sexy, asks us what a critically hopeful pedagogy would look like, if we could just embrace the misreadings, the misfires, the unexpected misappropriations of our "tradition" and make way for the coming of the new.

Lucifer Season 6, screen grab via Collider

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Misreading Hell: The Pedagogy of Lucifer

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By Lisa DicksonThroughout the six-season run of Lucifer (Fox/Netflix, 2016-2021), the Prince of Hell, Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) believes that he's running a prison. In the end, he discovers that, all along, he's been running a school. In becoming himself, he ceases to be a reluctant jailor and becomes, instead, a detective, a therapist, a teacher and a compassionate, flawed seeker.