Reframe your thinking to humanize your classroom
For the past few months, I’ve been writing and reflecting on Gretchen Rubin’s 4 Tendencies and Dr. Robyn Jackson’s theory of Will-Drivers. I’ve been thinking about where my behaviors and habits of thinking fall in these frameworks, and the impact that has in my classroom. I have come to the conclusion that applying an intrapersonal understanding (one of myself) can help me understand my interactions with colleagues and students.
I’ve seen the impact on interpersonal understandings as a result of looking at my student and colleagues through the lens of these frameworks, too.
Behaviors that seem, on the surface, to reflect a lack of care or drive are really reflections of a different interpretation of expectations and motivations.
Doing so helped eliminate mindsets that undermine equitable, compassionate perspectives of my students. Thoughts about a student being lazy, careless, or disrespectful are untrue assumptions based on a disconnection between my own expectations and motivations and the student’s.
And making these judgements about students does not allow for their existence as full people in my classroom.
As Dr. Jackson points out, we can’t purchase a script of what to say to each student based on their will-driver or tendency. Instead, in understanding a student in terms of how they respond to a circumstance, and in seeing that response as justified and reasonable, we humanize them.
In developing an understanding of myself and my students, I create a space where we can all thrive.
Examine how your classroom reflects your motivations
Based on the 4 Tendencies and Will-Driver frameworks (see blog post 1 and 2 for more information on these) I recognize my behaviors and motivations align most with a Questioner tendency and a purpose-driven Will-Driver.
Before I invest time and effort in a task, I want to know the why. I am happy to work out the how and when later, and I don’t mind going for it alone. I care most about things I see as purposeful.
When something is expected of me that I do not see as worthy or meaningful, I will challenge, avoid, or argue. I don’t respond well to expectations that are not fully justified. I need to turn outer expectations into my own self-validated inner expectations.
I am not generally motivated by competition, prizes, or threats. I tend to see these as a manipulation and push back.
But that’s just me.
What about you?
What about your students? How do their responses reflect their motivations?
A student challenges an expectation with “Do I have to do this?”
A student avoids an expectation by doing something, anything else.
A student argues or refuses to participate.
And then we, the teachers, are frustrated… defeated… angry… disappointed...
Because we’ve done the work. We’ve planned and prepared. We’ve put thought, time, and effort into creating and delivering a task. Our Tendency or Will-Driver has likely been met - that’s why the work got done on our end.
When I plan lessons, it’s important that I am able to identify the task’s purpose as meaningful. For others it may be that it meets a district or school expectation, represents one’s professional goals (such as creating great edtech lessons or using representative literature, etc.), or was designed in community with other teachers.
Although each of our classrooms is likely to reflect our own motivations and expectations, that won’t translate to all students or colleagues.
The work, then, is to come to an understanding of why and make adjustments to support communication and understanding.
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