- Pink spends time collecting useful research and succinctly includes this research in his books (two of my favorite reads: A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers will Rule the Future and Drive) .
- Each book contains thoughtful sections, called "Portfolios" or the "Toolkit," which include clever ideas how to put research into practice.
I have been using an activity from Pink's book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers will Rule the Future. It comes from the Portfolio section under the chapter about "Meaning." Who doesn't want meaning in their life? Wouldn't learning be more engaging to students if they felt it had meaning? Pink borrowed this activity from Naomi Epel's The Observation Deck. By association, Epel is brilliant, too.
Here's the skinny:
First, read students this passage from Pink's book, page 243 (I've shortened and modified it a touch; that's what we educators do to fit the needs of our students).
"Look at the page immediately before the Table of Contents page in most books. You will find a dedication page. Why should authors have all the fun? Why can't everyone - teachers, students, salespeople, doctors, managers, engineers - dedicate their work to someone else?
The actor Danny Glover once said that he dedicates every performance to someone - it might be Nelson Mandala or the old man who guards the stage door - but he is always working for someone other than himself. This focus gives his acting purpose and makes his work rich.
You can do the same. Dedicate your work today, or this class or lesson, to someone you admire or who matters in your life. You can infuse your work with purpose and meaning when you think of it as a gift."
Second, provide time for students to think about who (or what) they want to dedicate their work to that day. I give my students a "dedication log" where they can neatly record their dedications (a PDF is included here). For the first two weeks, I make daily dedications mandatory, after that it is optional. Guess what? When I surveyed students last year, they ALL continued their dedications throughout the semester - some even made dedications on non-school days! A few more details: I generally write my dedication on the board to model dedicating. Sometimes, I even write descriptors like "Dana - my sister."
Third, depending on time (and mood), I may ask students to share their dedication with a partner, small group or the entire class. This is always optional for them as I want to respect their privacy and dedication. Some days we write down our dedications and move on without discussion. The process without discussion takes about 30 seconds at most - think, dedicate, move on.
Fourth, you can stop there with the dedication process - just thinking about someone else can be novel for some students. Many days, though, I do end class and ask students to revisit their dedication log and think "one more time" about their dedication.
See what you think....it is different. I was pleasantly surprised when I surveyed students and they all reported this activity brought more meaning to their lives and afforded them the opportunity to think of others.
Ready for my dedication? You and Daniel Pink. Thank you both, amazing blog reader (or follower). This post is dedicated to you.
Jen
PS - For Parents: Little O and I started daily dedications at home. Over breakfast, we each choose a person, animal or thing (like a doll, for example) and dedicate our day. We literally are two days into it, so I will let you know what impact it has on both our lives at a later date. :)
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| Dedication log in progress....student sample |
