Strategic academic planning is a complex subject with no simple answers. Your school must construct your academic offerings in a way that best supports your mission, while also doing what’s best for your students.
Consider these three dimensions of strategic academic planning as you continue to evaluate what makes sense for your school.
Motivation—Students must be motivated to accomplish tasks in school. Author Daniel Pink has published many findings on motivation, and his findings might seem surprising.
Pink states that a reward will increase motivation when completing basic, mechanical tasks. However, if the task involves a cognitive component, a reward can actually decrease intrinsic motivation. And, as a result, performance decreases over time.
It’s an interesting concept when thought of in a school context. Many would think that as rewards increase, students will do more or do better. However, the opposite can be true. In schools, we must think carefully about grading—a source of external motivation—and how it might impact students’ intrinsic motivation to perform.
Evaluation—Based on the above findings, traditional grading tactics may not be the best way to support student achievement. But a transition of that magnitude should not be taken lightly. Start by asking these questions of yourself and your team.
First, why do we grade? Many believe that the answer is to find out if the teacher is “teaching well.”
Second, what does grading do for the student? It certainly helps the teacher evaluate what’s working and what isn’t, but how does it benefit the student? For example, if a teacher provides a student with many comments on a paper, and assigns it a grade, will the student be more likely to look at the grade than the comments? It’s something to consider.
Curriculum—Curriculum is the area where motivation and evaluation come together. As you consider your school’s curriculum, think about the idea of autonomy. We know that intrinsic motivation comes, in part, from autonomy—or the idea that someone can choose what they want to focus on. Intrinsic motivation also comes from a sense of purpose and competence.
Teachers and students play an integral part in the learning experience, and the curriculum should adequately support these needs from both groups.
There are no simple answers when it comes to strategic academic planning. Every school must approach these elements in ways that make sense for its community.
Additional ISM Resources:
The Source for Academic Leadership Vol. 16 No. 1 The Importance of a Strategic Scheduling Meeting
Additional ISM resources for ISM members:
I&P Vol. 40 No. 13 The Strategic Academic Plan
