M=V/E

Colleagues,

In our APEx group coaching session last week, someone asked about keeping teachers motivated during the final weeks of school. This has been the hardest year ever to be a teacher, so it is an understandable question.
 
Remember that motivation equals value divided by effort: M=V/E
 
There are lots of things that have increased the effort needed for teaching and decreased the value, so motivation has decreased.
 
To increase motivation, we need to increase value, decrease effort, or both. The caveat is that mental, physical, and emotional fatigue are real factors which, essentially, increase the effort required to continue producing results.
 
One of the most critical things we can do is to continue to help people grow in incremental ways. What can we do to develop a teacher’s skill so that their teaching becomes easier (effort) and has a bigger impact on students (value)?
 
We tend to back off helping people grow while they are struggling with motivation, but very targeted development can actually increase motivation.
 
Do good and be well,
 
Frederick