Mastery, Autonomy, and Purpose: The MAP That Stands the Test of Time

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Mastery, autonomy, purpose, human motivation, personalized learning, educational history, homeschooling, competence, relatedness, autonomy, educational systems, learning environments, student engagement, educational goals, educational reform.

SPEAKERS

Terri Novacek

Terri Novacek 

Has modern day education become more about habit than learning? Have we gotten so wound up in all the subjects and content we feel we must teach that the children aren't even learning foundational skills for learning. Are our children asking questions, or are they just doing and learning what they're told? Everybody loves learning, but unfortunately, not everyone enjoys school. You

Terri Novacek 

Terry, Hello, friends and fellow Knowledge Seekers. Welcome back to element is everything where we break down big ideas around education, human motivation and how to thrive in today's world by doing great things for ourselves and others. I'm Terry novice, your guide on this journey to understanding what makes each of us our best selves, our focus this year for element education is to discover hidden gems for richer learning our schools are taking time to step back, observe, reflect and connect to find those simple hacks that bring Learning to life for our students and our families. As schools committed to personalizing learning to develop self determined learners, we've always recognized mastery, autonomy and purpose, three words that actually just boil down to why we do anything, why those things have motivated humans to learn ever since the days of hunting mammoths and making fire, these gems are like the Triple Threat combo that's been driving human learning for millennia. And it's not just some relic of the past, it's just as relevant now, maybe even more so mastery, autonomy and purpose as their acronyms reflect, are a map for learning. But even experts like our element schools can benefit from stepping back to make sure we're on course.

Terri Novacek 

Let's start with a little journey back in time, not just your time, but all the way back to actual early man. Picture yourself. You're out there on the Savannah, you're dodging saber tooth tigers, you're trying to figure out which berries won't kill you, and you're hoping to invent something really cool, like, I don't know fire back then learning wasn't a nice to have thing, it was a learn or die thing. Now, how is that for motivation? But while early humans didn't have textbooks or Khan Academy, they were motivated by the same three psychological needs that drive all of us today. I'm talking about competence, relatedness and autonomy, also known as the holy trinity of human motivation, brought to the forefront of psychology by the work of Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, beginning back in the 1970s and continuing today. It was made popular in the early 2000s by Daniel Pink with his book titled drive, and he used the terms mastery, purpose and autonomy. So let's break these down a bit mastery, or a sense of competence, is the feeling that you can do stuff and do it. Well, imagine an early human realizing, hey, when these rocks smash against each other. They make a spark. I can make fire and then not freeze to death. Boom. Competence achieved. Fast forward to today, and it's the same feeling when you finally nail that math problem or successfully navigate your toddler's bedtime routine. Humans love feeling capable. It's like a little dopamine hit to the brain. Seriously in brain scans, doing good looks the same as doing dope. Purpose or relatedness is the connection we feel to something. We're social creatures, even back in cave dwelling times, early humans had to work together to survive, whether it was hunting in groups or gathering around the fire, swapping stories about how Ugg tripped over his spear. Again, we've always needed connection. It's the same reason we love study groups or why zoom happy hours were a thing. Actually, I think they probably still are for some people, last but certainly not least, we have autonomy, ah, freedom, the ability to do what we want, when we want and how we want. Now, early humans weren't exactly signing up for freedom of speech rallies, but they did enjoy deciding. Which direction to migrate or which mammoth to chase. In modern times, autonomy is about making our choices in learning and life. Let's be real. No one likes to be told what to do all the time, especially teenagers. We all know the best way to get them to clean their room is just tell them not to in the 1500s the first compulsory education program for both girls and boys took root in Germany. Education in the early days of America was mostly informal, with children being taught at home or in small community schools with a focus on reading, writing and religion. In 1635 the Boston Latin School opened as the first public school in what would later become the United States. BLS was a boys only College Preparatory School funded by donations and land rentals up until around 1644 when Massachusetts voted to fund it with tax dollars, nearly 200 years later, Horace Mann became the first secretary of education for the state. In his role, he sparked the establishment of what is called the common school, one that is open to all children. It's tuition free, and it's staffed with teachers of the same basic training. His vision was to unite children from all social classes to provide a shared learning experience and to create a more equal society, beginning in the 1950s however, the effectiveness of public schools began to come under scrutiny in the 1960s John Holt wrote How Children Fail, which argued that traditional schooling was harmful to children. Ironically, John Holt was a Massachusetts teacher, which, if you remember, is where the first public school opened. Holt called for parents to, quote, liberate their children. End quote. Instead, he was calling for people to follow a method called unschooling. His friend Raymond Moore, also an advocate for homeschooling, argued that children should be homeschooled until they were developmentally ready for academics. It was not until 1979 that a national secretary of education was appointed, Shirley hufstedler entered the office with the goal of strengthening the state and federal relationships and making sure we had equity in education for all students across the country. Since that time, though, there have been multiple attempts to eliminate the Department of Education. After several court cases, homeschooling became legal in all 50 states in 1993 in 2020 COVID propelled the movement to a place that has wildly changed the fabric of homeschooling technology, societal strains, hybrid and remote work and our natural desire for mastery, autonomy and purpose are bringing us back full circle, like our colonial ancestors, the household is becoming the primary place for education and human association. So what's with the history lesson? The point I'm trying to make is that, after many centuries and multiple approaches to education, a society, we find there continues to be disagreement and how it is to be done and who should do it. If there is something to be learned by now, it is that there is no one way that works for everyone. The only constant is that the ideal learning experience and environment for one differs from others. Even children within the same family have different learning strengths and preferences. Today, in the digital age, our saber tooth tigers might now look like standardized tests in college applications, but the way we learn best is still driven by the same core needs. The problem is, modern day learning environments don't always do the best job at hitting all three motivators. Sure, students can get good grades in a conventional school, but let's be honest, those grades are more about memorizing facts than actually mastering skills. It's like cramming for a test on the human digestive system. You might be able to name every part of the esophagus to the small intestine, but can you actually apply that knowledge next week? Or do you just remember it long enough to write stomach acids on the test and then immediately forget schools are social environments, but not always in the best way. You've got clicks, peer pressure and awkward lunchroom seating arrangements. That's not exactly the most nurturing place for genuine, supportive connections. And as far as autonomy between bells, strict schedules and standardized curricula, students rarely get a chance to choose what or how. They learn like a conveyor belt. They get moved from one class to another, and the bell rings whether they're ready or not. In many ways, our system of education has suppressed our natural desire for autonomy, but it is still there, lying dormant, waiting for the right conditions to bloom again.

Terri Novacek 

In element education set course in 2001 to support home school families through a personalized learning approach. In 2003 we adopted a power traits tool to aid in the development of a personalized learning plan to meet students where they are and get them where they want to go. Community. Montessori, our k8 hybrid Montessori program, follows the principles laid out by Dr Maria Montessori, which align well with the idea of mastery, autonomy and purpose, dimensions, collaborative. Our K 12 flex Learning Program provides an even wider range of options and resources for families to develop truly personalized learning plans in a home school setting, especially when paired with an element schools resources. Students can really master what they're learning instead of rushing through a unit because the school calendar says so kids can spend as much time as they need to actually understand the material, whether it's math history or even hands on projects like coding, hand crafts or art. Homeschooling allows students to learn at their own pace, meaning they get to feel truly competent before moving on. People always ask, but what about socialization in this super worried voice, like homeschoolers live in underground bunkers or something? Here's the thing, when you homeschool with an element school, you've got a built in community. Our schools offer on site classes, group activities your child is socializing, making friends and doing it in a supportive environment without the peer pressure of large conventional schools, plus homeschoolers, tend to connect with people of all ages, not just their grade level, which leads to more meaningful relationships and purpose. The purpose behind what is being learned goes off the charts. Learning begins with a decision to learn. I know we adults sometimes like to think so, but we can't make someone learn something back to the beginning of time. The best learning was not what was forced, but was meaningful. Homeschooling is basically autonomies. Dream come true. Students get to choose what they learn, how they learn and when they learn. If your child is obsessed with ancient Egypt, boom, you can spend a whole month diving into hieroglyphics and Pharaohs if they want to learn algebra in the morning and then switch to Creative Writing in the afternoon. No problemo. Element schools offer guidance resources and even online classes to supplement learning, but the power to direct the learning is in the hands of the student, and of course, the parent, Homeschooling with element schools provides the best of both worlds. You have the freedom to personalize your child's education, but you also have access to certified teachers, a plethora of resources and a community of other homeschooling families. It's like having a safety net without being trapped in a traditional school system. We humans have been wired to learn since day one. We just need the right environment to thrive in the deepest and most meaningful learning has always been that which is natural and personalized. Our ancestors learned without Bell schedules, state adopted curriculum and standardized testing. Instead, they learned through work and play, by observing others, by asking questions and by exploring what was interesting and meaningful to them, from early humans mastering fire to modern kids mastering algebra, hopefully we learn best when we satisfy those core needs. So here we are in fall of 2024 another new school year filled with promise of meaningful learning, quality, friends and new horizons. How is that working for you? For your child, for your family, is your child thriving academically, socially, emotionally and physically? Are they engaged in the learning process and eager and capable of tackling the challenges before them, or are they simply doing what they're told, or maybe they're not even doing that, but instead disrupting the environment for others or just shutting down completely, think about what motivates your child to attend school, a place where learners gather together to learn. Do they go because they have to? To or are they enthusiastic and engaged? Do they end the day excited about new things they learned or that they did? What does personalized learning look like for your child? Do they need flexibility in their space and or their schedule? Children and Families are incredibly diverse. There are simply too many variables at play in each student's learning journey, from what they want to learn, how they learn and with whom they learn. Some students thrive in group settings, where they can learn with peers and have face to face interaction. Others struggle in that environment may be needing more hands on experiences or specialized attention, some do well with digital curriculum, while others struggle to wrap things up. It's clear that the history of education in the United States has evolved dramatically over time. Yet even as education has expanded and diversified, one thing remains constant. There's no single way to educate every child, but our top priorities and our top motivators continue to be opportunity to achieve mastery through autonomy and a sense of purpose or connection. Here's your follow up challenge, as you check in with your child daily on their learning, which we're all doing right? Listen and look for signs that they are in an environment where they are provided opportunity to progress towards something meaningful to them, that they know why they are learning it, and what they can do with it. Do they go to bed each night feeling more skilled and or knowledgeable than the day before do they go to bed excited to learn tomorrow.

Terri Novacek 

Thank you for taking the time to listen to this element is everything podcast. I hope you enjoyed this dive into human motivation and learning, and that you'll be back for our upcoming episodes on topics such as the impact of technology and ways to find balance in today's busy world. If you liked what you heard, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. It really does help. And as always, keep learning, keep growing, and remember the best way to get the most out of life is to be in your element.