Summitview Elementary staff and students participated in their first “DRiVE” Day on Tuesday, September 17, 2019. DRiVE Day was inspired by the book DRiVE by Daniel Pink, which explores the factors that motivate individuals.
According to various research studies cited by Pink, individuals are motivated most by tasks where rewards are intrinsic. In other words, we are more likely to complete tasks that are enjoyable, help us reach a personal goal, feel a sense of achievement, and/or where we can see how a task benefits others.
DRiVE days were inspired by companies like Google that allow their employees designated time to work on projects that interest them. Summitview will hold DRiVE days when school is scheduled to dismiss early with a goal of helping staff and students feel intrinsically motivated by building a sense of autonomy (sense of choice), mastery (desire to get better at something), and/or purpose (doing things to serve others) in the day’s instructional activities. On DRiVE days, learners will have special, lunch, and recess as u
sual but the rest of the day will look very different for each grade level and class.
Here are some highlights of activities that took place today!
- Third grade learners in Mr. Lorusso’s and Mr. McFarland’s classes selected learning options and activities from a math menu. Each room was set up with stations that students pre-selected rom their menus that included appetizers, main courses, and desserts!
- Third grade learners in Mrs. Fahnestock’s classes hat twelve choice boards about rounding and elapsed time to select.
- Fourth grade learners in Mrs. Runk’s classes had a “book tasting” today, allowing everyone the chance to “sample” a variety of book genres.
- First grade learners worked on their Ruby Resiliency skills as they learned to tie their shoes.
- Fifth grade learners worked on coding and growth mindset.
Can’t wait to see what teachers and learners are up to on our next DRiVE day in October!
