During a recent snowstorm I found myself perusing a list of recorded television shows on the DVR. While watching an episode of Bull, a show about scientific jury selection, or possibly jury manipulation, there was a term used by Dr. Bull that I had not heard before, “The IKEA Effect”. It was explained by the main character that it was a cognitive bias in which consumers place a disproportionately high value on products they created. Of course this was a fictional TV show, so I had my doubts. I looked it up to confirm if it existed and sure enough, I found it to be a real thing.
On a personal level I found myself in agreement through my own experience with furniture that I had put together in the past, whether bought through IKEA or anywhere else it might have been purchased. Of course my personal reflection on this was not limited to furniture assembly. I also began to think about lessons, courses, and curriculum that I had developed or helped develop over my career.
As an educator I found that the things that I personally developed meant more to me and seemed more effective than things developed and contributed by others. This was probably because I had a clear understanding of the focus and intent of my own ideas. I was also clear about the whys and wherefores of changes that I may have made through reflection and results of formative assessments. I was also aware of the blemishes I would hope no one else would see. Although I have no personal experience with it, I imagine many educators may not feel the same types of connections with boxed curricula now being adopted by some schools.
The question I now have is, does this hold true for students as well as adults? I know that when my students were involved with the development of their own projects, as well as the rubrics that would be used for their assessment, they felt empowered in their own learning. They were very involved with the development of writing portfolios and often expressed a feeling of ownership for their own learning. These were feelings that kids do not get from lectures.
With all of this being considered, I wonder why there is still such resistance to teachers having a greater voice in what and how they teach. Additionally, why are so many teachers resistant to giving students greater voice in their own learning. As individuals I believe the more we have a say in what we do and how we do it, the more we take ownership of what we do. If teachers own their own teaching, would they not have a greater interest in its outcome? If students had a greater voice and choice in their learning, would their ownership of that learning not serve as a motivation to further expand their learning?
Our purpose in education should focus on enabling teachers to teach and teaching students how to learn. This should rely heavily on self-motivation, so that teachers own their teaching and students own their learning. Forcing tasks, information, lessons and curriculum that have little relevance to teachers or students impedes their ownership and only confuses or stifles teaching and education. Enabling more voice for teachers and students should be a key for 21st Century education.
AGENCY is so important in motivation (whether it be student agency or teacher agency).
Vermont has recently “officially” rolled out ACT 77 which requires every students starting in Grade 7 to have a personal learning plan! When done right this is so powerful (and a lot of work). Innovative educators started working on personal learning plans with their students over 10 years ago, and the recent statewide focus on this goal through Act 77 is so encouraging. Schools where teachers are taking on the tasks as opposed to looking for a ready made solution seem to be more deeply vested.
Recently I added some slides about the growth of personalized learning in Vermont in my Google EDUonAir to the way Google tools can support greater student agency through personalized learning.
http://lucie.typepad.com/blog/2016/12/using-google-tools-to-personalize-learning-at-googleeduonair.html
Nice posts Tom
[…] The IKEA Effect in Education | My Island View […]
I agree that students should have more opportunities to participate in hands-on learning experiences. I would also suggest that, in light of the IKEA effect, allowing students to have more control over their learning and to feel a sense of accomplishment after finishing a lesson might boost their self-esteem (which is so important for children to develop early on in their lives).
[…] The IKEA Effect in Education – My Island View blog – Tom Whitby (10 minute read)“Caring doesn’t scale, and scaling doesn’t care” is an aphorism occasionally voiced around edtech circles by some of the more insightful proponents, although probably not enough. Education companies are forever chasing scale. It is where so much boxed curricula is designed and distributed, even better if it involves technology. Yet, so few of the things that really impact learning, especially personal, as opposed to personalized, learning are all that easy to scale. Whitby’s blogpost uses a clever turn of phrase to capture what is almost the diametric opposite from the worst kind of personalization Peter Greene showcases. Even though the metaphor uses IKEA, when some assembly required, customization or do-it-yourself phrasing might be better fit for purpose, it puts the person at the center of any personalization not technology, When framed as Whitby writes, technology can serve as an amplifier for the best kind of personal learning, the kind that requires genuine craft and workmanship by human beings for other human beings. […]
I agree! As a current student, feeling a sense of empowerment and involvement encourages an effective learning environment. The feelings you speak of that your students felt, that they would not feel during a typical lecture, are the feelings I felt last semester when I took a Sustainability Marketing class. The teacher asked us to create a video using a sustainable product or service. This project enabled the student to have a voice and use creativity as well to engage other students in the learning process. The creation of these videos empowered me and left a lasting impact.
Megan
Thanks for sharing your experience. It gives more weight to the value of this post.