IKEA efficiency in classrooms
A strange thing happens in our schools all the time. I can spend hours crafting an amazing system of wall posters about procedures, anchor charts, reminders for my class. They will hardly pay attention. One student sticks a small note with his/her own idea of how to do something faster. Immediately everybody uses it.
Once a principal introduced some initiative that we all supported without objections but without passion as well. But when we helped to change the system, we began to protect it, perfect it, and motivate others to implement it. Gradually I have started to understand that the quality of the system was not the main reason of its success.
The main thing was the involvement of the people who were supposed to use this system in its design. There is such a term in psychology the “IKEA effect” , a phenomenon of the increased valuation of objects created by us. It was shown in the series of researches that even children evaluated their own creation better than the identical object made by somebody else.
Such a sense of value cannot be attributed to merely ownership; children continue to place higher value on their works even if they do not own them. Value is not determined solely by the level of effort invested in producing that work, either.
It's possible that the psychologists had discovered something else: humans develop an emotional connection with what they help produce, because they begin to feel that such things belong to their self-concept. Such discovery reveals much more about our school culture than I thought it would.
However, I have witnessed the creation of systems of compliance by schools that did not intend to create such systems in the first place. All of us are familiar with the hall sweeps, lesson plan templates, and other initiatives that were just handed to us during a faculty meeting.
While compliance may generate order quickly, commitment is responsible for creating a culture that lasts over time. However, I know that we develop commitment when we feel a psychological connection to our environment. The studies on the IKEA-effect demonstrate that people tend to assign greater value to things that they have a hand in making. The strongest school cultures are usually never developed *for* staff and students, but with them.
In other words, once I start participating in the development of initiatives and goals, I stop thinking about the plan of administration and start talking about "our expectations", "our goals", and "our school".
Ways I Use the IKEA Effect in My Practice
People own what they help to build. I begin with the question of what will enable others to flourish. With others, we develop those into principles that bind us together. Every process then has its roots in those principles. People defend norms that they have contributed to shaping.
I move people from being consumers to becoming contributors. I assign roles in the community which make them important. They become responsible for supply, education, or hospitality. Contribution is about building relationships. People protect spaces in which they are needed.
I resolve conflicts through people, not for them. Conflicts become moments of co-ownership. I facilitate reflection rather than apply consequences. I ask what happened and what their strategy for solving the problem is going to be.
Such an approach transforms a school from being a service received by others to becoming a community in which people belong. Engagement is built when people shape systems, contribute, and solve problems together.
Motivation Is Closely Tied to Identity
This principle has shown me a bigger idea – people will be more dedicated when they feel themselves as part of the effort.
My students ask, “Do I belong? Am I valued here?”
As their teacher, I ask, “Am I respected? Is my expertise valued?”
My students’ parents ask, “Is it a place for me? Can I contribute?”
The more our schools provide answers to those questions through giving people real opportunities to contribute, the more professional culture we build. I know this from experience. People who feel they matter will act accordingly.
Comments
Post a Comment