ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION: A
SHORT STORY TO FOSTER REASONING
ON STUDENTS
Sergio Rojas (Ph.D. in Physics)
Department of Physics
Universidad Simón Bolı́var
email: srojas@usb.ve
http://caos.fs.usb.ve/˜srojas/
First version: March 16, 2009
Revised as of: 22 de mayo de 2009
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
1
Outline
1
Motivation
2
A couple of questions
3
Some of the received answers
4
The story
5
What the heck the story has to do with University life?
6
Concluding remarks
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
2
MOTIVATION
“Thoughts are free and subject to no rule. On them rests
the freedom of man, and they tower above the light of
nature...create a new heaven, a new firmament, a new
source of energy from which new arts flow.”
Theophrastus Phillippus (Paracelsus)
“Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too
little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”
Albert Einstein
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
3
Outline
1
Motivation
2
A couple of questions
3
Some of the received answers
4
The story
5
What the heck the story has to do with University life?
6
Concluding remarks
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
4
Exploratory Questions
A couple of exploratory questions one could ask our students
during the first day of any class are:
X
X
What are you doing at this University?
Why are you attending this class?
A variety of answers will be obtained. Before continuing, let me,
please, take your answers too.
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
5
Outline
1
Motivation
2
A couple of questions
3
Some of the received answers
4
The story
5
What the heck the story has to do with University life?
6
Concluding remarks
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
6
Received Answers
Essentially all of the answers fall into the assertion:
I am studying to get my diploma on · · ·
(whatever subject), and a requirement to
obtain it is to pass this course.
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
7
Outline
1
Motivation
2
A couple of questions
3
Some of the received answers
4
The story
5
What the heck the story has to do with University life?
6
Concluding remarks
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
8
The story
After the short interchange with the students, I ask them to help
me reading the following story:
A strange fellow approached three construction workers
who were part of the team building a cathedral.
“Excuse me, young man, what are you doing?” the strange
guy asked one of the workers, who was doing his work with
some anxiety.
“I am cutting stones,” the worker replied.
Realizing that the construction worker had no desire to
engage in conversation, the strange man repeated his
question to another worker.
This time, this construction worker paused and stated that
he was a stonecutter from the north who had come to work
and who would return home as soon as he had earned
some money.
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
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The story (continued · · · )
After thanking the second worker, the strange man
approached the third construction worker, who was
performing his work with enthusiasm, patiently and
carefully making and remaking was his was doing, and
again asked his question.
This construction worker completely stopped what he was
doing as if to begin a long discussion with the strange man,
and answered: “I have journeyed many miles to be part of
the team that is constructing this magnificent cathedral.
Even though I have spent many months away from my
family and I miss them dearly, I am aware of how important
this cathedral will be one day and I know how many people
will find spiritual peace in this great place.” This worker
continued his story, telling the strange man about the
planning of the construction of the cathedral, and how the
construction would be completed, and so on.
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
10
Outline
1
Motivation
2
A couple of questions
3
Some of the received answers
4
The story
5
What the heck the story has to do with University life?
6
Concluding remarks
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
11
The story and University life
Relating the story with students behavior, one could assert the
following:
The first worker appears like the students who are painfully
taking a course and only want a passing grade in order to
continue the struggling to see how the university diploma,
which he/she might not like as much, gets into his/her
hands.
The second worker is like the students who are doing just
enough to obtain their passing grade. Perhaps they will
continue this way to obtain the university diploma, which
he/she might like as a way to do something else.
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
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The story and University life (continued · · · )
The third worker is like the active-learner student, who has
realized that their University life is much more than obtaining a
University diploma and/or passing grade in a class. The
active-learner student understands that every subject is
interconnected each to another, and consequently he or she
needs to understand everything as a whole. Thus, several
perspectives can be applied to study any subject. For these
students, the University diploma will come as a matter of
consciously driving their way through every aspect of the
University life.
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
13
Outline
1
Motivation
2
A couple of questions
3
Some of the received answers
4
The story
5
What the heck the story has to do with University life?
6
Concluding remarks
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
14
Ending remarks
The hope of telling this story is to reshape students’
reasoning about their University life. Indeed, after the story
has been told, at least in that short period of time, the
answer by the students to the posed questions takes
another view. Eventually it will be part of their long
memory resources and will guide them to approach their
endeavors from a different perspectives.
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
15
Ending remarks (continued · · · )
Let’s finish by recalling two “axiomatic thoughts” about the art of
teaching an learning that the great mathematician G. Polya
used to stress very much:
“For efficient learning, the learner should be interested
in the material to be learnt and find pleasure in the
activity of learning.”
“We know from painful experience that a perfectly
unambiguous and correct exposition can be far from
satisfactory and may appear uninspiring, tiresome or
disappointing, even if the subject-matter presented is
interesting in itself. The most conspicuous blemish of
an otherwise acceptable presentation is the ’deus ex
machina’.”
I am wondering if you would share your thoughts about it · · ·
Sergio Rojas, Universidad Simón Bolı́var
ON MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION
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