Motivating Teachers
By Carina Guiname & Karina Nazzari
Warming up!
 Think
of your teachers, and
list 10 things that motivate
them as a professional.
 Share with the person next to
you.
A motivated
teacher...
1...knows what to do.
“Develop well-written job descriptions to tell an employee where
their job fits within the overall department and the overall
company. Develop well-written job descriptions to help
employees from other departments, who must work with the
person hired, understand the boundaries of the person's
responsibilities. Finally, develop job descriptions as an integral
piece of the performance development planning process.”
(Susan M. Heathfield)
“Wherever you want to go, you have no choice but
to start from where you are.”
(Karl Popper)
Task!
Think of teachers who work with
you.
• List 5 things your teacher is
supposed to do when they’re in
their workplace. Are they being
supervised? How?
• Does the school provide any sort
of training? If so, how is it like and
how often?
• How can you help your teachers
be aware of everyone’s
responsibilities ?
2...finds technical support in
the work environment.
“While technology is not a panacea for all educational ills, today’s
technologies are essential tools of the teaching trade. To use these
tools well, teachers need visions of the technologies' potential,
opportunities to apply them, training and just-in-time support, and
time to experiment. Only then can teachers be informed and
fearless in their use of new technologies.”
OTA (Office of Telecommunications and information Applications) (1995). Teachers and
Technology: Making the Connection (p.1)
Never trust anything that can think for itself
if you can't see where it keeps its brain.”
(J.K. Rowling)
Task!
 Think
of your teachers and describe
the teacher’s room of their dreams.
How close is it to their reality?
 Now, describe
the classroom of their
dreams. How close is it to reality in
your school?
3… has the opportunity to do
what he does best on a daily
basis.
“Teachers, are more than mere bundles of knowledge, skill and
technique. There is more to developing a teacher than learning
new skills and behaviors. (...) You cannot change the teacher in
fundamental ways, without changing the person the teacher is,
either. This means that meaningful or lasting change will almost
inevitably be slow. Human growth is not rhubarb. It can be
nurtured and encouraged but it cannot be forced. Teachers
become the teachers they are not just out of habit. Teaching is
bound up with their lives, their biographies, with the kinds of
people they have become. “
(Fullan and Hargreaves, authors, 1992)
“We teach what we are”
(Postman and Weingartner, authors)
Task!
Think of a teacher who works
with you.
 List 3 things he/she does best
(inside or outside the classroom).
How do you know that?
 Does he/she has the opportunity
to put those 3 things in practice
everyday?
 What can you do to provide
him/her more room for showing
those strengths on a daily basis?
4… is constantly recognized
and praised by his
accomplishments .
“Employee recognition is not just a nice thing to do for people.
Employee recognition is a communication tool that reinforces
and rewards the most important outcomes people create for
your business. When you recognize people effectively, you
reinforce, with your chosen means of recognition, the actions
and behaviors you most want to see people repeat. An
effective employee recognition system is simple,
immediate, and powerfully reinforcing.”
(Susan M. Heathfield, HR specialist, 2000)
“There's no praise to beat the sort you can put in
your pocket.”
(Moliere)
Task!
Think of 5 teachers who
work with you.
 List at least one thing these
teachers could have been
individually praised or
recognized for in the past
month (but weren’t).
 Why were they not praised
or recognized?
 What could you have said
and done to praise and
recognize their work?
5… receives frequent feedback
on his professional
development.
“We want to grow, evolve and be better tomorrow than we
were today. In this context, the importance of productivity tools
is evident. Training programs which give the professional
conceptual and technical base, planning and control systems
which allow standardization and performance measurement and
finally, processes and methodology to measure results which
make people search for performance improvement and
generate, consequently, better results for the company. “
(Marcelo Borges, productivity consultant, 2008)
“Champions know that success is inevitable; that there is no
such thing as failure, only feedback. They know that the best
way to forecast the future is to create it.”
(Michael J. Gelb, personal development specialist)
Task!
Think of a teacher who works
with you.
 How has this teacher’s
performance been evaluated? Has
he/she been informed of that
development? How?
 How has this teacher’s
performance and development
influenced the results of the
company?
 What can you do to let this
teacher know about his
performance and help him/her
plan his future?
6...knows where to go.
Continuous professional development (CPD) can be defined as the systematic
maintenance and broadening of the knowledge, skills and personal qualities needed
in working life.
CPD can help:
• maintain and enhance one’s competence in your job
• stay competitive in the employment market
• demonstrate one’s commitment to future employers
• avoid stagnation and manage change
• by bringing a new and exciting intellectual challenge
•
CPD is about planned learning and reflection in one’s career. It’s not simply an
“add-on” to one’s job or something limited to a particular stage in the working
life. It could include mentoring, attending conferences and seminars or planned
reading. In fact, any activity which boosts your skills and employability – so long
as it’s done in a systematic way.
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find
out how far they can go.”
(T.S. Eliot)
Task!
• What’s this product’s slogan?
• Think of your teachers and say how far they can
go in your school.
• What is your role in their professional
development?
7...a leader who cares
about him as a person.
“As well as being sensitive to the learning style of the
teacher, the advisor must also be keenly aware of and
sensitive to the personality of the teacher.”
(Mick Randall, Barbara Thornton - Advising and supporting teachers)
“To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is
just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no
need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To
you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand
other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each
other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I
shall be unique in all the world…”
(Antoine de Saint-Exupèry)
Task!
Think of two teachers
and list:
• 2 things they do in
their free time.
• 1 thing they really like.
• 1 thing they can’t put
up with.
8… has a mentor who
stimulates his performance.
“The more support a teacher has from an experienced
mentor, the more organized, well planned and well
prepared she will be. Mentors can provide new teachers
with materials and ideas that improve lesson plans. They can
also provide a wealth of knowledge to improve the
preparation and implementation of those lesson plans
through meetings and observations.”
(Jennifer Wagaman, 2009)
“Isolation mean two things. Whatever great things
individual teachers do or could do, go unnoticed, and
whatever bad things they do, go uncorrected.”
(Fullan and Hargreaves, authors, 1992)
Task!
Think of your group of
teachers.
 Is there a teacher or some
teachers who play the role of
mentor? How?
 Are you a mentor?
 What can you do to provide
more room for the
development of mentors
among the teachers?
9...has his opinions taken
into consideration.
For the relationship to be fully collaborative, the advisor will
need to listen to the concerns of the teacher and signal this
to the teacher. Thus, listening skills will be approached from
two perspectives; effective attending (relating to the way in
which the advisor signals attention to the teacher) and active
listening (relating to the metal processes and strategies being
used by the advisor to listen not only to what is said but what
is meant).
“Man's inability to communicate is a result of his failure
to listen effectively.”
(Carl Rogers)
Task!

Do you relate the
comic strip above to
your reality? How?

What was the last time
you asked for your
teachers’ opinion and
what did you do with
that?
10… works for a school whose
values and mission make his
work feel worthwhile.
“For the vast majority of companies, having well-defined visions and
mission statements changes nothing. The exercise of crafting them is a
complete waste of time and talent if visions and mission statements are
used for nothing but being published in the annual report and displayed
in a reception area. One of the chief reasons for the failure of missions
and visions to achieve the desired objective is the naiveté of most
company managers and executives. Nothing happens by magic".To be
able to energize employees to work towards corporate objectives,
visions and missions should be more than a sign on the wall.
Executives and managers should live them, be seen living them, and
constantly communicate them to their employees.”
(Vadim Kotelnikov, consultant)
“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a
nightmare."
(Japanese proverb)
Task!
Think of your group of
teachers.
 Do all of them share the
school’s values and mission?
 How do the school’s values
and mission make them feel
worthwhile?
 Do you consider the school’s
values and mission when hiring
new teachers?
11… knows his coworkers
are committed to doing
quality work.
“Highly productive employees tell us there is a vast difference between
being assigned to a team and actually identifying with that team. It's a
common experience -- our manager assigns us to a workgroup and our
name is added to the roster. Just because our name is added, however,
doesn't mean that we psychologically join the team, especially if we are
afraid the other members don't share our commitment to producing
quality work. Helping all team members identify the characteristics that
will result in a quality product can lead to greater efficiency and
increased productivity.”
(Gallup Management Journal, 1999)
“Employees mirror the work ethic they observe
around them."
( Rodd Wagner and James K. Harter, authors, 2006 )
Task!
Think of your group of
teachers.
 Do they all share and
practice the same idea of
excellence? How do you
know?
 What can you do to
promote the spirit of
teamwork at your school?
12... has friends at work.
The nature of workplace relationships can significantly influence the
extent to which you are able to develop yourself and to deal with
change. The contribution you make to a school is measured in all
kinds of intangible ways, and the fact that you form there have a
significant effect on the level of job satisfaction you experience .
Understanding how you relate to the other people who work
within your school is one aspect of knowing where you are and of
identifying your whole-person needs.
"My best friend is the one who brings out
the best in me."
(Henry Ford)
Task!
Think of the teachers who work with you.

Do all of them have a friend in the workplace?

What can you do to promote bonding among
your teachers?
What about the $$?
Be transparent about the salary criteria from
day one!
 Meaningless money is not rewarding.
 A motivated worker is more satisfied with his
salary than the ones who are not.
 Fairness is more important than amount.

We were inspired by...
The Elements of Great Managing
Rodd Wagner, and Ph.D. James K. Harter
Carina Guiname
carinaguiname@gmail.com
carinaguiname@sevenidiomas.com.br
Karina Nazzari
karinanazzari@gmail.com
karinanazzari@sevenidiomas.com.br