Why was I so excited to read Role Reversal? There are a few reasons, in particular action research and Dr. Inoue’s Ed. Psych class. But what it really boils down to is motivation. This past year I have observed a school culture which perfectly exemplifies Deci’s extrinsic motivation. The grades and assignments are designed such that students get points for completing an often boring, low level thinking task. The more they complete the more points they get. They have lost interest in actual learning. They WANT worksheets because the worksheets are easy to complete and win points. They copy rather than think and have lost the distinction between collaboration and plagiarism. They are going through the motions of being a student rather than building an identity as a scholar.
In Role Reversal, Mark Barnes offers an alternative. Most new teachers want to reform education and bring these ideas of intrinsic motivation and student centered learning into the classroom to create lifelong learners. Barnes has laid out a step-by-step instruction manual on how to do just that, by shifting the onus onto the students. This book takes the educational theories of Kohn, Dweck, and Deci and puts them to practical use, something my colleagues at USD have been thirsting for since taking that first Ed. Psych class.
I strongly recommend this book to teachers who are striving to create lifelong learners.
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