Drive: Book Study and Classroom Application
Date
September 14-December 4, 2026
Online
Asynchronous
Course Number
8086C
Credits
3
Tuition
$1,224
Course Description
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Dan Pink has made a profound impact on my teaching. Drawing on decades of research, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what education does. Many of our schools are stuck using “carrot and stick” approaches that often fail and actually do harm. This book study will examine the elements of intrinsic motivation-autonomy, mastery and purpose as well as how to put these principles into action in your classroom. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on their own practice as well as engage with other educators to cultivate new ideas and concepts. Along the way, we will visit classrooms that are enlisting new approaches to motivation and meet teachers who are blazing a trail for us.
Instructor
Chris Gleason is the Art and Creativity Consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. He recently concluded twenty-five years as an instrumental music educator in East Troy, LaCrosse, and most recently Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. He is the 2017 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year, 2017 and 2022 semi-finalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator Award and the first Wisconsin teacher to be named a finalist for National Teacher of the Year in 50 years. He was recently selected as one of five educators for the prestigious 2022 Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence by the NEA Foundation as well as a Top 50 Finalist for the 2021 Global Teacher Prize sponsored by the Varkey Foundation and UNESCO. Mr. Gleason was selected from 8,000 nominations from 121 countries around the world. He was recently honored with the Wisconsin Badger’s Outstanding Educators Award and the Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award from his alma mater, UW-Eau Claire where he earned his BME degree in 1997. Gleason earned his Masters Degree from UW-LaCrosse in 2002 and is a Conn-Selmer Education Clinician.