Extrinsic Rewards, Student Motivation, and Character Development

Rewards have become a major component of the classroom and schools generally. Are rewards the best way to improve behavior and grades?

Teachers Should Avoid the Traps and Problems with Student Rewards

Believing that giving someone a reward for doing the right thing is easy and seems logical. There are unexpected problems in the practice. Beware!

Teaching Tips and Survival Strategies for New Teachers

The first year of teaching is a rude surprise more often than not. Feeling lost and inadequate is often a source of stress and feelings of failure.

Teacher Attitudes and Effective Discipline

Students Know When Teachers are in Control of the Class

Intrinsic Student Motivation and Relevance

Teachers want motivated students. Motivating students is easier if relevance is understood. To motivate students requires thinking it through.

Much of what is referred to as” instructional practice” has been passed on through generations while prospective teachers simply imitate what their teachers did when they were students.

I recently retired from what I consider to be one of the noblest of all professions, namely education. During my 30 years I was privileged to serve in a variety of placements from teacher to district office employee. As I followed my professional path, I made pretty much every mistake one can make in the classroom. But I rarely recognized them as mistakes until I began to write grants. Grant-writing requires research, and my eyes began to open as I read more and more about school organization and teaching. I purchased books on education and joined several professional organizations. The more I read, the more I became aware through simple observation that research frequently disagreed with actual practice in schools. With the advent of the Internet, I began to seek out varying opinions about school practices that interested me, often sharing these ideas with others.

Frequently I found disagreement with my developing views, but managed to eliminate many bad practices from my teaching. I adopted a philosophy that required that I find empirically supported evidence to support what I did and what I recommended.

Many of the points listed stem from the tendency to “forget” much of what was formally taught and simply do what was done to us. Educator attitudes can be seriously impaired by the assumption that our former teachers knew what they were doing. Likely, most did. Just as likely a significant number used instructional and disciplinary techniques that were deeply flawed. I suggest that all educators seriously examine their beliefs and practices and objectively seek to validate their philosophies of education.

Homework. We have somehow managed to convince large numbers of parents that homework is the sine qua non of education. As far as I can tell, the jury will be out for a long time on this issue. The problem is divided into at least three considerations: (1) How much homework is enough, (2) what is the role of homework in instruction, and (3) how does homework affect a student’s grade, or should it even be counted as part of assessment. I stopped grading homework before I had been teaching for five years. I believe, as do many others, that homework’s primary use if for practice and diagnosis.

Continuing to apply techniques that don’t work. Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity was “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” How often have you heard a teacher expression frustration over a frequently applied method just doesn’t work as expected? As you listen more it becomes evident that the technique has been used for years.

I recall as a rookie science teacher complaining to the principal that two classes (homogeneously grouped by low standardized test scores and low grades) almost never brought their texts to class. Texts, I thought then, were the hub around which instruction revolved.

“If they won’t bring them to class, why do to you require that they take them home in the first place?” he asked.

I was baffled by his question. Why, indeed? Where was it written that students had to take textbooks home? But everyone required it (or so I assumed). Could everyone be wrong? The solution was simple: keep a class set of books in class. We would use textbooks in class as needed. Homework would no longer require removing textbooks from the classroom, but would consist of activities that students could complete without a textbook.

The new system worked well. The major problem now became the complaints of several teachers who felt I was violating a sacred practice.

Developing Responsibility. I will never argue that responsibility is a bad thing. But what is it? Responsibility is a concept with too many dimensions to be discussed here. Having been involved in dozens of formal and informal discussions about the topic, I have concluded that fundamentally responsibility means knowing the right thing to do and doing it. I believe that an examination of what teachers perceive it to be and how they try to instill it in students is needed.

Many years ago while walking to the school office I met the principal. We were good friends, and I respected him for his intelligence and keen judgment. As we approached one another, we slowed and stopped. I made an obligatory social inquiry about how his day was going. After a pause, and uncharacteristic scowl transformed his face.

“I wish teachers didn’t feel like they were required to teach responsibility!” he said, shaking his head and hurrying off.

I never discussed his statement with him again, but I never forgot his scowl and the frustration it implied. As years passed and I became involved in various administrative positions, I quickly learned the meaning of his words. The R-word became an almost daily issue in various ways. Simply for the sake of faculty clarification, I once held a teachers’ meeting to discuss what responsibility was and what was the teacher’s role in educating students to be responsible. I came away from the meeting with the feeling that teachers expected students to be responsible in the same way they wanted their children to be responsible, which was how the teachers viewed themselves as responsible. The meeting left me conflicted, as it generated many views that seemed utterly “at odds.”

Among the questions I was cursed to juggle for years were:

• Does punishment help develop responsibility?
• Do rewards foster responsibility?
• Can teachers fundamentally change students?
• Do parents want teachers to “teach” their children to be responsible?
• Does homework develop responsibility?
• Should students be allowed more choices in school to help them develop responsibility?

The most significant idea that occurred to me was that responsibility is not “owned” by adults. Almost any list of irresponsible behaviors attributed to students (laziness, fighting, gossiping, cursing, tardiness, etc) can be applied to adults. The R-word, in reality, is reduced to two points: (1) Do as I say, not as I do, and (2) If a student is irresponsible, it the parents’ fault.

Rules. There can be no questions that rules are necessary in classrooms and everywhere in society. The problem is that class rules can influence the classroom environment in a positive or negative way. They can reveal volumes about the personality of the teacher or cause students to misinterpret whether or not the teacher is “good” or “bad.” Many teachers post their rules on the Internet. Scrutinizing these expectations” often reveals that rules contain pet peeves, are rudely composed, are based on antiquated practices, reveal a hunger for control and an over-reliance on the use of “zeros,” and are unnecessarily threatening. Their carved-in-stone tone leaves little room for exceptions and exceptions are unavoidable. Sarcasm is rampant (“Your mother doesn’t work here!”).

I posted one “rule” in my class: “Do the right thing -- just because!” I held a discussion the first day of class about what that meant. Students were always willing to take part in clarifying the statement, and they applied it to behavior, turning in work, mutual respect, and pretty much all issues included in class rules, including exceptions. When students violated “the rule,” there was room to discuss the violation as it applied to students as individuals. I found that one size rarely fit all.

Lists of rules, it seems, is never complete. Teachers and administrators are constantly finding new rules to address new issues. Frequently rules of this type are made in haste in response to an anger or irritation, and in the busy school environment they provide additional burdens for students and /or teachers. Rules should be carefully considered and written when emotions are not involved. Rules may have unexpected consequences. The problem may be solved, but those affected may harbor unspoken resentment. Teachers and principals might avoid problems by discussing the problem with the class or faculty before producing. Gathering the perspectives of others can often be a solution and avoid another rule.

How and why we grade. The most contentious faculty meeting I ever attended involved a discussion of grading within the school. The debate centered on alternative methods of grading, including median grading. I decided that most teachers would rather give up their jobs than abandon their grading method most of which were based on variations of “averaging.” That is, after all, what had been done to them in school and college.

In my experience I have encountered few educators who realize that the statistically proper way to determine a single, representative grade from a list of scores is by using the median (middle) score. The reason for this requires a little understanding of statistics. I suggest readers search the Internet for explanations. It is almost unbelievable after all these years that most of us are not grading properly because we don’t know better. Median grades have several advantages that are too lengthy to be discussed here, but one of the most important is that it solves the problem of what to do with all of those zeros.

On the day of the discussion, however, the most vocal teachers interpreted the “zero issue” as giving students points they didn’t deserve. To them, the issue seemed to be that zeros could be applied as punishment for poor work. Correctness in grading didn’t seem to matter. After all, widely used computerized grading systems included averaging as the only option.

However, even if simple averaging is OK, what about the multitude of ways teachers average? I’m referring how teachers determine the relative values of the different components of a grade. Tests, in my experience, count the most, but not always. Some teachers may not count homework in arriving at a quarterly grade but some count it excessively. Then consider the inclusion of questionable practices: extra credit, adding or subtracting points for non-academic reasons, arbitrarily taking away or adding points for punitive reasons, and on an on. That some students pass or fail merely because some have teachers who grade in manner that artificially lowers grades is unacceptable.

No one knows when or where the idea of giving students extra credit originated. Although well-intended, extra credit can do more harm than good.

Teachers use a variety of techniques to help students learn. Among the most commonly applied practices is the assignment of extra credit. There are no firm guidelines for what extra credit is – except, of course, that is it some kind of extra work not assigned to all students. There are genuine instructional concerns for extra credit and how it affects learning and even the development of student expectations.

Teachers Should be Able to Justify Extra Credit Based on Best Practice

When students asked for extra work, the usual reason is to improve a grade, not to improve learning. It is not a teacher’s job to simply improve grades, but to teach students well enough so that their assessments reflect a level of learning that results in satisfactory grades.

Teachers are charged with keeping up with individual student achievement and offering assistance to students who need help. Such assistance may come in the form of additional help at lunch or after school. Working one on one or with small groups allows teachers to target instruction more effectively.

Few teachers have time to waste, and extra credit can mean extra work to monitor and assess. Once the precedent has been established for one student, others will likely ask for a similar favor.

Students may be Interested in Raising Grades, not Learning

If a student’s primary concern is an activity designed to guarantee a boost in grades the problem may not have an academic solution. Some students may fall quickly behind due to distractions at home or social problems. They have been sidetracked by issues that the teacher may not be able to manage or improve.

Offering a student a menial task such as designing a poster that will not assist in the learning of defined standards is not teaching. Furthermore, many students fall into the habit of asking for extra credit because that’s what they have done in the past and have managed to get by with minimal effort and borderline grades.

The lessons learned are potentially harmful. For one thing, students may learn that they can manipulate the system ­– a practice that will not serve them well in life.

Also, while people do occasionally get second chances in real life, it is not a certainty. Accomplished people learn to work to an appropriate level of competence to succeed. Students who consistently give their best efforts typically have the best academic results.

Extra Credit can be a Game for Teachers and Students

The reasons for offering for extra credit sometimes are trivial. If they are, giving it trivializes the learning process. Examples of game-playing with the practice are generally any credit given without having a policy that clearly describes why extra credit will be given. Without a policy, the use of extra credit can be arbitrary and demonstrates a lack of a teacher’s knowledge of evaluation.

For example, a teacher might want to reinforce good behavior and give a student points on a tests because his behavior has been good for an entire week. This is also a bad idea because teachers are not supposed to allow behavior to directly influence grades positively or negatively.

Other examples might include any credit given for non-academic reasons, such as giving points to students who contribute to a food drive. Students need opportunities to do the right things without receiving some sort of reward. Charitable work is such an opportunity.

Extra Credit Remains an Option for Teachers

Although many, if not most, reasons for offering extra credit are ill-advised, teachers might be able to legitimize the practice. Certainly some students will have personal issues beyond their control that call for some type of intervention such as extra credit.

It is important that the tasks given address learning standards and are designed to teach, not to artificially elevate grades. One proper example would be to allow a retake of a different version of a failed test or quiz.

Parents should be contacted to determine what issues might be making it difficult for students to keep up. Parents should be advised as to the nature of the work assigned and asked to encourage their child as they can.

Extra credit is an informal, non-standard practice. Teachers who give it should develop fair policies that clearly advise students on its use. It is not a practice to be taken likely or offered impulsively. Teachers have a responsibility for maintaining the integrity of assessment and evaluation and help students properly appraise their own efforts and how their efforts affect academic achievement.

Source:

"Extra Credit Work," teacher2b.com (Accessed: November 30, 2010)

Copyright Harvey Craft. Contactthe author to obtain permission for republication.

Are "zeros" justified as part of a grading system?  Teachers give zeros for missed grades, poor tests results, for cheating, etc. Is there anything wrong with the zero as a score?

The assessment  procedures used in the nation’s schools were not designed with the most prudent statistical methods in mind. As a matter of fact, school grading systems weren’t designed; rather they evolved haphazardly. There have been recent efforts to ban zeros, to do away grades altogether, or to develop grading systems that can report progress without being subject to abuse. But most schools continue to use the 100 percent scale of long ago. Reform hasn't met with overwhelming success, and zeros continue to take an unknown toll.

The primary problems are:

• Some teachers give zeros for behavior, while most educators understand that grades are for the assessment of academic progress.
• Students are supposed to earn grades – teachers are not suppose to give them;
• The distance between zero and passing is great. Consequently zeros can drop averaged grades severely.
• When some teachers understand the mathematics and ethics of grading – and some don’t – then equally qualified students can perform equally and receive very different grades as a result of different grading “philosophies.”

Zeros are not Thoroughly Understood by Teachers or Parents

The misunderstandings about grading and the effects of zeros are serious. The effects of non-academic zeros on beginning student can be confusing or discouraging. There is  widespread belief that zeros motivate despite decades of research that students are more motivated by success.

The simple way to think about it is, “What makes me feel successful?” Answers to the question are not likely to include something that reminds one of failure. The old maxim, “Nothing succeeds like success,” is quite accurate. Success makes effort much more attractive because it makes one feel smarter. We learn from failure as adults. In school one fails from failure.

Prior to having a good understanding of human motivation, the practice of giving zeros for a wide variety of reasons had a head start. For some teachers, zeroes became a way to manage student behavior or even motivate students to perform better academically. Zeros continue to be given for trivial things like papers without student names or being turned in a day late.

Teachers must Learn more about Assessment

To reduce confusion the most influential educators might help solve the zero mess by developing a set of accepted core beliefs about grading to clarify their purpose and use. Among these might be some of today’s more widely accepted elements of grading:

• Grades are for reporting student progress to students and parents.
• Grades are confidential.
• Grades are given to assess performance on valid assessments.
• Grades are not to be affected by the inclusionof scores for behavioral pr procedural matter that are better managed byclassroom management techniques.
• Grades are not for the development of or reporting of responsibility.
• Low grades can be self-sustaining once started.

These ideas are but a start. There is much more to the issue because, despite popular practice, reporting student progress completely and meaningfully is complex.

Leading educators, whoever they might be and whatever station they might hold, will have to become more vocal to develop new and more sensible ways to grade. Districts could initiate efforts to educate teachers who still do not understand motivation, discipline, and classroom management. Schools could benefit from sharing ideas about the ethical use of grades.

Zeros as grades are a defect from the antiquity of mathematics. Most teachers do well in assessing despite lack of good assessment guidelines,but some continue to use them as a convenient way to punish or motivate students, thus violating the generally honored practice of separating academics and behavior. Teachers, and most of all, students, could benefit from open dialogue.

I am a laid-back version of Alfie Kohn and passionate about my beliefs about education and students and motivation.

Discussing character issues was a regular part of my teaching. I declined to tell students how they should act because most of them knew, or came to know as a result of opinions expressed. The issue was usually a matter of choosing to do what was right rather than knowing.

One day a student expressed his aversion to being "bribed" by some teachers to study. He said he knew that studying was a good thing, and that his parents had raised him to do right things without expecting rewards. His parents shared an view that very close to my own. Coincidentally, my only posted class rule was "Do the right thing just because." A lively class discussion began.

Surprisingly, over half the class agreed with the idea of studying without a reward because they clearly understood the connection between studying and grades. But the real issue was deeper -- many students just didn't like that "bribed" feeling. The discussion mainly addressed the connection between rewards or bribes and materialistic behavior. Many students received money for good grades. That was often true even for students who expressed dislike for bribery.

We have Caused Students to Expect Rewards 

They admitted that they took the money because they liked what it could buy, but the resented the assumption by teachers that they would not do the right thing. Others said that it would be foolish to not expect a reward for doing things if it was like work or if it was an act that made someone else feel good. After all, adults got paid for working.

The discussion lasted about fifteen minutes. We had a lesson to tend to, but I had an idea which I didn't reveal. I decided not to share the discussion with other classes, and two days later I went to the playground during lunch and began to pick up paper and other litter. I was encouraged by the fact that so many students expressed a knowledge of "the right thing" and a dislike of bribery. I wanted to see how many students would offer to help without being asked.

For ten minutes students seemed to pretend not to notice me and I was running out of trash to pick up. Finally a girl from one of my classes approached. Hope welled up inside me. She would be the one to do the right thing. Her words left me crestfallen.

"Mr. Craft, if I help you pick up trash will you pay me?"

I told her that I was through, and returned to my room with a bagful of trash for my efforts. No one else had offered to help.

The lesson I took away was that the student who approached was paid for chores around the house. I also assumed that the desire among students to help was not as great as the desire to socialize. I decided that in months to come, I would try to do a better job helping students understand the meaning of "Do the the right thing." It would require a better understanding of motivation.

So ended my simple "experiment." But there was success to come that changed my life and the lives of many students who I taught. I'll discuss that at a later date.

Rewards are not the Answer to Motivating Students

Teachers have different techniques for maintaining discipline and motivating students. Rewards are arguably the most popular, but they may discourage intrinsic motivation.

Rewards are used in virtually every school in the nation in one form or another. They may be offered as a piece of candy to reinforce a good act by a student or as awards in ceremonies at the end of the school year for a variety of student superlatives. Teachers love to use them to improve discipline, and rewards often form the cornerstones of classroom management plans. Rewards are so accepted that few people are aware that they have a potential “dark side.” The research on rewards in the classroom is not encouraging.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

As motivators, rewards may present the false appearance of being positive and effective, but rewards motivate children to seek more rewards, not necessarily more knowledge. When the reward becomes the objective, learning goes out the window, and rewards become a manipulative way of getting children to simply perform or comply. Dr. Marvin Marshall, a renowned expert on motivation writes, "External controls are manipulators that set up students to be dependent upon external agents."

As time passes, rewards lose their effectiveness and the ante must be increased. What was motivating a week ago is suddenly ordinary. Therefore, students with discipline problems will return to their old behavior once they tire of the reward. They have learned only to “perform” for a specific prize. The National Literacy Trust maintains a rich list of abstracts emphasizing then importance of intrinsic motivation.

Another negative aspect of rewards is that they are extrinsic motivators, and do little to encourage intrinsic values. Students come to understand that they need to please the giver of the reward. Once again the manipulative feature is apparent. Teachers and adults generally should reflect on how rewards affect their behavior. Do they obey laws because the laws are part of their value system or because they receive tangible rewards? One must not assume that what is rewarding to one student is equally motivating to another. To find equally motivating rewards is very difficult. The typical reward generally isn’t equal to all recipients, and that creates a time-consuming problem of individualizing one system of motivation. If better discipline is the goal, rewards will have to be changed periodically as the reinforcing value of things decrease with use.

Teachers are taught that their effort should be made create interest in the subject they teach, and while dispensing candy or privileges might be fun, it does little to make the subject matter more interesting. Teachers may get a false impression that student like the subject but they are, in reality, reacting positively on to the reward. This is bribery, not classroom management.

Rewards and Values

Whether used to motivate or for classroom management, rewards do little to enhance positive values. People who contribute the most prized things to society do so out of an internalized value system. They have well-develop intrinsic beliefs about right and wrong, work ethics, and other positive traits. Indeed, it is not uncommon for people to express that to be happy in one’s work is more important than the salary. Public officials who were looking for material gain often turn out to be criminals.

Volunteerism is important in any society, and people who volunteer expect little in return except a feeling that they have do a good thing. Still, schools commonly have charity events like food drives and reward the homeroom that collects the most food with a pizza party or some similar event. Charity needs to reflect an inner goodness, not a desire for an extrinsic payback. Fund raising efforts at school would likely be miserable failure in the material world we have created, because students are involved in “training sessions” which emphasize the acquisition of rewards to those who sell the most.

Awards are Overplayed

Awards are simply trophies or certificates that offer extrinsic rewards for the recognition of specific achievements. Very few school awards have standards which can be accurately measured. Some schools get carried away with the practice and give rewards for categories that are highly questionable. Excellence can be and often should be validated by recognition, but for children of lesser ability or indifferent parents to sit quietly in an award ceremony while classmates receive awards is cruel. Einstein know it when he said, "If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed."

If schools are truly interested in the development of character they must get on with the task of expecting students to do right things because they are right. The perception that students can be disciplined or taught only when they get something tangible is a pretty negative view. Instill values in people that hard work, good acts, and helping others have intrinsic value and that students will seek these things because they are intrinsically rewarding, not because there is a pay off in the material realm.

Decent, successful people are influenced by the way other decent, successful made them feel. They are motivated by the validation and love of important people with positive values. Love of friends and family are powerful rewards.

Copyright Harvey Craft. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

READ AND READ MORE

Links to articles on education in BLUE

HOMEWORK

A New Instructional Definition for Homework

Homework causes much concern in education. Grading homework is not necessary because it is a formative assessment. It is for practicing and studying, not grading.

How Teachers can Avoid too Much Homework

The question of how much homework is too much won't go away. The guidelines are difficult to enforce. Homework need not overwork teachers or students.

Do Children Have too Much Homework

There are no consistent rules for what homework is and how much should be assigned.

What teachers Should Know about Homework and Student Learning

Teachers often give homework because it is usually considered to be an essential part of learning. Teachers need to reexamine at the practice.

School Homework Policies and Practices are Changing

After decades of assigning homework, educators still don't know if it improves learning. Homework is being reexamined and policies are changing.

ASSESSMENT/GRADING

Teachers Need to Look at Median Grading

Assessment and evaluation methods are generally left to teachers who usually prefer averaging. Grading with the median is mathematically correct and might help motivate.

Teachers Should Avoid Grading on the Curve

Teachers use a variety of procedures to grade and evaluate students. Some make sense - many don't. Grading on the curve is still used in many schools.

Assessing Teacher Assessments

That assessments measure what they are supposed to, and that they do so with consistency, are key features. There are rules for writing tests that improve assessments.

Teachers, Students, and the Zero Dilemma

The way students assessed was never developed in an orderly fashion. Standardized rules for grading don't exist. The lack of systematic assessment has created confusion.

A Short History of Student Assessment

Assessment has never been an exact science. Many teachers have no idea grading practices evolved.

Teacher Objectivity in Student Assessment

Teachers strive for grading objectivity, but human judgment is always involved. Uniformity might be all that is possible and that might be good for teachers and students.

Using Pop-Quizzes as an Assessment

Schools in the nation are grade-oriented. Pop-quizzes have been used for decades as a way to increase student vigilance. How do pop-quizzes measure up as an assessment?

The True-False Test as a Student Assessment

True/false quizzes and tests have serious weaknesses when it comes to assessing student learning.

One Example of Median Grading

Median grading is a possible alternative to averaging, but few examples are offered. Here is one of sample technique teachers might consider for median grading.

Principals Should Evaluate Teachers' Assessments

Virtually all teachers are observed, but watching teachers teach is not enough. Principals should know how teachers are assessing and grading students.

Rewards and Motivation

Extrinsic Rewards, Student Motivation, and Character Development

Rewards have become a major component of the classroom and schools generally. Are rewards the best way to improve behavior and grades?


Teachers Should Avoid the Traps and Problems with Student Rewards
Believing that giving someone a reward for doing the right thing is easy and seems logical. There are unexpected problems in the practice. Beware!


Teaching Strategies for Motivating Students
Motivating students is not a simple matter of rewards, gimmicks, and games. Students respond to teachers who can inspire while they teach. Creativity is essential


Motivating Apathetic and At-Risk Students
Few issues are as important to teachers as motivating students. Lots of techniques are tried, but often fail. Knowing students is the key to motivation.