Using Reward Systems to Motivate Students
Teachers are often looking to inspire a love of learning in their students. But external motivators like rewards, points, and recognition can play an impact in classrooms. Reward systems are widely used as tools that encourage students to work to participate and encourage positive behaviors. Intentionally implemented rewards can boost participation, but they also come with risk. Educators must weigh potential benefits and drawbacks of external motivators like Rewards for Student Learning.
Why Might Teachers Use Rewards?
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Common Classroom Reward Examples
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Considering Possible Pitfalls of Reward Overreliance
While they can boost engagement in the short term Research shows that relying too heavily on rewards could undermine learning. The potential issues could be that students are unwilling to do work with no rewards or rewards. Losing motivation after rewards are eliminated, and obtaining rewards can distract from learning itself. Intrinsically motivated students switch to extrinsic thinking regarding rewards.
Incentives encourage the pursuit of immediate satisfaction over long-term effort and competition can create anxiety and creates inequity when rewards tied to a rigid set of standards can demoralize students who are struggling. A lot of incentives encourage dependency on external validations instead of lifelong passions for discovery. This reduces motivation and comprehension.
Finding Balance with Classroom Incentives
Most experts conclude external rewards should play a limited, targeted classroom role. As occasional reinforcement, they can benefit some students without becoming the sole learning driver. However, overemphasizing prizes to coerce learning is misguided. As one professor summarized, rewards effectively “keep students on task – if that is your sole goal.” Yet quality education requires more than on-task compliance. For deep meaningful learning, teachers must take care not to let incentives undermine natural interest and engagement. Best practices include using rewards to enhance but not drive all academics, emphasizing effort over performance outcomes when giving rewards, fostering collaboration not competition for rewards, involving students in designing tailored incentive programs, and continually assessing if anxiety replaces positive motivation. With wisdom, rewards provide useful external motivation alongside internal passion.
Focusing on Relevant, Hands-On Learning
More than rewards, students thrive when learning is active, creative, and connected to life. Curriculum tapping into student interests and goals fuels motivation. Effective strategies include hands-on experiments and projects, relating concepts to students’ cultural backgrounds, encouraging creativity in applying skills, tying lessons to real-world issues students care about, collaborative learning experiences, and empowering students with learning path choices. When school feels relevant, purposeful and enjoyable, students engage deeply. This intrinsic motivation is more powerful than any extrinsic incentive.
Prioritizing Mastery and Personal Growth
Many schools now emphasize true mastery and individual student growth over rankings and letter grades. Mastery-based assessment approaches like portfolios, student-teacher conferences, rubrics and narrative feedback better capture student potential. Kids benchmark progress against their own past performance rather than peers. There is space to practice skills without penalty, fostering a “growth mindset” motivating students to keep strengthening skills rather than simply beat others’ test scores. Focusing on personal growth and deep understanding, not ranking, activates motivation.
The Risks of Over-Emphasizing Extrinsic Motivation
Some education scholars argue most extrinsic motivators, even grades and praise, erode internal drive if over-emphasized. Heavy reliance on incentives fosters transactional thinking where learning becomes a means to rewards rather than a meaningful growth journey. This limits creativity, problem-solving and critical analysis. Extrinsic motivators also widen inequities, as struggling students require more external reinforcement. Basing academics largely on incentives further marginalizes vulnerable youth. Intrinsic passion for learning must be at the core. While external motivators have a role, teachers must take care not to let them overshadow deeper learning.
Cultivating Student Passions and Agency
Some psychologists contend humans have an innate love of learning and solving meaningful problems. But traditional schooling often disconnects academics from students’ personal goals and interests, hindering curiosity. The antidote is student-centered, experiential education guided by intrinsic passions. Educators can nurture curiosity through projects, exploration, play and peer collaboration. Developing student agency in the learning process is key. Helping students recognize the inherent purpose and joy of lifelong discovery provides powerful motivation.
Conclusion
Reward systems can offer helpful extrinsic motivation when applied thoughtfully and in moderation. But the central educational aim should be developing intrinsically driven learners. With wisdom and care, teachers can support the natural human drive to learn, grow, and contribute our gifts to the world.
