Diving into "Drive" by Daniel Pink Can motivation and rewards go hand in hand? For a long time, we believed and some still believe humans respond to rewards. We can use rewards to encourage good behavior and discourage bad behavior. Pink describes this as "Motivation 2.0". In the classroom, this might be why some teachers offer extra credit. Some teachers offer free time or ending class early if the students behaved well. There can be many reasons why a teacher rewards his or her students but are they always beneficial? Experiments have shown us really interesting and quite shocking information! One study tested the extrinsic motivators to see the effect rewards have on performance. They started by having 87 participants and split them into 3 groups. One group was offered a small insignificant bonus. The second group was offered a significant bonus. The third group was offered a bonus that was super significant. They found that the small bonus group and significant bonus group had the same performance. The super significant bonus group had the worst performance. But why? The participants in the highest bonus group no longer had an internal motivation to complete the task. "Rewards, by their very nature, narrow our focus."(Drive) Sometimes it is best to have intrinsic rewards. Humans find joy in completing a challenge. That joy is a reward in itself. Humans want to be successful and want to do good things. As a teacher, I want my students to always have a goal. With personal goals, they will be motivated to fulfill that goal and will be rewarded by feeling good once they complete that goal. It sounds cheesy and cliché but I think if students see a purpose in what they are doing then that will motivate them to work harder. Watch this video (0:00-4:46) or the whole thing! |
AuthorAnna Kirkpatrick www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/kirkpatrickscience
Archives
January 2019
|