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Chris Wejr, profile picture
Uploaded byChris Wejr
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Motivation From Within: Moving Beyond Rewards and Awards in Schools

The presentation critiques the traditional use of rewards and awards in schools, arguing that they undermine intrinsic motivation and can lead to negative long-term consequences for students. It emphasizes the need to create conditions for self-motivation and collaboration rather than competition, advocating for a focus on personal growth and strengths. Ultimately, the document calls for a reevaluation of success criteria in education, moving away from awards to celebrate all forms of achievement.

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Motivation From Within: Moving Beyond Rewards and Awards in Schools Presentation for the 2017 Central Alberta Teachers Convention Chris Wejr @chriswejr CcimagefromMandiashttps://flic.kr/p/9s3EAE
Two Schools: No rewards system. No awards.
Picture a school… CC image from G. Grossmeier https://flic.kr/p/7Es433
What does this say about this school?
"I come to you humbly not to tell you what to do on your journey but to share with you what I have learned on mine” Wab Kinew cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo by Thompson Rivers University: http://flickr.com/photos/thompsonrivers/8518479289/
Rethinking REWARDS and AWARDS CC Image from audiencestack.com
The need to reward and award… CC image from Vic. https://flic.kr/p/9JpUiN
So why NOT?
Learning from Joe Bower Friend and fellow educator. Critic of extrinsic motivators in education. 1978-2016
Be HARD on content… SOFT on people CC Image from Marin https://flic.kr/p/4MamdG
Rethinking Awards: Not Everyone Agrees “he is just a socialist principal with a feminist agenda” “…no wonder kids these days are this way… me me me - so entitled” “So everybody gets an award – and nobody learns anything about the competitive real world” “this is why the children of today have become the lazy, uncaring adults of tomorrow.” “You can only get better by playing a better oponent (sic). By takeing (sic) away the motivation you end up with the disgruntled youth of today who sit around and do nothing.” “This is the same attitude that has principals puinishing (sic) bullying victims rather than the bully.”
How will being here today change what I do next week?
Rewards
10 years ago, I LOVED using rewards
Are we talking about the same thing when we say “rewards”? http://youtu.be/Ml3cKrUU0ME
Intrinsic/Internal Extrinsic/External Image: http://flic.kr/p/5PbHjR
Reflecting on rewards…
The ‘Benefits’ of Rewards
A Difficult Job… Cartoon from Martin Doyle http://bit.ly/2l5KRzR
Incentives Work… … in the short term CC Image from Judy Baxter https://flic.kr/p/2bjgA
We slowly remove the rewards…
It’s easy… https://flic.kr/p/dJLHWG
Rewards help us focus on the positive
I get rewarded twice a month, so why not?
Motivation With Sheldon Big Bang Theory http://youtu.be/qy_mIEnnlF4
5 Reasons to Rethink Rewards in Schools
We rob students of intrinsic motivation
“We cannot motivate others… we can only work to create the conditions for people to motivate themselves.” -- Edward Deci and Richard RyanImage: http://flic.kr/p/8zWLAj
Edward Deci and Richard Ryan Using rewards to motivate children may indeed control their behavior in some immediate sense, but they are likely to have negative consequences in terms of the children’s subsequent interest, persistence, and preferences for challenge. (Deci and Ryan) Controlling people’s behavior with reward contingencies undermines their intrinsic motivation…(Deci and Ryan) Children who were rewarded for doing discrimination- learning tasks learned less well and made more errors than did children who were not rewarded (Spence & Dunton) …extrinsic incentives can, by undermining self-perceived altruism, decrease intrinsic motivation to help others. (Batson) Research From Sansome et al http://amzn.to/1LGbNIH Image http://bit.ly/1LGc8v7
The Overjustification Effect Shifting the appreciation from task to reward What about the student who is already doing the right thing?
We give too much credit to rewards and not enough to ourselves
Giving credit to the right factors
By offering a reward, we are assuming that kids know HOW to do the task… but they WILL NOT do the task. What if we are wrong?
We teach kids to get good at getting CAUGHT being good.
You caught me being good… Can I get my prize now? Image: http://flic.kr/p/bCtpS Kids get good at getting caught… being good.
Kids who grow up being regularly bribed and rewarded grow up overly dependent on approval and recognition. Deci and Ryan What’s in it for me? How much is this worth? Did you see me do that?
We lose the chance to teach responsibility to do the right thing… just because it is the RIGHT thing to do.
"Extrinsic rewards have a negative impact [on learning] because they undermine people’s taking responsibility for motivating and regulating themselves" Edward Deci CC Image from Sarah Sosiak
We assign an external value to tasks, behaviour, and learning
By offering a reward, we are stating that the task is not worth doing... Without a reward.
Reward Inflation: What is this action worth?
CC Image from Bill Ferriter https://flic.kr/p/aPDMDH
Motivation With Dwight The Office http://youtu.be/G59KY7ek8Rk
The driving question: How do we create the conditions for students to motivate themselves?
CC Image from c_ambler How???
Strengths & Interests
Tap into Strengths and Interests
Purpose
Where are we going? Why? CC Image from BMcIvr https://flic.kr/p/8QSoxF
Students do not want learning made easy, they want it to mean something. They want to feel something, to be moved by what they learn. They want to connect deeply with things that matter and they want the chance to make a difference. State of FLOW. Canadian Education Association
Voice & Choice
CHOICES Passion Projects Innovation Days Inquiry Project-Based Learning Genius Hour Outdoor Education Blended Learning MakerEd
Relationships
Connection is why we are here. We are hardwired to connect with others -- Brene Brown cc licensed ( BY ND ) flickr photo by Andrew: http://flickr.com/photos/30235101@N06/3344044448/
Can every learner name at least two adults in the building who believe he or she will be a success in life? Judy Halbert, Linda Kaser
Growth Mindset
Praise effort rather than ability. Use the power of YET.
Growth Through Challenge and Support
Leadership
How can we create opportunities for students to lead?
Criteria & Feedback
Clear Criteria Do our students know “what good looks like”? CC image from Simply CVR https://flic.kr/p/3EPVar
Image: http://flic.kr/p/bBMn78
Talk to your students… Share the WHY CC Image from S. Mannion https://flic.kr/p/6a8Kr9
A Culture of Reading Without Points, Prizes, or Pizza Parties
EXPECT students to do the right thing... just because it is the right thing to do.
Awards Ceremonies
In Support of Awards
Showcasing excellence
Motivation and Effort
Preparation for the “Real World” CC image from K. Decker https://flic.kr/p/9yMfuF
A Lengthy Tradition CC image from brendangates https://flic.kr/p/aym82o
5 Reasons to Rethink Awards in Schools
But first…
Rethinking awards… does NOT mean awards for everyone CCImagefromVPohjanheimohttps://flic.kr/p/Gw5KKh
This is NOT just about self-esteem
Awards shift the focus from process (learning) to the result (award).
Demotivating Learning
Inhibiting risk-taking
Defining value and worth based on awards https://flic.kr/p/pRF9DX
You love me…
Awards are not always about excellence. They are mostly about simply being better than those around you.
Awards are all Relative Image: http://flic.kr/p/uLc7b
Creating a false sense of excellence
If awards were so crucial to excellence and success, why do we not have family awards for best child? Parent awards? Staff awards?
Awards encourage a culture of competition and inhibit a culture of collaboration.
Success in a Competitive Culture
The only person motivated by competition is the person who believes he/she has a chance of winning. Rick Lavoie CC image from Jayneandd https://flic.kr/p/7MhBfD
I am better than you.
Awards prepare our kids for the big bad, scary, competitive real world… Really???
“REAL World” Research CC Image from K Hoeppner https://flic.kr/p/6KMuRk
Kids need to learn how to lose be resilient.
There are two kinds of winning. Some can only win when others lose. Others seek to win by helping others succeed. One of these approaches scales far better than the other. Seth Godin