I had two confusions with the module. I didn’t understand how the last sentence of the second paragraph in the “Rewarding Students for Learning” section of the module, “contrary to the predictions of the operant conditioning, rewards actually undermined intrinsic motivation” fit in with the rest of the paragraph before it. What does operant conditioning have to do with the concept of when the extrinsic rewards are withdrawn, individuals perform tasks less frequently than before the existence of the extrinsic rewards? What does conveying the message “that there isn’t only one correct way to complete a project” have to do with the effects of displaying work? I didn’t understand how that phrase fit into the overall point of the last paragraph of the module.
Extrinsic forms of motivation are most beneficial when it involves performance-contingent rewards, which can be tangible items that could only be used to remind the student of their achievement (such as a smiley sticker beside their name on a chart somewhere on the classroom wall perhaps); they can also simply be feedback from the teacher about their performance, and how to go about improving it more for the next time. This form of motivation gives the students the drive to put hard work and time towards reaching their goal/achievement, rather than task-contingent rewards. Task-contingent rewards are tangible rewards given to students in an attempt to motivate them. These rewards are usually unrelated to learning or education though, and after a while of continuous task-contingent awards, it can lead to the destruction of a student’s drive to perform hard work and effort to reach the goal. It’s only a temporary fix.
Informational praise that involves encouragement, evaluation, and tips to improve could be a task-contingent reward, and it focuses NOT on complimenting the student’s intelligence, but complimenting the student’s effort and performance, which is uplifting the student’s emotions and motivation intrinsically.
Another post asked a similar question. I'll describe the same scenario to try to help you.... Imagine you think a task (playing the piano) is SORT OF enjoyable, sometimes, if you're in the right mood. You are likely to play occasionally without any external motivator because of your own interest. However, if someone starts paying you to practice the piano, over time, that association gets stronger and stronger. That is the operant conditioning that is being described. You are pairing playing the piano and receiving money, and that association is becoming stronger, and your own interest fades out or becomes much less important in your motivation to play. They're saying that the presence of external motivation makes the internal motivation (interest) fade or become less important. So, if the reward suddenly disappears, you'll feel 'hey, why should I do this anymore?' or become frustrated, rather than feeling like 'hey, I still like piano, I'll keep playing'. That's what they're suggesting. You can try to imagine a similar situation from your own life....
ReplyDeleteOh, also, for the second part of that, I think they are saying that by displaying work, especially if you only display SOME students' work, you are communicating to students that some projects are better than others, or more correct than others.
ReplyDeleteBy displaying ALL work, it's true that students might feel like everyone's way of doing the project was valued and 'correct'. However, some students might begin to judge and critique each others' work, which goes back to the problem above.