The Rewards of Learning

The Rewards of Learning by Paul Chance calls for a paradigm shift in teaching and learning philosophy.   Is it possible for learning to be exciting and fun?  What good can come from constant positive reinforcement?  What will the public think if teachers suddenly began encouraging the students instead of highly structured classrooms?  Would we be adequately preparing our students for the real world by only incorporating positive reinforcement?

Paul Chance encourages teachers to make instructional time fun and rewarding.  In reading this article I am reminded of growing up in time when there was no reward system , and punishment was a teacher’s best friend.  This article seems to imply that we have swung the pendulum too far to the other side, instead of punishments we now have rewards. The goal is the same reinforce desired behavior.   

The Rewards of Learning article discusses in depth two forms of rewards intrinsic and extrinsic.  Of course the article favors the intrinsic reward system for education and advocates that teachers should minimize the extrinsic.  My question however relates to the real world.  I agree that self-motivation and gratification is by far the most sustainable and desirable model for rewards.  But teacher have to overcome deeply entrenched traditions.  Parents have been telling their kids for years that you need to be good if you want presents from Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny.  But my concerns stems from how students are motivated to do well on school work and projects for the purpose of getting good grades, which translate into going to a good college and ultimately obtaining a good job.  All of these are extrinsic rewards.  We begin telling our kids that this is what happens when we do our best.  Do students then do their best for the sake of having done a good job?  Chance believes that this form of rewards is indeed helps motivates positive and repeatable behavior.  Chance warns that too much of a good thing is quite harmful.  In fact there is substantial research that supports this claim.  Chance lays out a plan of how to implement an effective reward system; use the weakest reward to strengthen desired behavior; avoid using rewards when possible; the quantity and frequency of rewards should be great when students are in the beginning stages of learning; then reduce the rate as students’ progress and then reward only the behavior you want repeated; know your students what works for one may not work for another; reward success  (Chance, 1992).  People in general enjoy receiving some recognition for their efforts, some may be in the form of intrinsic as well as extrinsic.  Neither if properly administered is bad.  Pats on the back usually serve to strengthen most people character. 

Most new teachers are encouraged to create incentives for students, which behave or complete assignments on time.  They are even told to have a “treasure box” for these students.  I have shared some of the incentives that I have used with my students with pre-service teacher.  I never considered that rewards as were controlling.  Why are we not encouraging teachers to manage without manipulation.  I do believe that it is a good idea to give rewards, however that should not be the primary method for reinforcing desired behavior.  Kids are of the mindset that you owe me something.  The reward should be what they get to learn.  Teachers and students could possibly come up with the reward system collectively.  Ultimately rewards have been a part of our culture for quite some time.  We as teachers need to make the reward more concrete, the joy of learning and investigation has to become its own reward.

Chance, P. (1992). The Rewards of Learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 74(23), 116-128.