I was intrinsically motivated to take this picture of the orchid because I really enjoy looking at it.
------------------------------
Reference: Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Extrinsic rewards and
intrinsic motivation in education: Reconsidered once again. Review of
Educational Research, 71(1), 1-27.
I read this article for the first time in a Learning Theories course at Concordia University and found the ideas quite intriguing. The article reports the findings of a meta-analysis (128 experiments analyzed in two meta-analyses: 101 and 84) on a controversial topic, i.e., whether rewards actually undermine the receiver’s intrinsic motivation (IM). IM is referred to in terms of curiosity, interest, and persistence at learning tasks. As educators we are interested in how to motivate our students but without doing any harm in the process. This article’s abstract basically tells you “tangible rewards do indeed have a substantial undermining effect”.
As you read you find that there are many aspects to "tangible rewards". The results depend on if the reward is expected or unexpected and if the reward was seen as a reflection of competency or is just a reward for participating, engaging or completing an activity. Also it made a difference whether the student saw the reward as informational or controlling in nature. Also children were sometimes affected differently than college students.
With so many possible combinations it was sometimes difficult to decipher what you should and should not be doing with rewards. So here are some of the general findings listed by impact on intrinsic motivation (IM):
I read this article for the first time in a Learning Theories course at Concordia University and found the ideas quite intriguing. The article reports the findings of a meta-analysis (128 experiments analyzed in two meta-analyses: 101 and 84) on a controversial topic, i.e., whether rewards actually undermine the receiver’s intrinsic motivation (IM). IM is referred to in terms of curiosity, interest, and persistence at learning tasks. As educators we are interested in how to motivate our students but without doing any harm in the process. This article’s abstract basically tells you “tangible rewards do indeed have a substantial undermining effect”.
As you read you find that there are many aspects to "tangible rewards". The results depend on if the reward is expected or unexpected and if the reward was seen as a reflection of competency or is just a reward for participating, engaging or completing an activity. Also it made a difference whether the student saw the reward as informational or controlling in nature. Also children were sometimes affected differently than college students.
With so many possible combinations it was sometimes difficult to decipher what you should and should not be doing with rewards. So here are some of the general findings listed by impact on intrinsic motivation (IM):
No Effect on IM
· Unexpected rewards and rewards for participating (i.e.,
task-noncontingent), seem to have no effect on (IM) (p.10).
Undermines IM
· Expected (non-informational) rewards. This category had the most negative affect on
children (p.11). An example of this type of reward is a pizza party for reading so many books.
· Tangible or verbal rewards seen as controlling (p.9).
· Rewards as a direct function of performance undermined
IM the most (p.13). Perhaps because the reward is trying to control/improve the
performance it can have the undermining effect.
Enhances or Maintains IM
· Informational
rewards (verbal or tangible)
(p.9).
· "Performance-contingent rewards can maintain
or enhance intrinsic motivation if the receiver of the reward interprets it
informationally, as an affirmation of competence." (p.12).
To enhance intrinsic motivation the authors suggest that we stop focusing
on rewards and instead develop more interesting learning activities from the
students’ perspective, give them more choice, and make sure the tasks are
challenging (p.15). These approaches
promote creative task engagement,
cognitive flexibility and conceptual
understanding of learning activities (p15).
I hope my reflection has spurred some interest in this topic and this article.
I hope my reflection has spurred some interest in this topic and this article.
---------------------------
Two TED Talk links...
1. The Surprising
Science of Motivation
Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation,
starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't:
Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think.
2. The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us
This lively RSA
Animate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths
behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.
No comments:
Post a Comment