“Does it count? Does it count?” How many times have you tried to do an assessment of your students and heard this?  Intrinsic motivation to do our best is not in the repertoire of most students. Students just want to do just the basic requirements.

So how do we “motivate” our students, bribe them?

Mayor Bloomberg has reopened this educational issue with monetary incentives for economically disadvantaged students. The program, called "Opportunity NYC," will award the families of elementary, middle and high school students up to $50 a month for 95% school attendance, $25 for attending parent-teacher conferences and $50 for obtaining a library card. Students who test well are eligible to receive up to $600 for each passing grade on the Regents exam, as well as a $400 bonus for graduating. The program will be implemented in some of the poorest areas of New York City and service 2,550 families at incomes below 130 percent of the federal poverty level. NYC Times  This program is based on research by Shanker.  Shanker argued that the incentive structure in American public education was terribly biased in favor of well-off kids and against poorer ones. Students who were shooting to attend selective four-year colleges—most of whom were upper-middle class and white—had plenty of incentive to do well academically. For many adolescents the promise of a better job and higher future wages is not enough to motivate them to study today--but a $100 cash award for doing well on a standardized exam might do the trick. Cash Talks- Forbes.  

NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports. that many schools are offering incentives, ranging from ice cream to DVD players and college scholarships, in order to get kids to show up for the tests.

So you do not make enough money to bribe your students- what can you do?

Try a Token Economy . This website gives step by step instructions on the establishment of Token Economies. The thought is that by giving students tangible rewards for performance and effort, they engage in a proactive approach to motivation that becomes self-sustaining.  Caught Being Good awards  (CBGs) can be earn  for completing homework ,class work, attendance etc.  Appropriate behavior incentives do not always have to be monetary. See list.

The Georgia Hope Scholarship is a great incentive to make good grades.

I have no doubt that this issue will be debated. I have heard countless arguments that we should not bribe student behavior. I just have one thing to say to the nay sayers, “Do you work for free?”

What can I do to get my students to want to learn? Why do my students sleep in class?  What can I do to make my class interesting? Why are these students so unmotivated? These are frequently asked question by teachers.

If effective learning in the classroom depends on the teacher's ability to maintain the interest of students (Ericksen, 1978) then the essential questions should be, “What are the interest of my students and what can I do to motivate them to learn?

Interest and desire to achieve are helpful but when students lack these internal traits then the perception of usefulness coupled with the teacher’s ability to be patience and persistence are the true teacher qualities towards motvating students.

Research as identifies several teacher qualities that can motivate students

 (Lowman, 1984; Lucas, 1990; Weinert and Kluwe, 1987; Bligh, 1971).

Positive Feedback

Ensure Success

Meaning and Value in the Material.

Positive and Safe Learning Environment

Valued Members of a Learning Community

 
Research based teaching practices can do more to motivate student than external locus of control efforts (Ericksen, 1978). Most students respond positively to a well-organized classroom taught by an enthusiastic instructor who has a genuine interest in students and what they learn.  Research also demonstrates that students need to be active participants in learning. Students learn by doing, making, writing, designing, creating, solving etc. Passivity dampens students' motivation and curiosity. Develop a Questioning Toolkit . Don't tell students something when you can ask them. Encourage students to use higher order thinking approaches to a problem. Use best practices  in your instruction.

Please refer to Tools for Teaching  for more information on how to motivate students.