Introduction:
My question:
How can I help my students develop intrinsic motivation?
Story of question:
When I started in my new classroom in January, something struck me that I had not noticed in my prior setting. Incentives, arguably bribes, were a presence. It seemed that following directions and making good choices resulted in a reward, usually concrete, that benefited the student. For example, Friday afternoon snack is an incentive that is constantly mentioned starting Monday morning. When there is a birthday party or some sort of special occasion, being allowed to attend that event is used as an incentive from the moment plans are made. “If you want snack on Friday, you need to be quiet now.”
Our classroom uses a green, yellow, red management strategy. Students move their colors throughout the day from green to yellow to red, but can move it from red to yellow to green when positive behavior is observed. Colors are recorded in a home journal and (should be) signed by parents or guardians. “Do your math work, or you are getting a red for the day.” Take-home behavior grades are used against the students for every decision made. “Why is your jacket still on? Give yourself a red.” “Why are you talking? Give yourself a red.” “Stop talking and give yourself a red. You will not have snack on Friday afternoon.” As Alfie Kohn writes, it is essential to avoid statements such as “Do this or here’s what I’m going to do to you,” or “Do this and you’ll get that” (Kohn, 352, 2004).
My classroom mentor wants my students to excel and be exposed to and learn new material everyday. But the classroom climate can become a bit cold with all of the yelling. It seems the students are numb to the volume of her voice; the loudness has no effect on them anymore.
One Wednesday afternoon in February, we were cleaning up the room as a class because we were having visitors the next day. Groups of students were designated to clean up the coat area, the front carpet, the back carpet, the computers, the tables, etc. As we were straightening up the different sections, a student asked my classroom mentor, “Can we get a snack Thursday afternoon too?” I heard this and thought twice about what was being asked. Is this student being motivated by a snack? Does this student think he deserves an extra snack for doing what was asked?
At another point, when I started videotaping lessons, I noticed some students would turn and talk to their neighbor or throw something in the air as soon as I turned my back. I know this is normal, especially for first grade, but it is intentional and I want my students to do the right thing even when they think no one is watching. Being sneaky and getting away with it now can have long-term effects later in life. My goal is to have my students want to do the right thing when there are no rewards involved and no one is watching because they take pride in themselves and want to be the best person they can be.
One of my desired results during my two-week takeover and curriculum was for “students to walk away wanting to make the right decision in various situations.” (See UBD Planning Template.) In an ideal world, students would know the right thing to do before the teacher even has to say anything. But that is not realistic, nor will it ever be, especially for first graders. During my teaching, I decided to really focus on noticing when students make a good decision and do what is asked of them when no concrete reward is offered. This started as a question of bribes and incentives, but as I delved into research, I realized what I am really hoping to achieve is the development of intrinsic motivation in my students, making extrinsic motivation less prevalent.
Our classroom uses a green, yellow, red management strategy. Students move their colors throughout the day from green to yellow to red, but can move it from red to yellow to green when positive behavior is observed. Colors are recorded in a home journal and (should be) signed by parents or guardians. “Do your math work, or you are getting a red for the day.” Take-home behavior grades are used against the students for every decision made. “Why is your jacket still on? Give yourself a red.” “Why are you talking? Give yourself a red.” “Stop talking and give yourself a red. You will not have snack on Friday afternoon.” As Alfie Kohn writes, it is essential to avoid statements such as “Do this or here’s what I’m going to do to you,” or “Do this and you’ll get that” (Kohn, 352, 2004).
My classroom mentor wants my students to excel and be exposed to and learn new material everyday. But the classroom climate can become a bit cold with all of the yelling. It seems the students are numb to the volume of her voice; the loudness has no effect on them anymore.
One Wednesday afternoon in February, we were cleaning up the room as a class because we were having visitors the next day. Groups of students were designated to clean up the coat area, the front carpet, the back carpet, the computers, the tables, etc. As we were straightening up the different sections, a student asked my classroom mentor, “Can we get a snack Thursday afternoon too?” I heard this and thought twice about what was being asked. Is this student being motivated by a snack? Does this student think he deserves an extra snack for doing what was asked?
At another point, when I started videotaping lessons, I noticed some students would turn and talk to their neighbor or throw something in the air as soon as I turned my back. I know this is normal, especially for first grade, but it is intentional and I want my students to do the right thing even when they think no one is watching. Being sneaky and getting away with it now can have long-term effects later in life. My goal is to have my students want to do the right thing when there are no rewards involved and no one is watching because they take pride in themselves and want to be the best person they can be.
One of my desired results during my two-week takeover and curriculum was for “students to walk away wanting to make the right decision in various situations.” (See UBD Planning Template.) In an ideal world, students would know the right thing to do before the teacher even has to say anything. But that is not realistic, nor will it ever be, especially for first graders. During my teaching, I decided to really focus on noticing when students make a good decision and do what is asked of them when no concrete reward is offered. This started as a question of bribes and incentives, but as I delved into research, I realized what I am really hoping to achieve is the development of intrinsic motivation in my students, making extrinsic motivation less prevalent.