CARROTS OR STICKS? Theory and practice in motivating classroom management MARTIN LAMB, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND MOTIVATION
GOOD CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
MOTIVATES LEARNERS
WHO ARE EASIER TO MANAGE
THE CANDLE PROBLEM (Glucksberg 1962)
How can you attach the candle to the wall and light it without wax dripping onto the table?
THE SOLUTION
RESULT: those who had been offered rewards took an average of 3½ minutes longer to do the task
RESEARCHERS’ CONCLUSION For creative tasks, rewards (extrinsic motivators) can actually harm performance WHY? • Because humans are intrinsically motivated to solve puzzles like this • Offering a reward undermines this intrinsic motive
IMPLICATION FOR TEACHERS Intrinsically
motivating tasks will help us manage our classroom. Intrinsically motivating tasks are: pleasurable satisfying Done for their own sake
HAPPY EARLY YEARS…
BUT‌ ď ľ School
learning cannot always be fun
Contemporary classroom environments are laced with a labyrinth of rewards and punishments contingent on students behaving in a certain way Richard Bowman (2011) p.265
EXAMPLES FROM MY DAUGHTERS’ PRIMARY SCHOOL
Raffle tickets (daily)
Class ‘Wizards’ and ‘Superstars’ (weekly)
Achievement Certificates (termly)
Tea with the headteacher
In addition to regular…
Marks and grades
Teacher’s praise & rebukes
CASH REWARDS SCHEMES IN UK SCHOOLS
SOURCE: https://www.vivoclass.com
PIZZA HUT ‘BOOK IT’ SCHEME
DECLINING INTRINSIC MOTIVATION DURING SCHOOL YEARS
SOURCE: http://www.scielo.br/img/revistas/paideia/v22n51/en_a07f2
DEMOTIVATING CARROTS A GENUINE EXAMPLE – Conversation overheard by Gill Robins Two ‘excellent’ pupils are writing a poem together: Joe:
Just write it down
Robert: But we could do it better Joe:
Just hurry up and write it down. If we write it we’ll get a merit
Robert: But this word isn’t very good. Let’s think of a better one. Joe:
(getting impatient) Just write anything. We’ll still get a merit. SOURCE: Robins 2012: 2
CARROTS HAVE SHORT-TERM EFFECTS Try to encourage a kid to learn math by paying her for each workbook page she completes – and she’ll almost certainly become more diligent in the shortterm and lose interest in math in the long-term (p. 39)
CARROTS ARE ADDICTIVE!
Do rewards motivate people? Absolutely. They motivate people to get rewards. (p.67)
HOW TO PERSUADE LEARNERS TO DO CLASSROOM WORK FOR THEMSELVES? OPTION 1 As far as possible provide intrinsically motivating tasks Communicative tasks puzzles
role plays
songs
games videos
HOW TO PERSUADE LEARNERS TO DO CLASSROOM WORK FOR THEMSELVES? OPTION 2 Help learners see long-term intrinsic value in learning English i.e. so they feel that English is good for them
11/12 YEAR OLD INDONESIANS TALKING ABOUT ENGLISH
English is important, my dreams are connected to English
English is the international language. My father used to teach English and I want to become like my father
Because I dream of being able to set foot in Europe…and I would like to play football there
IDEAL L2 SELF
Actual self
Ideal self
We are motivated to reduce the gap between the two selves
Vision of future self can help us through the hard times…
I’ve thought about serving for the title – ... In the gym is the time I think about those things – to find a reason for putting in the hard work – and when you’re going through it on the running track. Sometimes you feel sorry for yourself, you are finding reasons for doing the training. When I get tired and out of breath I think, “I’m doing this so I can last long enough in the fifth set of a Grand Slam — focusing on the last point and hoping your opponent misses.”
SOURCE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-1193779/Fancy-seeing-Murray-Nadal-come-face-face-Wimbledon.html#ixzz1vh4nidPP
RESEARCH EVIDENCE e.g. Dörnyei & Ushioda (2009)
Ideal L2 self becomes important in early adolescence
Learners with strong ideal L2 self have more favourable attitudes to school English
Learners with strong ideal L2 self put more effort into learning English outside school
CONDITIONS
Ideal L2 self should be elaborate and vivid
Shouldn’t be too big a difference between actual self and ideal self
Shouldn’t conflict with desires of significant others
Should be accompanied by a plan of action
SUMMARY
Classroom management is much easier with motivated learners
Learners can be motivated through (amongst other things): Fun
tasks (intrinsic motivation)
Sparing
use of carrots and sticks (extrinsic motivators)
Developing
their ideal L2 selves
FURTHER READING Daniel Pink (2009) Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. Edinburgh: Cannongate Books. Gill Robins (2012) Praise, Motivation and the Child. Abingdon: Routledge. Hadfield, J. and Z. Dรถrnyei (2013) Motivating Learning. Harlow: Longman.
THANKS FOR LISTENING Comments or queries welcome m.v.lamb@education.leeds.ac.uk
GREENE & LEPPER (1974) EXPERIMENT
3 groups of nursery children who all liked drawing, given paper and colour felt tip pens GROUP 1 – told they’d get ‘Good Player’ certificate if they drew with the pens GROUP 2 – given certificate as a surprise at the end GROUP 3 – just asked to draw with pens
Activity repeated 2 weeks later: GROUP 1 kids showed less interest and spent less time drawing than GROUPS 2&3
Greene, D. and M. R. Lepper (1974). "Effects of intrinsic rewards on Children's subsequent intrinsic interest." Child Development 45: 1141-5.
RECENT RESEARCH RESULTS
While incentives may change surface behaviours, what really makes the difference is how students are taught. EDUCATION ENDOWMENT FUND (2014)