Final: Rewarding Students

Should Schools Reward Students for Working?

The use of rewards in the classroom has been a topic of debate for decades. While some argue they can be effective in promoting positive behavior and academic achievement, others believe they can be detrimental to a student’s intrinsic motivation and overall well-being. 

Keeping students engaged and on task can be difficult. Can rewards help?  Teachers are split on the answer. Some swear by incentives like stickers, a fun activity, or a sweet treat. Others say that learning is its own reward, and students should do what’s expected of them of their own volition.  When students are rewarded for completing a task or behaving in a certain way, they may come to view these behaviors as something they only do for the reward, rather than because they are genuinely interested or invested in the task. 

“This is a really long, ongoing debate,” said Erika Patall, a professor of education and psychology at the University of Southern California. “The answer is not that simple. The bottom line is that rewards are effective for keeping students on task—if that is your sole goal.”  The fear of not receiving a reward can lead to anxiety and feelings of shame in students. 

But rewards will not promote a love of learning or have any long-term effects on student behavior, she said: “As soon as rewards are gone, so is students’ engagement.”  In fact, introducing a reward could actually detract from students’ own motivation, she said. Students might feel like the only reason they’re working hard on a task is because they’re trying to get the reward—even if they genuinely enjoy what they’re working on.

When Education Week asked its readers on social media to share the rewards they offer in their classrooms, some shared similar concerns.  Steve Kaczmarek wrote that he rewards his students with “knowledge, and if they pay attention, the ability to compete well.”

Denise Conner wrote that she offers privileges to her middle schoolers instead of rewards.  “The idea of offering ‘items’ or ‘gifts’ is creating the ‘dangling carrot effect,’ which in this day and age is not large enough to create a changed behavior,” she wrote. “A privilege becomes a more intrinsic reward, and feels more authentic to change perception and confidence in doing what is right for the common good of a community.”

Some teachers swear by class rewards, but other social media users said they’ve found success in offering rewards to their students. Those rewards range from small trinkets to games and breaks.

Amanda Be said she hands out stamps and stickers: “My fifth graders LOVE them!”

Christy Riester wrote that kids in her class could earn a Fun Friday: “Kid-led Kahoots, and I bring in cookies. If it's nice weather, we go outside and walk (kids love walking and talking); play games.”

Shannon Steyer shared a list of rewards she offered in her classroom: “Tickets for treasure box, punch cards, treats, free time on Friday, whole-class compliment.”  “They are competing with themselves, not one another,” Steyer said, adding that students below grade level have an equal chance to earn money as students at or above grade level.

Whether you’re for or against rewarding students for learning, the debate goes on.