Monetary Rewards and Feedback

I consider tipping a type of reward for good service at a restaurant.  The reward is given to the waiter or waitress at the end of dinner.  Check out this video from Third Rock from the Sun, where Dick attempts to change tipping. He moves from an after dinner reward to a feedback model:

R#6

We live in a society of rewards and punishments. This current system is evident in the home, in schools and in the workplace. Children receive an award of a toy for purchasing a Happy Meal. Customers receive an award for purchasing products and using a shopping loyalty card. News reporters write articles regarding the need to reward teachers for student performance. When are the use of rewards and punishments most effective in the classroom?

After reading the articles this week by Noddings,Chance and Kohn, I thought about a video I recently watched about the use of monetary rewards and performance.

Daniel Pink video on motivation:


The study conducted by MIT and other major universities focuses on using a three level incentive as reward for performance on tasks ranging from mechanical to cognitive. The low performers received no reward, the middle performers received some reward and the high performers received a large reward. The findings stated for mechanical skills, the bonus system of rewarding worked. However, as the tasks required additional cognitive skill, the higher the reward resulted in lower performance. Alfie Kohn's statement reflects the findings at MIT, "the more cognitive sophistication and open-ended thinking required, the worse people do when they are working for a reward"(p.123). The video also notes when people are given the opportunity to be self directed, they are engaged and produce more. William James talked to teachers about the importance of gaining a student’s voluntary attention and develop interest in curriculum by connecting it to items of student interest.. In addition, Alfie Kohn discussed the need for curriculum to be engaging and connected to the lives and interests of students. These ideas can help the practice of a classroom teacher. If a reward for great performance resulted in a poorer performance as the need for cognitive skills increased, then teachers should not use rewards for class work. I believe rewards have a place in the classroom in regards to behavior management. I have used rewarding to train students to raise a hand to speak, walk without talking in the hall and even toilet training my own children. The use of rewards did not work for students to perform better on local assessments. One year, the school I worked in decided to reward students who performed better on a mid-year local assessment. My top performing students performed worse and the decision to reward students for performance moved to a reward for effort. Even then, I did not see a large increase in the attention to or excitement for testing by my students.


Chance argued his side quite well, noting the importance of feedback as a reward. I see constructive feedback as a necessary component in the learning process. Yes, the odds of Johnny figuring out 7 + 3 = 10 without some form of reinforcement from a teacher or peer are low. However, lets say Johnny sat on the floor in his classroom and decided to build a castle with LEGOS. Johnny carefully placed seven LEGOs together for a tower. He noticed the tower did not stand as tall as he desired, so had connected three more LEGOs to the top. When Johnny built the second tower for his castle, he reasoned 7 LEGOs plus 3 more. This experience lays the foundation for a teacher to provide feedback to Johnny, praising his discovery and providing the explanation of 7 +3 + 10. I think teachers turn to the use of rewards in a desperate attempt to capture student interest. If teachers could provide a curriculum relevant to their students, allowing choice to study topics of individual interest, the student reward would be intrinsic.

Homer's Swear Jar

I came across this funny video clip of Homer Simpson and his attempt to stop swearing. Poor Homer encounters people and events he doesn't like, causing him to unleash a mouthful.  To stop his behavior, his consequence for swearing is putting money in a swear jar.  The first video depicts Homer in the beginning of his conditioning and the second video is the result of his efforts.

Homer's Swear Jar #1
Homer's Swear Jar #2

R#5

After reading Skinner's articles, I engaged in an interesting conversation with my oldest daughter about operant conditioning and the ways in which people and animals respond to stimulus. She asked, "Mom, where in the body does this need to respond develop?" I immediately explained that this type of response is learned, so this need to respond occurs in our brains. Feeling my response satisfied her question, I had grossly underestimated the direction she managed to take our conversation.

"Mom," she replied, "I watched a fascinating show where scientists trained jellyfish to respond to light. It seemed liked they had learned to do things based on light."

"How interesting," I quickly responded, "I didn't know scientists were interested in teaching jellyfish how to do anything."

"Well," she said, "where in the body does this need to respond to light occur in a jellyfish?"
Not hesitating for one moment, I replied, "in their brain."

"Mom, jellyfish do not have brains, so how do they learn?"

I found myself completely baffled. A quick Internet search led to an interesting article on the biology of invertebrate learning. These creatures learn through stimuli and response, reactions occurring within their nervous system. Skinner's statement,"Just as we say that species-specific behavior did not evolve in order that a species could adapt to the environment but rather evolved when it adapted," can provide some explanation. Perhaps how invertebrate respond to light and sound through the nervous system is a result of evolving and adapting to the environment.  I wonder how that transfers to humans and other animals that have brains and can make decisions.

Students in the classroom are conditioned as well. I spent numerous hours training students to raise a hand to speak.  When a student raised a hand to speak, I gave a sticker as a reward.  Initially, the student received the award everytime the hand was raised, then after some time I phased the reward out. While thinking of my intentional training of student behavior, I wondered about a different question. In what ways do external stimuli cause humans to respond without our knowledge? When my phone "dings," without effort I pick it up to read the text sent. When my name is called, I turn my head. Have I been conditioned?

R#4

What is the relationship between free will and habits? This question immediately surfaced in my mind as I read James’s chapter on free will. If we choose to establish a habit, work on it, hone it to the point that it has become automatic have we given up our ability to voluntarily act against it? Let’s say that I have worked to develop a habit of walking. At the same time, every day for five years, I walk the same two mile radius. The habit of walking becomes so strong that I grab my shoes and put them on without looking at the clock because I just know when it is time to go. Then, one day on my daily walk, I encounter a snake. Due to this unforeseen circumstance, I decide to cut short the walk and go home. The next day, would I immediately go for a walk since it is habit or would I reconsider because the snake inhibits me?

James gave teachers some important points in this chapter. I appreciated his view on a child’s will and the classroom. When a child encounters a problem that is difficult, many times they just give up because they feel inhibited. This feeling becomes overwhelming and the problem becomes impossible for the child. At the moment the child gives up or refuses to put forth any effort, many teachers want to punish them. The wise teacher, however, steps back and leads the child in a different direction for awhile, coming back to the problem in a different way. I connected this idea to differentiation in the classroom. When a student finds one method of solving a problem difficult and is afraid to try, differentiated activities can reengage them in the learning process. By presenting information in a different way, a teacher may overcome the student’s inhibition to solve the problem.

I made a personal connection to the reading when James referred to a quote by John Wesley. As a United Methodist and daughter of a United Methodist minister, I remembered conversations I had with my parents in regard to self will. James quoted Wesley when discussing punishment of children by teachers. James states, “Such will-breaking is always a scene with a great deal of nervous wear and tear on both sides, a bad state of feeling left behind it, and the victory not always with the would be will-breaker”(p. 89). I believe Wesley’s quote about breaking a child’s will needs to be taken in the context Wesley meant it. Though his words are strong, I believe Wesley’s message to parents focused on the importance of a child to listen and follow God’s will for their life instead of growing up full of self will.

IAT Test

I completed two IAT tests, one on age and one on presidents.  I thought the tests were interesting, but did not always agree with the results.  Perhaps, if you feel strongly about a topic prior to taking the test the results may lean in one direction.  I questioned what factors the researchers considered when determining the results. Did they consider internet connectivity, delayed response or environmental distractions for the end user?

In regards to memory and associations, I caught myself  talking, outloud, to keep track of the letter and the task. The further into the test I went, the harder it became to focus.  My response time slowed down.  Once I experience the inital task  it became difficult to break the association for the new task.  I believe this excercise lends itself to understanding the relationship between associations and memory.  Associations become your memory.  The initial association I made, such as old is good, became the tool to answer the question correctly.  When then asked to associate old with bad, it became difficult to complete the new task.
I believe the designers of this excercise took to heart James's idea, "don't always ask the question, for example, in the same way; don't use the same data in numerical problems; vary your illustrions, etc., as much as you can" (p. 145). 

"To break up bad associations or wrong ones, to build others in, to guide the associative tendencies into most fruitful channels, is the educator's principal task"(p.137).  What a profound statement James makes.  I believe as educators to assist students in the formation of good associations is easier than breaking bad ones.  Once your mind creates an association it is difficult to undo it. 

R#3

R #3

William James suggested teachers join uninteresting information a child must learn to an interesting topic. James stressed the importance of classroom teachers to keep in touch with the interests of their students. James pointed out items dealing with blood, living things or dangers are objects natively interesting to children.  Silly bands are popular among many children today. Children purchase them, trade them and in a since, create an economy of silly bands. A teacher could connect a lesson about supply and demand to silly bands. The teacher might ask a child, "Why did you trade four monkey silly bands for one glow in the dark unicorn silly band?" The child might respond, using his own language, the difficulty of obtaining the unicorn over the monkeys. The silly band question provides a level of interest to the child, capturing their stream of consciousness and allowing for the connection to the idea of supply and demand.

James makes an excellent point discussing the role passion or motivation plays in learning.  He remarks that a person passionate about a subject can get better results than another who is less passionate but more attentive. As a parent, I made a connection to video gaming and children.  Children are passionate about gaming and work consistently within a particular level to beat it.  I did not see this determination to conquer long division.  James’s statement adds light to this idea, “The prescription is that the subject must be made to show new aspects of itself, to prompt new questions; in a word, to change” (p. 82). Video games change frequently.  Animation, music and difficult challenges draw a child into virtual world.  Teaching long division does not lend itself to excitement.  A teacher need to connect long division to something of interest to a child and change the pace of the lesson or questions asked to maintain a child’s attention. Within the 5 E Model of instruction, the ideas of interest and attention represent the engagement phase of instruction.

As I read James’s thoughts on memory, I agreed with the relationship between a good memory and the forming of diverse and multiple associations.  James points out the importance of thinking over your experiences and making connections in your mind.  In what ways do classroom teachers provide the opportunity for students to think deeply?  When faced with the mass amount of content to cover in a short amount of time, teachers fall into the trap of cramming information.  I believe additional techniques assist with the retention of information and the ability to recall it, including chunking and presentation of material.

R #1

In the first seven chapters of his talks to teachers, William James made an important connection to the science of psychology and the art of teaching referring to the two as congruent. At the time James delivered these talks to teachers, the classroom looked different.  Schools began to mirror the industrial era. Teachers at this time graduated from normal schools and I wonder if teacher preparatory programs devoted time to the area of psychology.  James delivered this important message to teachers, “To know psychology, therefore, is absolutely no guarantee that we shall be good teachers” (p. 3). It is commendable to acknowledge the work of successful teachers, knowing they lacked the background science of psychology or even the physiology of learning. In what ways do current teaching practices reflect the psychology of how children learn?  The notion that some instructional practices from long ago are still in place led me to this quote, “No reception without reception, no impression without correlative expression,-this is the great maxim which the teacher ought never to forget” (p. 17). These powerful words from the turn of the century shed light on the importance of deep understanding instead of the parrot like rote memorization that many teaching methods relied on.  I agree completely with James’s idea that learning requires more than just an impression on an eye or an ear, but require the pupil to act upon an impression and connect to it so that memory has been stored.

James logically connected the importance of imitation and emulation to the classroom teacher and while I agree with his idea of a pupil’s admiration for a skillful teacher, I did not agree with the statement, “A teacher should never try to make the pupil do a thing which she cannot do herself” (p. 26).  Drawing on my experience in teaching gifted education, many times I lacked the skills and knowledge in areas of interest for my students. I could, however, guide them on their own individual learning path and provide instruction in problem solving, research or other skills necessary to assist in finding answers.  With access to technology, a pupil today can connect to experts in a field of study, so the role of the teacher changes from the provider of information to a support and guide.

After reading James’s statement, “One genius will do his work well and succeed in one way, while another succeeds as well quite differently” (p. 3), a child’s story came to mind. In the book, Henry Hikes to Fitchburg (Johnson, 2000), Henry and his friend both decide to travel to the town of Fitchburg and arrive on a certain date.  Henry decides to walk to Fitchburg and his friend decides to work and earn money to take the train.  In the end, both arrive in Fitchburg, but each had a different successful journey.  Even though James’s quote refers to the relationship between the science of psychology and the art of teaching, I think of it in terms of the individual learning journey of a child. Both can do their work well and be successful, but take different paths leading to the same outcome.

Overall, I am amazed at James’s insightfulness of the teaching profession.  His ideas are still relevant and applicable to today’s classroom and pedagogical methods.

Works Cited
James, W. (1962).  Talks to teachers on psychology and to students on some of life's ideals. Mineola, NY: Dover.

Johnson, D. (2000).  Henry hikes to Fitchburg. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.