AboutPatricia Ireland-Williams Expertise I am a retired K-12 Public School Principal (23 years), a teacher and counselor(8 years) and an educational consultant. I can help parents with questions about how the system works, provide ideas on how to solve school issues or assist teachers in coping with the plethera of stressors they face. I am currently an educational consultant and have served on the State of Arizona Solutions Team.
Experience B.A. Secondary Education
M.A. in Counseling
M.A.+ Administration
Question Hi, my name is Michelle and i am doing a research activity based on children on *Does a reward motivate children or reinforce children to do better?
So i was thinking to get a group of children gr-1 or gr.2 and give them a spelling list, and when they are done, to reward them at the end. than i will get another set of group and do the same spelling list but this time without a reward.
~Do you think this is a good idea, or what ideas do you think. Thanks
Answer Michelle,
I'm assuming that you work in a classroom in that you have chosen an academic topic as well as a grade level.
I would not experiment using a spelling list in that at this grade level, the students usually have a week of repetitious study before being expected to learn it. Furthermore, there are some students who have a great deal of difficulty with spelling in that they are not that proficient in reading.
Use something else, perhaps behavioral. Let students know what behavior you are looking for them to improve (like standing in a straight line before going to recess, behaving quietly in the lunchroom, helping others, raising the hand if you have a question, etc. etc). After telling them what you want them to work on, what frequency you are looking for and of course what the reward is, then begin evaluating them. You will need to set up a monitoring system so that you can evaluate them (use a list of their names and make a chart).
If you are not working in a classroom setting, you can do the same thing using a behavioral issue. Be sure to use a chart so that you can determine if your reward has truly motivated them or not.
