The same subtle interplay between motivation and rewards is also at work when it comes to education and learning, say Schwartz and Wrzesniewski. Rewarding students for getting their schoolwork done with prizes, snacks and even grades, as most schools do, can have the unintended effect of dismantling a child’s drive to learn for its own sake. The intrinsic rewards that come from exploring interests in depth, and mastering difficult concepts and problems, can be smothered by a reward system that focuses on grades, say, rather than understanding. It also signals what’s important to the teachers. “When you dangle Burger King in front of kids’ noses, you are telling them what kind of consequence matters, and what motive to pay attention to,” Schwartz says. “And education will suffer.”What is interesting about this is the idea that extrinsic rewards take away the autonomy of our students. Simply put, maybe we shouldn't be telling our kids how to feel rewarded, and instead we should give the the autonomy to find their own reward.
Aaron Romens is an education consultant based in Madison, Wisconsin.
