Martin Lamb

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)