Declining Student Engagement; Are Extrinsic Motivators to Blame?

"Students who are encouraged to think about grades, stickers, or other “goodies” become less inclined to explore ideas, think creatively, and take chances." - Alfie Kohn

Earlier this year, after reading Scott McLeod's alert, I wrote about Gallup's report indicating students become less engaged in school as they advance through their program. David Perkins says this decline in student engagement is the result of a relevancy gap, a difference between our prescribed curriculum and learning experiences that offer a significant "life-worthy" return for students. Later, I asked David White if guiding students towards greater digital residency, in other words, providing more opportunities for interactive digital learning, would increase student engagement.

David said, "There is ongoing research based on this premise, but any conclusions should include sound pedagogical practice."

As someone who always enjoys learning, and usually enjoyed school, I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around this trend of declining student engagement in school. I've shared Gallup's survey results with teachers, students, and their parents, asking for suggestions about the cause of student disengagement. Answers have included boredom, distractions, and the proliferation of competing interests. As he typically does, Alfie Kohn shifts my thoughts about student engagement in another direction.

Gallup (2016). Engagement Today - Ready for Tomorrow, Fall 2015 survey results. Washington, DC: Author

(n = 928,888)

The use of extrinsic motivators is likely to decrease student engagement in school.

This hypothesis will keep me awake at night during the coming weeks or months. Extrinsic motivators can include grades, tokens, or even unconditional praise. Kohn's report ignites my curiosity with statements like:

Classroom management programs that rely on rewards and consequences ought to be avoided by any educator who wants students to take responsibility for their behavior.

Grades, in particular, have been found to have a detrimental effect on creative thinking, long-term retention, interest in learning, and preference for challenging tasks.

Parental use of rewards or consequences to induce children to do well in school has a similarly negative effect on the enjoyment of learning and, ultimately, on achievement.

Is the lack of student engagement an issue in your school or classroom? Are rewards given like candy to gain compliance and increase motivation? The relevancy gap is a reality for many schools, long-standing grading practices are under scrutiny, and the schooling needs of the modern learner are changing rapidly. Who can argue with Alfie Kohn's conclusion?

"Children are likely to become enthusiastic, lifelong learners as a result of being provided with an engaging curriculum; a safe, caring community in which to discover and create; and a significant degree of choice about what they are learning. Rewards, like punishments, are unnecessary when these things are present and are ultimately destructive in any case."

If not extrinsic motivators, then what is causing most of our older students to disengage from learning following their elementary school years? Please share your comments because I welcome your thoughts on this topic.

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Board Games in the School Library: 3 Reasons Why It's a Winning Play

"Play is the highest form of research." - Albert Einstein “Play is the work of the child.” – Maria Montessori In our recently remodeled school media center, we have a space dedicated to active engagement in fun learning activities. Part maker space, part literacy lounge, board games are being incorporated to promote a culture of joyful learning. Whether it's a game of Rummy , Yahtzee , or Scrabble , family game night serves as a communication elixir and solidifies our domestic climate of togetherness. Shouldn't similar opportunities for interaction, challenge, and fun exist somewhere in our schools? Broken families, cultural fragmentation, and poverty are impacting opportunities for children to play. As we unpacked and tagged our new media center games, I was more disappointed than shocked by the number of students who had never played Monopoly , Boggle , or Sorry . One skeptical teacher commented, "Oh great, now we're letting students pl

Self-Directed vs. Self-Determined Learning; What's the Difference?

"We need to move beyond the idea that an education is something that is provided for us, and toward the idea that an education is something that we create for ourselves." - Stephen Downes In this age of abundance of information, shifting classroom pedagogy isn't nearly enough to make learning in school more relevant and authentic for the learner. Self-directed learning ( andragogy ), and self-determined learning ( heutagogy ) are the ideals necessary in making students " future ready " to live and learn in a web-connected world. While original research applied these concepts to mature learners, it has become apparent that even young children have an abundant capacity for recognizing and directing their learning. Anyone who has observed toddlers learning how to walk and talk understand the motivation and skill development that quickly develops during these processes. Considered by some to be on a learning continuum, self-directed learning, and self-determined

Arthur Chiaravalli said…

Robert,

Thanks for the thoughtful post. YES, motivation is an issue. I 100% agree with Alfie Kohn's research that extrinsic motivators (grades being the most pervasive) are the cause of the disengagement.

An upcoming post for me is how the ADDICTION to extrinsic motivators almost ensures that, as we move away from them, we will first see a major LULL and IMPLEMENTATION DIP--not to mention OPPOSITION. We are not always greeted as liberators. If points, grades, and other extrinsic motivators are not seen as an addiction, we will continually back down in our opposition to these practices--not unlike a junkie flees back to the comfortable misery of his habit.

Another metaphor that comes to mind is lawn care. Lawns that are addicted to a steady regimen of chemical weed-and-feed treatments struggle to transition to a natural, self-sustaining ecology. We've got to have a "strong enough why" to tough it out through the skepticism and scorn.

October 20, 2016 at 7:05 PM

Rum Tan said…

You are right, children are likely to become enthusiastic and lifelong learners if we provide them right environment and obviously punishments are more destructive. Getting all your students focused, eager, and on task at the beginning of class is challenging enough. Equally problematic, once you have them locked in to the lesson, is watching them zone out. There's nothing unusual about that. After all, anyone who has to sit through a long routine including a teacher's presentation is bound to drift off at some point. Many teachers use hand-clapping patterns to accompany a chanted verse or a set of math facts, add foot stomping or hand clapping with a partner to create variety, and cross crawl to engage students well. These are good tactics. Tutors need to identify if students are struggling to learn and take appropriate steps to refrain them from distraction. Thanks for sharing such a helpful post.

May 30, 2021 at 1:16 PM

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