Practicum Week : 6

Date: 13th August 2021

Journal Topic : The pros and cons of intrinsic reward in conditioning the students'
presentation during the class

1. Isu Yang Difokuskan :

The issue that I would like to address as for this week is about rewarding system. I had
been using various kinds of extrinsic rewards in the classroom such as giving points to
accumulate for a prize every month for the students who participate actively and the
Class Dojo system. However, I realize that the rewarding system that I used had
encouraged the students to be more careless in answering the questions and they gave
lesser thoughts to answer the questions as they only wanted to get the rewards. As I did
some research on the issue, I found an excerpt written by The Education Week (2007):

“Rewards can motivate students to attend class, to behave well, or to produce better
work. But if you are not careful in choosing what you reward, they can prompt students to
produce shoddy work--and worse, they can cause students to actually like school
subjects less. The important guidelines are these: Don't use rewards unless you have to,
use rewards for a specific reason, and use them for a limited time.”

Based on the excerpt above, it clearly stated that excessive use of rewards will give
negative impacts towards the lesson. I had been using the reward system regularly and
the most often was giving points as I promise the highest point students accumulated will
be given. As a result, the pupils were being careless when answering the questions in
order to get the candies.

According to Toney (2011): “Trying to implement a reward system on a class wide level
however, is time-intensive, expensive and ultimately - not very effective. It also has a
negative effect on student participation and cooperation in class. Soon whenever you
ask students to do something you will get a chorus of "What do we get?" This will get old
really quick!”

I realized that the problem arises because of myself as I always gave them extrinsic
rewards that had resulted them to be expectant of what I were to give on that day. This
had reduced the pupils’ interest towards the lesson and had diverted their attention to the
rewards that I provided. The approach that I had used was one of the two fundamentally
different approaches that control behaviour namely ‘Appeal to the conscience approach’
and the ‘Sticks and Carrots’ approach which I am currently using. Since humans have
the ability to learn, this approach believes that the best way to change people for the
better, or rather get them to behave in a certain way is to reward them for desirable
behaviour and punish them for undesirable one (Deci, Koestner & Ryan, 1999).

2. Analisis Isu Yang Difokuskan (Punca dan Kesan Isu) :

A meta-analysis examined how rewarding systems influence the performance of

children. Many studies showed that a systematic rewarding of their performance at
school actually results in a decrease of their intrinsic motivation to learn new things. The
rewards did improve their performance but their enjoyment to learn and grapple with
what they learned at school declined (Rowntree, 2015). However, contrary to
materialistic rewards, non-materialistic rewards, such as praise or compliments, did not
have any negative effects on their intrinsic motivation of learning.

Based on the observation in the classroom, the students tend to be more motivated
when they were being praised by teacher. As a result, they showed more effort and
determination towards the lesson. In contrary to the usage of extrinsic motivation such as
giving out points to get the reward, the students tend to be motivated and showed more
effort not because they wanted to but because they only aimed for the rewards. I felt that
it was not too effective and helpful for their learning. As The British Psychological (2015)
society has mentioned in the article ‘Negative effects of reward systems in classroom’:

“The best approach is not to rely on physical rewards. However, if you are already
implementing a reward-based behaviour system, begin slowly weaning the kids away
from it. Instead of getting something for everything, give rewards at the end of the week.
As you do this increase the amount of verbal praise and encourage them to feel proud of
their accomplishments. Hopefully, they will soon stop expecting tangible rewards.”

Therefore, I have to change the way I reward my students. That is by increasing the
intrinsic motivation and decreasing the extrinsic motivation. In that way, I would
encourage them to do the work not because of the reward but for them to get better in
their learning.

3. Kajian Lampau (Literature Reiview) Terhadap Isu (Pengalaman atau Kajian

Lepas) :

The most important thing that I have gained through my research about this issue can be
quoted from the finding of Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier and Ryan (1991) which is, ‘rewards
are to motivate and not to spoil’. With the experiences that I have gone through in finding
correct ways to reward my pupils, I learnt that reward system is very essential and the
appropriate ones should and must be given to them. Extrinsic rewards can be beneficial
if teachers understand that it is for a short-term goal, and that the student will most likely
only be temporarily interested in the material.

4. Cadangan dan Idea Penyelesaian Masalah :

I should be using more praises and motivational words at the beginning of my practicum
months with them instead of rewarding them with something concrete such as stars or
candies. I need to think of better rewarding methods that are more appropriate for my
pupils in order to make reward a positive reinforcement in shaping them to become
excellent learners. As I do not want them to become too dependent of materialistic thing,
Stipek (1993) agrees on the idea that praises are far more relevant rewards compared to
stars or other materialistic form of reward. Pupils are children that are competing to get
attention and to be acknowledged by the adults surrounding them. By praising those
pupils in front of their friends will motivate them to repeat the same behaviour with
increasing quality from time to time. Below are the alternatives for rewards that has been
suggested by E-Learning Info (2015):

Appreciation instead of manipulation – Although it is often underestimated, showing

appreciation and respect can be extremely helpful. Simply recognizing children for good
behaviour or work is a great motivator and is always appreciated.

Challenge-based learning – Ask pupils to collaborate with peers in the classroom and
beyond to develop deeper knowledge of the topics they are studying, identify and solve
challenges, and make a difference in their community.
Meaningful connections with pupils – Get to know the students and care for them –
research suggests that caring relationships with teachers help pupils do better in school
and act more kindly towards others.

5. Tempoh Masa Penyelesaian : 1 Week

6. Tindakan Susulan :

I have to stop giving out extrinsic rewards regularly and only rewards them when they
really put their full efforts towards the task. I would start to act stricter with them to gain
the classroom control and only give praises and acknowledgment at appropriate times.
This will show to my pupils that it is challenging to please the teacher, but it also teaches
them what should be done in order to be praised and gain my attention in more fitting
ways. Similar with Deci (1971)’s belief that intrinsic motivation are better, I also want my
pupils to learn that being motivated internally without depending on materialistic things is
healthier and last longer compared to the extrinsic ones. When they start doing targeted
behaviour without wanting to be rewarded with stars or candies, it will become a habit
that will be useful for them in future.

Besides, I would encourage more participation in discussion work so that the students
can utilize their potential optimally. Through this, the students can identify their strengths
and weaknesses and at the same time learn from their peers. The collaboration would
enable the students to put effort in the task given. Finally, I will always keep up to the
students’ background by regularly see them and let them share their stories. Besides
building a good rapport between teacher and students, I would also be able to analyse
problematic students and approach them more frequently.

Rujukan :

Deci, E. L. (1971). Effects of externally mediated rewards on intrinsic motivation. Journal

of personality and Social Psychology, 18(1), 105.

Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (1999). A meta-analytic review of experiments
examining the effect of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological
Bulletin, 125(6), 627-668.

Deci, E. L., Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., & Ryan, R. M. (1991). Motivation and
education: The self-determination perspective. Educational psychologist, 26(3-4),
325-346.

E-Learning Info. (2015). Pros and cons of reward systems for primary schools
infographic. Retrieved from http://elearninginfographics.com/pros-cons-reward-
systems-primary-schools-infographic/

Rowntree, D. (2015). Assessing students: How shall we know them?. Routledge.

Stipek, D. J. (1993). Motivation to learn: From theory to practice.

The British Psychological. (2015). Negative effects of reward systems in classrooms.

Retrieved from https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-28/december-
2015/negative-effects-reward-systems-classrooms-0
The Education Week. (2005). The pros and cons of rewards. Retrieved from
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/motivation/2007/12/the_pros_and_cons_of_rewards.
Html

Toney, B. A. (2011). Rewards in the classroom: Pros and cons of tangible rewards.
Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Rewards-in-the-Classroom:-Pros-and-Cons-
of-Tangible-Rewards&id=6188409