One problem is that we have standardized our classrooms and schools. We are very much into routines, getting the right answers and standardization (although every educator knows about differentiated instruction!).
Students should not be motivated in a classroom by external rewards – such as grades. We need students to be self-directed, and motivated by freedom, challenge and purpose – intrinsic motivation.
Daniel Pink writes about motivation in his book “Drive” and argues that we have been conditioned to think the best way to motivate ourselves and others is through external reward – the carrot and stick approach. He says that this is a mistake – and that the key to motivation is the desire to follow your own interests, figure out your own solutions to problems and understand the benefits.
This makes sense from what I have observed in my classroom. The “if-then” rewards model works – like marks – only works for simple, mechanical, and algorithmic tasks I expected them to learn. But for the deeper thinking skills – it is more about self-directed learning, making sense of problems,
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It will not be because they appreciate the beauty of the subject or that they could relate to how it is used in their world. Math tests early in a child’s school life – and this is why there is such an early onset of math anxiety and a dislike for the subject. With this goal of “fluency” – teachers have been and still are – giving timed tests. For some reason – teachers equate fluency with timed testing. I just don’t remember where in the curriculum it states that a student needs to understand a math concept as quickly as possible. There is emerging evidence on the impact of timed testing and the ways in which it transforms children’s brains, leading to that inevitable path of math anxiety and low math