Incentives in Education

By Sheena Matthew, PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Resident, Medstar Union Memorial Hospital

Many theories have been created, and presented within this class, to aid teachers in their quest to teach. Some theories outline various learning styles that students possess, while others describe different teaching methods that may be effective to convey knowledge. Although there is already much guidance that exists, one of the largest struggles that teachers still face is eliciting the attention of their students so that they are able to retain the information with which they are presented. However, a newly proposed solution for this problem has been gaining the attention of many teachers and students alike.

Researchers at Bentley University in Massachusetts recently conducted a study which evaluated the influence of a cash incentive on students’ standardized test scores. A randomized, controlled trial was done in which students from nine different middle and elementary schools in Chicago were offered a $90 reward for a passing test score. Students were given a small test, with a cash reward, within the same week as their standardized test, for which no reward was offered. While these students were already deemed to be at risk of not passing their state reading and math tests, they were found to score substantially better on their test when a cash reward was being offered. Additionally, students tended to score higher on easier questions, when offered a financial incentive, suggesting that better scores came from students trying harder and more carefully reviewing their work when they were offered an added benefit.

Although this study already affirms the notion that students who work harder are more inclined to perform better in school, it also suggests that nearly all students are equally capable of achieving such goals. While some argue that such incentives may undermine the actual ability of the teacher to guide their students, I believe that this method of offering an incentive for learning may actually emphasize the teacher’s ability to do so. For example, Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction outlines that an effective learning process includes gaining attention, providing a learning objective, stimulating recall of prior knowledge, presenting material, providing guidance for learning, eliciting performance, providing feedback, assessing performance and enhancing retention and transfer. There are many ways in which this technique aligns with Gagne’s steps. By extending a performance based cash reward, the teacher will nearly always gain the attention of his/her students; the students will instantly become interested in the topic at hand because they see the instant benefit of learning the material in the form of cash. Additionally, the student will then be assessed on their performance, in the form of a test, in which those students who perform well will be rewarded.

While this technique addresses some of the steps of Gagne’s Events of Instruction, it does not address how the material should be delivered or what methods may work best for ensuring students learn the material at hand. This will have to come from the experience within the classroom and what styles the students find most helpful to aid in their learning process.

Realistically, in terms of pharmacy school, students would benefit from a system like this; however, again, monetary rewards would not be feasible. Gaining the attention for these students would most likely be best achieved when concepts are taught and applied to real world situations, or simulated with actual patients. Additionally, it would be beneficial to provide incentives including less assignments or bonus points when a task is done well.

Although this unique idea of extra motivation for students poses a potential aid to the teaching environment, it of course, may not be feasible to offer all students cash rewards for every task at hand. Even if only offered as a way to assess some performances, this may hinder students’ performance on other tasks and make the student less motivated when a reward is not offered. While this may not be the best solution for both teachers and students, it does provide an interesting idea and helps show how some of the teaching strategies that have been presented within our class can be put into practice.

References:

Kamenetz A. Paying students may raise test scores, but the lesson is not over. NPRED. May 2016.

Khadjooi K, Rostami K, and Ishaq S. How to use Gagne’s model of instructional design in teaching psychomotor skills. Gastroenterol Hepato Bed Bench. 2011. 4(3):116-9.