Final Report 1

Running head: FINAL REPORT

Final Report:

The Effect of Reward on Academic Performance

Group A

Laura Robertson

S. Wade Bradt

Martin S. Goodwin

Florida State University

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for

EDF 5442 – Inquiry & Measurement for Practitioners

Spring 2012

Dr. Jean-Marc Wise – Instructor

Submitted April 22, 2012

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Abstract

This inquiry addresses the effect of rewards on academic performance with a specific emphasis

on the collection of data related to the types of rewards used by teachers and instructors, and

their methods of application, that promote student engagement with overall educational

objectives. This data was collected using a survey and structured interviews. The survey

consisted of a series of questions that covered reward planning, application of rewards in

instructional activities, and general educator attitudes and experiences with the use of rewards.

Survey respondents consisted of high school teachers and college instructors with various levels

of teaching experience and backgrounds in different content areas. Structured interviews

focused on the types and uses of rewards in different academic environments. These interviews

were conducted with educators in three particular learning environments: 1) a traditional high

school classroom; 2) a traditional college classroom; and 3) an online (virtual) college classroom.

An analysis of the data collected using these methods indicates that rewards are moderately

applied in academic environments and that the greatest influence of rewards is on student

participation and motivation instead of student academic performance. However, these findings

may lack generalizability to the larger population of educators and range of instructional contexts

given the small sample size and limited scope of the inquiry effort.

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Introduction

Rewards have been used in different learning environments with varying effect (Watcher,

Lungu, Liu, Willingham, & Ashe, 2009; Chapman & Cope, 2004). The goal of this inquiry was

to explore how educators plan for, use, and reflect upon various reward contingencies in their

respective academic environments. To this end, the inquiry relied on an educator survey and

individual interviews to collect both quantitative and qualitative data that provided the basis for

an examination of educator opinions and attitudes on the use and effectiveness of rewards with

respect to student motivation and performance. The primary research questions addressed by

this inquiry are: 1) How are rewards applied in an academic environment?; and 2) How does the

presence of a reward influence student motivation and performance? Findings from the inquiry

efforts provide a snapshot of the use of rewards within the scope of this project and are related to

pertinent items in the reviewed literature. This report also includes the protocol and results from

a usability test conducted to evaluate the use of a software tool to assist educators in the tracking

and management of reward systems. The report concludes with an examination of inquiry

limitations and suggestions for further research.

Literature Review

There have been many different studies in recent years that have endeavored to identify

and quantify how rewards influence student motivation and academic performance. These

studies vary in scope and provide different investigative aspects of the use and efficacy of

rewards to influence learner performance. Studies were selected for review based on the

relevance of the study to the relationship between the application of rewards and learning

performance. Articles that focused on the relationships between rewards and other types of

performance, such as the accomplishment of job tasks, as well as those that contained a heavy

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neurobiological focus on the efficacy of reward, were typically rejected unless they were relevant

to some type of learning context. Overall, the literature reviewed for this project related

specifically to the application and efficacy of different types of reward schemas in the academic

environment within the following areas: 1) studies that examined the specific and direct uses of

rewards to influence learner performance; 2) studies that investigated the negative effects of

rewards; and 3) studies that explored different methods of applying reward contingencies. The

results and findings of the studies reviewed for this project formed the foundation for the

development of specific survey items and interview questions and were used as a basis for

comparison of the data collected through the instruments used for this inquiry.

Studies that examined the direct application of rewards to influence learner performance

provided information on the efficacy of different types of rewards (Watcher, Lungu, Liu,

Willingham, & Ashe, 2009) and the impact of rewards on patterns of learner performance

(Oliver & Williams, 2006). An investigation into the direct effects of reward and punishment on

procedural learning (Watcher, Lungu, Liu, Willingham, & Ashe, 2009) indicated that reward, but

not punishment, enhanced the implicit learning of a procedural sequence. Another study that

focused on the awarding of bonus points as a reward among students of different academic

abilities and motivational levels (Oliver & Williams, 2006) indicated that the presence of reward

contingencies can be effective for students who are extrinsically motivated, but counter-

productive for students who are intrinsically motivated. These results were used to develop

survey items, interview questions, and usability test items that dealt with the uses of reward and

punishment as performance motivators and how rewards are integrated with other internal and

external factors.

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Articles and studies that investigated the negative effects of rewards were reviewed to

provide a more holistic perspective on the inquiry project topic and to identify the presence of

conflicting or contradictory findings relating to the use and efficacy of rewards. The findings of

these studies indicated that rewards may have an adverse impact on influencing learner behavior

and performance (Hall, 2009) and may create unintended expectancies within learners that

negate reward value and minimize other motivational factors (Balsam & Bondy, 1983;

Eisenberger, Pierce, & Cameron, 1999). These findings were used to develop interview

questions that probed individual educator experiences with the adverse or unintentional effects of

reward implementation.

Literature concerning the differential application of rewards provided insight into the

influence of reward implementation on overall reward effectiveness (Fischer & Born, 2009;

Chapman & Cope, 2004; and Von Mizener & Williams, 2009). The information contained in

these studies identified the particular implications associated with the methods in which rewards

are applied to different levels of learning objectives in a classroom environment, the influence of

different learning modalities as determinants of reward effectiveness, and the relationship

between student autonomy and reward contingencies. Specifically, findings from studies that

addressed reward implementation found that the anticipation of a reward can positively influence

learning and is particularly effective when a period of sleep is allowed between the initial

learning of the task and subsequent recall testing (Fischer & Born, 2009); that the learning

modality, such as the level of student interactivity and collaboration in learning exercises and the

use of modular lessons, may be the primary determinant in the efficacy of a performance

incentive schema, suggesting that the types of learning activities subject to reward and the

methods in which those rewards are applied, and not the rewards themselves, may have the most

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influence on student performance (Chapman & Cope, 2004); and that educators should refrain

from negotiating reward contingencies with students, especially with respect to the type of

reward provided and the academic activities to which those rewards pertain (Von Mizener &

Williams, 2009). These findings were used to define the scope and content of particular survey

items and interview questions which addressed the timing of reward delivery, the types of

specific reward contingencies used by educators, and the level of student autonomy allowed by

educators with respect to reward management.

Methods

Inquiry project data was collected via an online survey and through structured interviews

and was designed to explore the types of rewards used by educators, and their methods of

application, that promote student engagement with overall educational objectives. These

instruments were used to collect data on respondent experiences with the use of rewards and

their attitudes and opinions as to the overall effectiveness of rewards on student performance. A

usability test was also conducted to evaluate the use of a Microsoft Excel template in tracking

and managing reward systems by educators.

Survey Instrument

The online survey instrument was administered between March 21, 2012 and March 28,

2012 and consisted of twenty-six items grouped into five sections, with each section consisting

of a group of items that focused on a different aspect of the use of rewards in an academic

environment (see Appendix A and Appendix B). The first section contained a series of questions

that were used to collect data on respondent demographics, such as teaching position, teaching

experience, level of education, characteristics of students, educational environment, and

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experience with receiving or administering specialized training on the use of rewards as

educational tools.

The second section contained Likert-style questions that were used to collect data on the

frequency with which respondents incorporate reward contingencies during lesson planning

activities and how often they collaborate among other colleagues concerning reward systems.

Survey items in the third section focused on the application and effectiveness of rewards

during instructional activities. This section contained a series of statements and used five-point

Likert scales to collect data on each respondent's level of agreement with each statement. These

survey items were used to capture respondent opinions concerning the use of rewards to

influence student motivation and participation, the effect of reward on student test scores, the

effectiveness of different types of rewards, and the importance of rewards in overall teaching

strategy.

The fourth section of the survey contained two statements concerning the applicability of

survey items. Responses to these statements were captured using a five-point Likert scale and

were intended to help establish the face validity of the survey.

The final section contained three open-ended questions designed to collect information

on respondents' personal experience with reward systems. These questions focused on the

purposes for using rewards, the types of rewards that have been found to be most effective, and

the negative effects of using rewards.

Survey Participants

The survey was deployed via Google Sites and Survey Monkey. Two groups of

participants were surveyed for this inquiry. The first group consisted of K-12 teachers in a

public school system. Within this participant group, 137 individuals were invited to complete

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the survey and 46 responses were received. Two of these responses were incomplete and were

excluded, resulting in 44 usable responses (32.1% response rate). The minimum teaching

experience of respondents within this participant group was one year and the maximum was 41

years (mean = 13.09 years with a standard deviation of 10.16). Respondents in this group

indicated that they primarily teach students in the 9th - 12th grades. Within these grade levels, the

respondents also indicated the further breakdown of students by subtype as shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Student Characteristics for Group 1

Traditional Special Education Gifted Advanced

Placement31 6 6 1

The second group consisted of college educators from a public southeastern university

whose primary roles are as professors or teaching assistants. Within this participant group, 16

individuals were invited to complete the survey and 9 responses were received. Two responses

were excluded because they were provided by individuals who did not meet the participant

parameters of this group in that they were not college instructors, resulting in 7 usable responses

(43.75% response rate). The participants in this group included two full professors, two associate

professors, one assistant professor, one adjunct instructor, and one teaching assistant. The

minimum teaching experience of respondents within this participant group was three years and

the maximum was 24 years (mean = 12.29 years with a standard deviation of 7.07). The

respondents in this group indicated that they are evenly split between graduate and

undergraduate students.

A total of fifty-one respondents with varying levels of education participated in the

survey. A breakdown of education levels reported by respondents is contained in Table 2.

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Table 2: Respondent Educational Level

Bachelor's Degree Master's Degree Ph.D. Other13 29 7 2

Survey respondents who are high school teachers reported that they teach mostly in

traditional academic environments while respondents who are college instructors reported that

their teaching duties include a combination of traditional and online academic environments.

Table 3 shows the total number of respondents who teach in either traditional (face-to-face),

online (virtual), or blended classroom environments.

Table 3: Total of Educators by Environment Taught

Traditional Online Combination41 3 7

With respect to specialized training in the use of rewards, 11 respondents (21.57%)

reported receiving such training. Of these, the majority (72.7%) hold advanced degrees. This

data is contained in Table 4.

Table 4: Respondents Who Have Received Training In Rewards as Educational Tools

Bachelor's Degree

Master'sDegree Ph.D Other

3 6 2 -

Structured Interviews

Structured interviews with three individuals were conducted between April 1, 2012 and

April 8, 2012. The purpose of these interviews was to explore the interviewee’s attitudes and

opinions on the use and limitations of rewards in the following specific academic environments:

1) a traditional high school classroom; 2) a traditional college classroom; and 3) an online

college classroom. These interviews are referenced as Interview #1, Interview #2, and Interview

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#3, respectively. The specific protocols used for these interviews are contained in Appendices C

through E.

Interview #1 was conducted with a public school teacher with nine years of experience

teaching middle school and high school classes. The interviewee has varied experience in

teaching with different subjects and levels of students and was interviewed to explore the

individual's pertinent attitudes and opinions on the use and limitations of rewards with students

in a traditional high school classroom environment.

Interview #2 was conducted with a college instructor at a public southeastern university

who primarily teaches traditional classes. The interviewee has over three years of experience

teaching in a traditional college environment at the undergraduate level and has experience both

in teaching the use of rewards and applying reward contingencies and was interviewed to explore

the individual's pertinent attitudes and opinions on the use and limitations of rewards with

students in a traditional college classroom environment.

Interview #3 was conducted with a college instructor at a public southeastern university

who primarily teaches online classes. The interviewee has approximately seven years of

experience teaching in an online environment at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and

was interviewed to explore the individual's pertinent attitudes and opinions on the use and

limitations of rewards with online students in a virtual classroom environment.

Usability Testing

Usability testing focused on the use of the Vertex 42 School Reward Chart (Vertex 42

LLC, 2012) to manage reward systems. This chart is contained in Appendix F. The Vertex 42

School Reward Chart is a spreadsheet template that uses the Microsoft Office Excel application

to allow users to enter data, tally scores, and print final results and is designed to provide

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educators with the ability to implement and manage customized student reward systems. The

usability test protocol consisted of three tasks for the participant to complete:

1. Enter student data;

2. Enter reward activity information; and

3. Enter earned reward points.

The usability test was administered to three different participants and was conducted

using the Concurrent Think Aloud (CTA) protocol. Each participant was provided with identical

sample data to ensure test congruence.

Findings

Survey Findings

Overall, 55 participants responded to the survey. As previously noted, four of these

respondents were excluded from the data analysis, two because of incomplete responses to

survey items and two because they did not meet the respondent parameters of the inquiry. The

data from the remaining 51 respondents provided the basis of the data analysis efforts.

Section One of the survey contained the demographic data described in a previous section

of this report. The survey consisted of four other sections that focused on different aspects of

reward application and effectiveness, including the use of rewards in instructional planning,

application of rewards in academic activities, and overall experience with the use of rewards.

Section Two of the survey dealt with reward planning, both on an individual and

team/department basis. Data collected from items in this section of the survey indicated that

most respondents only plan and use rewards sometimes. In addition, a majority of respondents

(74.5%) indicated that reward planning is seldom or never coordinated with other teachers or

their department. This data is summarized in Table 5.

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Table 5: Reward Planning and Coordination

Never Seldom Sometimes Often AlwaysFrequency of Active Reward Planning

2 14 24 9 2

Frequency of Reward Coordination

24 14 11 2 -

Section three of the survey dealt with the effectiveness of rewards as it pertains to their

impact on student performance and motivation in the classroom setting. Data collected from the

items in this section pertain to the levels to which respondents agreed or disagreed with specific

statements and is summarized in Table 6.

Table 6: Effect of Rewards on Student Performance

Statement Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

AgreeRewards increase student test scores.

3 6 23 19 -

Students are primarily motivated by their interest in a subject.

1 10 5 26 9

Students work harder when there is a reward for performing well.

- 9 12 27 3

The use of rewards is an effective method of motivating student participation.

- 3 14 32 2

The type of reward determines its effectiveness.

- 7 17 25 2

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Respondents were asked how strongly they felt rewards in the classroom increase the test

scores of their students. While nineteen respondents (37.25%) agreed that rewards increase their

students’ test scores, twenty-three participants (45.1%) responded with neutral agreement. The

majority of respondents (68.63%) either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that

students are primarily motivated by their interest in a subject. Twenty-seven of the participants

responded that they agree their students work harder when they know there is a reward for

performing well. In total, thirty of the respondents (58.82%) agreed or strongly agreed that

students work harder when a reward is available. With regard to motivating student

participation, the majority of the respondents (66.67%) reported they agreed or strongly agreed

with the use of rewards being an effective method of motivating student participation. Finally,

the majority of the participants (53%) responded that they either agreed or strongly agreed that

the type of reward determines its effectiveness. Seven participants (13.73%) disagreed, and the

remaining seventeen responses (33.33%) were neutral on the item.

Items in Section Four were included to help determine the face validity of the survey.

This section consisted of two items which elicited responses concerning the pertinence of survey

items and the extent to which the survey accurately addressed respondent opinions on the use

and effectiveness of rewards. Data from this section is summarized in Table 7.

Table 7: Respondent Opinions of Survey Pertinence and Accuracy

Survey Attribute Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

AgreePertinence 1 3 15 29 3

Accuracy - - 10 37 4

With respect to the pertinence of survey items, 62.7% of survey respondents indicated

that they either agreed or strongly agreed that the items in the survey were pertinent to the use of

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rewards in their academic environment. An additional 29.4% of respondents were neutral on this

item. This indicates weak to moderate face validity of the survey and, given more time and

resources, would provide the basis for refining survey items through feedback from survey

respondents and the use of additional pilot groups to provide further validity testing of the survey

instrument. On the matter of survey accuracy, 80.4% of respondents indicated that they either

agreed or strongly agreed that the survey accurately addressed their opinions on the application

and effect of rewards.

Section Five of the survey contained three open-ended questions relating to the types of

rewards used, the purpose for using rewards, and the negative aspects of using rewards. The

responses to these questions support the data collected from other survey items and are examined

in more depth in the Discussion section.

Interview Findings

The results of the three interviews conducted for this inquiry mostly supported and

confirmed the data collected from survey responses. Specifically, interviewees were unanimous

in indicating that the awarding of bonus points and the opportunity to engage in extra activities,

such as group games or exercises, are more effective than candy, tokens, and other similar

rewards. The most common theme to emerge from the interviews was the experience related by

the interviewees that the greatest type of reward is educator involvement in individual student

performance. While this is not usually considered a reward per se, active educator involvement

and attention to a student’s learning process instills a sense of value within the student that can

be a powerful motivator with respect to participation and academic performance.

The only major difference in interviewee opinions on rewards centered on their

application in online versus traditional academic environments. Interview subjects who teach in

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traditional environments did not indicate that the use of rewards should be limited and agreed

that students should be informed of the presence of a reward when available. Conversely, the

interview subject who primarily teaches online classes indicated that rewards should be used

sparingly in a virtual environment, since the overuse of rewards may supplant an online student's

typically high level of intrinsic motivation by shifting the student’s locus of control toward

external factors, and that the presence of rewards should not be advertised, since rewards have

proven to be most effective and have the greatest lasting value when students are unaware of the

presence of a potential reward for a given assignment or activity.

Usability Test Findings

Findings from the usability test indicated that participants were initially confused about

where to begin entering data in the template and that entering reward activity information proved

to be tedious and overly difficult using the existing format of the template. Column and text

sizes had to be continually adjusted to accommodate inputted data and enhance readability and

the template lacked a feature for tallying reward point totals. Time on task for entering student

data was comparatively shorter than it was for entering reward activity information. The number

of identified problems/issues identified per task are contained below:

Enter student data: 1

Enter reward activity information: 5

Enter earned reward points: 2

Discussion

The discussion of inquiry findings are broken down into four general areas: 1) reward

planning; 2) reward application; 3) reward effectiveness; and 4) survey face validity. With

respect to reward planning, survey responses indicate that most teachers take an individual

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approach to the use of rewards in their instructional planning activities. The majority of

respondents (74.5%) indicated that they seldom or never coordinate the use of rewards with their

departments or with other teachers. Surprisingly, a greater percentage of college instructors

(85.7%) than high school teachers (65.9%) indicated that they use rewards at least sometimes in

their instructional activities. This contradicts some of the data contained in the literature

reviewed for this inquiry, which indicated that the use of rewards tends to decrease as students

get older and advance in grades. Davis, Winsler, & Middleton (2006) found that 75% of college

students participating in a survey concerning their experiences with rewards indicated that the

availability of rewards in their academic environments decreased as they progressed through

their schooling.

Data collected on reward application showed some surprising results as well, with the

majority of respondents (76.47%) providing either negative or neutral responses with respect to

rewards being an integral part of their teaching strategy. This, again, contradicts some of the

literature reviewed for this inquiry, which indicated greater application of rewards in an

instructional environment. Specifically, Hoffmann, Huff, Patterson, & Nietfeld, (2009), in their

survey of educators concerning the prevalence of rewards in academic settings, report that 79.1%

of respondents indicated that they incorporated the use of rewards in their teaching strategy on at

least a weekly basis. Interestingly, respondents did report a link between the application of a

reward and increased student participation and motivation, with a majority (66.67%) of

respondents indicating that using rewards is an effective method of increasing student

participation. This is consistent with the responses one of the open-ended questions contained in

Section Five of the survey, which asked respondents their purpose for using rewards in the

classroom and provided three specific prompts (participation, morale, and academic

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performance) as example responses. Participation was the most often cited reason for using

rewards (64.71%), followed by academic performance (45.10%) and morale (19.61%). In

response to the open-ended question of whether or not using rewards decreases student

motivation or performance, a vast majority of the responses (40) answered with “no.” One of the

respondents commented, “No, the use of motivation has always increased student performance."

Additionally, 58.8% of respondents indicated that their students work harder when they knew

their efforts will be rewarded.

Responses related to reward effectiveness also seems to contradict some of the literature

reviewed for this inquiry, with only 37.25% of respondents agreeing that using rewards increases

the test scores of their students. A majority of the studies reviewed for this inquiry indicated a

positive cause/effect relationship between the presence of a reward and individual performance.

For example, Watcher, Lungu, Liu, Willingham, & Ashe (2009) report that the presence of a

reward increased the learning of a procedural task, as measured by task response time, by 78.6%.

Additionally, Wageman & Baker (1997) found that reward interdependency significantly

influenced task performance.

Data collected on the pertinence and accuracy of the survey indicated that the survey had

weak to moderate face validity, with 62.7% of survey respondents indicating agreement that

survey items were pertinent to the use of rewards in their academic environment and 80.4% of

respondents indicating that they agreed that the survey accurately addressed their opinions

regarding reward application and effectiveness. This data reflects project constraints which

limited activities to verify and validate inquiry data collection instruments (e.g. pilot studies,

feedback).

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With regard to the responses received for our open-ended questions, 64.71% of survey

respondents answered the question “For what purpose do you use rewards in the classroom (e.g.,

participation, morale, academic performance)?” with "participation," while only 45.1% included

“academic performance” in their response. Two other purposes for the use of rewards that were

reported were “behavior” and “morale.” These two purposes were only reported by teachers in a

high school setting and made up a small amount of respondents. This shows a small variance in

purpose for use of rewards of teachers in various settings dealing with varying levels of students.

One respondent reported on the purpose of rewards as, “To get the students more focused and

stay on task under limited time.” While another responded with, “To encourage students to

stretch to do something they might not normally do (perform, work alone, etc.).”

In regard to the open-ended question, “What type of rewards systems have you found to

be most effective with your students?”, the three main types of rewards reported by the

respondents were points, candy/food, and choice of activities in the classroom. Thirty-one of the

respondents indicated that rewards with points, such as extra credit or homework passes, were

the choice type of reward for students followed by candy/food and the choice of a particular class

activity. One of the respondents stated, “In an online environment, bonus points work well.

Face to face, candy is an incredible motivator for young and old alike.”

While most of the respondents answered “no” to the question, “Has using rewards ever

resulted in a decrease of student motivation or performance?”, the few who responded with “yes”

had some interesting explanations that indicate an extrinsic reward can have a negative impact on

intrinsic motivation. A few of the explanations are cited below:

“Students began to wait until reward was offered to do work. Students need to recognize

in the real world, one must comply with performance requests without a “carrot” being offered.”

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“Students become desensitized to certain rewards and they will become less effective.

The use of some rewards also destroys the intrinsic motivation of students.”

“Using rewards regularly can create a mindset of expectation, thus lowering student

motivation to work on their own and study for the purpose of learning. For example, I have seen

students not complete required assignments, but then expect me to give bonus assignments for

extra points that will make up for the points they missed on the incomplete required work.”

The qualitative data collected by the survey via these open-ended questions is consistent with the

information discovered during the structured interviews, as explained in the Findings section of

this report.

Overall, the data collected within the scope of this inquiry indicates that rewards are

moderately applied in academic environments and that the greatest influence of rewards is on

student participation and motivation instead of student academic performance. However, these

findings may lack generalizability to the larger population of educators and range of instructional

contexts given the small sample size and limited scope of the inquiry effort.

Inquiry Limitations

There are two key limitations to the survey we used to collect data for this inquiry. 

Although we were pleased with the response to our request (n=51) in comparison with the course

requirement, we understand that our sample size was extremely small.  Ordinarily, our inquiry

plan would have included the sampling of teachers from multiple high schools and universities,

rather than just one of each.  Ideally, we would also have stratified the response among different

types of teachers.  For instance, being able to discriminate between the reward systems used for

“Special Education” and “Traditional” students would have been a meaningful effort.

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In addition to sample size, we also understand that this survey is inherently measuring

teacher beliefs and opinions. It would have been a significant improvement to have been able to

structure a study that actually measured student performance. In a real-world scenario, we would

have paired this more qualitative survey with a quantitative study measuring student performance

under varying reward systems. The results of this mixed-method approach would have provided

more robust data and allowed us to arrive at more valid and reliable findings.

Suggestions for Further Research

Even with the limited scope of this inquiry effort, several additional opportunities for

future research have been identified. While there are many different studies that have

investigated the uses and effects of rewards, there seems to be little inquiry into the application

of rewards in different academic environments. Research in this area would be particularly

pertinent given the emergence and popularity of e-learning, m-learning, and their associated

educational contexts.

Reflections

The following points list our general thoughts and reflections on the overall inquiry project

assignment:

More guidance on what topics to choose.  We ended up choosing a topic that required a

constant narrowing of the scope to meet time constraints and that was not really

conducive to pertinent usability testing.

It would probably have benefited us to do several rounds of the literature review, getting

feedback after each round, and narrowing in on those publications which would be most

informative to our question.

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Separate the data in a way that could differentiate between what types of students are

affected by different types of rewards. For instance low-socioeconomic students, honors

students, standard students. The research could have shown different types and purposes

for each of these types of students and how or if that makes a difference. 

Put a particular reward system into effect with selected teachers and collect data on how

effective/ineffective the reward is in those cases. Compare this data based on our

literature review. 

Survey an equal amount of participants (high school setting vs. college) to be able to

compare the high school teachers' opinions/input to the college instructors'

opinions/input. 

Implement a particular reward tool in various educational settings and collect data on its

effectiveness.

Overall, our team worked very well together and the guidance provided by the feedback

on different assignments and the opportunity to revise and resubmit particular

assignments provided some of the best learning experiences in this course.

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Berns, G., McClure, S., Pagnoni, G., & Montague, P. (2001). Predictability Modulates Human

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Chapman, E.S. & Cope, M.T. (2004). Group reward contingencies and cooperative learning:

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ratings. Social Psychology of Education, 2004(7), 73–87.

Davis, D., Winsler, A., & Middleton, M. (2006). Students' perceptions of rewards for academic

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Wageman, R., & Baker, G., (1997). Incentives and cooperation: The joint effects of task and

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Final Report 24

Appendix A - Survey Responses (College Instructor Survey)

Contained in a separate file

Appendix B - Survey Responses (High School Teacher Survey)

Contained in a separate file

Final Report 25

Appendix C - Interview Protocol (Interview #1)

Description of Interviewee

The interviewee is a K-12 teacher. She has nine years of teaching experience in the

subjects of Math, Art, Physical Education and German. She currently teaches high school

German levels two, three and Immersion. The interviewee has been chosen for the interview

because of her varying background in subject areas and the different age groups of students that

she has taught throughout her career. Before coming to the high school, the interviewee taught

Math to middle school students at a title one school. She has direct relation to the inquiry project

through her profession as a teacher in a public educational setting. The interviewee works with

students each day and understands the challenges in motivating them to perform. This interview

will allow the inquiry team to collect relevant data on her uses, forms, and opinions of reward

systems.

The Setting

The interview process will take place in the World Languages building where she

teaches. I have arranged to come to her classroom to make her more comfortable during the

interview. The technology that will be used during the interview is a hand-held recorder provided

by the language department. The interviewee has agreed to have the interview recorded. This

tool will allow me to record the interview so that I can refer back to her answers for data analysis

purposes. This will expedite the interview process because she will not have to wait for me to

write down everything she says. I will make note of the important main points in her responses

on paper. The reason for doing this is to record my initial reactions to her responses during the

interview. I will then replay the recording to fill in areas I may have missed or points that support

my initial comments.

Final Report 26

Opening and Closing Script

Opening:

“Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me to answer some questions relating to

the effect of reward systems on academic performance. The interview should not take any longer

than thirty minutes. This interview is completely confidential and will not be shared with anyone

other than my inquiry project team and Florida State University course professor. I will keep

your name anonymous. The interview and your responses are part of the requirement for an

inquiry project I have been working on in my graduate courseware. My team is researching the

effect of reward systems in educational settings and how they affect academic performance.

Please feel free to ask me questions after we are finished. Again, thank you for taking time to

help me complete this interview.”

Closing:

“We are finished with interview at this point. Thank you for sharing your responses. Here

is my contact information if you have any other questions relating to the interview. Do you mind

if I contact you via phone or e-mail once I review the interview in case I have any other pertinent

questions that come from your responses? Thank you again.”

Interview Questions

1. In your experience as a teacher have you used reward systems in your classroom?

2. Do you feel knowledgeable about different reward systems to use in the classroom?

3. What types of reward systems have you used in the past or are currently using in your

classroom? Please explain the reward and how it is used with your students.

4. What positive effects have you experienced from reward systems used in the classroom?

5. What negative effects have you experienced from reward systems used in the classroom?

Final Report 27

6. What factors determine how you apply rewards in the classroom?

7. For what purposes do you use rewards in the classroom? (Classroom management,

participation, morale, academic performance)

8. Do you believe using rewards affects the motivation of your students in the classroom? If

yes, please explain how rewards can affect the students’ motivation. If no, why do you

think rewards are used?

9. Have you experienced the use of rewards increasing student academic performance, such

as test scores?

10. Do you believe the use of rewards can affect the intrinsic motivation (motivation that is

driven by interest within) of students? If yes, please explain how or provide an example

of a time you experienced this in the classroom.

11. What types of reward systems have not worked in your classroom? Why do you think

they were ineffective?

12. Do you consider reward systems when planning for instruction?

13. Have you ever been triggered to use a reward system that was not previously planned

for? If yes, please explain what made you make that decision.

14. How often would you say you implement reward systems in your classroom?

Final Report 28

Appendix D - Interview Protocol (Interview #2)

Description of Interviewee

For this step in the process, I have elected to interview a subject who is a Ph.D. student at

a southeastern university and an instructor at the undergraduate level. I have selected to

interview this individual because she has taught Educational Psychology and Classroom

Assessment for pre-service teachers for the last 3+ years and thus has both used and instructed

her students in the use of rewards in the classroom. I feel as though she will be an excellent

interviewee on our topic because she can respond from experience as to her use of rewards (and

their application) in the classroom, as well as to her students’ response and discussion on this

topic when it has been part of their curriculum.

Intended Setting/Technology

For this interview, I have chosen to meet in person so that I can make notes as to facial

expressions, gestures, etc. I initially considered a phone interview out of a desire to make this

convenient for her, but believe that a face-to-face interview will allow me to develop more of a

rapport with her as we begin the interview. I have also decided to hold the interview in one of

the study rooms at the Learning Center in the Stone Building. As this location is familiar to both

of us, is public, but provides a quiet atmosphere for recording, I believe this will be optimal for

this situation.

I intend to use my iPhone as a recording device so that I can digitally capture my

questions and her responses. I have chosen to use this technology so that I have the ability to

listen back to responses, and so that I have a record of the interview. I am also researching

recording apps that will allow me to send that file quickly to my computer, and looking into

Final Report 29

some that claim they can send a text transcription of the interview to your email. I am not sure I

trust this claim, but it would be interesting to experiment with this technology.

Opening and Closing Script

Opening: This interview is being conducted as a course assignment to identify the effect

of rewards in the classroom. It should take us about take about twenty to thirty minutes to

complete. Your privacy will be respected as these results will be shared only with two team

members and our course instructor. Are you willing to proceed? OK, well, my name is Wade

and, as I said, I’m working with my group to analyze teacher experiences with rewards. I’m

going to begin by asking some simple questions, and then we’ll get to the hard stuff later okay?

(humor). May I record this interview so I will be able to review our talk later?

Begin Questions …

Closing: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. I really appreciate your

being willing to share from your experiences. Your responses will help us as we analyze our

data. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via phone or email.

You should have both in the email I sent you earlier. Thanks again!

Interview questions Q1: What course(s) are your currently teaching?

Q2: How long have you been teaching this subject?

Q3: Do you use rewards as a part of your classroom strategy?

Q4: What types of reward systems have you used?

Q5: Can you describe the effectiveness of each?

Q6: Why do you feel they were effective? Why were they ineffective?

Final Report 30

Q7: As pre-service teachers, how would you describe the students’ knowledge of rewards

systems?

Q8: Do you believe that they are aware of your reward systems before you teach on that

subject?

Q9: What is their response to your reward systems after discussion on that topic?

Q10: Are they generally in favor of reward systems after these discussions?

Q11: Does their response encourage or discourage your use of reward systems in the

classroom?

Final Report 31

Appendix E - Interview Protocol (Interview #3)

Interview Description

This interview will be conducted to explore the application of rewards in an online

academic environment. This interview will build upon the data collected via the

teacher/instructor survey administered as part of the inquiry project effort and, in conjunction

with interviews conducted by other project members and the aforementioned survey, will

constitute the project's data collection activities.

The subject of this interview is a college instructor within the Florida State University

College of Education who primarily teaches online classes. This individual is being interviewed

to explore the individual's pertinent attitudes and opinions on the use and limitations of rewards

with online students in a virtual classroom environment. This interview is one component of the

broader interview activities conducted as part of this inquiry that will be used to explore the

application and effect of rewards in different learning environments. The results of this

interview will be documented in an individual interview report and will be an important

component of the inquiry final report.

Interview Setting

This interview will be conducted via an online communications tool, such as Skype or

WebEx, due to the geographical limitations involved in performing an in-person interview. The

selected tool's video chat feature will be used to emulate, to the greatest extent possible, the

conditions of a face-to-face interview. The interview will be scheduled to accommodate the

interviewee and will be performed during a time of day to minimize disruption of the progress of

interview. The interview will be recorded upon receiving consent from the interviewee.

Final Report 32

Opening Script

"Good evening. This is Martin Goodwin and I'm calling to perform the interview that we

scheduled."

"Before we begin, do I have your permission to record this interview? This recording will only

be used to ensure that I capture all of the details of the items we will discuss and will not be

shared with anyone else."

"Okay, the recording has started. Once again, this is Martin Goodwin and I am preparing to

interview an instructor with the Florida State University College of Education who primarily

teaches online classes."

"This interview is being conducted as part of a larger inquiry project into the application and

effect of reward in different academic environments. This project is being performed as a class

assignment in my Instructional Systems master's degree program. This project will not be

published and the data collected will only be used to meet the requirements of the class project."

"Are you ready to begin?"

Interview Questions

1. Do you use rewards as part of your academic strategy? These rewards can include such

things as the awarding of bonus points for particular activities, extending assignment deadlines

under certain conditions, or other types of incentives used to motivate students.

2. What types of rewards do you use?

3. How are these rewards applied with your college level students in general?

4. How are these rewards specifically used in your virtual learning environment?

5. What types of rewards do you use the most? Why?

6. What types do you use the least? Why?

Final Report 33

7. Given that the frequency with which rewards are used may not be related to their individual

effectiveness, what types of rewards have you found to be the most effective with your online

students?

8. What types of rewards are the least effective with your online students?

9. How do you determine the effectiveness of a reward?

10. What factors determine how and when a reward is applied?

11. What are some of the limitations of using rewards in your online classes?

12. Have you ever experienced any negative effects in the use of rewards with your online

students?

13. Is there any other information about the application and effect of rewards in an online

environment that you feel is important?

These questions will form the core of the interview. Additional questions may be asked to

follow-up on the information provided or clarify specific points that are important to the overall

inquiry project effort.

Closing Script

"Thank you for participating in this interview today. Your insights into the use of rewards in an

online environment have been extremely helpful and are very important to my inquiry project

efforts."

"I should have everything I need, but may I call you or send you an email if I have additional

questions or need to clarify some of the information you've provided?"

"Very good. Once again, thank you for your time."

Final Report 34

Appendix F - Vertex 42 School Reward Chart