MEMO

To:
From:
Date:
Subject:

Brother Joe Griffin and ENG 252 Students

Hannah Grimmett
07 October 2014
Research Proposal Teaching and Parenting with Rewards

PURPOSE
I aim to explore the different effects that rewards have on children when used in the
classroom as well as in the home. The point I want to make is that rewards are a poor way
to get children to cooperate and can be harmful in the long run. I will study the different
methods used and without rewards and the different outcomes of each scenario. Some of
the questions I will be looking at as I research this topic will be:
Why are rewards so ineffective?
What can we do to change our ways?
What are the different types of rewards?
If we cant use rewards, how do we motivate?
BACKGROUND
I am a previous education major and have studied and read various articles and books on
this topic, which has led me to this research paper. After attending a classroom where
alternative methods were used to motivate students, such as group participation, etc., I
became highly interested in changing my point of view and sharing my findings with
others. These studies and practices can be life changing for teachers as it has been for me
and so it is important to spread the information so we can give our students their best
chance at success. As I have become a mother I have only grown more interested in this
subject and have wanted to learn how to be a better parent and teacher. My passion for
education has developed as Ive read education and parenting books and have tried to
implement them into my mothering practices.
SIGNIFICANCE
I find this topic extremely fascinating and important to study because it doesnt only affect
teachers, but parents as well. I am hoping that this research will help even just one other
person look at their methods for teaching children and help them become better by
eliminating reward systems. Because rewards are used so often, children have become
entitled and dependent on the rewards in order to motivate them to do hard work. It is
prevalent in our society and around the world so the change needs to start somewhere. I

think that it will be meaningful to other teachers as parents as they read this information
and try to apply these methods into their every day lives as well as casting aside some of
their previous practices and notions of what parenting and teaching looks like.
DESCRIPTION
In order to complete this project I plan to use books, articles, and research given to me in
my previous education classes as my primary source and for my secondary source I plan on
using the resources available at the McKay Library to help me find evidence to support my
case.
OUTLINE

Manipulative

Reduces
Intrinsic
Motivation
Reasons
Rewards
Fail

Ruins
Relationships

It Becomes
Expected

Doesnt
Always Elicit
Desired
Behavior

METHODOLOGY
I want to be better educated as a teacher and parent when it comes to motivating my
students and children. I want to be able to know how to handle certain situations without
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deferring and relying on rewards to get children to do what I want them to. I will go about
this by interviewing parents and teachers who use and dont use reward systems and get
their feedback on what they think about eliminating them.
PROBLEMS
It appears that a big problem I may face is helping educators accept a new form of
motivation and helping them learn new ways so they dont defer back to reward systems
when things get hard. It may be a little bit hard coordinating interviews with educators and
parents on their views on rewards in the classroom as well as the home. But if schedules
conflict too much then I can always send out a survey for the participants to fill out and
send to me.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fay, J. & Funk, D. (1995). Teaching with love and logic: Taking control of the classroom.
Colorado: The love and logic press.
A book about how to discipline apathetically in the classroom.
Geddes, B. [LoveandLogic1]. (2009, September 25). I noticed [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baX1FNgvsu4.
A video of B. Geddes sharing examples of love and logic practices as well as ways to
motivate sans rewards.
Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, As, praise,
and other bribes. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
A book all about the effects rewards have on children and why we need to reconsider using
them.
McManus, M., October 24, 2012, The Misnomer of Positive Peer Pressure, Brigham Young
University-Idaho.
A short essay on how rewards can create relationship problems, especially in the classroom.
Pink, D. [theRSAorg]. (2010, April 1). RSA animate-drive: the surprising truth about what
motivates us [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc.
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An animated speech about how using rewards as a motivator can backfire.

Pink, D. H. (2009) Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York: Penguin
Group.
A book that focuses on motivation and how rewards are not the answer.
Wong, H. K. (2009). The first days of school. California: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc.
A book focusing on the problems rewards cause in classrooms.

TIMETABLE AND SCHEDULE

Date

Time

Activity

8 October 2014

9:30pm

9 October 2014

8:00pm- 11:00pm

11 October 2014

8:00pm-11:00pm

13 October 2014

8:00pm-11:00pm

TBA

TBA

Research Proposalpeer review

Revise research
proposal
Revise & submit
research proposal
Start reading through
sources
Schedule interviews

TBA

TBA

Research paper DUE

REQUEST FOR APPROVAL

I will be researching how rewards affect children (and adults) in the classroom and in the
home. This is an important topic to me because I feel that it can have negative effects on the
young people in our society if they are constantly being bombarded with rewards and
gratification for doing something hard. I feel that this research will help me to become
better at using alternative ways to motivate my children and help them understand the
value of education and hard work for the sake of learning.