Reward Charts and Stickers: Do Rewards Backfire?

Reward charts, stickers, and systems might get students to do the work, but what if a long term use of rewards in this way ultimately backfires? Dr. Özgür Bolat says rewards can have the opposite effect if we're not careful.

Dr. Bolat is a Fulbright scholar with a Harvard master's and a Cambridge PhD, and his book on rewards was a best-seller in Turkey before coming out in English as The Reward Trap. I asked him when rewards are ok and what his research shows about helping kids become intrinsically motivated.

What you'll learn:

• Why a valedictorian with a perfect GPA ended up anxious, and what he traced it back to
• What a sticker chart quietly tells a child about the work
• Why three stars eventually have to become five
• The question to ask before you ever offer a reward
• How a World War I homework assignment can spark curiosity
• My sourdough cinnamon roll confession, and his answer
• What a horse-riding instructor teaches us about using rewards

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Full show notes, transcript, and resources: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/e1025