Dan Lawler Ph.D.

Every teacher in every classroom eventually faces the dilemma of how to motivate the uninspired student. Often teachers look to utilizing positive rewards as a means to increase desired behaviors. Some traditional strategies, especially at the elementary level, include longer recess, special seats, positive phone call home, lunch with the teacher, and positive verbal feedback. Extrinsic motivators , in the form of rewards, can encourage students who do not yet have powerful in trinsic motivation to learn. Rather than criticizing unwanted behavior or answer s, reward correct behavior and answers. Remember that adults and children alike continue or repeat behavior that is rewarded. It is widely agreed that positive reinforcement tends to have more potency in ch anging behavior. The term reinforce means to strengthen or increase the probability of a specific response. Think of it as adding something in order to increase a res ponse. For example, adding a treat will increase the response of sitting; adding praise will increase the chances of your child cleaning his or her room or doin g homework. And, the important point is that extrinsic motivators can, over a brief period o f time, produce intrinsic motivation. Everyone likes the feeling of accomplishme nt and recognition; rewards for good work produce those good feelings. However, even with the best efforts by teachers, sometimes there are some unmotivated stu dents that we are not successfully reaching.

New Strategy Recently, we introduced a new strategy with a student who had been largely unmot ivated. The new strategy used Exergaming , and did it ever make a difference!! The stud ent was given opportunities to use our Exergaming lab at scheduled times during the day IF his classroom expectations were met. He was so motivated that he bega n to meet those classroom expectations in order to receive his reward In the Exe rgaming lab. His teacher said, I have never seen anything so successfully change a student s behavior in the classroom. The good news is that the intervention, over time , continued to influence the student in a positive manner back in the classroom. The other good news is that when he returned from his exercise reward, the teach er noticed him being more calm and focused. We know from the research that exerc ise stimulates neurotransmitters in the brain that decrease aggression, improve mood, and allow the student to focus more effectively. In effect the Exergaming intervention was so fun that it motivated the student to achieve his behavioral goals in the morning, and, after exercise, his body benefited from all the side effects that exercise has on improving behavior and cognition. I would encourage any school to investigate and implement Exergaming as a new an d effective strategy to improve motivation and behavior. Exergaming works becaus e it is so fun and engaging for the student. By the way, it is good for their co gnition and health, too. With all the potential benefits of exergaming and with the ongoing challenge teachers face in motivating many of their students, this s eems like a strategy you cannot afford to ignore.