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There are some educators who believe grades motivate learning. Perhaps, the underlying assumption being that a lower grade can encourage learners to try harder and a higher grade can give them the motivation to keep going and stay engaged. In this discussion, I think it is also important to highlight various type of motivations - external, internal and amotivation (the absence of motivation). If grades do motivate learners, it is external motivation in terms of grades as a reward or grades as a mechanism to avoid a negative consequence. In the form of external motivation, grades can change behavior but the real question is, do grades motivate learning?
I am of the belief that grades don't motivate learning. In my view, grades only motivate learners to work towards getting better grades. This belief comes from my own experience as a learner and as an adult educator. Over the years I have participated in several professional development courses. This includes open-courseware such as MOOCs, paid courses offered by LinkedIn and University-level certificate programs. There have been no grades for MOOCs and for the LinkedIn learning courses. But that didn't change my learning process, the time I spent on each course, and the gains I received from each course. In a majority of workplace training that I have been involved with, I have neither received nor given grades yet I still learned and I know that participants also learned in the absence of grades.
"Multiple studies of students at various levels of education, in various subjects, and across various time periods reveal that grading has the general effect of replacing internal motivation with external motivation."
(Docan, 2006; Kohn, 1999; Kohn, 2000; McClinticGilbert et al., 2013; Schinske & Tanner, 2014 as cited in Krawczyk, Roxanna M. 2017).
So, what's the issue with replacing internal motivation with external motivation?
"Grades can dampen existing intrinsic motivation, give rise to extrinsic motivation, enhance fear of failure, reduce interest, decrease enjoyment in class work, increase anxiety, hamper performance on follow-up tasks, stimulate avoidance of challenging tasks, and heighten competitiveness."
(Harter, 1978; Butler and Nisan, 1986; Butler, 1988; Crooks, 1988; Pulfrey et al., 2011 as cited in Schinske, J., & Tanner, K. 2014).
"Grading is philosophically, socially and politically driven" (Fenwick, T. J. & Parsons, J., 2009, Pg. 140) and grades have become "a commodity in an exchange relationship" (Pg. 136). The meaning of grades can be very different for learners and adult educators. In general, learners tend to view grades as a tool for gate-keeping and for making comparisons with others. But as an adult educator, I don't see grades with that lens. To me, they are not a motivational or comparison tool. If anything, I see grades as a communication tool to provide feedback and guidance along the learning journey. I guess what a learner may make of a grade may depend on many things including what they score. If they are performing well, grades are a validation mechanism. If the performance is not up to par, grades provide them with an evidence of failure. Therefore, as an adult educator it is important that while I don't see grades in a certain way, I must acknowledge how grades are seen and understood by learners.
So if grades don't motivate learning, what does?
In her 2010 presidential address to the Midwest Sociological Society (a published version of the speech is referenced below), Diane Pike said:
“Interesting and relevant assignments, timely feedback, connection between student and teacher, connection among students, meaningful use of time—these things motivate learning. Thinking more explicitly about grading and evaluation, finding out what students experience by asking them, and reconsidering what grading does motivate, we can unleash new practices that just work better for all of us.” (Pg. 6)
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References:
Fenwick, T. J. & Parsons, J. (2009). The art of evaluation. A resource for educators and trainers. 2nd Edition. Toronto: Ontario. Thompson Educational Publishing
Krawczyk, Roxanna M.. (2017). Effects of Grading on Student Learning and Alternative Assessment Strategies. Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/maed/223
Pike, D. (2011). THE TYRANNY OF DEAD IDEAS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING: Midwest Sociological Society Presidential Address 2010. The Sociological Quarterly, 52(1), 1-12. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23027457
Schinske, J., & Tanner, K. (2014). Teaching More by Grading Less (or Differently). CBE life sciences education, 13(2), 159-66.
