What do you do when team points lose pizzazz?
The T-Graph for Social Skills and its companion, Team Points, are a foundational strategy to foster positive interdependence for student teams. The teams don't earn anything extrinsic for having the most points. There are no pizza parties, candy, or stickers. The points themselves ARE enough extrinsic motivation to create the intrinsic motivation we want to see in our teams for pro-social behaviors.
The emotional reward of earning points for demonstrating our focus social skill creates a metacognitive barometer for the student. "If we do ____, then ____ happens."
But, let's be honest here.
Does any routine stay fresh and exciting for the whole year?
We are approaching the time of year most teachers have a pretty smooth running ship. Heads up! There will be times, such as returning from winter or spring breaks (or a pandemic closure), testing season, or the end of the year in sight, and many of us need to take some time to review classroom rules and reestablish routines.
Your teams points will be motivating for some time to come, but if you find them start to lose their pizzazz consider leveling up the excitement factor with extrinsic rewards that are not tangible items. Like most quality behavioral modification programs, Project GLAD® espouses the theory of teaching intrinsic motivation rather than being Punished by Rewards (Kohn, 1993).
We recommend motivators that are privileges, rather than things.
The team with the most points...
- Lines up first
- Gets to sit on cushions/couch when we come to the carpet
- 5 min extra recess
What other privileges can you think of that would motivate your students?
Thanks for reading,
Sara and Jody
T-Graph for Socials Skills with Team Points is a focus strategy in our online fall course Acceleration 101: Setting the Stage. This strategy series teaches and extends 6 foundational strategies to create a positive and collaborative, language rich classroom structure.
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Author
Jody Bader
Jody Bader is an educator with two decades of experience as a classroom teacher, ELD specialist, instructional coach, education researcher, and one of the Northwest’s leading OCDE Project GLAD® Consultants. She has worked with teachers in the US and internationally who are committed to improving their practice and the culture of their classrooms for all students through the OCDE Project GLAD® model. She has trained and coached thousands of teachers and has a passion for mentoring new trainers in training.
Author
Dr. Sara Martinez
An educator for nearly 20 years, Dr. Sara Martinez has worked with individuals from preschool through adulthood. She has extensive experience and background in education among English language learners and individuals in low socioeconomic status environments, combined with her doctoral work and experience in leadership development and change dynamics. Having trained and consulted with thousands of K-12 teachers and administrators, she has a wide base of knowledge and educational experience.
