Bitcoin Forum

What do you guys think about being rewarded for high marks in school?

Thinking about developing a Blackboard/Moodle plugin that rewards students in BTC for good grades. I haven't done much research on the effects getting paid for good grades, but I would sure try harder if there was a tangible reward.

The way it would work is that for each assignment, the instructor's final mark triggers a BTC transaction from an 'assignment pool', depending on the grade and originality score. I wouldn't call the reward 'bitcoin'. I would call them something like 'class credits'. I would also provide instructions on how to use them to buy something, or exchange them for cash.

Anybody have input in regards to incentivized learning?

A student should have enough drive to earn grades on there own. The incentive is already there a good education, good job, and good life. However, this would encourage students... bah kids in the US.... I didnt realize blackboard was used worldwide.

Hmmm. I wasn't asking what a student's motivations "should" be. The question was in regards to the effect incentives might have on learning. I appreciate your opinion, but I disagree that anyone "should" think a certain way about anything. It's this kind of thinking that stifles innovation.

I will tell you from first hand experience that if the kid in class has a goal that falls short of "Attaining a lasting grasp of knowledge and a spark to pursue their passion," that kid is being set up for failure.
I have never been an "A" student in college, but no one would argue that I was one of the damned brightest kids that my highschool spat out. (Given the school had a very large population of underachievers, this undermines my previous statement a little bit.)
When a kid focuses on good grades to attain some immediate reward, they have NO incentive to actually learn anything. They want to pass, to get points, to make the grade, for relatively short-term gratification. Incentivising learning in grade school or college to pay out for good grades would not help kids actually do better. It would only cause kids to scramble quickly to get the reward and do whatever it takes.
Also, on a similar note, attend college, work full time to afford college, allow grades to decline to work for minimum wage to pay for college. Almost the same scenario. Sacrifice the end goal of overall success for a small intermediary (and trivial) goal.

Just my two bits... I am very opinionated on the standard education systems used globally.  ::)

Can you point me to any references that back this up? I am interested in reading more about this.

I also think I did a poor job of explaining the idea. I wasn't suggesting you pay students for grades. I was thinking, from a student's perspective that it would be cool to trade credits you earn for an iPod at the end of the year, or something.

I wasn't aware of the psychological implications of rewarding students for doing well.







 

I can not. This is my own casual study observed with the rest of my colleagues, of other colleagues' performance in class. Basically, we've just watched people and asked why they do what they do, and then see if they actually know what they're doing after the classes are done. No papers, no documents; we just do it to prove we are right about how the school system is flawed in many respects. I can share what I know if you have more specific questions, but I'm an engineer, not a social psychologist. I don't even write papers...

^This isn't the straight answer you we're looking for, i must say the bitcointalk forum is the worst place in the world where you would look for support or opinions on your projects, it happened to me too.

Put it in practice and see what you get, i did get your point and you're right, kinds tend to respond really well when they receive something in return, it is our human nature after all. They would love those classes and kick between each other to attend first. You could raise the "bar" whenever you want so they have to spend more time and effort to memorize or give out creative answers if they want to get the prizes too. I see it has allot of potential.