As I commented in this entry from the Spiral Consulting Children's blog, talking about education a few weeks ago I found myself mentioning again that rigorous scientific studies show that prizes and rewards work very short time and basically destroy intrinsic motivation in people, children, and adolescents included. Since the texts are usually operating primarily in English (if you insist I will make a post about them), I started researching to see what resources could be found in Castilian, and I was lucky to run into this magnificent video.

and Pink, after working writing for Al Gore, He became a writer and consultant on creativity. In her video she speaks of motivation in business, but if you substitute the word “company” by “school” every time, It will provide a fascinating insight into the educational reality (in our country and the world in general). To focus a little issue, the motivation (what drives us people to do things, whatever they are) can be “intrinsic” (when it is born of our own inner, as when we are curious, commitment, intentions contribution…) The “extrinsic” (when is a response to external conditions such “If you receive you beam A B”, whether B is a reward or a punishment).

I love that video, as he says, no one “feelings” to share even a “philosophy” to believe, but hard facts, contrasted by an entity so little suspicious “alternative” as the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston: “in eight out of nine tasks, the highest incentives (positive) They led to worse performance”. A) Yes. Why every time I hear that someone wants to reward or punish a child, or girl, I am worried. Will they use punishment or reward in that way that serves (one in nine), or they are undermining a little more intrinsic motivation of the person you want to educate? And I like the fact that the video continues with a proposal, brief but suggestive, how it works intrinsic motivation. Y, what a coincidence!, it turns out that this model of intrinsic motivation also works for human relations in general and schools in particular. I speak from experience, working for years with teenagers at social risk.

So nothing, Here's the video, and I love reading your comments.

Xavier