Star Power

In educational theory, we learned about the effectiveness of a reward system. Students will be motivated to do better if they are given a reward for their effort. So, teachers can give out small presents (such as chocolates and sweets) to students for this purpose. Alternatively, teachers can give them stars in the form of a sticker or a stamp. The theory notes that this reward system is more effective with younger learners (i.e. primary-school children). It might not work with older students.

I've been using a star stamp since my practicum days and I can vouch that it WORKS with secondary students too. The students can get pretty competitive with regards to how many stars they get. It creates funny situations such as this one:

Aiman: Cikgu, kenapa Azfar dapat 2 bintang?
Ms. Syada: Sebab dia dapat highest.
Aiman: Saya dapat 100% dalam paper Maths tak dapat bintang pun...
Ms. Syada: Saya bukan cikgu Maths awak.
Aiman: *looking dejected*
Ms. Syada: Aiman, awak nak bintang ke? Awak ada bawak kertas Maths awak?
Aiman: Ada. Kejap ye Cikgu... saya pergi ambil.
Ms. Syada: Berapa bintang awak nak?
Aiman: Bagi 3 la Cikgu...

Several minutes later, Azfar held up his hand to ask a question. I didn't notice. Aiman, who sat next to Azfar, made himself useful by saying this loudly:

"Cikgu, budak 2 bintang nak tanya soalan"

Besides using stars, I also write "GOOD!" in my students' exercise books. To avoid redundancy, I sometimes write "Well Done!" or "Excellent!" instead.

I could never have told that it would create a contentious issue:

"Cikgu, GOOD lagi baik ke, Well done lagi baik?"

How are you to answer that?

One student, not to be outdone, added something to my remark so that the end product became:

"WELL GOOD!"

(!)

Moral of the story is: Never underestimate the power of a small reward/a nice comment!