When it comes to student participation in your TRIO program, encouraging their enthusiasm for what you offer can sometimes be a challenge. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds often have a number of distractions vying for their attention. Family obligations, financial difficulties, learning disabilities, cultural differences, and social activities can pull these students in many directions. Getting them to fully participate in what you offer means spurring their interest. Consider using a reward system for students to build excitement for your TRIO program.
How to Engage TRIO Students Using a Reward System for Students
Incentives are often a great motivator for student behavior. In a TRIO program, you may have certain actions you want to encourage in your students, and incentives can capture their attention. But how do you determine what incentives to give, and when? Consider using a point reward system for students to make your incentives program operate more effectively. Assigning point values to certain actions and behaviors can help your students to engage in specific ways with your TRIO program.
Awarding and tracking points can be easier than trying to maintain a stock of incentives, and can allow you to create intangible incentives, as well. As your students accumulate points, you can build your incentives store to serve their wants and needs, creating engagement with your program.
5 Ways Using Points Can Benefit Your TRIO Program
A reward system for students can help to transform your program in the eyes of program participants. Their participation in the program can become more of an investment because:
They can spend or save points as they wish
Points allow participants to purchase the kinds of incentives that are the most useful or desirable to them. As a kind of currency within your program, points can give participants a foundation for financial literacy.
You can encourage specific actions
When you find that program participants are struggling with certain actions or requirements, you can assign a point value to these items. It’s a good way to boost participation in areas that your participants may not be enthusiastic about, whatever their reason.
Points are independent of grades
In an atmosphere where ability is often measured by grades, points in a TRIO program can provide much-needed relief from academics. Instead of measuring worth by how well a student studies or performs on a test, points can be a way to build self-esteem among your participants.
Earning points helps to build habits
As you establish points-worthy actions and activities, you are helping to build patterns and practices that will benefit your program participants over the long term.
Points are portable
When it comes to field trips and off-campus activities, points are a convenient way to recognize actions and behaviors. It’s much simpler to keep track of a running balance of points, no matter where your program activities take you.
Extrinsic Motivation vs. Intrinsic Motivation
On the surface, points and incentives can seem superficial for affecting behavior. A reward system for students in such an environment is often transactional – someone does X to receive Y. Many everyday actions are extrinsically motivated, however. For example, a person works at a job for money, or makes a public performance for recognition and praise. Many times, it is through extrinsic motivation that good habits are formed.
The challenge comes in exchanging extrinsic motivation for the development of intrinsic motivation. The benefits of this type of motivation are the building blocks of confidence and self-esteem.
Intrinsic motivation happens when the action itself is its own reward. The feel-good brain chemicals (oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins) released in this process help the individual feel happy, calm, secure, and confident. These positive feelings can help individuals to learn and grow, which is precisely the outcome TRIO programs seek to produce in their participants.
Using TRiO Perks to Manage Your TRIO Program
No matter what age group your program serves, using a points-based reward system for students can help participants to develop positive behaviors and habits. These qualities will benefit them long after they have moved on from your program. Points are an easy way to provide acknowledgement for specific actions and build confidence among participants. Additionally, a points system allows you more flexibility with regard to incentives.
TRiO Perks is a points-based recognition system designed to make administration of your TRIO program easier. Our software allows you to recognize program participants and award points, quickly and easily, using a smartphone, tablet, or desktop. You can determine what incentives work best for your program, and participants can redeem their points for these incentives. The software accrues data throughout the entire process to provide you with insights about your program, allowing you to adjust elements as you go. All of this happens automatically within the software, eliminating the need to track points manually.
Using a points-based system for recognition and rewards can help your TRIO program operate more efficiently. TRiO Perks can make it easy. Want to know more? All you need to do is ask – we’ll be happy to show you just how our system works!
TRiO Perks because TRIO Works!