Beyond Grades : Using Incentives to Motivate Students

Economists study how incentives motivate human behavior. However, besides grades, professors do not frequently employ incentives to motivate students in the classroom. Possibly because expenses associated with classroom incentives often remain unreimbursed or because other implementation costs are high. In this paper, we demonstrate methods educators can use to motivate student behavior while minimizing costs. We identify a range of options that include: incentives appropriate for large sections, an effective monetary incentive system suitable for smaller classes, tips for using an assortment of non-monetary incentives, and methods for leveraging social capital to motivate student learning and engagement