photo credit: TheOnlyAnla

Are stickers effective as motivational aids? It really depends on the age of the student and the complexity of the learning goal. A complex but age-appropriate task is well-suited to concrete, instant motivational aids such as stickers.

We recommend the use of motivational stickers for children ages 4-12, or for delayed learners with a knowledge base equivalent to this population.

We also recommend that the stickers be accumulative and result in an end goal that is concrete and age-appropriate. One example of this use is setting the goal of keeping a room clean. Reward the child one sticker on a motivational tracking chart for each day the room is kept clean. Select a tangible and immediate reward, such as going out for ice cream, when the child receives five stickers in one week. Do not demand perfection, set an attainable goal.

Here are the steps to teaching any concept:
1. Quickly ascertain the knowledge base of the learner. Usually just one question or two will give you enough clues.
2. Create a mind map of the steps needed to grasp the concept.
3. Get down to the level of the learner in your vocabulary. Don’t use words the learner cannot understand.
4. Make it your goal to reach mastery of the first step in your mind map.
5. When you reach goal one, check with the learner to see if they want to continue. Be sure to stop immediately when you sense reluctance. Decided together if the teaching/learning will continue, and set a time and place to continue.
6. If the learner is ready for more, continue to mastery of step two. Then go back to number five on this list.
7. Continue practicing this list until all the steps have been mastered.
8. Find a way to immediately practice what has been taught.

Follow these eight steps and you can include yourself in the category of effective teacher every time!