Responding to a Challenge – This One Goes Out to @akabruno

I met @akabruno at HRevolution.  He teaches at a college in Wisconsin – so right now he should be more worried more about getting his winter emergency kit pulled together for the trunk of his car than how to motivate his students show up for an 8:00 a.m. statistics class next spring. 

But Matt (@akabruno) is a dedicated educator.  He wants his students to succeed.  And he threw down a friendly gauntlet.  He posted his current plan for influencing his students behavior on his blog "True Faith HR" and tweeted it with a challenge: "a case for @incentintel?"

I can't turn down a challenge.  

This post ran a bit long but I found this exercise interesting – and you all know it is all about me!

Here's the set up:

@akabruno teaches a Statistics for Business and Economics class….at 8:00 A.M. (prayer to St. Jude in order?  Catholics you get this – others link here.)  His post set up his situation thusly: 

• Attendance tends to be a bit problematic and in a class such as statistics, a single absence can have a big negative impact on grades since the material is additive.
• Each student gets 4 "free" absences (regardless of whether they are "excused" or "unexcused.") 
• After four absences each additional absence receives a penalty of negative 10 points (equal to 1% of the grade on a 1000 point scale). 
• Historical data shows after 4 absences grades really go in the tank.
• Also, in the absence (pun intended) of the negative consequences of missing a class, 9 absences is common.

@akabruno is considering changing his approach. 

Instead of penalizing students 10 points for each additional absence beyond 4, he is thinking of turning it around and raising the points needed to earn a grade by 10 points per absence.  So if it originally it took a student 920 points (on a 1000 pt scale) to earn an A, a 5th absence would now make an A worth 930 points, an AB would be raised from 880 to 890, and so on, until an F is raised from 600 or lower to 610. If a student missed 4 classes past the 4 gimmees, he or she would now need 960 points to earn an A, compared to the original 920 points.

His challenge:  Will students react positively or negatively to this change? How will it affect student behavior? Are there unintended consequences? Thoughts?

Verrrry interesting (doing my best Arte Johnson imitation from behind the faux bush.)

Well @akabruno… here's a stab at it based on some of the principles of influence I try to practice every day…

First: Setting The Bar Too Low

You're setting the stage with the fact that 4 absences are okay.  No penalty.  Therefore you're basically setting the bar too low to begin with.  As far as unintended consequences go here's the first one – I'm guessing most students miss 4 classes.  

Why the 4 freebies?  Eliminate the freebies.  What you want to communicate is that attendance is so critical to success ANY absence has impact.  Sounds draconian but most people will take the freebies and run.  By setting the bar at 4 absences you're basically giving them permission to miss class – especially since there are no qualifiers for the absences.  If they are like me – while you're reviewing the syllabus, they'll be checking the calendar and planning when they won't be in class.  Bag that immediately.

Second:  Communicate Impact of Behavior

Everyone thinks they are different.  Each student will assume they can pass the class without attending.  But you have data.  And data is the raw material of a statistics class.  I'd use that to my advantage by showing them in the very first class what happens to grades as classes are missed.  Show them how quickly grades decline once a class is missed.  Show them factually, that their behavior WILL impact their final grade.  Show them the curve; show them the cause and the effect of their behavior.  Use what they will be learning in the class to "prove" that they have a probability of X% of getting an F if they miss classes.  

I'd possibly continue to use that example and that data as much as possible for all the lessons during the semester to reinforce the importance of coming to class. (Hint:  you're the Professor – they can't challenge your data – most won't think to, so make it up so it works to your advantage – the lesson is still the same, who gets hurt?)

Third:  Align Goals & Get Commitment

You're tying absences to a performance goal that is variable – meaning not everyone wants an A – some just want to get by and a C will do nicely thank you.  Therefore, your plan sets up the process for each student to pick the own grade and then decide how many absences they can take and still hit their goal.  Your objectives and theirs may not be the same.  And the worst part is they aren't telling you that – you're working toward one goal and they are working toward another and you're oblivious to it.  You’re fighting a battle they possibly don't want or care to win.  

Fixing that is a bit tougher but what I'd do is ask each student to publically state what their grade goal is for the class.  Now you know what you're dealing with and they have "committed" to a goal publically – this is important.  People want to meet their commitments (commitment/consistency.)  Now you can use that information to show that 90% of students who got A's missed only one class.  85% of students who missed 2 classes got C's.  This influences them because they will want to behave in a manner that others like them have behaved (social proof/consensus.)

Now you've connected their goal with your data and the impact THEIR attendance has on THEIR goal – not your goal – THEIR goal.  This is important.  In your previous strategy, you're goal was an A and everything was a punishment or an incentive to that benchmark.  No program will be successful when goals are not aligned.

It's Not Always About Rules

So far all we've done is change the positioning of attendance in the minds of the students.  Nothing in the above actually affects their grade – it simply connects the importance of attendance to their grade.  We've not touched the "incentive/punishment" side of the equation.  I think it is important to take a breath and let that sink in.  

Too often we expect an incentive program to be the be all and end all of changing/shaping behavior – when in reality it is a combination of a lot of things – communication and positioning being critical.

So – now on to the rules of the game…

Closer is Better

I couldn't tell from your post if there are interim tests, grades, etc. on which you could levy incentives or punishments.  If you're only levying the consequences at the very end of the semester, I'd stop that and find a way to move the impact up in the timeline – from the first quiz, test, mid-term, etc.  People have a habit of devaluing awards and punishments the further off in the future they are.

Make it Individual – Not Group

You didn't state in your initial post if you grade on a curve – and that might be important.  Grading on a curve takes into account other people's behavior and other people's scores and therefore could upset the apple cart.  If you do grade on a curve then any incentive program for the individual is influenced by the results of others and incentives in general should be a function of individuals not groups.  It would be a bit trickier to incorporate an individual incentive and a group scoring mechanism – not impossible but I'd have to spend a bit
more time on it.

Here's what I would try to do….

Keep the "punishment" part of the equation but position it a way that is "predictive" not "descriptive."  

Meaning you want to continually use the impact of the deduction on future grades – not simply report the effect their past behavior has already created.  People are more afraid of losing something than they are of gaining something of equal value.  Use this to your advantage.  It's all about showing the impact of their behavior BEFORE it happens.  

This strategy doesn't work after the fact.  You need to show them how absences will affect future grades, not just tell them that at the end of the semester they will have points deducted.  (Note:  punishment/deductions aren't the best choice when dealing with cash incentives/bonuses in the business world – in those cases we're talking income not grades, much different discussion.) 

Make absences closer to the beginning of the semester more impactful – keep them from getting into the habit of missing.  

Have a declining scale of "costs" from week one until week 10 (or whatever the number is.)  First week absence is 100 points, 2nd week absence is 80 points, down to a 10 point deduction.  This will keep them in the classes at the beginning of the term where a lot of the foundational work is done which could make or break a grade later on.  It also gets them into the habit of being there early in the semester, making it less likely they will bag later in the semester.

Show the impact of absence on grades earlier in the process.

Show the deduction on their first grade/quiz/activity to reinforce the penalty is real, immediate and important.

Allow for "incentives" along with the punishments.  

Can they earn back their deductions with additional activities, studies, projects, etc.?  You always want to give people a way to redeem themselves and still learn the content.

It Ain't Always Simple – Usually Never Is

I know this doesn't give you a specific plan – but I do think it shows how a simple program can be not so simple.  It also shows that there is a lot more to influencing behavior than just dangling a carrot.  The initial question was about which structure to implement.  The answer is a little of both – but with a lot more upfront positioning and managing expectations and communicating ramifications.  This is an area most programs give short shrift to – but are probably more important than the award structure.

Hit me back with comments, ideas, and thoughts.

@akabruno – thanks for the opportunity to flex this morning.  Just what I needed.