I began by trying to convince students that learning mattered. When that failed, I turned to sanctions and rewards.

But the first book I read about behavioural science – Switch: How to change things when change is hard – opened my eyes to a more nuanced view of human behaviour.

The authors argue that we tend to see resistance to change as a “people problem;” we respond by blaming, cajoling and punishing individuals. (This is what I’d done: I tried to persuade students to act, rewarded them if they did, punished them if they didn’t).

Often, however, people want to do something, but are discouraged by the situation and their emotions.

For example, a case study in Switch asked the reader how to get more employees to submit expense claims on time.

My first thought was to enforce the deadline: don’t reimburse people who submit claims late. This would encourage prompt submission, but it wouldn’t address the underlying problem (why aren’t people submitting claims promptly?) and it could foster resentment.

By contrast, the authors suggested:

• Emphasising that most employees are submitting their expenses on time (encouraging others to follow the norm)
• Identifying how employees who submit promptly are doing it (do they have short-cuts?)
• Emphasising that a colleague must process their claims (appealing to social bonds).

Switch showed me that persuasion and enforcement aren’t always enough to overcome obstacles and emotions: I learned to make change easier and more tempting.

For example, on a university visit, I’d been talking to a student about an issue they had with a friend. Later, I noticed she was still preoccupied, and was getting nothing from the seminar. Previously, I’d have asked her to “Focus”: she might have wanted to, but she would have struggled.

Instead, I gave her a simple task which redirected her attention: I asked her to ask a brilliant question before the end of the session. “What, now?” she asked. “Yes!” A few seconds later, her face lit up and her hand flew up.

Making change easier and more tempting helped me get students learning. The problem is that the effects don’t always last.

  • Is it true that we jump from (failed) persuasion to coercion?
  • How can we make learning easier or more tempting?
  • What are the limits to this approach?

This is an expanded excerpt from Habits of success: getting every student learning.

This series of posts looks at five ways to get students learning. Each has pros and cons; each is likely to be part of a teacher’s repertoire.

Previously: convincing students learning matters, sanctions and rewards.

Next up: motivation – and why it’s a poor goal.

You may also be interested in my full post on reading and applying Switch, here.