How do you motivate and reward K-12 students for their online participation and performance?

1 Set clear and realistic expectations

One of the first steps to motivate and reward your students is to set clear and realistic expectations for their online participation and performance. Communicate your learning goals, expectations, and criteria for online activities, assignments, and assessments. Provide rubrics, checklists, or examples to guide your students and help them self-assess their work. Make sure your expectations are aligned with your students' abilities, needs, and interests, and adjust them as needed based on their feedback and progress.

2 Provide frequent and meaningful feedback

Feedback is essential for online learning, as it helps your students know how they are doing, what they are doing well, and what they need to improve. Provide frequent and meaningful feedback to your students, both individually and collectively, using various methods and tools. For example, you can use online quizzes, polls, surveys, or discussion boards to check for understanding, monitor participation, and elicit opinions. You can also use audio, video, or text comments to give specific and constructive feedback on your students' work. Praise your students for their efforts, achievements, and improvements, and encourage them to reflect on their feedback and act on it.

3 Offer choices and autonomy

Another way to motivate and reward your students is to offer them choices and autonomy in their online learning. Giving your students some control over their learning can increase their intrinsic motivation, interest, and ownership of their learning. You can offer your students choices in terms of topics, formats, resources, or modes of expression for their online activities and assignments. You can also allow your students to set their own learning goals, pace, or schedule, as long as they meet the minimum requirements and deadlines. However, be careful not to overwhelm your students with too many options or too much flexibility, and provide guidance and support as needed.

4 Create opportunities for collaboration and interaction

Online learning can be isolating and boring for some students, especially if they lack social and emotional support from their peers and teachers. To prevent this, you can create opportunities for collaboration and interaction in your online classes, and foster a sense of community and belonging among your students. You can use online tools such as video conferencing, chat rooms, or collaborative platforms to facilitate synchronous or asynchronous group work, discussions, or presentations. You can also design online activities that require your students to share their opinions, experiences, or perspectives, and respect and appreciate each other's diversity and contributions.

6 Celebrate successes and milestones

Finally, you can motivate and reward your students by celebrating their successes and milestones in online learning. Celebrating your students' achievements can boost their self-esteem, confidence, and satisfaction in online learning. You can celebrate your students' successes and milestones by acknowledging them in your online classes, sending them personalized messages or certificates, or showcasing their work on your online platforms. You can also invite your students to celebrate their own and each other's successes and milestones, and express gratitude and appreciation for their online learning experiences.