Mystery Motivator
Learning Module 8
Mystery Motivator (MM) is an evidence-based strategy for behavior management that involves a game-like element (Kowalewicz & Coffee, 2014) in order to motivate and encourage the student through use of student preference. Once these preferences are determined, these motivators can be placed in an envelope or a box with a question mark on it, providing a “mystery” reinforcement using a randomized schedule (Kowalewicz & Coffee, 2014).
Mystery Motivator (MM) is an engaging way to motivate students and increase the proficiency of academic and behavioral task demands. It does this by simply reinforcing students for appropriate behavior (Moore et al., 1994). The strategy begins when the teacher announces the start of the Mystery Motivator game with a clearly defined targeted behavior. The teacher has flexibility in selecting which behavior to target based on what is needed in the classroom to help improve student learning outcomes during instructional activities. For example, a teacher could target ‘active listening’ during a literacy block. Students are given a predetermined amount of time to successfully demonstrate the appropriate behavior as many times as possible, tracked and tallied by the teacher to determine if the reward was earned. The teacher demonstrates this tracking visibly to the students for additional opportunities to signal to the students that the behavior (i.e., task demand) needs changed in order to receive the reward (i.e., consequence). If the behavior is moved in the desired direction, the mysterious reward is revealed at the end of the time period and the students are rewarded with the reinforcement.
This strategy allows the teacher to tailor the positive reinforcement to the specific interests of their students while adding an element of intrigue to other reinforcement contingencies (Kruger et al., 2016). This behavior management strategy also allows the teacher to be creative in his or her reinforcement offerings. For instance, he or she could provide extra time at recess, candy, trinket, bonus points, and many other reinforcers as part of the MM strategy. The teacher is also able to vary the schedule of using MM to deliver positive reinforcement throughout the week or day to encourage students to continue engaging in a variety of desired behaviors (Kowalewicz & Coffee, 2014).
MM most closely aligns with the social/emotional/behavioral HLP #7- establish a consistent, organized, and respectful learning environment, as well as HLP #8 – provide positive and constructive feedback to guide students’ learning and behavior.