What’s the Purpose of a Reward System?

The main purpose of a reward system is to ensure optimum performance. This could be achieved by enhanced competition. Also, positive, tangible feedback is important for confidence and success. There’s a reason people want to win gold at the Olympics after all.

One of the most rewarding techniques to encourage young people is through a badge-based reward system.

In this blog, we’ve got helpful tips and tricks to use badges to create your own reward system and keep motivation high in the classroom, workplace or any group based environment.

How to Create a Reward System with Badges?

In the same way that Fitbit launched its Badges to make people strive to meet their exercise goals, you too can create a collection system and cater it to each pupil. You will need to ensure that there are  SMART goals to encourage specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely aims.

 

Make sure the badges are realistic. For example, children shouldn’t aim to be in the national swimming team by next year, but instead be able to swim 100m by the end of the month.

Once they have smashed that goal, they win a badge, and once they’ve completed all their goals they get a reward such as a certificate or voucher.

Here are some other ways where craft making can be used as method of motivation.

Create a Rewarding Culture

Incentives, small or large, are crucial to support motivation as a recognition of success. Crafts and more specifically badges can create a valuable reward system. When you’re younger, it could be a prize or a trophy. When you’re older, it could be getting paid at work or winning employee of the month.

We’ve all seen it in sports classes where you mark a specific length swum or metres run with a badge to recognise achievements. It’s a tried and tested method for good behaviour, collaboration and improvement in effort, because it works.

Classroom management can be one of the most difficult elements for teachers. In schools, try it out by starting a “star of the week”, “most improved” or “best team player” badge culture to encourage children to work hard to get the rewards. Along with the classroom, this could also be done on the sports field or at home.

Champion Charitable Work

Blue Peter badges were the holy grail for millions of kids and even adults, because they highlighted that you’d gone the extra mile for a cause.

The #bluepeter badge I received after rowing across the Atlantic is one of my most prized possessions.

— Ben Fogle (@Benfogle) February 1, 2018

Ben Fogle, English broadcaster, writer and adventurer claims the Blue Peter badge as one of his most prized possessions.

One of the best ways for kids to shout about a cause that means the most to them is through their own personalised badge. Personal badges can include:

• Duke of Edinburgh achievement
• A national awareness day
• Your own chosen charity

Charities and organisations have distinctive logos and are ideal for showing a bit of your personality and your support.

Consider going one step further and encouraging students to make the badge themselves, with a picture, personalisation or a word that explains what it means to them.

Boost Learning

Whether it’s a traditional achievement such as getting to the next level in maths, learning a new skill in science or doing a 30 minute presentation in English, badges can be a great way to encourage learning and validate an accomplishment.

In terms of education, this can be effective for any modules, and allows students to monitor their progress. Equally, for employers certificates of achievement are also an effective means of motivating staff to focus on personal development.

Consider a leaderboard, and see your group thrive and inspire others to do the same and achieve similar levels of success.

Group Based Exercises

The idea of going up to a group of people to make friends can be daunting and intimidating. Group badge-making workshops encourage creativity and conversation, while also boosting interaction.

 

In the classroom, you can ask children to get into groups and describe each other in one word and create a badge based on their best personality traits, or suggest they create their own character for World Book Day. This allows children to show off their personality, learn, and to make friends.

Conclusion

Crafts are brilliant for rewarding little and big achievements alike. They’re one of the biggest elements of being a Scout and a Girl Guide as they’re great for learning, growing and achieving success.

Follow these top tips on how to create a reward system to boost motivation. If you need to create your own badge use one of our trusted badge makers.