Right about now, teachers may find themselves rushing to finish teaching whatever requisite content remains before the end of the school year. It’s a race many teachers endure alone, their students sapped of motivation. Could inserting competition into the classroom keep otherwise checked-out students engaged?
As long as students have been receiving grades, competition has been an inherent part of school. And according to recent data, many teachers continue to lean into competition to motivate their students. But competition in the classroom today doesn’t necessarily look the way it once did.
Instead of the cutthroat sort that adults may remember from their youth, today’s version more often involves collaboration among teams of students—like a “Jeopardy!”-style review game—or even group competition between multiple classes within the same grade.
Many teachers use competition to motivate students, according to responses to an unscientific LinkedIn poll Education Week conducted earlier this month.
We asked: Teachers, do you use competition to motivate your students? Of nearly 1,200 respondents, a majority (61 percent) said “yes,” 16 percent said “somewhat,” and 24 percent said “no.”
Teachers use competition to motivate their students because they think it works. That’s according to an October 2024 EdWeek Research Center survey of a nationally representative sample of 600-plus K-12 teachers who were asked which of several factors, including competition, had motivated students in the past two years.
Eighty-six percent of respondents agreed that the boys they teach are at least somewhat motivated by competition among classmates, and 84 percent responded the same way about the girls in their class.
Notably, 26 percent of teachers agreed that competition among classmates motivated boys “a lot,” whereas just 15 percent agreed that it motivated female students “a lot.”
Some teachers opt out of competition in the classroom
Not all teachers use competition in the classroom. Some say their students can’t handle it; others simply don’t agree with it philosophically. Here’s how some educators responded to EdWeek’s question on LinkedIn:
- “I like games and activities that are semi-competitive, but this year’s group of students do not have good social skills or sportsmanship attitudes. I am only using cooperative games to build some of those skills and avoid meltdowns (even from middle schoolers). The hyper-focus of my students on competitive winners/losers overshadows any learning that the competition might have boosted.” –Tina D.
- “Last year, certainly. A quiz game-style review worked well. This year’s cohort is overly competitive and can’t handle the aspect of being good sports. It results in crying and tantrums and shouting, even at the secondary level.” –Brandolf S.
While the above comments suggest that students’ immaturity or lack of social skills can prevent them from successfully participating in competitive activities, some teachers flatly reject using competition in the classroom altogether.
- “It makes winners and losers, and the purpose of learning is for everyone to learn.” –Helen A.
- “Never. After I read Drive by Daniel Pink and Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn, my whole view of motivation changed. People do not need to be bribed to find intrinsic motivation.” –Sherry T.W.
What does ‘healthy competition’ looks like?
On the surface, competition leads to winners and losers. But the end result offers more than feelings of failure or triumph, say advocates of “healthy” competition, which generally involves teamwork and collaboration rather than the pitting of individuals against one another.
The positive effects of group competition can extend beyond building soft skills like cooperation, problem-solving, and effective communication, experts say. Group competition can also build mental fortitude, according to a 2022 study of 11,235 U.S. children ages 9 to 13 that explored the effects on participants’ mental health from competing in team versus individual sports.
The children who played organized team sports, such as soccer, basketball, or baseball, had lower rates of anxiety and depression, social problems, and difficulties with attention. Conversely, those who played strictly individual sports, such as gymnastics, wrestling, or swimming, reported experiencing a greater prevalence of mental health difficulties: greater anxiety and depression, social problems, and attention problems.
Researchers suggested that the favorable health outcomes among children who played group sports resulted from positive social interactions and feelings of connection with their teammates.
The skills being practiced while competing on a team—negotiating, collaborating, problem-solving, communicating—can be honed in the classroom as well as on the field.
These are all reasons that a private all-boys’ K-12 school in Baltimore embraces group competition. Henry Melcher, head of the middle school at Boys’ Latin School of Maryland, says the faculty uses group competition to motivate boys for lots of reasons—including getting them to read more for pleasure to improving their behavior.
Incentives called “Laker Bucks” can be accumulated throughout the year for good behavior and, for the winning group, traded for awards ranging from pizza lunches to a “dress-down” day, which means students can show up to school out of the usual dress code of khakis and polo shirts.
“The beauty of Laker Bucks is that it’s not how many one student can accrue,” Melcher said. “It’s by student advisory, so each member of advisory is playing a role. It’s what you contribute to your advisory.”
Teachers, what are your experiences with competition in the classroom? Let us know.
