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英文标题：How to Motivate Children: Science-Based Approaches for Parents, Caregivers, and Teachers
原作者：美国国家儿童发展科学协会
原英文为美国国家儿童发展科学协会研究报告《Understanding Motivation: Building the Brain Architecture that Supports Learning, Health and Community Participation》的摘要。
How to Motivate Children: Science-Based Approaches for Parents, Caregivers, and Teachers
如何激励我们的孩子：给父母、照料人和老师的科学教育方法
What’s the best way to motivate children? The intrinsic motivation to learn about the world around us begins in infancy. This type of motivation can either be encouraged or suppressed by the experiences adults provide for children. Psychological research points to a set of promising approaches that parents and practitioners can use to promote positive motivation and learning during development.
给儿童最好的激励方式是什么？婴儿出生之后，即拥有了解其身处的世界的本能性的动机。这种性质的动机，可能因为我们成人给孩子的体验，受到鼓励或抑制。心理学研究发现了一套方法，父母或相关从业人员有望借助这套方法，有效地激励儿童和帮助他们学习。
For more in-depth information about the science of motivation, read “Working Paper 14: Understanding Motivation: Building the Brain Architecture That Supports Learning, Health, and Community Participation.”
要更深入地了解激励的科学原理，请阅读完整的报告《Working Paper 14: Understanding Motivation: Building the Brain Architecture That Supports Learning, Health, and Community Participation》
1. Follow babies’ lead.
Babies naturally orient toward novel objects and events. They look away from objects that are overly familiar, but also from new ones that are too complex. This is sometimes called the “Goldilocks effect:” things are interesting when they are novel, but not too novel. When interacting with infants, notice what they pay attention to, and engage with them around their interests.
1. 跟随婴儿的脚步。
婴儿天生就喜欢新奇的事物和事件。他们的目光总是从过于熟悉的事物上移开，也会从过于复杂的新事物上移开。这种情形可以用“金发姑娘效应”来解释：让人感到趣的事物，是有点新奇但也不是非常新奇的东西。当我们与婴儿互动时，要观察他们关注什么，然后围绕婴儿的兴趣与他们互动。
解读：互动一词在中文中意思，偏向于沟通、交流、打交道…很显然，上文中的互动不仅限于这些传统含义。上文的互动，还包括：你给婴儿提供什么样的玩具、游戏、情境、空间、环境…这里的互动，应当是婴儿与这个世界的任何交流。
但是这条的重点，是儿童学习与探索的事物、知识、技能，应该是合适的、婴儿刚刚感兴趣的程度的事物。
2. Elicit curiosity.
Even infants seek to explore objects—especially those that behave in surprising ways. When they drop something on the floor or throw it, they’re trying to see what will happen next. Provide children with opportunities to interact with new objects—and let them lead and learn!
2. 引起好奇心。
即使几个月大的婴儿也会探索事物，尤其是那些行为（或者说运行）方式令人惊奇的事物。婴儿将物品推落掉在地板上或扔出去的时候，他们可能是想看看接下来会发生什么。因此，我们成人要为儿童提供与新事物互动的机会——让他们自行探索和学习！
3. Encourage children’s playful exploration.
When given the opportunity, children of all ages spontaneously engage in play. The ingredients of play are precisely the ones that fuel learning: play is intrinsically motivating, it presents an opportunity for novel experiences and for learning from others, it requires active engagement, and it can strengthen social bonds and reduce stress. When life is busy or chaotic, it can be hard to find the time and space to encourage children’s play, but this is an important aspect of development.
3. 鼓励孩子们进行有趣的探索
不论哪个年龄段的孩子，只要有机会，他们都会自发地参与玩耍。玩耍的组成成分就是推动儿童学习的那些东西：玩耍活动有内在的激励，玩耍同时给儿童新奇的体验和向他人或环境学习的机会。玩耍，需要儿童的积极参与，它还可以加强儿童与其他人之间的社交联系、释放压力。我们成人由于忙于生活与工作，可能很难有时间或合适的场地来促进、鼓励儿童的此类玩耍，但是要记住——鼓励或与孩子一起探索，是我们成人在儿童发展中的重要职责之一。
4. Prioritize social interaction during learning.
In the digital age, there are many educational, computer-based applications designed for children, even as young as 6 months. However, even the best-designed and most effective apps cannot replace real-life social interactions with adults and peers. In one study, babies learned elements of language more effectively when face-to-face with a teacher or on video. Recent research shows that young children can learn from digital media, such as touch-screen tablets, but social interaction during this learning experience appears to be essential.
4. 学习过程中要重视社交互动
在数字时代，即使是6个月大的婴儿，也有许多专门供他们使用的计算机教育软件。但是，就算最精妙的设计和最完美的软件也无法取代儿童与成年人或同龄人的真实社交体验。有研究表明，婴儿在与老师面对面或通过视频通话学习语言时，学习效率会更高。最近的研究表明，儿童的确可以通过平板电脑等数字媒体学习。但在学习过程中，社交互动似乎是必不可少的。
5. Challenge children just enough.
Kids are motivated to work toward achievable goals. From infancy onward, effort is required to sustain motivation, but success must be possible. They lose motivation when a task is too easy, but also when it is so difficult as to be insurmountable. Video games harness this basic principle of learning effectively, constantly increasing the level of challenge based on an individual child’s performance. Try to adapt a challenge according to a child’s current capabilities, and provide prompt feedback on his or her performance.
5. 给儿童的任务难度要刚刚好
孩子们有动力朝着可实现的目标努力。从婴儿期开始，保持动力需要有付出努力的体验，但成功必须是可达成的。如果一项任务太过简单，儿童会失去兴趣；如果太困难以至于无法完成，他们也会失去动力。电子游戏就是利用这一规律，根据孩子的现有能力不断提高游戏难度，从而达到吸引人的目的。
在引导儿童学习知识、技能的过程中，我们同样要掌握这一策略。根据孩子现有的能力来设置任务难度，并对孩子在任务中的表现及时做出合适的反馈。
这个观点，可以与《儿童发展的12条规律》中的第11条对照理解。
当儿童遇到挑战时，他们的发展与学习才能有“突破”解读：没有新的问题、没有更难的情形，那么现有技能与知识就能应付。只有遇到挑战，才需要新的技能与知识。
6. Give children agency
Children are more motivated when they have some degree of self-determination, and can elect to pursue tasks that are personally meaningful. When they have a choice of projects, or at least a little wiggle room as to how a task gets done, children are more likely to stay engaged.
6. 给孩子自主权
当儿童有一定程度的自主决策的能力时，他们会更有动力去了解这个世界，并可以选择对个人有意义的任务。当儿童可以自己选择任务，或者就任务如何完成有些决策权时，他们对任务将更加投入。
解读：换句话说，让孩子发挥主观能动性。
7. Provide incentives only when necessary.
When children are suddenly rewarded for something they enjoy and do freely, they may begin to do it only when they know they will be compensated afterwards. Wherever possible, harness children’s natural curiosity and inclination to work toward an achievable goal, rather than promising a reward.
7. 只在必要时提供奖励。
如果儿童做了喜欢和自愿做的事，因此而得到意外的奖励，产生的影响是：后续儿童可能只有在知道他们能得到“酬劳”时才会做这样的事。所以，我们应当尽量利用儿童天生的好奇心和为可实现的目标而努力的天生倾向，引导他们去学习。通过承诺奖励诱导儿童学习，并非最优的途径。
8. Praise the process rather than the outcome.
When we praise children for their intellect or skill level—or the grade or gold medal they received—it can lead to a performance orientation. They may be motivated to achieve more rewards, but they may also learn to shy away from challenging activities that they might not excel at, for fear of negative evaluation. Performance pressure increases as children move up in school, and it is associated with depression and anxiety in addition to diminished joy of learning. When we praise children for their effort and help them see falling short as an opportunity to learn and improve (rather than simply focus on the outcome), they will be more motivated to work hard and more likely to believe that they can achieve what they put their mind to.
8. 赞扬过程而不是结果
我们一味赞扬儿童的认知、智力或技能水平，或只是赞扬儿童得到的分数或奖状时，可能会导致他们一味地追求结果，造成儿童为了获得更多的回报而从事任务。进而导致儿童为了得到赞扬或避开不好的结果，有意地逃避那些他们并不擅长的或有难度的活动。在儿童成长过程中、在他们上学的过程中，他们要取得好的表现，会越来越难，学习的乐趣也会减少，抑郁和焦虑也可能增加他们的压力。因此，我们要表扬过程而不是结果。如果我们表扬孩子的努力，帮助他们将失败看作是学习和提高的机会（而不是仅仅关注结果），他们就会更有动力去努力，更有可能相信他们能够实现目标（取得想要的成绩）。
所以，在孩子完成一件事后，给孩子即时的奖励（口头的或物质的），其实并不总是好的。我们要培养孩子感受学习过程本身这种不明显的激励，而不是结果的激励。
9. Maintain a close connection with adolescents.
Adolescence is a period when many young people take risks and push boundaries. This trend reflects, in large part, a natural inclination toward novel and exciting experiences that maximize learning opportunities and are important in making the transition to independence. As teens become more motivated by the approval of their peers, it can be socially rewarding to follow risk-taking leaders or stand out by breaking boundaries. However, teens with close family relationships are less prone to risk-taking. High parental support and open dialogue are associated with fewer problem behaviors, including less substance abuse and delinquency. Be empathetic and supportive, knowing that youth are going through changes in their brains, bodies, and social relations that can make risky behavior appealing to them. Keep the lines of communication open—and keep close tabs on teens.
9. 与青少年时期的孩子保持紧密联系
处于青少年阶段的年轻人，勇于冒险和突破束缚。这很大程度上，意味着年轻人倾向于追求新奇刺激的事物。这点的好处是，年轻人可以最大限度地抓住学习机会，能够帮助他们走向独立。随着青少年越来越认同同龄人的认可（激励），追随、模仿敢于冒险的“领头人”或打破束缚而坚持自己，可能会带来社交上的回报。另一方面，与家人关系密切的青少年通常不大会去冒险。此时，父母给予高水平的支持和与孩子进行开放的对话，有可能减少青少年时期孩子的不良行为 ——包括吸毒和犯罪。
这一时期的父母，要抱有同理心和支持的态度。青少年的孩子，他们的大脑、身体和社会关系正在经历较大的变化——冒险行为会对他们产生吸引力。父母应当深知这一点，与孩子保持良好的沟通，密切关注青少年孩子的成长。
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