As we approach the end of the semester, it’s time renew a yearly teacher ritual: panicking about the material still left to cover before the final.

Not only do grades not encourage growth, they inhibit it. Grades take the focus off feedback. As a teacher of English language arts who prides himself on providing quality feedback, this finding is particularly disturbing.

Business still relies on carrots and sticks to motivate workers. As Daniel Pink, author of the book Drive, points out, this approach actually produces the worst outcomes when it comes to complex, 21st century tasks. Can this fundamental insight help us to revolutionize professional development?