How Teachers Reinforce The Kiddos For Good Behavior

Challenging inappropriate behaviour posed by children nowadays is one of the most daunting issued faced by teachers. Few matters affect teachers more directly and persistently than managing classroom behaviour (Jim Docking, 2000). Being able to manage a classroom I found is one of the most fundamental aspects in being able to teach today. Through this critique I will investigate the different studies relating to behaviour management within a classroom, looking pacifically at several behavioural issues within a classroom and where they stem from, as well as looking into studies based on the praise system and how it is used in schools. I want to look at fundamental theorists and give a brief insight into their studies through my own experience and research I have looked into.

The reward system is a merit based structure, we give merits to pupils who have worked hard in a lesson or shown they are following the code of conduct and being a good role model. For unwanted behaviour we apply a yellow and red card scheme if a child is not behaving in the correct way a warning is given and if no change in behaviour we would move on to yellow card and then red.

Giving children lots of praise to help them learn positive behaviour we also give out stickers to encourage repeated good behaviour.

Reinforcement is an essential part in identifying and encouraging a certain behavior. In the most classic definition, positive reinforcement is a method of identifying to children which behaviors are acceptable and appropriate and which are not (Sigler, E. & Aamidor, S, 2005). Reinforcement is often given as praise for doing a certain task. As educators, saying “great job” or a simple word like “fantastic” are expressed towards students as praise. However, when a student is struggling and praise is given such as “you are doing so well”, the negative aspects of praise present themselves. The child is aware of the empty praise therefore it may work against the teacher if it is taken as a false

My classroom management philosophy is rooted in B.F. Skinner’s Behavior Modification theory. I believe that negative and positive reinforcements are a key aspect in classroom management. Providing reinforcement increases the probability that a desired behavior will occur, while undesired behaviors will stop because they are not being reinforced (Manning and Bucher 47). Students who are demonstrating unacceptable behaviors may even begin to change their behavior in hopes of gaining approval through reinforcement (Manning and Bucher 47). In particular, I advocate for this theory because it also serves as another way to continuously reiterate classroom expectations. Through daily dialogue in the classroom, students will be able to understand which behaviors are supported, acceptable, and encouraged and which behaviors are ignored, unacceptable, and discouraged. Continuously putting this into practice will foster a supportive classroom climate with clear expectations. Throughout my field experiences in Horry County, I have seen this strategy used with success. I believe that once I have established relationships with my students this will be the most effective course of action for modifying their misbehaviors.

Following the introduction of the whole school behaviour policy, it was also made compulsory for schools to include a system of rewards and sanctions (Elton, 1989, Steer, 2005; DFE, 2014; Payne, 2015). Within school X it was found that this system was based on the behaviourist principles of Skinners (1974) theory. The use of rewards and sanctions in school X consisted of positively reinforcing desirable behaviours and correcting negative behaviour through sanctions. The behavioural theory underlines that by reinforcing a particular behaviour, children will repeat it as they begin to associate rewards with a particular behaviour (Skinner, 1974; Morgan, 2009; Rogers, 2011a). For example it was observed that when a child was positively praised for helping others, the teacher would reward the child by awarding a dojo. A dojo is used as a form of praise which amounts to a score at the end of the week based on how many dojos a child receives. This will then feed on to the merit card and sticker system enabling children to be rewarded by prizes. Consequently children were able to make associations between the desired behaviour and its outcome. This is therefore identified as a form of extrinsic motivation (Roffey and O’ Reirdan, 2001; Payne, 2015).

Reinforcement is an essential part in identifying and encouraging a certain behavior. In the most classic definition, positive reinforcement is a method of identifying to children which behaviors are acceptable and appropriate and which are not (Sigler, E. & Aamidor, S, 2005). Reinforcement is often given as praise for doing a certain task. As educators, saying “great job” or a simple word like “fantastic” are expressed towards students as praise. However, when a student is struggling and praise is given such as “you are doing so well”, the negative aspects of praise present themselves. The child is aware of the empty praise

According to the University of Michigan, the average student grades 1st through 12th goes to school for approximately 32.5 hours per week, additionally spending 4 hours per week on homework outside of the classroom (Swanbrow). When considering those numbers it’s without a doubt that school makes up the majority of a child's life. Therefore one can see the potential for a teacher to be a hugely influential force on adolescents. In the story "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez portrays the extremes of the student/teacher dynamics with two very different teachers. On one hand, there's Mr. Blessington, a mean-spirited, tough teacher that is constantly putting the kids down and telling them they'll never be more than criminals. On the other, Mr. Tapia, a nice, gentle and motivational teacher who is building kids up. After Mr. Blessington pushes a kid to the edge and there's an assault, Mr. Tapia helps to cover it up because he doesn’t want anyone to hurt their futures. Even though both these teachers were extremes on both ends of the spectrum, it raises good points about teaching styles and how to handle children/students. When it comes to teaching and fostering children's learning after seeing both sides that a happy medium of positive and negative reinforcement, nurturing and tough-love is needed to create a healthy compromise in classrooms.

My teachers in lower grades used punishments more than rewards to influence my behaviors. Starting from kindergarten the punishment system was introduced to me. Whenever I misbehaved, I had to move the clothespin with my name on it, up the next paper plate which symbolized a higher tier of punishment. The three levels were green, yellow, and red. The first tier, green, symbolized freedom to play during recess, the second tier, yellow, symbolized a penalty of time that had to be sat on a bench, and the final tier, red, symbolized a trip to the principal’s office. The fear of having to go see the principal or having to sit on the bench for a period of time was my motivation to not misbehave.

Positive reinforcement is when a child is given something in order to show the child to repeat an act and negative reinforcement is when something is taken away in order to repeat an act (). Many things occurred during my visits that are examples of punishment and reinforcement. An example of positive punishment is when the children were told to stop fidgeting in their chairs and they were told a second time when they were not listening. An example for negative punishment is when the monitor took away one of the girls necklaces because she would not sit still and listen to the play that was going on. An example of positive reinforcement is when the monitors gave a hug to one of the boys for helping cleaning up when she told the kids that it was clean up time. Finally, during the visits I did not see any examples of negative reinforcement, but an example would be taking away check marks that were placed next to their name for miss

Children in early years may have trouble accepting to taste new food, through rewards parents can encourage children to try new food. Skinner believed children learnt behaviour through actions and consequences. McLeod (2007) defined Skinners approach to changing behaviour by the use of reinforcement. Positive reinforcement strengthen behaviour by rewarding individuals. Similarly to children’s eating behaviour, children may learn to accept food through rewards from parents to encourage children to try and be healthy. Children can be rewarded through verbal praise, given a present or rewarded with a sugary snack. Wardle and Cooke (2008) conducted a study of children receiving a sticker for eating a piece of red pepper, over the ten days children

Conversely, teaching parent’s behavior management aids in decreasing unhealthy disciplinary actions through proper techniques of reward and punishment behavior (Cohen et al., 2005).

The types of positive reinforcement I may provide will likely depend on what circumstances present themselves. They will also differ depending on which role I am in. Positive reinforcement I provide to my children may vary significantly in comparison to the positive reinforcement I provided to students while I was the In-school Intervention Specialist at the Holbrook Junior High or what I may provide as a juvenile probation officer.

Alfie Kohn is a lecturer and author whose primary focus is behavior management in schools, in the workplace, and in our parenting techniques. In 1993, Kohn published “Punished by Rewards”. In this work, Kohn listed five main arguments against the use of performance-based reward systems. The arguments against such reward systems are:

Classroom reward systems provide teachers and students with guidelines to follow when dealing with behaviour. Every school has some form of behaviour management in place to deal with both good and bad behaviours and children with special needs who often need structure, planning and daily goals. Integrating technology into classroom reward systems, rewarding good behaviour, hard work or improvement, can have a positive impact on students, as Merrett, A., and Merrett, L. (2013) described, due to the materials being more stimulating and more interactive than other methods commonly used. Also digital rewards systems are easier for educators to edit and tailor to students or classrooms, individual needs, abilities and/or year group.