Module 4 Unit 5 Activity 1: Applying Classroom Rules and Procedures
Using Positive Reinforcement
I have always had trouble with positive reinforcement. I rarely received it as a child, so it was always awkward when I found myself at the receiving end of it. That said, I recognize its importance. One of the huge drivers for my behavior as a child was the desire for praise. I knew I wasn't going to get this at home, so I strove to get it at school. So while I have trouble with it, I also know how important it is to a child who may never get it.
The majority of my students come from affluent, wealthy families. However, this does not necessarily translate to having emotional stability. Many of them were raised by absent parents who were busy going on business trips. Their children are left at home with nannies or other relatives to care for them. For the ones raised by nannies, these children are rarely given negative feedback. After all, it would not be in the interest of a nanny to discipline the "little lord of the household," not if they wished to keep their job.
That said, once they enter school, it does not mean that their lives are easy either. At school, unless they do well, the praise ends there. And even without negative feedback, the feelings are apparent. My current teaching site has a reputation for taking in students who are acceptable nowhere else. There is a general air that everybody, parents, admins, and teachers alike, have all given up on them. More than anything, these students crave feedback, not necessarily positive or negative. Just any feedback that shows that the adults around them are looking out for their well-being, that their teachers believe in them.
In order to do this, I created the following procedure, which can be visualized by the flowchart below:
Now, as can be seen above, I have split positive and negative behavior into two further categories: passive and active behavior. Passive behavior gets a gentle acknowledgement. I use ClassDojo, and so this is a convenient system to use. When a point is received, there is a cheerful chime that follows, and I've conditioned students to listen for the chime. On the opposite side, students have also been conditioned to listen for the sad trombone noise that characterizes a point lost on ClassDojo. Usually, the sound is enough to get a response from all passively behaving students. Positive Passive (PP) students work harder, encouraged by the acknowledgement, while Passive Negative (PN) students sit up straighter and get back to work. The wonderful thing about ClassDojo is that I can subtract points from the whole class itself, which also helps if I'm pleased or displeased with the class in general.
The next stage is Active Positive (AP), and Active Negative (AN). When I make my rounds and I see students doing something I am especially pleased with, I love stating it aloud for others to hear. I am careful though, in how I praise that student: it must be done without putting the others down, as it could lead to bullying and ostracizing by classmates afterward. I therefore only mention the specific student, and do not contrast it with other students. This is what I usually call my second stage. For the AN students, I try to lighten it with humor. Despite some teaching conventions that put down sarcasm, I have found that, in particular with older students, that students appreciate sarcasm more.
"Wow, look at Jason totally not doing what he's supposed to be doing!" I might say. Or "Is your chair covered in spiders? Why can't you stay seated in it?" to a student who continually gets up to chat with other students. I don't enjoy yelling, and I love laughing, so my verbal warnings usually go through this approach. If the behavior continues, I then take it directly to the student. This is especially true if the student is actively preventing or distracting others from their task. I've learned from experience that this may often be a front to hide their insecurities. Usually the student doesn't actually understand what to do, but is to proud or afraid to ask for help.
However, when that is not the case I then escalate things by talking to them privately, either after class or out in the hallway. Students always realize that they've crossed the line when I've done that, and I also find it to be a good opportunity to bond with the student. Since general authority in Taiwan is very top-down, I've found that students appreciate it when teachers choose to listen to the students for once. It's probably one of the most effective strategies I've used for seeing positive behavior.
That being said, sometimes the negative behaviors persist without visible signs of improvement, in which I am then forced to inform others outside my class. At my school, the homeroom teachers are the ones in charge of contacting parents, so they are the first line of contact (subject teachers are not allowed to contact parents at all). If the behavior is seriously affecting the student's academic and social situation (losing friends, etc.), then the deans are informed, which may then lead to a conference with the parents, the teachers, and even with the student in attendance. At that point a plan is created to guide the student.
Because I am a subject teacher, I do not participate in those meetings, but am instead informed of the results by the homeroom teacher. But I will say that generally speaking I do not have misbehaving students in my classroom. They may in other classes, but not in mine. I do not know if this is because of my management skills (I doubt it), but what I do suspect is that I tend to have a deeper rapport with my students than most. That strategy, more than any other, has been helpful in creating an atmosphere of positive reinforcement. When students know you care about them, and care deeply, that level of security can only lead to productive learning environments.
I have always had trouble with positive reinforcement. I rarely received it as a child, so it was always awkward when I found myself at the receiving end of it. That said, I recognize its importance. One of the huge drivers for my behavior as a child was the desire for praise. I knew I wasn't going to get this at home, so I strove to get it at school. So while I have trouble with it, I also know how important it is to a child who may never get it.
The majority of my students come from affluent, wealthy families. However, this does not necessarily translate to having emotional stability. Many of them were raised by absent parents who were busy going on business trips. Their children are left at home with nannies or other relatives to care for them. For the ones raised by nannies, these children are rarely given negative feedback. After all, it would not be in the interest of a nanny to discipline the "little lord of the household," not if they wished to keep their job.
That said, once they enter school, it does not mean that their lives are easy either. At school, unless they do well, the praise ends there. And even without negative feedback, the feelings are apparent. My current teaching site has a reputation for taking in students who are acceptable nowhere else. There is a general air that everybody, parents, admins, and teachers alike, have all given up on them. More than anything, these students crave feedback, not necessarily positive or negative. Just any feedback that shows that the adults around them are looking out for their well-being, that their teachers believe in them.
In order to do this, I created the following procedure, which can be visualized by the flowchart below:
Now, as can be seen above, I have split positive and negative behavior into two further categories: passive and active behavior. Passive behavior gets a gentle acknowledgement. I use ClassDojo, and so this is a convenient system to use. When a point is received, there is a cheerful chime that follows, and I've conditioned students to listen for the chime. On the opposite side, students have also been conditioned to listen for the sad trombone noise that characterizes a point lost on ClassDojo. Usually, the sound is enough to get a response from all passively behaving students. Positive Passive (PP) students work harder, encouraged by the acknowledgement, while Passive Negative (PN) students sit up straighter and get back to work. The wonderful thing about ClassDojo is that I can subtract points from the whole class itself, which also helps if I'm pleased or displeased with the class in general.
The next stage is Active Positive (AP), and Active Negative (AN). When I make my rounds and I see students doing something I am especially pleased with, I love stating it aloud for others to hear. I am careful though, in how I praise that student: it must be done without putting the others down, as it could lead to bullying and ostracizing by classmates afterward. I therefore only mention the specific student, and do not contrast it with other students. This is what I usually call my second stage. For the AN students, I try to lighten it with humor. Despite some teaching conventions that put down sarcasm, I have found that, in particular with older students, that students appreciate sarcasm more.
"Wow, look at Jason totally not doing what he's supposed to be doing!" I might say. Or "Is your chair covered in spiders? Why can't you stay seated in it?" to a student who continually gets up to chat with other students. I don't enjoy yelling, and I love laughing, so my verbal warnings usually go through this approach. If the behavior continues, I then take it directly to the student. This is especially true if the student is actively preventing or distracting others from their task. I've learned from experience that this may often be a front to hide their insecurities. Usually the student doesn't actually understand what to do, but is to proud or afraid to ask for help.
However, when that is not the case I then escalate things by talking to them privately, either after class or out in the hallway. Students always realize that they've crossed the line when I've done that, and I also find it to be a good opportunity to bond with the student. Since general authority in Taiwan is very top-down, I've found that students appreciate it when teachers choose to listen to the students for once. It's probably one of the most effective strategies I've used for seeing positive behavior.
That being said, sometimes the negative behaviors persist without visible signs of improvement, in which I am then forced to inform others outside my class. At my school, the homeroom teachers are the ones in charge of contacting parents, so they are the first line of contact (subject teachers are not allowed to contact parents at all). If the behavior is seriously affecting the student's academic and social situation (losing friends, etc.), then the deans are informed, which may then lead to a conference with the parents, the teachers, and even with the student in attendance. At that point a plan is created to guide the student.
Because I am a subject teacher, I do not participate in those meetings, but am instead informed of the results by the homeroom teacher. But I will say that generally speaking I do not have misbehaving students in my classroom. They may in other classes, but not in mine. I do not know if this is because of my management skills (I doubt it), but what I do suspect is that I tend to have a deeper rapport with my students than most. That strategy, more than any other, has been helpful in creating an atmosphere of positive reinforcement. When students know you care about them, and care deeply, that level of security can only lead to productive learning environments.
Comments
Post a Comment