Re: Positive Reinforcement

by Dave

Sep 23, 2014

The discussion of PBIS elsewhere on this board has me wondering. I have always thought that students should be rewarded for unexpected good behavior. Our school has a system in place for this, and I have my own system for classroom behaviors. In my case, I have an inexhaustible supply of chocolate and fruit snacks, for those who cannot tolerate chocolate. Lately, however, students have taken to performing minor acts of etiquette, not because these behaviors are the right thing to do, but because they feel like they should be rewarded. I offer verbal encouragement for such minor things in the hope that these positive behaviors will become habits, but students frequently respond with "I deserve chocolate for that," and they will voice their disappointment if they do not receive some. I am considering discontinuing the chocolate altogether and just relying on the system our school has in place. I worry that I have just been conditioning the students to expect a reward, and I would appreci...See More

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barhydtk I think students are looking for a mirror rather than a treat. The main reward for positive behavior is a positive self image and esteem. The chocolate isn't the real problem, the chocolate has become the mirror instead a person. If PBIS is to be instituted it also has to be modeled. In other words, how would you react if chocolate was your reward?...See More

Sep 24, 2014

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Don Today I had a second grader ask if they will be getting a ROAR card( school PBIS reward card) for doing something that I asked him to do. I told him that all things in life do not need rewards, sometimes people do good deeds out of the kindness of their hearts. This post made me think of that student and wonder if he will always be expecting someth...See MoreToday I had a second grader ask if they will be getting a ROAR card( school PBIS reward card) for doing something that I asked him to do. I told him that all things in life do not need rewards, sometimes people do good deeds out of the kindness of their hearts. This post made me think of that student and wonder if he will always be expecting something his whole life. I am going to make a personal attempt to show them that true rewards are earned at random and that doing good deeds out of the kindness of your heart goes far beyond the reward that could come your way. I hope our youth isn't given everything they want. That is when people expect more than what they are grateful for. Could you ask them why they think they deserve the treat? and then strike a conversation with them about not getting something all the time? This worked with my 2nd grader. Maybe it will with your older kids. Don On 9/23/14, Dave wrote: > The discussion of PBIS elsewhere on this board has me > wondering. I have always thought that students should be > rewarded for unexpected good behavior. Our school has a > system in place for this, and I have my own system for > classroom behaviors. In my case, I have an inexhaustible > supply of chocolate and fruit snacks, for those who cannot > tolerate chocolate. Lately, however, students have taken to > performing minor acts of etiquette, not because these > behaviors are the right thing to do, but because they feel > like they should be rewarded. I offer verbal encouragement > for such minor things in the hope that these positive > behaviors will become habits, but students frequently > respond with "I deserve chocolate for that," and they will > voice their disappointment if they do not receive some. I am > considering discontinuing the chocolate altogether and just > relying on the system our school has in place. I worry that > I have just been conditioning the students to expect a > reward, and I would appreciate someone else's perspective > here. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Sep 26, 2014

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Jenna Hi all, I can relate to your stories about kids asking for a reward when they do something kind or extra helpful. My kids ask "can I clip up?" I usually just say, "nope." And I leave it at that. They've learned to not ask me anymore. Although there is a risk of "training" our kids to do things just for the external reward, we hope that they're lear...See MoreHi all, I can relate to your stories about kids asking for a reward when they do something kind or extra helpful. My kids ask "can I clip up?" I usually just say, "nope." And I leave it at that. They've learned to not ask me anymore. Although there is a risk of "training" our kids to do things just for the external reward, we hope that they're learning an intrinsic satisfaction from this as well. I usually try to highlight the behavior with my words, "wow, that was very thoughtful of you to help Easton pick up his spilled pencil box...go clip up!" or "I like the way you two are using kind words during your game...go clip up!" So instead of just saying "clip up" or "you get a piece of chocolate," I think it's important to specifically NAME the good thing they did or said.

Something to ponder...as adults, do we not work harder or do extra things when there is a "reward" on the line? As an example, this summer, I signed up for a curriculum training because we got a $500 bonus. I'm not sure I would have been as motivated to complete the training had there not been the "reward" attached to it. Thoughts on that?

Jenna

On 9/26/14, Don wrote: > Today I had a second grader ask if they will be getting a ROAR > card( school PBIS reward card) for doing something that I > asked him to do. I told him that all things in life do not > need rewards, sometimes people do good deeds out of the > kindness of their hearts. This post made me think of that > student and wonder if he will always be expecting something > his whole life. I am going to make a personal attempt to show > them that true rewards are earned at random and that doing > good deeds out of the kindness of your heart goes far beyond > the reward that could come your way. I hope our youth isn't > given everything they want. That is when people expect more > than what they are grateful for. Could you ask them why they > think they deserve the treat? and then strike a conversation > with them about not getting something all the time? This > worked with my 2nd grader. Maybe it will with your older kids. > Don > On 9/23/14, Dave wrote: >> The discussion of PBIS elsewhere on this board has me >> wondering. I have always thought that students should be >> rewarded for unexpected good behavior. Our school has a >> system in place for this, and I have my own system for >> classroom behaviors. In my case, I have an inexhaustible >> supply of chocolate and fruit snacks, for those who cannot >> tolerate chocolate. Lately, however, students have taken to >> performing minor acts of etiquette, not because these >> behaviors are the right thing to do, but because they feel >> like they should be rewarded. I offer verbal encouragement >> for such minor things in the hope that these positive >> behaviors will become habits, but students frequently >> respond with "I deserve chocolate for that," and they will >> voice their disappointment if they do not receive some. I am >> considering discontinuing the chocolate altogether and just >> relying on the system our school has in place. I worry that >> I have just been conditioning the students to expect a >> reward, and I would appreciate someone else's perspective >> here. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Sep 27, 2014

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Josh H. Since I'm not a teacher of children, I had to look PBIS up. I'm hoping I Googled and found the correct thing. If it stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support, I think I'm familiar with this from talking to my brother about reports from my nephew's school. I believe in his school, he gets different colored cards based on if he perfo...See MoreSince I'm not a teacher of children, I had to look PBIS up. I'm hoping I Googled and found the correct thing. If it stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support, I think I'm familiar with this from talking to my brother about reports from my nephew's school. I believe in his school, he gets different colored cards based on if he performed well or not so well that day. In my mind I equate these to Achievements or badges and I'm guessing my nephew does as well. In fact, I'm willing to bet millions of other eight- to ten-year-old children make this same connection since they are probably playing Minecraft and Achievements are a core part of the game (Bilton, 2013).

Achievements or badges are basically what they sound like. You are doing something above and beyond. They also have the function of giving you credit for something that is not normally tracked. The badges are then used as a source of pride and can be shown off to your peers. You are pushing yourself to earn this badge not for a tangible prize but rather, to show that you have what it takes to earn that badge.

This has been fresh on my mind lately because I recently completed digging-badges" target="_blank">the ELI short course called Digging into Badges. Like many things in educational technology, the technology came last. We first focused on establishing sound guidelines for why we were creating badges. In the example of encouraging good behavior in students I can imagine you could have a series of badges that combine to form a certificate. You could have a badge for "Buddy System" or "Sharing" or "Trading" and they could all lead to a certificate in "Group Work" or something similar to that.

I'm betting K-12 educators have been doing something similar to badging for years, and the rest of the world is just now catching on. Is this PBIS done in a way similar to how badging is done? Have you used bading in your courses and what did it look like?

Thanks, Josh

References Bilton, N. (2013, September 15). Disruptions: Minecraft, an Obsession and an Educational Tool. Bits Blog. Retrieved September 27, 2014, from http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/minecraft- an-obsession-and-an-educational-tool/? _php=true&_type=blogs&module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Aw%2C%7B%222 %22%3A%22RI%3A14%22%7D&_r=0

Sep 27, 2014

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Kent For things that are distasteful or are taking my vacation time, yes I always weigh the reward against the time taken from something else I would rather do. However, if I am just doing something just to be nice, a reward can actually make me uncomfortable. It is almost like the person I am doing something for thinks the only reason I am doing it is ...See MoreFor things that are distasteful or are taking my vacation time, yes I always weigh the reward against the time taken from something else I would rather do. However, if I am just doing something just to be nice, a reward can actually make me uncomfortable. It is almost like the person I am doing something for thinks the only reason I am doing it is for the reward. A thank you and a smile should be reward enough and the feeling you get from doing something nice. How do you teach that and give the students opportunities to feel that?

On 9/27/14, Jenna wrote: > Hi all, > I can relate to your stories about kids asking for a reward > when they do something kind or extra helpful. My kids ask "can > I clip up?" I usually just say, "nope." And I leave it at that. > They've learned to not ask me anymore. Although there is a risk > of "training" our kids to do things just for the external > reward, we hope that they're learning an intrinsic satisfaction > from this as well. I usually try to highlight the behavior with > my words, "wow, that was very thoughtful of you to help Easton > pick up his spilled pencil box...go clip up!" or "I like the > way you two are using kind words during your game...go clip > up!" So instead of just saying "clip up" or "you get a piece of > chocolate," I think it's important to specifically NAME the > good thing they did or said. > > Something to ponder...as adults, do we not work harder or do > extra things when there is a "reward" on the line? As an > example, this summer, I signed up for a curriculum training > because we got a $500 bonus. I'm not sure I would have been as > motivated to complete the training had there not been the > "reward" attached to it. Thoughts on that? > > Jenna > > On 9/26/14, Don wrote: >> Today I had a second grader ask if they will be getting a > ROAR >> card( school PBIS reward card) for doing something that I >> asked him to do. I told him that all things in life do not >> need rewards, sometimes people do good deeds out of the >> kindness of their hearts. This post made me think of that >> student and wonder if he will always be expecting something >> his whole life. I am going to make a personal attempt to show >> them that true rewards are earned at random and that doing >> good deeds out of the kindness of your heart goes far beyond >> the reward that could come your way. I hope our youth isn't >> given everything they want. That is when people expect more >> than what they are grateful for. Could you ask them why they >> think they deserve the treat? and then strike a conversation >> with them about not getting something all the time? This >> worked with my 2nd grader. Maybe it will with your older > kids. >> Don >> On 9/23/14, Dave wrote: >>> The discussion of PBIS elsewhere on this board has me >>> wondering. I have always thought that students should be >>> rewarded for unexpected good behavior. Our school has a >>> system in place for this, and I have my own system for >>> classroom behaviors. In my case, I have an inexhaustible >>> supply of chocolate and fruit snacks, for those who cannot >>> tolerate chocolate. Lately, however, students have taken to >>> performing minor acts of etiquette, not because these >>> behaviors are the right thing to do, but because they feel >>> like they should be rewarded. I offer verbal encouragement >>> for such minor things in the hope that these positive >>> behaviors will become habits, but students frequently >>> respond with "I deserve chocolate for that," and they will >>> voice their disappointment if they do not receive some. I am >>> considering discontinuing the chocolate altogether and just >>> relying on the system our school has in place. I worry that >>> I have just been conditioning the students to expect a >>> reward, and I would appreciate someone else's perspective >>> here. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Sep 28, 2014

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