Behavior & Classroom Management: Chris Borgmeier, Ph.D. Portland State University

Reading Review Scheuermann & Hall Ch 9-11 Lampi, Fenty & Beaunae, 2005 – 3 Ps Horner & Spaulding 2007 Sprick 1996 Anderson & Rodriguez, 2008 Good Beh Game

Reinforcement & Acknowledging Desired Behavior

Reinforcement v. Punishment Reinforcement - a consequence that increases the future occurrence or likelihood of a behavior Punishment - a consequence that decreases the future occurrence or probability of the behavior

Acknowledgment Systems Purpose:  To reinforce school rules, behavioral expectations & positive behavior  Promote a more positive school environment School-wide 5:1 positive/negative interaction ratio Regular school-wide celebration of positive behavior  Increase positive interactions b/w staff & students  Prompt busy adults to remember to reinforce positive behavior

FAILURE SUCCESS 5 : 1 Positive Behavior Support is…. What parents, teachers, peers and others do to increase student success---the whole village!

5:1 Ratio Pay attention to What you Want to See Give more attention to positive/desired behavior Acknowledge positive behavior 5 times more often that you respond to negative behavior Keep it genuine; not the same for all kids There is a ceiling effect at 13 to 1 – but we are at very little risk of achieving this in schools; more often we are at 1:1 or even more negatives than positives

5:1 ratio, it’s not just for kids Business teams  High Performance teams = 5.6 to 1  Medium Performance teams = 1.9:1  Low Performance teams = 1 to 2.7 Losada, 1999; Losada & Heaphy 2004 Married couples that last  5.1 to for speech acts and 4.7 to 1 for observed emotions Gottman, 1994

Gottman info. predicted whether 700 newlywed couples would stay together or divorce by scoring their positive and negative interactions in one 15-minute conversation between each husband and wife. Ten years later, the follow-up revealed that they had predicted divorce with 94% accuracy.  Marriages that last: 5.1 to 1 for speech acts and 4.7 to 1 for observed emotions  Marriages likely to end in divorce: 1 (+) to1.3 (-) ratio likely to end up in divorce

How to Acknowledge Behavior “Sergio, thank you for picking up Jackie’s book for her you are being very Respectful. I want to recognize your good behavior with a Caught Being Good ticket, I really appreciate it when you follow the school rules.” 1) Always pair praise with a verbal explanation that is genuine, clear & specifically identifies the behavior 2) Link with school rule 3) It is best to provide the ticket immediately after the student engages in the behavior

“Good morning, class!” Teachers report that when students are greeted by an adult in morning, it takes less time to complete morning routines & get first lesson started.

Allday & Pakurar (2007)

Active Supervision & Reinforcement: Effective Scanning & Monitoring

Create Consistency/ Fairness 1. Develop & teach Expectations/Routines  Have students explicitly practice appropriate behaviors & routines  Create consistent & effective routines 2. Respond consistently  to reward appropriate behavior (4:1 ratio)  to inappropriate behavior w/ corrective feedback

Structuring the Classroom Environment Setting up the room for easy monitoring/accessibility to all students Structure classroom to allow for smooth transitions

Power of Proximity & Focusing on Appropriate Behavior Actively roaming around the room monitoring Pay attention to the behavior you want to see Calmly, quietly, & quickly approach & redirect students who are off-task  Can often just point, or say quick two words  Then walk away & continue to reinforce other students

Movement & Scanning Effective scanning and movement allows for more opportunities: 1. To catch students engaged in positive behavior  4:1 ratio – we need to catch students doing the right thing, more than the wrong 2. Catch minor misbehavior early and prevent escalation Use proximity and prompts to redirect student behavior 3. Catch academic errors early during independent seat work to prevent practice of misrules or errors and reduce exposure to frustration

Activity  Write down 1 situation/behavior you’re struggling with in your classroom & the desired behavior that would improve the situation  Write down 2 statements you can use to praise the desired behavior in that situation  Develop a plan to remind yourself to use this strategy for the next 5 days you are in your classroom Pair and practice/share Time’s Up  Say your statements to your partner 3 times  Share your plan for reminding you to use the strategy (might involve your partner)

Link between Teaching & Reinforcement

Teaching is necessary, but teaching alone is not enough We also need to provide:  frequent opportunities to practice the behavior  frequent reinforcement and acknowledgment for the desired behavior  frequent review and practice of the skill  precorrection and reminders to cue the expected behavior & develop the habit  Effective & consistent error correction procedures

Effective Use of Reinforcement

Effective Reinforcement Immediacy/frequency of the reinforcer Contingent reinforcement Strength/Value of the Reinforcer The most prominent and frequent reinforcer available in effective classrooms is success on academic tasks

Immediacy of Reinforcement Immediate reinforcement is stronger than delayed Delivering a reinforcer immediately after the target behavior helps the student clearly understand that the reinforcer is connected to this specific behavior  Diminishes likelihood student will accidentally attribute the reinforcer to another behavior Verbally labeling the behavior being reinforced while giving the reinforcer also helps

Contingent Reinforcement Contingent v. Noncontingent  Contingent = – student understands there is a clear relationship between exhibiting a specific behavior & gaining positive feedback/reinforcement  For a reinforcer to be most effective, students must clearly learn they receive the reinforcer only after performing the target behavior and NOT when engaging in other behaviors  Consistency in responding, and not responding, is key

Contingent Reinforcement Be Respectful is less clear & specific then Keep your hands and feet to your self  Focusing on fewer more specific behavior is a way to strengthen a reinforcement system for a resistant student We can make clearer the behavior that is going to be reinforced We also want to make sure to consistently present the reinforcer following occurrences of the specified behavior

Value/Strength of a Reinforcer We need to understand what will be reinforcing for the student Preconceived notions about what should be reinforcing for a child are frequent reasons for the failure of reward programs  Ask student, observe student, see what they value Deprivation v. satiation  We need to change up reinforcers periodically to keep it interesting

Effective Reinforcement in Practice Immediate & frequent (don’t wait until the end)  Tickets, point systems can be good for cuing teachers to provide frequent reinforcement Verbally label specific behaviors being reinforced  Keep it genuine  makes reinforcement a teaching strategy Reinforce all students, not just the best students  More challenging students need even more reinforcement for desired behavior then others Err on the side of too much reinforcement, rather than not enough (at least 4:1) – but, keep it genuine

Strengthening an Individual Student Reinforcement System Make reinforcement more frequent  Don’t wait too long for student to earn incentive  Student must be able to succeed Target specific behaviors to be the focus of the reinforcement program  Focusing on fewer behaviors may be beneficial, particularly when beginning a reinforcement program Provide immediate reinforcement  Keep delay between performing behavior & receiving incentive to a minimum Make sure incentive is highly valued by the student  Do not assume it will be highly valued

Class Activity: Strengthening/Fading Point Cards Rate each on 5 point scale (1 = least 5 = most) Identify variables on the point cards related to:  Immediacy/frequency of feedback & reinforcement  Specificity of behavioral expectations targeted Discuss how to manipulate the point cards to make them stronger and how to fade them SW-PBIS ack system Pt Card 1Pt Card 2Pt Card 3Penny Bd Immed/ Freq Contingent Value

Penny Board Show example Show STAR video SW-PBIS ack system Pt Card 1Pt Card 2Pt Card 3Penny Bd Immed/ Freq Contingent Value

SW-PBIS ack system Pt Card 1Pt Card 2Pt Card 3Penny Bd Immed/ Freq Contingent Value Most fade-ableStrongest

Classroom Reward Systems

Implementing Reward Systems If not needed, don’t use a formal Reward System  If you’ve taught desired behavior, acknowledge desired behavior at a high rate and provide good instruction, most classrooms or groups will not need a reward system However, if frustrated with student behavior, or students are not intrinsically motivated to work, you may need to implement a reward system

Reward Systems Reward systems can be good for motivating:  Good Behavior  Academic performance/ work completion

Types of Reward Systems 1.Regular and highly systematic  If you do ________, then you earn _________.  Tend to be more necessary when trying to motivate a class that needs higher structure  Downside – regular systems can be harder to fade 2.Intermittent & less predictable Some of the times you do _________, you might earn ________. Often sufficient for medium structure classes

Choosing a Reward System Determine the needs of your classroom  Need for High structure? (usually in Behavior Classrooms)  Regular v. Intermittent Reward System Choose the least complex program that will grab the interest of the students & get them exerting gentle peer pressure to succeed  Getting peers to say things like – “quit talking or we’re going to lose a point”

Goals of a Reward System Goal of any reward system is be a temporary program to develop a pattern of effective behavior Eventual goal should be to gradually fade the reward program

Implementing a Classroom Reinforcement Program Plan all details carefully  Avoid arbitrary time limits – need to earn 50 points by next Friday What if all points are earned before deadline? What if class ends up one point short? Identify reinforcers that motivate students  Might ask students what they’d like to work for Teach students how the program will work Keep focus on student behavior, not rewards Eventually fade program  May have a class discussion about discontinuing program

Effectively choosing & implementing a reward system Set up the reward system so student success likely  Students need to succeed with the program early, or they will not buy into the program It becomes the responsibility of the teacher to make sure that students are caught doing the right thing  Make sure the payoff doesn’t take too long to earn  Disneyland syndrome If you’re good the rest of the year I’ll take you all to Disneyland

Effectively choosing & implementing a reward system Avoid systems with arbitrary time limits  The problem is that if students have a hard time early in the day/week and lose too many points, then the system is meaningless the rest of the day/ week  or if students do so well early, they realize they can misbehave and still earn their points  It’s better to set a point total to work toward without setting a time limit

Maintaining a Reward System All reward systems require maintenance, even after they are up and running  Usually have to change up reinforcers to keep students interested It is common to have to make minor changes to initial your initial plan to best meet needs of students.

Maintaining & Fading a Reward System Keep your energy and enthusiasm about the system high Keep your focus on students’ behavior rather than the rewards they earn When a system has been successful for a period of time start making it more challenging

Careful with Competition b/w groups Competition and peer pressure paired with natural incentives can be used effectively Need to spread out the winning, so that all groups are winning – or else groups will give up and not be invested Example  If dismissing by tables & quiet group gets to be dismissed first Make sure all groups win once in a while

Incentives that don’t cost money Free time Game time Extra recess Getting out of class two minutes early Reduction in number of problems or questions assigned for homework Popcorn party Lunch w/ teacher

Classroom Reward Systems - Examples

Whole Class Points For classes needing High Structure Break time into intervals  Less mature or more behaviorally challenging students will benefit from shorter intervals Can lengthen intervals over time Each interval provides opportunity for reinforcer or not Each reinforcer = 1 step closer to reward  Scoring a touchdown  Blasting off rocket  Fill a marble jar

Behavior Bingo Squares Good for younger students - elementary Draw up a chart a 10 x 10 chart from 1 to 100 Student draws a number (1-100) from jar for appropriate behavior Mark number on board When class gets a “Bingo” they earn a reward

Behavioral Grading/ Self Evaluation For classrooms needing High Structure Give students a grade each day/period based on behavior  Requires ongoing record keeping  Review the grade with them each hour  Use a daily report sheet, have students self evaluate too Classwide system, but each student earns individual grade Make it a % of overall grade  Vary % according to class or student  i.e. PE = 50 % of grade; math = 20% of grade

Economic Simulation For classrooms needing High Structure Use pretend $ or tokes & run a mini- economy in your classroom with student earning privileges and rewards  Good practice for using/counting money  Can also be used as an economics lesson