Positive Reinforcement? | Internship Reflection 4

As February was coming to a close, I had begun gathering data for the action research project I had been assigned to complete for the MAT program. I had decided to introduce a positive reinforcement system based on tickets for the class in which I struggle most with classroom management. The tickets would be earned by doing good things and they could use the tickets to "buy" rewards. My goal was to reward good behaviors rather than spending so much time punishing bad behaviors in order to encourage students to be less disruptive and stay on task.

I had spent the past few weeks observing the students' behaviors in the normal classroom without the tickets and taking down data. During the final week in February, it was time to explain to the class how the ticketing system would work and begin giving out tickets for good behaviors. I started out the class discussion by having students identify what they thought could be improved about their classroom behavior, what behaviors they thought were good behaviors, and what rewards they would like to receive for demonstrating good behaviors. This conversation had two goals. 1) It helped me to focus on certain behaviors and get an idea of what sorts of rewards would be effective external motivators. 2) Allowing the students to provide their input would hopefully make them feel like they were part of the process and provide them with more incentive to cooperate.

Surprisingly, the students' responses to this discussion were overwhelmingly negative. One particularly disruptive student expressed that she didn't think this would make any difference in the class' behavior. Another student seemed skeptical that I would follow through on my promise of rewards.

I had anticipated a positive reaction or at least apathy from the students, so it surprised me to hear them being so cynical. At this point, I explained to them that I was taking this system seriously because it was an expectation of my own classes. While it is not typically a good idea to introduce bias when completing a research study, I felt like it was important to let students know that I was committed to following through with this project. In other words, my bark was not going to be bigger than my bite. Upon hearing this, the students seemed to be more accepting and willing to participate.

The whole experience showed me that how important it is that students trust that you will do what you say you will do. I've always heard how important follow-through can be when dealing with discipline in the classroom. This conversation showed me how much of an impact not following through can have on students.