RES 5040: Teacher as Researcher (spring 09)

Research well documents the impact of positive reinforcement on behavior and achievement. It will be interesting to see what type of impact it has on your math students. I believe that sometimes all it takes is the knowledge that someone believes in the student and that the student can succeed in order to motivate. Have you given any preliminary thought to what types of reinforcement you will use? When I taught in middle school we rewarded this and that and eventually got to the point where we asked ourselves, what we were doing wrong. It wasn't really making the difference we had hoped. How do we get students to be intrinsically motivated vs. extrensically motivated?

Roxie

Shannon-
I am believer in positive reinforcement. I can tell you from some experience in my job what I have observed from some testing data,: I know of two teachers that do not give positive reinforcement other than a pat on the back, and their test scores were lower than the other two teachers in the same grade that do give some type of a reward. I also feel that what the reinforcement is will play a factor in your studies outcome. There was an article on the family education website that might help you. It starts out with a quote by Dorthy Nolte "If a child lives with approval, he learns to live with himself."
It might be an article you want to look at. http://life.familyeducation.com/communication/behavior-modification/29734.html
Good luck, and I can’t wait to see your findings.
Jill Mann

This sounds really interesting to me. I have a clarifying question. What does the actual research piece look like? Will you be measuring outcomes (test scores) or will you engage the students in conversation about it? This actually reminds me of an article I read a few months ago. It was about how stress and fear are common daily experiences for kids in lower economic brackets. This creates a huge barrier to learning. Your project idea of positive reinforcemnt seems like the perfect antidote to this problem. I'm very interested to see how it all plays out

Shannon I think this is a great topic for research. As many teachers feel as though some of their classes are just used as a "dumbing ground" for students who don't want to be in the class to begin with. How as Stringer says can we help those students engage and be willing to learn the subject matter at hand. I believe that each teacher is passionate about the subject matter in which they teach, but how do you translate and get the students to buy into it? Also, can you get students to get into Stringers think and act approach as you do this project. Think about what the students are wanting to learn compared to what they are suppose to learn and what they need to learn. Then act on these findings. Then you will probably have to change again and again until you find a satisfactory answer. Look forward to your research.
Scott Harrill

I think that postive reinforcements are huge in the classroom. I can remember teaching at the alternative school in Gaston Co. (lateral entry, no experience...)and struggling to find some sort of identity and connection with my students. After a couple of months of sleeping students, low achievment, constant class disruption, an occasional fight and a couple of cussings I took on a daily basis, I decided to try something different. It all started with just some kind words,from there I came up with many different gimmicks to positively reward my students like homework = free coke day or 80 or above on the test and we broke out the checkers (they loved checkers go figure). What I saw was a huge change in my classroom. Students rarley sleep, grades went up, class disruptions were going down, rarely a fight (in my classroom at least lol) and I was only getting cussed when new students came in. This was one of the most rewarding times I have had in education. Good luck with your topic. If I can be of any help let me know.

Scott Heavner

Shannon,
Might both of these topics (positive reinforcement effecting both discipline and apathy) fall under motivation? Or at least relate to motivation? I teach in a low SES where we have made AYP literally by the skin of our teeth last year and were on the watch list the year prior. I was thinking about how we get some of the students "on our side" so to speak. It has been the experience of myself as well as my next-door-neighbor teacher that authentic, positive reinforcement builds a motivation in the students. Just a thought - I look forward to hearing what you find out about this topic!

Shannon,
I think you have a good start on your idea here. One thing that is a hallmark of action research is a focus on the perspectives of others. Do you plan to interview your students about their motivation? I'm concerned that attempting new strategies -- or doing more of the same -- might not yield significant results. Let's keep thinking about the actual *angle* you want to take with your topic.