Everybody likes something. Sounds kinda simple, doesn’t it? But the fact that “everybody likes something†means that there is something out there for everybody that they find pleasurable and therefore reinforcing. Think about the things that make you happy. I love a good steak. I also really enjoy spending time with my wife and kids. These are the types of things that make me smile and make me want to work toward being able pay for a good steak and to spend time with my wife and kids. I have learned that these are things in my life that require work on my part to sustain.
What is reinforcing in your life? Does a pat on the back by your boss make you want to work harder? Does the thought of a promotion or raise make you try harder? Is there a kid in your class that lights up when they learn something new and thatis what makes you smile? Everybody loves something. So let’s talk about reinforcements.
When trying to change behaviors, reinforcements are often misunderstood and even more often misused. The most common misuse of reinforcement is when it is used as a bribe. For example, the teacher knows that her class loves to go outside and play so she asks them to please be quiet for 15 minutes and then they can go outside and play. This is a bribe because it is payoff for a short term gain. It is tantamount to telling a child that they can have a candy bar if they will just sit down and be quiet for a few minutes. It might work but it hasn’t changed anything.
The difference between a misused reinforcement and a well used reinforcement is the difference between a paycheck and a payoff. A paycheck is earned. A payoff is bartered. If a teacher sets a goal that the class will have study time with no interruptions for 20 minutes for 3 straight days and then starts the clock over when the goals is not achieved but then rewards the class when it is achieved, that is a solid reinforcement. If the teacher has a headache and begs silences and needs a few minutes of silence and the class bites their tongues long enough to get to go outside then that is a bartered payoff. It isn’t reinforcing because it was not part of a stated long-term goal. The problem with most reinforcements is that they are really short-term barters, not long-term change agents.
Let me say this before we go any further. Is there anything wrong with bartering with your students? In most circumstances the answer is no. Anyone who has ever spent any time with a kid has bartered for silence or compliance or something else at some time. That is fine. Just recognize it for what it is. It is a payoff for a quick fix or short term resolution.
When you are truly changing behaviors your reinforcements should be set up on a schedule. Kids earn the right to receive extra play time or a trip to the “joy jar†or an off campus lunch. These types of reinforcements are clearly defined and the path to earning them is succinctly and clearly laid out. And, this is important; these reinforcements are NEVER to be used when you are bartering with your students! When you use your set reinforcements as barter you redefine their purpose in the minds of the kids, and they now think they can achieve these things without actually fulfilling the requisites you laid out. In other words, you just cut off your nose to spite your face.
Anyone familiar with behavior change has heard the term “the stick and the carrot�
This refers to the old axiom of a horse rider dangling a carrot in front of the horse to make it walk and when that doesn’t work the stick is used as the punishment prompt. That is not what a good reinforcement should be. It should not be the carrot dangled in front of the student. A good reinforcement is something a student works towards and earns and can be proud of. A good reinforcement is an accomplishment that should be lauded and should be a big deal. A good reinforcement is a payday, not a payoff.
When you think about reinforcements you have to truly understand your students and understand what motivates them. Then you set up opportunities for them to succeed and earn smaller reinforcements. These smaller reinforcements help them understand that they can do better and that they are capable of earning greater reinforcements. These reinforcements build their confidence and their self-esteem and make them want to do better.
Reinforcements are the part of behavior change that build confidence because it is about earning. Earning is worked for.
Earning is valued because it is deserved. Earning should never be devalued by being equated to a give-away. One of the greatest things that can be taught and learned is a work ethic. Working is all about doing a job well enough to receive an earned pay. That is what a good behavioral reinforcement is as well. It is a student working hard at a problem and with consistency and effort earning a reinforcement that matters. Praise is reinforcement. Candy and gadgets are reinforcing. Extra play-time is reinforcing. Getting to opt out of a homework assignment is reinforcing. Any and all of these can be reinforcing. Just make sure they are never bartered for as well. Once a student figures out something is for sale, through bartering, then it is not something that is uniquely worth working for.
A payday is a tremendous outcome for hard work and it is a value we need to embrace.
Next week we will continue our discussion on the importance of correctly using reinforcements before we begin talking about the other side of behavior change – consequences…
I woke this morning to news that Russia and the new Ukraine government are in a political standoff with military options mobilizing. There was also news of another major storm that has temperatures as far south as Austin in the 30s heading east and picking up steam and looking like it will slam the east coast again. Then there was the appalling news of a school in Nigeria where terrorist had killed a schoolyard full of children and burned their bodies in some twisted attention grab in the name of a twisted view of their religion. The news went on and on with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. I watched and read and listened to a litany of events that should make a grown man seek refuge. But one horrible story gave way to another, and the incredible news of the Nigerian tragedy faded from the television screen and a smiling anchorman talking about a rampant pack of Chihuahuas in Arizona segued into a story of absolute silliness. Those dead children were worth a 20 second mention – about the same as a pack of ankle biting dogs.
When I was young the world was larger. Not many people flew and the internet wasn’t even a dream yet. There were 3 major television channels and the anchorman for the national news at 5:00 was a trusted and respectable man. Today, news is on 24 hours a day on approximately 300 channels a day. Of course about 23 hours a day of that stuff on all 300 channels doesn’t really pass for news but is instead a flurry of opinions and fireballs thrown to provoke controversy and stir political passions for ratings. But it is there, nonstop. And it is full throttle and fully encased in violent picture, horrid stories, and pain on a global level. Have things gotten worse than they were 20 years ago? No, there are no new sins. There are just more people talking so they are finding more awful things to talk about.
Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a diatribe on the news. We need to know what is happening in this ever shrinking world. And I do not loathe the speed and access with which we get news from around the world. I do however worry about the access our kids have to so much awful news that is presented in sensationalized formats. Kids today are bombarded with images and stories and words that would have never been allowed on a television screen just 20 years ago. Now those images are not only on TVs, they are also on phones and tablets, and computers.They are everywhere and there are so many of them that they have begun one-upping each other on the graphic scale for attention and “clicksâ€.
Here’s the danger of our current state of information access and presentation: When our kids see things that are disconcerting and should be alarming over and over then they will become less disconcerted and less alarmed each time they see it. When our kids hear of the deplorable acts of extremists in Nigeria over and over they soon start tuning out the news and are less shocked by the event. And here’s an even bigger complication – when our kids play video games and watch movies and television shows that show these types of horrible things then they are even less sensitive to it when it occurs in real life.
I do not fear that kids today are less human than those of 20 years ago but I do worry that their definition of humanity has changed. When easily accessed entertainment mediums constantly bombard our kids with violence and gratuitous sex and salacious language then the norm of acceptability is constantly redefined and what is shocking becomes further and further removed. How do I know it affects our kids? Because when I heard the news I was momentarily appalled but I wasn’t shocked, and until I sat down to start writing I wasn’t outraged either. Now I am angry with myself for accepting the news of schoolyard kids being murdered, for political and religious extremism and not having the human decency to pause and think and pray on what has happened.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr once spoke of the “tranquilizing drug of gradualism†and the “fierce urgency of nowâ€. He was of course talking about overcoming the atrocities of bigotry and achieving equal civil rights for all man. Today we need that same “fierce urgency of now†in our public and a personal reclaiming and guarding of our children’s rights to innocence. We cannot be a part of the “tranquilizing drug of gradualism†by being so personally desensitized to sensationalism that we become a condoner of vile games and shows and music that target our children’s fragile formative years. We cannot abdicate our role as guardian of our children’s minds and souls to a box of wires that gives them entertainment but also redefines their worldview of humanity.
It is time to be shocked again when shocking things happen.
It is time to be saddened again when people are hurt.
It is time to be outraged again when children are targeted.
In our conversation last week we talked about how reinforcements are often misunderstood in behavior programming. For example, a teacher becoming weary of being interrupted offers her class an extra 10 minutes of recess if they are all quiet for the remainder of the lesson. This might be effective and it is a fine method to gain much needed silence but it is not a change agent. This is a short term delay of a behavior that is not targeted for change and will likely continue once the reinforcement has been gained. In other words, it is a short term bribe and the gain is solely in the short term. The kids will be talking and interrupting again right after recess.
Here’s the dilemma – in true behavior programming you would do a reinforcement analysis to determine what the recipient (student) finds truly reinforcing. You would then set up a reinforcement plan that is in conjunction with your disciple plan (to be discussed next week) and the student would constantly and consistently work towards the goals and reinforcement of that plan. This type of operant behavior change is effective but it is not efficient. It is highly unlikely that a teacher has the time or the resources to truly administer an effective reinforcement schedule that is personalized to each individual student. So let’s talk about ways that classroom teachers can set up reinforcements that will matter and the true goals of these reinforcements.
Character education is a term that has been bantered about over the last decade. Some schools put a lot of emphasis on it and others hang posters with pithy inspirational quotes and check the box of Character Ed. But did you know that you can actually set up a strong character building program that is centered on reinforcement activities that are designed to effect the development of values and the growth of character traits that are necessary for good citizenship?
Since teachers truly do not have the time or resources to manage individual reinforcement schedules for each student, instead you can create reinforcing goals for your class and center the goals on citizenship growth. For example, the class could work towards earning a pizza party by conducting, participating in, and leading a food drive for your local food bank. This activity would provide work opportunities for the class, discussion points on the value of sharing and caring, and it is something that each student can and should be a part of and would likely be proud to achieve. This is a great character building activity that reinforces good behaviors. Another example would be your class adopting a playground or school hallway and cleaning it once a week. Again, this brings value to the school and creates a work opportunity that the students can participate in while also working towards some positively reinforcing goal. These are simple group examples.
You can even take the group reinforcing activities and break them into small group reinforcements where each small group is either assigned or volunteers for some act of good citizenship and as the groups achieve their goals they are rewarded. These are great examples of using positive reinforcements to effect character growth and development. These activities provide the opportunity to build work ethic, which is a hugely important character trait, while giving goals that the individuals in the class can work towards. This sort of character and citizenship development is a righteous and necessary endeavor for all students. Just keep in mind that these activities, great as they may be, are not behavior change agents. Let me explain why.
Behavior change is a focused process.
When a behavior is identified it must be changed through focused and targeted proactive discipline (not punishment – again this is next week’s topic), an understanding of the function that behavior serves (either psychosocially or functionally) and a plan to replace that behavior with an appropriate behavior (our topic for two weeks from now). The activities listed above do none of these things. Now this doesn’t diminish their value; the proactive development of character is a worthy cause but it is not a behavior change process.
Why is this differentiation important? Because we need to call things for what they are – Character Ed is great but it is not your school’s behavior change plan. Because if your class and your school have a terrific character education program, or if you are going to implement one because you rightfully see how the development of good citizenship and values is important, then you need to understand the benefits and limitations. The benefits are obvious and are listed above. The limitation is that you are reinforcing citizenship behaviors and the growth of good character traits, but it is highly unlikely that these developing traits will counter the function that aberrant or inappropriate behaviors serve and therefore won’t truly change bad behaviors. Developing character will help your students better understand their role in a socialized environment but it won’t change angry or aggressive or disruptive behaviors. It will help your student feel better about themselves but it won’t help them understand how to identify and control their emotions and feelings. Character development is critical for maturation but it is not a singularly effective medium for change. In other words, building and introducing good behaviors is not the same as targeting and changing bad behaviors.
Change is targeted and individualized and reinforced and disciplined accordingly. Please use character building and pro-social reinforcements in your classroom, but do not mistake these terrific resources as your social, emotional, or behavior change solutions.
Over the next 4 weeks we are going to talk about how you must have an effective discipline (again not punishment) system that is applied in conjunction with the teaching of replacement behaviors for those targeted inappropriate behaviors. The great thing about this process is that it can be applied in a class and small group setting. Behavior change can be accomplished with the efficiency of class and small group but it cannot be serendipitous, accidental, or incidental. Know and understand that there is a difference between developing pro-social and positive character traits and changing targeted and inappropriate behaviors. Next week we will begin to talk about how to accomplish both.
This morning was bittersweet.
My 8th grade son boarded a plane early this morning with most of his
fellow 8th graders. They were on their spring break trip to Washington
DC. We had to be at the airport at 4:30 this morning which meant getting
up at 3:15 and leaving the house by 3:45. Today also happened to be the
“Spring Forward†time change for Daylight Saving Time so in actuality
it was like getting up at 2:15. We were both a little groggy!
As we drove to the airport and I prepared to put my son on a plane, his first trip without either me or his mom, I had a flood of memories about my 14 years with Hunter.
Hunter has always been all boy and has always been loads of fun. There
have been lots of broken things and the smells are sometimes
indescribable but he is the type of kid that makes you smile.
As I drove him to the airport I would
look at him sleeping and see the little baby that was seconds old when
he first peed on the doctor. I saw the toddler who tried to make a run
for it on his little motorized tractor only to be caught as he headed
down the driveway. I saw the preschooler who would climb to the top of
the pecan tree and try to catch squirrels that ran by. I saw his first
day of school when he stood up about an hour into the day and said,
“That’s enough. I am going homeâ€. I saw the 7 year old who once rode his
bouncy “hippity-hop†from the top of the stairs, buck naked, screaming
“catch me if you think you can!†I saw his first basketball game when he tackled three other boys and yelled “fumble†as he dove on the ball.
I saw his first day of middle school when I got a call from the
principal because he had somehow managed to shut himself in his locker.
When I asked him how and why he did this he said in a matter of fact
tone, “I’ve never had a locker so I had to tryâ€. It seemed to make sense
to me at the time.
I then saw my boy begin turning from a
child to a teen. I watched him put down his toy cars and pick up his
headphones. I watched him go from gagging at the sight of a girl to
fixing his hair just right. I watched him suddenly care about his
clothes and wanting deodorant and body soap that smelled “manlyâ€. The
little boy that would run through the house to hug me became the
strapping young man that often has a deeper voice than me in the
mornings.
This morning, I watched my young man go
off on his own. As I stood in the airport watching him go through
security with his class I began thinking about all of the incredible
moments I have had as a father. I was there when my two girls and Hunter
were born. I have seen my kids get sick and bounce back to health. I
was there to catch them when they fell after their first steps. I was
there to hear their first words. I was there to see the look of joy and
freedom that came when they peddled their bicycles for the first time
without training wheels. I was there when they sang with their kiddy
choir at church. I was there when they got their first Valentines gift
and when they had their first crush. I have always been there with my
kids. When I thought about this I began to see that this is the greatest blessing life has to offer: Being there with your kids.
But being a Daddy is so much more than
just being there. Being a Daddy means that when you are there you are
all in. It means they are more worthy of your time and your attention
and that playing a silly game is more important than watching a
television show. It means that playing catch is more important than catching the game.
It means that going on a Daddy/Daughter date is more important than
getting to go out to eat with friends. Being a Daddy is a much more
demanding position than just being a father.
Any goofball can father a child – and many have! But being a Daddy is so much more than just contributing your DNA.
Being a Daddy means that you spend time in thought each day thinking
about the things you need to do to help your kids prepare for life.
Being a Daddy means that there is worry for their future and there is
heartburn over the shape of the world your kids will be inheriting.
Being a Daddy means that their life in your home is not incidental or
accidental. Being a Daddy means you are there not only physically but
emotionally. Being a Daddy requires the same planning and forethought
and decisiveness as being a doctor or lawyer or teacher.
I watched my little boy, I mean my young
man, walk to the security line. It was bittersweet because I knew he
was going to have a great time but I was really going to miss him. I
also knew that I would spend a lot of time worrying until I saw him
again. But I stood there and watched him walk away. And then something
happened that will go into my memories forever. In
front of his friends, my 14 year old son did an about face and walked
over to his Daddy and hugged me. I kissed him on his cheek and he said,
“I love you Daddyâ€.
I am a Daddy and it is the greatest job,
responsibility, privilege, and gift I have ever received. Now, by God’s
grace, I will teach my son that being a Daddy is the greatest job,
responsibility, privilege and gift that he will ever know. And I will teach him that being a good Daddy begins with being a good man. It begins with planning and certainty. It begins by being there.
Jerrod’s 3rd grade class is a handful. He has his obviously bright students, his struggling students, and most all of his kids are somewhere in between. The struggles in reading and writing and math are ones he can handle. In fact, these are the struggles he became a teacher to tackle. He knows he is good at helping kids learn and understand why it is necessary to learn. Where Mr. Jerrod struggles is trying to calm down the kids who haven’t quite bought in to the whole school thing. They aren’t bad kids. They are just kids that won’t sit down and be quiet and pay attention. Again, his class runs the gamut on this as well. He has his ace students who are ready to learn as soon as the bell rings. In the middle, most of his kids will settle down with an occasional reminder. Then there is Raphael. Mr. Jerrod is pretty sure that Raphael thinks he cannot survive for 5 minutes without talking to someone. Again, Raphael isn’t a bad kid. He just won’t sit down, be quiet, and pay attention.
***
We have spent the last several weeks talking about the process of changing behaviors and how it is much more complicated than the A-B-Cs we all learned in Psych 101. Remember, the A-B-C chart? It says that there is antecedent event (a behavior provocation). That Antecedent leads to a Behavior and depending on the Consequence the behavior will either increase or cease. For those who are just now joining in the conversation, our past discussions are easily accessible and I would highly recommend spending a few minutes and catching up. This is important, because we are about to enter the part of the discussion that is the lightning rod of behavior change. We are about to talk about Consequences.
Even though the reinforcement we discussed the past couple of weeks is a consequence, it is not the consequence that is most often misunderstood, misapplied, and often counterproductive. The one consequence that actually creates the biggest issue is the DRI – the Differential Reinforcement of Inappropriate behaviors. The DRI is a fancy way of saying the response to an inappropriate behavior, typically a punishment. The DRI is often misapplied in much the same way as the reinforcement. It is too liberally given, often not tied to a plan for change, and – most egregiously – is often a knee jerk reaction or, even more problematically, is given out of frustration or even anger. When a response/punishment is given and it is not planned for or communicated well, then the chance of it positively affecting behavior change is minimal. In fact, it can actually lead to even more problematic behaviors.
Let me say that again:
Your response to a problem behavior – typically a punishment of some kind –
if not applied correctly, can actually lead to WORSE behaviors.
Let’s begin by defining a DRI.
A DRI, or consequence, that works is one that the student knows and understands, is tied to specific behaviors or types of behaviors, is consistently enforced, and is explained when it is given, and again after the fact, so that the student knows it still applies. It is also an actual event, not simply withholding a reinforcement. In other words, the student knows the rule, knows the consequence, if the rule is broken the consequence is given each and every time, and then the consequence is reinforced to the student so that they know it still applies if they break the rule again. Finally, a good DRI is more than withholding something that is reinforcing. A good DRI is an event that the student can tie directly back to the targeted behavior(s) that led to it. For example, let’s talk about Mr. Jerrod and Raphael:
***
Raphael is constantly disrupting the students around him by talking during class. This is a problem not only for Raphael but for the other kids. When the students are quiet and attentive and do their work they earn a check for the period. Mr. Jerrod is very conscientious about rewarding the students when they do their work and pay attention. The system Mr. Jerrod set up is that when the students have 5 checks in a row they get to go to the “joy-jar†and choose a prize. But when they are talkative or disruptive they lose the check and have to start over. Mr. Jerrod loves to see the kids light up when they go to the joy-jar and pull out a prize. He finds himself rooting for them to make it just so he can see them accomplish this prize.
Raphael hasn’t earned many trips to the joy-jar. In fact, Mr. Jerrod sometimes struggles to remember if Raphael has ever pulled a prize from the jar. Raphael’s constant talking keeps him in trouble and is making it difficult for his classmates to earn their checks as well. To make matters worse, Raphael has pretty much given up on earning any checks himself.
(Now, before parents and secondary folks check out, please know that the trip to the joy-jar and the checks could just as easily be doing chores and earning an allowance or completing all assignments and earning the right for off-campus lunches).
***
In this scenario you can see that there is a reinforcement, the check that leads to a trip to the “joy-jarâ€. At this point, Raphael has given up on earning 5 checks in a row. Since this reinforcement is not seen as attainable he doesn’t even try. This means that this reinforcement is not strong enough to alter his behaviors. Therefore, the withholding of the reinforcement is not going to produce any results.
***
After the 4th time of telling Raphael to be quiet, the exasperated teacher told Raphael to leave the classroom and sit in the hallway. At first, Raphael was embarrassed but soon he was playing and twirling on the floor. And there was no one telling him to be quiet!
***
Here we have a DRI that was applied out of frustration, isn’t part of any change plan, and hasn’t been determined to be an effective deterrent. In fact, Raphael is enjoying his time in the hallway more than the classroom because he can play out there without the teacher constantly harping on him. This was clearly a miss on the reinforcement and a miss on the DRI. In fact, Mr. Jerrod has now reinforced bad behavior. Two strikes in behavior change often means you are out!
***
It has become increasingly obvious to the teacher that a class-based reinforcement schedule is not enough for Raphael. Therefore he is meeting with Raphael and his parents to talk about the new plan. Raphael will still need to earn 5 checks but they won’t have to be sequential. He will have to earn 2 in a row for them to count, but he won’t lose them once he has earned two. This way Raphael can reach the reinforcement of the joy-jar, and he still has to work for it, but it is more attainable. However, if after a warning Raphael loses his check for talking, then he will have an extra homework assignment to write a paragraph on why he should not talk in class. If he loses two checks that day, he will have to write the paragraph and will also have to write a letter of apology to the teacher for disrupting the class. If he loses 3 checks that day, Raphael will have the homework assignment, will have to write a letter of apology to the teacher, and will also have to write a letter of apology to the classmate(s) he is interrupting.
***
In this scenario, the teacher realizes that one-size-fits-all reinforcing doesn’t work for everyone. The teacher is also realizing that Raphael is going to talk and is going to lose checks and is going to frustrate him. So instead of reacting to Raphael’s talking, the teacher has a multi-level DRI which still encourages Raphael to not be disruptive, gives him a chance to comply, makes attaining the reinforcement manageable, and has known consequences when he does not comply. The teacher does not have to come up with on-the-spot discipline for a known inappropriate behavior. This gives Raphael a much greater incentive to comply (an attainable reinforcement) and known consequences of additional work when he does not (a clearly laid out and effective DRI).
This sounds simple and in some ways it is. The hard part is applying it consistently. There will be times when the teacher wants Raphael to achieve the check so bad that he lets some talking slide. There will be other times when Mr. Jerrod is so frustrated that he wants to send Raphael back to the hallway just to get him out of his hair. Either of these deviations from the plan will weaken the plan’s effectiveness because Raphael will not learn to control his talking by achieving 5 checks and a trip to the joy–jar, nor will he learn by writing letters of apology to the entire class. Instead, he will learn to control his talking when he begins to learn that there are consequences, both reinforcing and punishment, every time he is compliant and every time he is not compliant.
It is not the writing of the plan or the determination of the reinforcement and punishment that will change behaviors. It is the consistency with which each is applied and the ability of the teacher to weather Raphael’s testing of his patience, his willingness to forego the joy-jar, and the teacher’s strong desire to give him extra breaks so that he can achieve it.Inconsistency in behavior change administration, especially the DRI, is tantamount to saying that you “don’t really mean it†when you give the rules.
So that is how a DRI works. Next we are going to talk a little about the difference between punishment and discipline in deference to the DRI. Then we will get to the single most important factor in the behavior change process, and it is not the antecedent or the reinforcement or even the DRI. It is… coming soon.
