CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Newman and Newman (2007) indicate that children learn through observation and imitations of other’s behavior, (Bandura & Walter, 1963, pg 135). The people who are being observed are called models and this process of learning is called modeling. (Bandura, Ross, & Ross, 1961, pg 136). They also learn their position in society and learn the behaviors associated with those roles, (pg 160). In class, we have seen numerous examples of how children imitate adults (“Toy Stories” Gabrielle Galimberti.) and how they imitate parents and teachers in classrooms (video on children teaching class.) It is certainly important to know/realize that as a teacher ‘all eyes are on you’ at all times and students are constantly watching the teacher’s behavior toward them and other students. They judge the teacher by his/her behavior and frequently seek to duplicate that behavior.

A kind of phenomenon that occurs in elementary schools is the absolute flurry of tattling on other students. The thinking of the student goes something like this: these are the rules, we learn the rules, I have to follow the rules, I will get in trouble and get punished if I don’t follow the rules. Hey, look at that guy! He’s not following the rules! If I have to follow the rules and if I get punished if I don’t, then he better have to too. This reasoning carries onto adult life wherein on jobs, employees time and time again compare ‘the amount of work’ that they have to do to the amount that other guy has to do and then spend endless amount of time complaining if the ‘scales aren’t fair.’ It is possible that students get more upset about another student not getting ‘proper punishment’ than that the other guy got more rewards. Probably, in their minds, they justify the rewards by thinking ‘well, he/she worked to deserve it.’

A lot of time in class is wasted with this kind of circular behavior: student A behaving badly and students B, C, D all reporting on it. We saw in the video tapes of children ‘teaching class’ that they were duplicating efforts of teachers to control behavior in class. Sometimes these efforts can get pretty punitive and extreme.

One of my treatments for ‘bad behavior’ is to have the student come up to the board and write his/her name with a 1 next to it. I explain to the students that for every 1 on the board they owe me 1 minute at recess. If they have really been misbehaving I will increase it to 5 minutes but usually not more than that for elementary ages. Once they have ‘served their time’ and recess is over, I have the students come up one at a time and erase their names off the board and we are now even. If other students start to complain about this somehow being ‘unfair’ I explain that the students ‘served their time for their crimes and we’re done’. Students who misbehave usually know they have and frequently don’t even protest that much; as long as it is fair. Also, effective punishments should not include lectures, threats, recriminations, lots of harsh words and heavy judgmental attitudes. What this procedure does is to address the individual behavior and yet in a public way so that other students see that the bad behavior does not go unpunished; therefore, their perpetual feelings of a ‘need to report’ have been taken care of because the behavior has been dealt with quickly and swiftly by the teacher. My feeling is that all parties in the classroom end up feeling like their needs are met. The guilty party has received an age appropriate punishment that is not too extreme and the classmates get the personal satisfaction of feeling that ‘justice’ has been served.

http://oneextradegreeteaching.com/chris-van-allsburg-author-study-update/

 

Trips: Smithsonian Museum, reading poetry at The Book Barn, Korean Wedding.

“I don’t do math!” The student announced to me with an angry tone and crossed her arms over her chest, chin set.

This student, age 16 years, was telling me about the position she had developed over years of unsuccessful interactions in class doing (attempting to do) math. I could appreciate her point of view as I, also, was never very good at math. Now, what do I as a teacher do to deal with this situation? Let her read a magazine while other students are struggling with their math work? Kick her out of the program?

What were the ‘facts’ of the situation? The bare-bone facts were that this student, like all the students there, had to pass a GED test to graduate from the program. The math level for the test was approximately 5-6^th grade difficulty. What could I do to leap-frog over her very set beliefs (schemas) which were true for her, to get her to accomplish the goals set for her by the program?

Schema beliefs are very real for the person who has them. There was no point in my wasting my time arguing with her that her ‘beliefs weren’t true.’ They were true for her. (Piaget).

Also, emotions are the primary motivational system for behavior to include perception, cognition and actions. The function of fear (“I don’t do math”) is to motivate escape from a dangerous situation. Fear can disengage the motor system resulting in a freezing behavior when the individual is facing threats to self-concept or psychological well-being. (Izard & Ackerman).

The answer was that for this low-level class, I needed to scaffold on what the students already knew about math and start the process of building brand new schemas about math, who they were as students and what they were capable of doing.

 

As I said, I was never very good in math either.  Now, I consistently got A’s in History, English and Social Studies and passed an AP English class; but math, no.

The first semester I was in college, I was required to take a statistics class. (Yikes!) The teacher did something that I will never forget. He handed out pages and pages of multiplication problems, addition, subtraction and fractions. He made us do these dumb problems over and over and over again. Until, guess what, we were able to do them pretty well. He had taken existing schemas of basic math, which was in most cases was rusty, and forced us to practice the skills again and again until the skills were ‘exercised’ and ‘toned’. Only then, did he begin to spoon feed us the theoretical concepts of the class. I think I ended up getting a B in the class. The theory I could almost always understand, the mechanics threw me.

In Albert Bandura’s theory of social learning, the self-efficacy begins to materialize within the student as they gain successful mastery of the subject. As they are, step by step, able to do a thing, their view of themselves and their own abilities starts to increase and they become willing to tackle more difficult tasks.

With that math class, I started playing games of Bingo with the students.  I presented them with a simple math problem, they had to solve the problem and that answer was the answer on the Bingo card. They all got little prizes (Skinner, reinforcement) at the end (candy) for winning a card. I told that student “It’s not math, it’s Bingo.” Students’ were reshaping mental images of what ‘they could do and couldn’t do’ and replacing those images with new and successful ones.

Also, the Bingo game was of ‘interest’ to the students and ‘fun’ and they liked to play it. Additionally, these same absolutely loved Monopoly, a game which requires a fair amount of higher level mathematical thinking and reasoning.

Interest has clear motivational and goal components, particularly for exploration, information seeking, and learning (see Krapp, 1999; Sansone & Smith, 2000; Schiefele, Krapp, & Winteler, 1992). For example, people spend more time reading interesting text (Ainley, Hidi, & Berndorff, 2002) and process the text more deeply (Schiefele, 1999), resulting in enhanced learning.

Eventually, I had a number of students who were then able to pass the math section of the GED test and one boy who sailed through the Army ABSVAB test in one day.

Using behaviorism theory to reinforce the learning, (prizes) and schema theory to scaffold the old learning with the new and then social learning theory (self-efficacy) to build new self-concepts, we were able to pull students through course work which they were quite convinced they could not do.  What is also important is that students were working with other students. The social–learning context was reinforcing to the belief that ‘we’ can do this thing.

 

References

Bandura, Albert (2012). On the Functional Properties of Perceived Self-Efficacy Revisited. Journal of Management, Vol. 38 #1. DOI:10.1177/0149206311410606

Calvete, E, Orie I. and Hankin, B. L. (2013). Early Maladaptive Schemas and Social Anxiety in Adolescents, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 27, pgs 278-280.

Izard, Carroll E.  & Ackerman, Brian P. (2000). Motivation, Organization and Regulatory functions of Discrete Emotions. Handbook of Emotions, 2^nd Ed., The Guilford Press, New York.

McLeod, Saul, 2007, updated 2015.  Skinner – Operant Conditioning, Simply Psychology, http://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html, Retrieved Internet 2016.

Piaget, Jean (1975/1985).  Newman and Newman, (2007). Theories of Human Development, New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc., Inc. ISBN 978-0-8058-4702-4, pgs. 83-108.

Silva , P. J.  (2005). What is interesting? Exploring the appraisal structure of interest. Emotion, Vol 5, pgs. 89-102.

Skinner, B. F. –  Newman and Newman, (2007). Theories of Human Development, New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc., Inc. ISBN 978-0-8058-4702-4, pgs 133-135.

We were out on the playground for PE. I got out two balls from the ball bin to play soccer. The boys explained to me that these were the wrong balls and that they were basketballs and not soccer balls. I told them to go get soccer balls and to return these.

They did that and came back with two soccer balls. After a couple of minutes, they discovered that the soccer balls were flat and told me that. Freeze frame. What, do I, as a teacher do at this point?  Do I throw up my hands and shrug? Go look for someone to put air in the soccer balls? Try to find some other balls? Mind, we have less than 30 minutes to play. In other words, do I try to fix the problem with limited time and resources? What I did do was to ask the boys “What do you want to do?” They decided they would rather play with the basketball that had enough air in it than to try and play with the soccer balls that were nearly flat. I agreed.

Then the boys talked me into letting them play boys vs. girls and that lasted until the score was 7- 0 (boys vs. girls) and I changed it to one class vs. the other class. (5^th graders!)

According to Dweck, (1975) learned helplessness is the perceived inability to surmount failure. Children (and others) will attribute their failure in many situations to lack of ability.

Students of all ages have been taught forever to depend solely on the teacher for their guidance and instruction. They have ‘learned’ helplessness and that the teacher is the ‘source’ of all information and the ‘cure or solution’ for all problems. To gradually place responsibility into the hands of the students themselves is a new idea and one that often, they are not comfortable with.

My soccer ball problem is a relatively simple situation with few consequences attached to the wrong ‘answer.’ We need to allow the students gradually more and more in their academic and social programs to make choices for themselves so that they are thinking when they make decisions as opposed to operating on habit and routine.

From a behaviorist viewpoint, students have been taught to obey authority and to not question what they are told to do. Given that this training starts at the very beginning of their lives, it is not surprising that the average 11 year old has trouble making simple decisions for himself or herself.

The reward/punishment model that I have already advanced (see Blog #3) gives elementary school children immediate rewards (and punishments) for behavior. The behaviorist model as advanced by B.F. Skinner (1935) originally, shows us, that without doubt, people and animals can be trained (conditioned) by rewards (classic conditioning) to give us desired performance. While it is certainly not fair to ever compare children to Pavlovian dogs, we are all, in truth animals and we respond to many of the same stimuli. Adults would cringe at such a comparison made of them yet, what are paychecks, bonus programs, benefits, contests that adults respond to all the time?

However; dealing with both adults and children, it is also important to realize that there are other intrinsic rewards that people response to just as well. For example, being recognized for good work, academic achievement, good grades, nice hair, a pretty dress, new shoes, etc. People like to be recognized for their intrinsic value and worth.

In conclusion; for the classroom teacher, short term rewards (and punishments) do work and perhaps the best conclusion here is that, they work for the short run. We seek to grow and development better, stronger and more resilient students who are internally motivated and who learn how to reward themselves.

I am volunteering at a library and discussed ‘series’ books with the librarian. Examples of series books are Nancy Drew,  The Hardy Boys, Harry Potter and the like. She told me that her 13 year old daughter is always so eager to get to the next book in her own series, that instead of waiting for it to appear on the shelf of the library, she goes to the local book store and buys the latest book with her own money. This girl has found that reading her own ‘series’ so rewarding that she is willing to spend her money to do so. This cannot be said of many students.

Teaching students to give themselves ‘proper’ rewards for their own good behavior is a worthy task for parents and teachers alike. Part of my class project will be to develop lists of ‘rewarding’ books for pre-teens, especially boys, that will keep them interested in reading.

 

References:

Diener, C.I. & Dweck, C.S. (1978). An analysis of learned helplessness: Continuous changes in performance, strategy, and achievement cognitions following failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 36, issue 5, pgs 451-462.

Newman and Newman, (2007). Theories of Human Development, New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc., Inc. ISBN 978-0-8058-4702-4.

BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT IN THE CLASSROOM

 

I showed up for class early; it was a 5^th and 6^th grade, combo class. Students lined up outside the door before coming in. Sam was one of the last students to get into line and certainly, the last one to stop talking to friends. Sam, age 12, is the tallest, biggest and the best looking of his class. If he keeps growing, he will outsize me in just a couple of years. Given the dyed hair, the big size and the obvious attitude, I knew I would have my hands full with this one.

I started my class as I usually do; going over the rules of raising your hand, staying in your seat and reading a book when done. Then, I incorporated my new favorite, which is the Happy/Sad board. Students get one Happy point for correct answers, being helpful, passing out papers, asking to use the restroom, etc. They get one Sad point for talking when they should be listening or when they are supposed to be doing their work.

I explained these rules to a very silent class who were trying to decide if I planned to eat them or not. As I began to give points to students for doing lunch count, taking attendance to the office, handing out papers and the like, they started to get the idea and then began ‘working’ for points.

Some time ago I was introduced to the concept of self-fulfilling prophecies (Merton, 1948) meaning that what we believe about either ourselves or another person, frequently begin to manifest into actual patterns of behavior. Sam and a couple of other students had desks placed oddly on the edge of other students. This was an apparent effort on the part of the teacher to control ‘outré’ behavior. Sam began to almost immediate chitter-chat with the students at his table. I handed out morning work in math and it appeared that he knew how to do the equations. I called him and another student to the front to show us how the problem was done and to explain their method. After doing that, both students got to write their names on the board and to then get a point.

I deliberately called on Sam on other occasions so that he would have a chance to earn points on the board. Then, when his behavior started to deteriorate into silliness and goofing with other students, I had him march up to the front and erase points off the board. His co-conspirators also got to do the same thing. The important part of this punishment is that it is immediate and clear. There are no parents, counselors, principals involved. The student gets to give himself the reward or punishment right then and there. It is important when using methods such as this that the teacher has ‘with-it-ness,’ meaning that you are alert to what is going on in class; the good and the bad. Students need to be ‘caught’ doing things right as well as when they do things wrong.

At recess, I pulled Sam over to talk to me when the other students had left the room. I told him he could recapture those lost points but he had to stop goofing with the other students. End of lecture; very clear-cut, not very long and demanding no promises. It was going to be in his hands how this thing went.

After recess, I consulted my Happy Board and one by one called the students up to the front and gave them each a sticker from a page of popular Disney characters. Sam had re-earned one point so he got one too. A couple of times Sam attempted to engage me in discussions about ‘why do we have to do this anyway,’ kind of thing and I would not engage with him.

By the end of the day, Sam was working on his packet the way he was supposed to do and actually turned it in before any of the other 6^th graders. One student was attempting to goof with him again and he told the kid to leave him alone because ‘he needed to finish his work.’ Unbelievable! Toward the end of the day, I handed out stickers one more time and Sam got a second sticker. It is important to realize that although the students do like the stickers, it is more the honor of getting called up to the front for good behavior and getting to show off a little in front of their classmates that is really ‘the thing.’

In the Calvete article the author points out that deep schemas of the adolescent individual predict surface-level anxious thoughts and these perpetuate more negative schemas. Maladaptive schemas maintain social anxiety. Negative self-imagery contributes to social phobias. Also, socially anxious individuals seek out negative information to reinforce preconceived notions about themselves because that is what they are comfortable with. The underlying negative self-schemas affect behavior and maintain social anxiety.

Sam is a twelve-year old boy who is dying his hair. This indicates a need to be ‘different’. He chatters incessantly which indicates an ‘other-directedness’ as indicates by Calvete and a constant need for approval from others. He has a hard time making eye contact and is argumentative. He is not autistic and this would suggest a trust problem with significant adults in his life. As teachers, our job is not to psychoanalyze Sam’s behavior constantly, but to figure out simple measures that will get him and keep him on track long enough so that he can utilize the brain he has to achieve, get some good grades and find new ways to feel better about himself. This is not just about learning the material, it is a process in class of getting the students re-organized, on task and moving along so they feel they can accomplish and handle the material and master what is in front of them.

Some may argue against the use of ‘rewards’ to encourage behavior. Research has shown that incentives can be moderately successful when they are well specified and well targeted. (Gneezy, Meier and Rey-Biel, 2011). These students are eleven and twelve years old. Eventually, we hope that they will become more ‘inner directed’ and less ‘reward or outer directed’ but that can still take some time. Regardless, all people enjoy positive recognition for doing well.

In this and in all classroom settings and also in parenting; it is the job of the teacher/parent, to teach the student/children to gradually think for themselves and to become independent in their thoughts and actions and to become capable of taking care of themselves and making proper choices. It is a long process involved in ‘letting go of the reins’ and gradually allowing the students to more and more to take control of their own learning and eventually, their own lives.

 

References:

Calvete, E, Orie I. and Hankin, B. L. (2013). Early Maladaptive Schemas and Social Anxiety in Adolescents, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 27, pgs 278-288.

Gneezy, Uri, Meier, Stephen and Rey-Biel, Pedro (2011). When and Why Incentives Don’t Work to Modify Behavior, Journal of Economic Perpectives, Vol. 25, #4, pgs 191-210.

Merton, Robert K. (1948). Self-fulfilling Prophecy, The Antioch Review, Vol.  8, (#2-Summer) : pgs 193-210, retrieved Internet 5/4/2014.

Definition of epistemology

1. : the study or a theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge especially with reference to its limits and validity

Origin of epistemology

Greek epistēmē knowledge, fromepistanai to understand, know, from epi- + histanai to cause to stand — more at stand (Websters.)
First Known Use: circa 1856

Yesterday, as a sub-teacher, I taught a lesson to first-graders on a book about masks. The book had masks from Korea, Japan, Africa, the American Northwest and Mexico. From the pictures we were able to pick out the blue tile roofs common to Korea, the face of Buddha from Japan, the carved wooden mask of Africa and the eagle from the Native Americans, probably from Washington State. We were able to explore (briefly) geography, culture and nationalities. We talked about totem poles of the NA people and that eagles, bears, fish and mountain lions were all made into images. We discussed Dia De Los Muertos and what that was (Day of the Dead) and what masks students had worn on Halloween.

Touching briefly on the subjects brings the study of geography and culture into the classroom and adds an element of inclusion for students who come from those cultures. Although none  knew where totem poles came from, many of them knew all about costumes for Dia De Los Muertos. Students like to feel included in classroom activities and that their personal backgrounds count and matter. Also, that these cultures have value and merit and therefore, they have value and merit.

Relective practice is “A moving beyond the acquisition of new knowledge and understanding, into questioning [of] existing assumptions, values, and perspectives (Cranton 1996, p. 76). Four elements are central to critical reflection: assumption analysis, contextual awareness, imaginative speculation, and reflective skepticism (Brookfield 1988, p. 325). (Imel, 1998.) Reflective practice is central to my style of teaching. 

Diversity training that I have received over the years has given me a greater understanding and perspective on the vast array of cultures and nationalities that come together in this state in particular and this nation. It is not just enough to teach students that we live in California, and Oregon is north of us and Washington State is north of that. What does that mean and why is it significant? It is important to teach students more than just a bunch of facts. In order to develop a comprehensive schema and understanding of the world, students need to learn connectivity between the things that surround them.

Reflective practice in all classes should consider whether students are engaged in the material, interested in what they are learning and whether or not they are demonstrating increasing and developing command of facts and skills.

Educators have become familiar with the concept of reflective practice through Donald Schon’s (1983, 1988) writings about reflective practitioners. Schon’s work has an historical foundation in a tradition of learning supported by Dewey, Lewin, and Piaget, each of whom advocated that learning is dependent upon the integration of experience with reflection and of theory with practice.  (Osterman 1990). (Imel,1992.)

However, Osterman (1990) maintains that an important part of reflective practice is developing the ability to articulate that tacit knowledge. The competent practitioner must be able to 1) describe the event 2) analyze the event) theorize about it and 4) take action. And, again and again, the practitioner (teacher) has to ask himself or herself the question “Is this working with this class?”

I was once a long-term sub for Job Corps in Sacramento. They had an expensive and complicated Reading 180 program. The class had an abundance of computers and tons of level reading books that should have been interesting to the students. The teacher had been extensively trained for the program. However; some smart psychologist decided the students lost interest easily, so a timer would ring every 15 minutes. Then, students had to get up and move to another work station. Great in theory and horrible in practice. Students hated the program, probably because they hated being herded around like cattle. The teacher nearly lost control of that class because of the negative emotional reaction from her students.

My personal epistemology would be that developing the whole mind schema is important for students in terms of how well they ultimately do on college entrance exams and also, for them to develop a well-rounded interest and curiosity in their world. Time and time again, I find students have more tucked up their sleeves than I would have thought. But, that information does not come out if I do all the talking. I once had a nine year old boy tell the class that the dinosaurs died because an asteroid hit the planet. He stole my line! Students need to become gradually more responsible in class for constructing their own learning and developing their own instruments for teaching others. Whether that be papers, Power Points or drama skits; students need to demonstrate their acquisition and command of knowledge their own way.

“Learning is the change in performance that results from experience and interaction with the world.” Students need to demonstrate what they learn. Standardized tests are one way to demonstrate learning, but they are not the only way and teachers need to develop tools in the classroom to assist their students in their ability to demonstrate their own learning. (Driscoll, 2005.)

Dweck talks about the mindset where students interpret their performance as a ‘setback’ or a ‘failure.’ Student who learn to evaluate their efforts as setbacks rather than abject failures are more likely to exercise persistence in the face of challenge. Students who ‘catastrophize’ every small thing into being a ‘big thing’ are more likely to give up and throw in the towel at the least little bump in the road. (Dweck, 2006.)

No large successes in school or any other endeavor will ever be accomplished without setbacks and it is our jobs as teachers to give students the permission to ‘reframe’ their reference points for self-evaluation and give themselves permission to ‘fail’ so that they will eventually succeed.

References

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Introduction to theories of learning and instruction. In Psychology of     learning for instruction (3^rd ed., pp. 1-15). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success (pp. 3-11). New York, NY: Ballantine Books.

Imel, S. (1992).  Reflective Practice in Adult Education.(Eric Digest No. 122. ED346319). Columbus, OH: ERIC. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov.hmlproxy.lib.

Imel, S. (1998). Transformative learning in adulthood. (ERIC Digest No. 200 ED423426). Columbus, OH: ERIC. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov.hmlproxy.lib.

Merriam-Webster: Dictionary and Thesaurus. Retrieved Internet: www.merriam-webster.com.

 

Hi: I have posted two new videos on You Tube. They are Korean Folk Drama – South Korea and Korean Folk Drama -Andong. These are old, old scripts that have been performed for hundreds of years. The actors, as in the old days, are all men , some dressed as women with the traditional masks and costumes. Even if you don’t understand Korean, I’ll bet you can figure out some of these themes!

 

 

You can see my videos on teaching ESL on You Tube videos by following my name as listed above.