National University, Department of Education, Master of Science in Special Education

By Carol A. Johnson

Effects of Positive Behavior Reinforcement Systems on Student Engagement

Question to the Audience

How many of you have stood in front of an audience of young people giving what you thought was an awesome lesson and then

thought, nobody's listening?

Rationale for Action Research Study

In classrooms all around America there exists a distinct correlation between motivation and engagement. If students are engaged during lesson time they will more likely know the answers to questions that are asked by the teacher. Because teachers and students are under great pressure to perform well on CST, STAR , CELDT, Benchmark tests, and Exit Examinations, engagement in the classroom becomes more important then ever.

The question that will drive this action research study is: What positive behavior reinforcement system (PBRS) practices positively impact and ultimately increase student engagement?

Reflective Question for the Audience

Do you feel like there is too much pressure on you in the classroom to keep academic pace, to meet school objectives, or to prepare students for annual testing?

Is there time for remediation?

Is there time to have student-driven discussions?

Overview

Action Research is the process where educators can examine a problem that is in close relation to their own teaching practice (Mills, 2009).

It entails the identification of a problem and using systematic research techniques to focus on possible solutions.

This Action Research study will be conducted over a 9-week period. Data will be gathered in two segments, PBRS1 and PBRS2.

What is a Positive Behavior Reinforcement System

A Positive Behavior Reinforcement System

(PBRS), employs positive reinforcers to obtain desired behavior outcomes. Behavior expectations are determined by the teacher. Some examples of positive behavior reinforcers are:

Positive notes to students Verbal Kudos Report of gains to parents A choice of preferred activities

Focus on Engagement

Engagement is made up of two factors; motivation and engagement. According to Miriam-Webster's Dictionary (2012), the definition of “motivate”; is to “impel, coerce”, and the definition for “engage”; is to “to be held”. As one can see from examining these transitive verbs that they are directly related.

Reflective Question to Audience

Think about what motivates you to remain engage during class.

Focus on Engagement

There are several competitors for student engagement in the classroom.

1. Students' peers

2. Technology

3. Teachers

4. Home Life

Focus on Engagement

Were you surprised to see teachers on the list? I was.

However, a teachers instructional style delivering teacher active and student passive pedagogy can lead to student disengagement (F. Jones, J. Jones & P. Jones, 2007).

Another study conducted by Lee, Robinson, and Sebastian, (2012), surveyed teachers and students in a high school setting. Respondents reported a lack of consistency in curriculum delivery.

Figure 1 – Factors Effecting Student Engagement

Student Engagement

Students

Technology Teaching Style

Personal

Friends and non- Friends

Phones, Video Games, TV, Computers

Teacher/ActiveStudent/Passive

Home Life, Hungry,Tired

Figure 1.

Figure A. Outlines the factors that effect student engagement in the classroom.The four areas that are compromising student engagement in the classroom are: students, technology, teaching style, and personal Issues .

Hastings, Karas, Winsler, Way, Madigan, & Tyler, 2009;Jones, F., 2009; McLeod, 2012; NEA, 2011; Graham, 2011.

Student Engagement

Students

Technology Teaching Style

Personal

Friends and non- Friends

Phones, Video Games, TV, Computers

Teacher/ActiveStudent/Passive

Home Life, Hungry,Tired

Figure 1.

Figure A. Outlines the factors that effect student engagement in the classroom.The four areas that are compromising student engagement in the classroom are: students, technology, teaching style, and personal Issues .

Hastings, Karas, Winsler, Way, Madigan, & Tyler, 2009;Jones, F., 2009; McLeod, 2012; NEA, 2011; Graham, 2011.

Review of Literature

When beginning an action research study, one must research prior studies that have been done in the researcher's subject.

For this study, over 20 peer reviewed studies were reviewed. During the review of literature process, themes evolved that gave the researcher an opportunity to rethink solutions to the engagement problem.

Review of Literature: Key Themes

The following themes emerged from the review of literature process of the action research study.

Focus on Engagement Understanding Reinforcers School-wide Positive Behavior Systems Stand-alone Positive Behavior Systems Teacher Resiliency and Equity Positive Behavior Reinforcement System Tools

Understanding Positive Reinforcers

According to Daniels (2000) there are four types of reinforcers: (a) positive, (b) negative, ( c) punishment, and (d) penalty.

The two major types of reinforcers used in education are positive and negative reinforcers.

Positive reinforcements can increase desired behaviors, while negative reinforcements can increase undesirable behaviors.

Reflective Question to Audience

Do you incorporate any positive reinforcers into your daily classroom practices?

What does positive reinforcers look like in your classroom?

What does negative reinforcers look like in your classroom?

School-wide Positive Behavior Systems

School-wide Positive Behavior Systems use positive reinforcers to encourage positive behaviors on a large scale. According to Bradshaw, Debnam, and Pas, (2012), some of the reinforcers used at schools are:

Catch students being good games School Wide set of behavioral expectations School-wide use of positive notes The Tiered system to offer more intensive services

for students who require it. Mentoring programs

Stand-alone Positive Behavior Systems

Stand-alone Positive Behavior Systems are programs that can be used on a small scale. These systems are more in a teacher's locus of control. Some example of stand-alone systems are:

Self-monitoring systems Card Systems Point Systems Classroom behavioral expectation instruction Tangible rewards Positive reports of student progress

Teacher Resiliency and Equity Teaching in K-12 schools can be very stressful. Working

as a Special education teacher can be even more challenging. Many students have behavior issues built into to their diagnoses (Mauro, 2012). This makes it hard for districts to retain good teachers in this high demand area (Shook, 2012).

According to Homes, Romer, and Ross, (2012), teachers who taught at Positive Behavior Schools reported less burnout.

According to Cox, Nelson, and Young, (2010), in order to sustain any PBRS program, teachers need to be given regular feedback, and be provided with incentives and rewards.

Reflective Question for Audience

Burnout happens to teachers all the time. What steps can you take to prevent this from happening to you?

Positive Behavior System Tools

There are some tools that teachers can employ to help them observe, evaluate, and monitor student behaviors. The Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and Direct Behavior Rating Forms (DBR) can be used by teachers with practice. For this study the DBR form was chosen. It utilizes a linear graph scale to assist with teacher observations. Teachers simply put a mark on the line to measure the desired or undesired behavior (See Figure 2).

Figure 2

Example DBR Form for the Classroom

Positive Behavior Intervention

The Positive Behavior Intervention chosen for this study was the self-monitoring system (See Figure 3). The system uses a form that students mark at intervals to measure the progress in the teacher inspired domains. The domains chosen for this study were:

Respect Responsibility Work Completion Safety

Figure 3 – Student Self-Monitoring Form

Data Collection and AnalysisFocus on Triangulation

Data analysis for the study will be done in two segments. The first segment will be PBRS1 and the other PBRS2.

PBRS1 & PBRS2 – Data that will be gathered will be parent surveys, researcher field notes, and student records.

The data will be kept in a secure location and students will be given number identifiers to protect their identity. At the end of PBRS2, data will be compared and results will be reported.

Implications for Practice

Most predictors for a successful PBRS program were designs that included: classroom procedures and management, coupled with implementation practices involving goals and incentives.

Other practices included: Teaching students social skills, role play expectations, check-ins with students, set routines for everything, report gains to parents, and routinely giving student choices.

Are There Any Questions

Please complete the survey through surveymonkey.com It will be available online from the following

URL: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z2BQQ9N

All Questions are good questions!

References

Axelson, R., & Flick, A., (2011, January/February). Defining student engagement change. The Magazine of Higher Learning, 43(1), 38-43.

Bradshaw, C., Debnam, K., & Pas, E., (2012, July). Secondary and tertiary systems in schools implementing school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports: A preliminary descriptive analysis. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 14(3), 142-152. doi:10.1177/1098300712436844

Carter, c., Reschly, A., Lovelace, M., Appleton, J., Thompson, D., (2012). Measuring student engagement among elementary students: Pilot of the student engagement instrument-Elementary version. School Psychology Quarterly, 27(2), 61-73. doi: 1011037/t14378-000

Cox, G., Nelson, J., Young, E., & Young, B., (2010). Preventing school failure, 54(2) 119-125.

Daniels, A., (2000). Bringing out the best in people: How to apply the astonishing power of positive reinforcement. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

ReferencesHomes, R., Romer, N., & Ross, S., (2012, April). Teacher well-being and

implementation of SWPB Interventions and Supports. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 14(2), 118-128. doi: 10.1177/1098300711413820

Lee, V., Robinson, S., & Sebastian, J., (2012, Feb/Mar). The quality of instruction in urban schools: Comparing mathematics and science to English and social studies classes in Chicago. 95(3), 14-48.

Mauro, T., (2012). The ABCs of behavior management. Retrieved from http://specialchildren.about.com/d/behaviorissues/tp/ABCs.htm

Mills, G., (2009). Action research: A guide for the teacher researcher. (4th Ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Miriam-Webster. (2012). M-w.com Retrieved from http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A1HfggoetoTmzvhy69D6d1WbvZx4?p=miriam+webster&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-701

Shook, A., (2012, March). A study of preservice educators' dispositions to change behavior management strategies. Preventing school failure, 56. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.nu.edu/10.1080/1045988X.2011.606440