play. It's our third class together this week, with a brand new type of schedule. Most classes are going well - I was laying it on thick with the positive reinforcement, and generally, the students were really responding well. But on the third day, I faced my first opportunity to try out my new set of "behavior modification" tools - negative reinforcement measures were in need!
The first day, I greeted each student at the door and gave students specific seats. Almost immediately, we reviewed the rules of the IT Lab which are prominently posted on the walls around the room, and we discussed this early on. They were the rules that govern the use of the school's technology, They are irrefutable, given, writ in stone, by the Technology Department. The Classroom rules, I explained, will be created by all of us, together, over the next few days. They are the rules and procedures that we will use to help create a great learning environment for ourselves. They included entering quietly, respecting the equipment, and no swirling in the computer lab chairs.
At the end of my introduction, and following their initial sharing with me about themselves, I displayed a broad set of norms that I had in mind for our class. We discussed each norm and we all agreed that they made a good basis for our classroom. I asked them to think about what kind of rules and consequences we should put in place to create the kind of environment I was describing. I explained that we would work together to decide on rules and consequences that will help us to create the kind of environment we're looking for. there are a couple of basic rules that we all agreed on immediately, such as the need to raise our hands, be respectful of teacher and each other, and following school rules in the classroom as well.
At the end of that first brief session (we had only 20 minutes with each class on the first day) I allowed each student to choose a "gemstone" from a huge pot of colorful glass stones that I had collected. Some were clear, some opaque, some with jagged edges and irregularly shaped, and some were perfect ovals and smooth. These were a gift, I told them. But once we set up our rules, they will be tokens we can use to earn rewards, both individually and as a class.
The second day as they entered class, I again, but this time, I told them that since we'd had such a great first day, I felt they deserved a reward - I told them that today they could choose their own seats, and it would be their permanent place for the rest of the quarter -- but with a word of caution: choose wisely,because they will be moved if they prove that they need to be.
They were happy about having a choice, and they all made their best effort to follow the rules -- they entered quietly, made big efforts to be prepared with pencil and notepad, and to put their backpacks in the cubbies at the entry. We continued class with their introductions to me, and we had a couple of tools we used to help us with that, including those gemstones that they selected - they used them as a jump off point for telling me something about themselves.
However, we had some struggles with the temptation to swish from side to side and twirl around in our new computer chairs. I had to remind several students, and they quickly adjusted their behavior -- but this was virtually irresistible, especially for kids. So at the end of the class, I tried giving each class a One Minute Twirl- A-Thon when they could twirl as much as the wanted to get it out of their system. This was given as a reward at the end of the class period, for having been such an attentive class --- and because I realized that they had had to struggle a bit with that temptation, and I appreciated their effort! I think that was a good thing, but time will tell!
The third day, however, trouble struck. The younger grades, 6th, 7th, even 8th, responded very well to the rules and the introduction games. They seemed to have selected good seats for themselves, and it was lots of positive reinforcement, with only a few incidents of verbal reminders. The 9th grade, unfortunately, and predictably, was a bit more challenging.
On day three I had my first real trouble. In a class of only 12 students, 3 are identified English Language Learners ( F, T, S), Another student (A) may also be ELL, but doesn't speak much and has not yet been identified by the ELL team. It was quickly apparent that another 5 of the students were high-level computer skilled and intellectually developed (D, J, E) - one of which was apathetic (J), one of which was a bit hyperactive and trying to entertain himself and/or his classmates in negative behaviors (D), and the third of which was very engaged but trying hard to entertain his classmates (E) with humorous, albeit a bit random and esoteric commentary. The last 2 were well behaved, acted with self-control, offered appropriate responses, and were generally ideal students (M and B). The last 3 were students who appear to be of average computer skills and ability, and to be of appropriate intellectual level and English language ability. They were (P, V, and K)
What I've learned is that it is extremely important to take the right action - a balance of positive and negative reinforcement, right from the beginning.
My first mistake was in permitting them to choose their seats, the grouped themselves in ways that turned out not productive for the class dynamic. I learned that all bad things stem from poor seating arrangements!
The trouble began when one student - a student (A above) who is new to our school, and possibly English Language Learner, entered class late, without a pass. He then failed to quickly and quietly put his things in the cubby, instead he engaging in talk with one of the students who was sitting next to him. Next involved the same student, wearing his hood in class, which is a school rule that had been discussed at orientation. Third, another student, (D) seated in the same row as A but with one student in between them, put on his hood, going one better, covering his face with the hood, and moving about in his chair.
At each point, students were addressed, and they complied. Lateness was due to the guidance counselor keeping him late. Getting organized for class was apologized for and quickly finished.
The hood was removed, too snickers and some commentary about why was that necessary.
Enter my second fatal flaw. When D put his hood on, and was asked to remove it, he raised a question as to why that was necessary. After stating, because it is in the school rules, etc. Both students had removed their hoods, at that point, but there was still some dissatisfaction about it. I, trying to gauge the situation, and not wanting to alienate any student so early in the game, especially over something so minor, thought I would try to engage them by making this hood wearing thing, part of our "getting to know you" activities. Bad idea.
I moved closer to the students in question but enabled them to have the chance to talk about this rule. tt went from bad to worse, as I inadvertently gave D the stage for launching into his historical understanding of the significance of hoods, why they were worn, and why people stopped wearing them, and how none of the conditions applied in our situation, so therefore the wearing of hoods should not be deemed an offense. Of course the other students didn't quite know how to respond to this, nor did I because it was spoken in low tones, so we could not hear him, nad what we did hear did not make sense. But what I'd really done was to engage the student in argument. Definite mistake,
After that, the middle student, a faultless young man (P) who I have had before who has never given me trouble, but... had seated himself between D and A. He raised his hand after D's long dissertations, and asked "Why is it some teachers care about the hoods and other teachers don't?" To which D made loud protestations, "Don't say anything! Don't say anything!"
In the meantime, I looked to the other side of the class and realized several other students had completely disengaged and were involved in a discussion of their own.
At long last, I thought better of the "getting to know you" defense. I thanked and silenced D and P with a request to see them after class, and returned to the lesson.
Ultimately, the students ended up in the principal's office, and he set them straight, as did the guidance counselor. I understand that their advisor is going to have something to say, as well.
As for me, the next day when they came to class, I had rearranged all of the seating, separating the students who were giving me trouble, as well as the small clique on the far left side of the room. They were all rather shell shocked, I am afraid. But there were no problems with hoods in the classroom that day. Or any day since.
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