Behavior
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We want people to behave better, whether they are the whiny·
adolescent in our math class, the screaming baby in the grocery .store,.
the ill-tempered business person in front of us at the airport security·
line, or the impatient person behind us in traffic In the context of
the classroom and the workplace, one of the most common methods
to cope with bad behavior is criticism. "Whining, screaming, huffing,
and honking are all ill-considered strategies," we'd like to say--or ,
something like that. Criticism of the behavior of others certainly feels {
good, but as with the pigeon leaving a deposit on the statue of Lord,
Nelson in Trafalgar Square, our criticism probably has little impact
on the target. Consider just a few of the student behaviors that many
teachers wish to modify-inattentiveness, tardiness, incomplete work,
and disrespect. One possible strategy to deal with these behaviors is
to shout "MATH: B MINUS1" or "HISTORY: C1" or, for especiallydif·
ficult students, "CHEMISTRY: C MINUS1" In this particular str~lte!rJl.
the link made between behavior and consequence leads directly to
the student who responds to the parental query, "How did you get
that grade?" with the predictable response, "I dunno."
There is a better way. If we would like students to change their
behavior, the first thing we need to do is identify with precision the
behavior we wish to change and then decide, as Michael Fullan (2008b) ,
suggests, if the impending battle over behavioral modification is worth.
fighting for. If the answer is in the affirmative, then let us by all means
fight, but let us do so in a manner that has at least some probability
of victory. If the school were ablaze and we needed to evacuate the
building, no sentient teacher would be shouting "MATH: B MlNUS1"
She would instead be giving directions that would secure the safety
of the students. Therefore, if inattentiveness, tardiness, and disrespect
are opponents worth engaging, what are the most effective methods
to do so?
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ELEMEN1S OF'GRAOtNG
:Ddning ,"ha~'orWit... ,~~ "
Ftrst;define th~beha\rior witha~tuteclarity.' Step a.sideftom the
ac~iiemlcrea1mfor;a mometrt, and consider something.on which every
re<tdercan agree. We want our kidstto be healthy, and one important
p~oftheirheal~is that they maintain a reaoonable weigbt, relative
to tlleirbeight. Sn'cwhiehao wereallywant~health or ideal weight?
·So.t:ne' parents-"'_ed,;~ome, spouSe~have el1lgage~ in;ffilllndatory
w~-im;fortheiT<lovedones, fO~lonly'onweight Ioss,anohjec~ ,
tivtj'that can be adriev~ withdtet;~d~etcis¢or, if the inatntives"
aresu$cientjwith anorexia anddriigabuse.The latter course will
lead to weight loss, and parents, Pattners,Spouses, boyfriends, and
gid&iends who focus exclUSively oIi'weight ",ill ~nd $.:emselves
dis~pt>(!)'irrted, 'alone, Qrbo1ID. I~ in'the'eont~t of' schoolbehaviof,
. we'Wis~'forstud~tstobe attentiY~tP'tmctqall ,and r~pe~ful,th.en
dowe,.~essonly.their,absenceslt~tliness$and.disciplinaf)1r7cords,
ori()w~ explore the ca,~ses for succ~Ss and failure in each of these
domains?'lftatcliness is associated with an alcoholic parent who cannot
wakeulxin, time ~. transport a stUdent to "sehti9l, then a letture on
theival~eJofpunctuality:~unlikely tP<oe;ohnuchhelp. Ort:tlieother
hal1d~~' opporturJity tQmak~up we'tkina'strueturecl tirn.e- during
the'daYtnaybe useful, .
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The student, th~refote;cannot ~:~ehomeenviron~~as·an
neitherJs
exc~eJC)r poorpetformance, hut
the home envir9tunentan
acaaemi~ death sentence. By "defining the behavior," in thiS case, we,
indicate to the student that the,esse1;ltialissue.ls :notcQtnpl¥irig with
a sChool-schedule ,,~at~.,'inCompa~~l~~':0tli,p#ntal."alcoh(}l" abuse;
rather" theessenti~ iSsu~ .is,gettirig~entworkdonein~ "timely
anddtlig~tmann:r' SinU1ar1y, l Wis~mat Icouldsayth~t<al1of my
stu4ents,walk in thedoor'<witli the tie; ef:dte ,'hat offered to Mr.,Jthips,
the'endearing Eng~h ~olmaster.'1ltetruthiSitheyoon't.SOme 'are
plugged into audio ~ons, otherS-ate focusoo'on their fnen', and
lost in tlieir ?\Vfithritights ~~'1J1 pteoccupationst.katI can ,
scareely~ndetstand. 1'hereis, howe~~lj~ m1ddliegroun<l,~eel1'a '
coniempwous,adj_t!a~n 6ftneir ~JlaViorasdMespe~tfu1~d,
t he
conclusi<zJn,that they
just 1ddsani",*e~o~e>mc~al>}~~living
others are
are
theft<t'~etful"attefltiotli
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How to Improve Specificity
73
Respectful attention! particularly to adult instruction, is a skill ;
to be practiced. Even the most disrespectful students can learn to;'
be attentive when the object of their focus is an electronic gaJlIle;i
What does the electronic game provide to the disengaged student?,
Immediate feedback and guidance and incremental opportunities
for improvement. If we wish to improve the behavior of students,:
then the pledge to give them a final failing grade and the exchange of
contemptuous glances until! mercifully for both parties! the semester
ends! is an unlikely prescription for success. Teachers can improve stu.. ~
dent behavior by considering the lessons of electronic'games-using'
feedback that is immediate! specific! and incremental.
AB in the case of academic performance! a rubric might be useful,
creating a 4-point spectrum of performance. For example! teachers
wishing to improve levels of student attentiveness might consider
some specific opportunities for improvement along a continuum
the following:
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1. You are asleeg distracted! conversing with others! plClLyUlg;
with electronic devices! or otherwise disengaged from the;
class. You are showing me that you do not even care about the:
class! your fellow students! or me as a professional educatoc
2. You are pretending to pay attention! but we both know it '
is only superficial engagement. You look forward and havet;
your book open! but you are not participating actively in'
individual and group work.
3. You are seated when the bell rings and have your book and
papers ready. You volunteer to participate in class and group
activities. You ask questions and contribute actively to class
discussions.
4.
You take an active leadership role in the class! noticing when
other students need help and encouragement. You regard it
as a personal mission to help other students move from "level
1" to higher levels of engagement that you know wi1llead to
better success for the entire class.
In sum! if our objective is to improve student behavior! then our
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first obligation as teachers and leaders is to describe with clarity and
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... _ - - - -.......
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spe~ the behaViordlat we'Wish.,tD,:achieve. Rewards andp~sh...
me~tsareinsuflicient;. aswewill€0nsj~jn the l1ex,tfewPar:agrapns.
whiltwe want and d~e.it witb predsicm
We ~u~'know
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8s•• ',neetll.".€C.nwtl": '.
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....
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~eis a.richpsychologtcallit~~e abo""t.the·relati:veimpact
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of r¢war(ls and purrlshrnents. As DanielPink{2009)and Alfie Kahn
(1999l ~onstrat~ reward~. can.be··fllisused..Rewardsrender stu­
dents dependent upon tnem and cteatewhat cognitive pSYWQlogist .
Daniel 'Willingham(2009} hasea;I1ei l 'praise junkies," StudentScwho
are titIable to eng~~ in~Tk witho~~oth~j&ltof the~isedrug
to tJaei'rSYstern.· . . .
;~
;<
l!*u.~ertts. c~be ~ven. wOf$et eri;c~uraging stddentsto avoid'·
difficult tasks or modify ttoublesomebebavi~rs.Students '¥itI1ess the .
futilJ.~ of punishm~ntOJlare~ar b~is~ when teachers insist on the.
'. use ofgraiingpalici~ that imtituti~81ze punishment for previous .' .
bad t>ehaiv'ior. Wh~t~ciersu~thei:~~age
zero, for~arnple,·.....
and
the mattention, tardiness,'Urcompletee~(Jf~.oo discespectofl_uary .
is P'Fshtdwel int0May.lf·thesame~cner<Jepat:tedfrom an otn­
.·erwi$~'strictdiet with aSdonut and iIce;'creambtttge on New'Vear's
. but resumed his regime!} inFebru~'~arcli, April, andMaY~ what
would matter most is· the phY&kalhea1thof.theteacher in;May~ No
phyS14Zia1).or traine~wOulti say; «rdgi\t~loua~anbill of healtf1 and ..' ."
· encourageyout pro~ess,b:atIjustcart''tiileto~ertrud;iwee~4y()u
faileC:t tofoUow yoo1' insth1etions"'lfe:jlat'wereth~,c3seJW~:W6uld .
'. never engage in the,~ffi#t to be healthYiemulating thefu~~'and
rese~tme.tlt of stud&ts'W'ha asK, "'Wl:tat.<lpes it matter? lea:~~twin.
There's nothing I can do.lmighttas"feltgive ~."
I~~enti.ve systems, thereforeim~~oV:i~balanced measures' .
. . of r.~otcement,cottecti<m,fotgiv~~;indr~ert(:e.~ep09r'.'
.perfotm~!lce· must be i~tifiedand'~~€ro_e4$letiuscaliitwh.at.
· it· is~poQrperformance,'not an iriJmu;tttblecharaeterfl,,:''When '..
· we~ish$ttldents t6pay'attenti()n,w~~.canhelp·tbe~ ptactkethe
· essetltia1$kiU of focus (Ganagher, 20M}, but:we neednot.as~rne.
that;inattention w~.due to t,heif con~iIDlptfot':our:favorite'~ct;
It is alOOpPSSihIe th'4tdiseDlag¢men~'W.a$relat~dtr>·d·· PP~tnlent
.' over: r~Iati(;)nsh.ip,;.eir0.a.s;cet1_'di·
'..~~ de~~.~.9ne,
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or another cause that, had it occurred in the life of an adult friend,
would have been perfectly understandable.
Rewards and punishment will, when administered with absolute
consistency; help a lab rat find its way through a maze. But when these
rewards and punishments are administered in a haphazard manner,
they will drive the same lab rats insane (Lehrer, 2009).Jn fact, the
frustrated lab animal will starve to death rather than pursue a reward
that is easily accessible if that reward appears to be inconsistent and
unfair, accessible one moment and beyond reach the next.
When it comes to students, we cannot improve behavior with
a simple combination of rewards and punishments. High and low
grades, honor rolls, detentions, and the host of other recognitions
and humiliations that are regularly used in schools are of little value
unless the incentives they seek to provide are clear to the students.
Ironically, even the best incentive systems sometimes lead to cynicism
rather than commitment, an attitude diametrically opposed to what
. teachers attempt to instill in students.