Behaviorism at Arcadia

I have seen a fair amount of reinforcers in action at Arcadia. Many of these have been examples of punishment – since the in-person students are learning remotely, a big issue in the classroom is maintaining silence and order/keeping students on track as they work on their laptops. Yet seven hours of silent, independent work is a big ask for 8th graders! So teachers in the classroom use different kinds of reinforcers to make sure students stay on task. One student in particular struggles to stay quiet, and I have seen him be exposed to a number of punishments: removal from the room, loss of different personal items (including a chair, once, that was overly squeaky), and suspension from the school. This week while I was in the classroom, this student made a few disruptive comments and was moved to another area of the room. Now he literally sits in a corner – the space is dimly lit (because there is no overhead light in the alcove) and he faces a wall.

Stock photo depiction of the “sit in the corner” punishment!

These are all examples of different forms of punishment aimed to encourage the child to stay silent and on task. I have noticed, though, that some of these responses are a little bit confusing in terms of punishment vs. reinforcement. From what I can tell, this child is extremely bored and his “acting out” seems to be a way to get attention. Responses that call him out, make him leave the classroom, or move to other spaces in the class (his recent move to the corner of the room was a big classroom event; he received the attention of all of his classmates, of course, as he dramatically groaned and struggled to move his desk to the corner) might be accidentally reinforcing his negative behavior – as he knows he will get a response from the teacher and the attention of his friends that he wants. Other “punishments,” like leaving the classroom or having to do class from home (score! This student seemed incredibly excited to not have to go to school for a week) might be more effective if the teachers considered how the student might actually view them.

I have also seen some examples of pleasant reinforcers at Arcadia too. One student often works quietly and the instructor will call attention to her periodically, thanking her for working well and asking other students to follow her behavior. This week I also sat in on a lesson where students were asked to take a quiz as an “exit” ticket. If they got all the questions correct, they could leave the class early. Those who struggled had to stay and retake it until they got it right. This is an example of a positive reinforcement – extra free time in exchange for a demonstration of learned content (and negative punishment too; students who didn’t finish in time lost some of their lunch period). I have seen other teachers using reinforcers like these (“If you stay quiet, you can go to lunch early” “If you finish, you’ll get out of class before time”) in their attempts to shape student behaviors in the classroom. I can see, though, how these reinforcements might also be accidentally reinforcing associations that the teachers might not want – ie. getting to leave early as a “reward” implies that simply being in the classroom is a “punishment.”

Cognitivism vs. behaviorism?

Arcadia also takes some cognitive approaches to learning, as well. I think a lot of this is hidden by the online format of this year, but I have seen in their history class that there is an emphasis on knowing concepts – and not just memorizing dates. The teacher will sometimes ask students to explain their answers to his questions, asking them to walk through the process and demonstrate their deeper understanding.

Personally, I am firmly a cognitivist at heart. I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to assume that there is no mental activity involved in learning. Behaviorism seems to support rote memorization – you memorize 2+2, you memorize 4×4, and you receive a reward after every correct answer to reinforce this learning. Yet it feels impossible to memorize every multiple in existence – clearly at some point you must be cognitively understanding the concept of multiplication if you are able to apply it in different situations. I also don’t quite believe that behaviors are always reinforced. There are many situations (especially now that I am older) when I have learned something without a direct motivation/reward response.

Other comments:

Something that I was reflecting on in terms of behaviorism is the impact of no response. Often not responding to an event feels like an easy way to not take a firm stance – there is no punishment applied, but there also is no clear pleasant reinforcer. A win-win! But I’m realizing that not responding can be a reinforcer in and of itself. On my first day in the classroom at Arcadia, I was left alone for a few minutes with the students while the teacher ran an errand. Two students immediately began goofing off and I – not really certain of my role in the classroom, and kind of taken aback – chose not to react at all. I think this lack of action reinforced some negative behaviors (ie. that they can goof off and expect to receive no punishment from me). I notice that this continues to impact how I interact in the classroom. I think the students like me – they feel very comfortable chatting with me and tell me stories about their lives – but they don’t necessarily see me as an authority figure in the classroom. For instance, last week while I was talking to two students, one launched an ice pack directly at the other one’s face! When I chastised the student, she seemed surprised that I didn’t just play along.

I’m wondering how teachers navigate having to be an authority figure/provide clear punishments to students and also maintain their relationships within the classroom. How do you dole out punishments and still remain a likeable and approachable instructor? It seems like “likeability” also impacts how effective your punishments are – there is one instructor at Arcadia that the students do not seem to like and her punishments often fall on deaf ears.

• This topic was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by Tonja Clay.