Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kermo]

I teach around seventeen Grade 5 and 6 classes. I had a rough day on Tuesday (every class was "off"), so regrouped and put into place a little strategy. Every single blessed class has been a dream since. I don't know how it works long term yet (any harmful side-effects?) but I am such a happy camper I had to share.

I bring a 500 won sheet of stickers with me, and a little package of candy.
I use these stickers and candies as prizes in games, and to reward those to step up to challenges, like reading aloud, or answering questions.

I make a box on the board with 10 spaces. I give checkmarks for the following:
-if every single student has brought their book to class
-for respectful listening
-for good participation
-if every single student is doing their work

If they get 10 checkmarks, they get candy next time, or a game at the end of class (educational, of course).

This has worked so well, I haven't had to do any "discipline" beyond little reminders. The noise level has dropped drastically, and the students are proud of what they do as a team.

It's really interesting to think of this from a behavioural psych standpoint. The theory is that when a behaviour is reinforced (rewarded), it will occur more often. Many time, I noticed that when I gave the students a checkmark for good singing, the volume increased immediately! Just standing near the board with chalk in hand is a good encouragement for the kids.

Well, I hope you can keep this in your back pocket, and add it to your arsenal, teachers. I'll let you know if the experiment goes horribly wrong, of course..

[mindmetoo]

That's a great little idea. Korean kids are highly competitive and highly influenced by public shame.

I'm at the point in one class where I'm going to start giving them a grade publicly posting their mark on a weekly basis for all to see.

The one thing I've found about "food as a reward" is that the kids, god bless them, have a highly developed sense of having to share their food with the rest of the class. (Candy would be hard to share, however.) One class I gave out cans of Pringles chips as prizes. Every kid that got a can opened it and shared the wealth. I guess maybe the kid benefits from being the one doing the sharing but sometimes some goofy pens or pencils works well too. It's also continuing reminder of a job well done and what it took to earn a sparkly pencil.

[kimchikowboy]

I always liked this story:

The great industrialist Charles Schwab was quite disappointed when the workers in his steel mill were not meeting their production quota. He asked the foreman what was wrong. ��I don��t know,�� he replied, ��I��ve pushed them and threatened to fire them, but nothing works. They seem to have no incentive to produce.�� Later, just before the night shift came on, Schwab went back to the plant and asked the supervisor how many heats his crew had processed that day. He was informed it was only six. Schwab took a piece of chalk and wrote a large figure ��6�� on the floor and walked away. When the other workers came in, they asked what it meant.

��The big boss was here today,�� the manager said. ��He asked how many heats were made and then chalked the number on the floor.�� The next morning the night shift rubbed out the ��6�� and replaced it with a big ��7.�� When the day workers returned and saw the higher figure, one man exclaimed, ��We can do better than that!�� His fellow employees caught his enthusiasm, and when they quit that night, they chalked on the floor an enormous ��10.�� It was a 66 percent increase in just 24 hours and all because of Schwab��s challenge.

Dale Carnegie comments, ��If you want to win ...spirited men to your way of thinking...throw down a challenge.��

[jazblanc77]

Positive reinforcement as 20 times more effective than negatively enforced discipline is. If you can harness the positive productive motion of your students, you will always have great classes.

[mindmetoo]