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Sara Beth Clayton

My first-grade classroom during my student teaching last year struggled with behavior a lot. The school was trying to stay away from negative reinforcement, but I suggested a color chart, and it ended up working so well, the other teachers adopted it. The color chart worked the same as it always does; you clip down the chart as behavior arises. We typically didn't have any kids go past orange, and nobody was sent to the principal's office. We did have one parent phone call, but typically, it was just minutes taken away at recess. I liked it, but I honestly wish we were even more strict on it. We allowed them to clip back up if they fixed their behavior, but honestly, if you messed up, you messed up, and TOMORROW you can get a fresh start. Idk, I can see both ways.

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Priscilla Maamah

When I taught Food and Nutrition to Grade 8 students in Ghana, I often used positive reinforcement to encourage desirable classroom behaviors. For example, during practical cooking sessions, I praised students who followed hygiene rules carefully, like washing their hands and sanitizing their workstations. Sometimes, I would let those students present their finished dish first as a reward, which motivated others to pay closer attention to safety.

I also used reinforcement when teaching nutrition concepts. If a student gave a thoughtful response about why certain foods are healthier choices, I would affirm their answer publicly and give them small participation points. This helped build confidence and encouraged more students to engage in class discussions.

Through these reinforcements, I noticed students were more consistent in applying safe practices and participating actively in lessons.

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When I was placed in the 5th-grade classroom last year, the students had a type of behavior chart that monitored behavior throughout the day. If a student shows unwanted behavior, they would receive a checkmark on the chart. The first check mark was a warning, the second mark was 5 minutes lost at recess, and the third mark meant 10 minutes lost at recess. If the student's behavior worsened after the three strikes, then they were written up. I found this system helpful for the 5th grade because we had 63 students who switched classes throughout the day, and this meant that each teacher knew the students' behavior throughout that entire day.

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I think the biggest problem teachers have at the high school level is competing with phones. When I took over student teaching at Oxford High phones were not allowed in my classroom. The behavior I was trying to reinforce was paying attention and staying on task. In this case, I used negative reinforcement. The students were required to put their phones in the phone holder at the front of the room. If the phone was not present they were absent (with the exception of one student who did not own a phone). When possible computers were not used and if students were off task on the computer they would quickly be redirected. This increased the engagement students had with the class material.

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At the summer camp where I worked, a rising first grader carried over attention-seeking behaviors from the end of her kindergarten year. She would bang her head, take off her shoes, run away, or openly disobey—anything that would draw focus to her. At first, we used negative reinforcement by making her sit out of playground time or step into the hallway, but this still gave her the attention she wanted. After noticing that this approach wasn’t practical, we shifted to extinction, which is the process of withholding reinforcement until a behavior decreases. By ignoring her actions completely, she no longer received the attention that maintained her behavior. Without reinforcement, the behaviors quickly lost their purpose, and she eventually stopped using them to seek attention. Over time, she learned more positive ways to interact, and the disruptive actions faded.

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Jess Hodor

Last year during student teaching in my 4th grade class I had a student who had behavior issues. Due to his home situation he had to wait to take his medicine at school, this led to his behavior during morning work to be all over the place. He was notorious for shouting out answers during morning work as he found it to be funny. We tried many different ways of changing this behavior, but ultimately found that ignoring the behavior was the best option. After about 3 problems of ignoring his blurt outs and calling on another student to answer the question, he would then raise his hand to answer the question. This happened almost every morning, but it was what ultimately worked for the teacher, student, and class.

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Last year, I student taught at Batesville Middle School in 4th grade, where positive reinforcement was a key part of the school’s behavior system. One major component was Tiger Tickets, a school wide program where students earned tickets for demonstrating positive behavior, following expectations, and showing kindness and responsibility. At the end of each month, students could use their tickets at the PBIS store to buy treats or toys. This system made reinforcement fun and motivating, while also encouraging students to keep making good choices.

In addition to Tiger Tickets, the school also offered monthly incentive rewards for students who had not received any write ups. These rewards served as another way to recognize students who consistently followed expectations. For example, one month the reward was a trip to an Ole Miss baseball game, which gave students something exciting to look forward to. Together, these systems highlighted how positive reinforcement can encourage responsibility, promote good behavior, and create a school culture where students feel recognized for their efforts.

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Elizabeth Shover

Last year, I student taught at West Union Attendance Center, and one consequence my teacher used was writing the rules of respect. She had a printed version of this hanging behind her desk, and if a student got in trouble, they would be required to get a lined piece of paper, write it out, and turn it in either by the end of the day or the next day, depending on what time of day the behavior happened. I liked this because it was a punishment that made students read through the rules and expectations and really reflect on what they were doing wrong while they were writing them.

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Kaitlyn Young

Last year during student teaching in kindergarten, we would call tables to the carpet by groups. One student would immediately go sit under the tables instead of on an apple on the carpet. At first, we called his name to redirect him, but that attention actually reinforced the behavior and distracted the class. He would roll on the floor and make sounds to get more attention. Once we realized this, we stopped calling his name and giving him any attention when he went under the table. By withholding the reinforcer, the behavior lost its power. After a couple of weeks, he started sitting on an apple with the rest of the class.

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Angelina Tembelis

During my undergraduate student teaching experience I often observed how both positive and negative reinforcement shaped classroom behavior. One example of positive reinforcement I witnessed was when a cooperating teacher praised students and allowed them to choose a fun activity after they stayed on task during a lesson. This reward encouraged them to repeat the behavior. I also saw negative reinforcement at work when students who completed their assignments on time were excused from extra review drills, which removed something they viewed as unpleasant. Both strategies effectively supported learning, but in different ways, one by adding a motivating reward and the other by removing an undesirable task.

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Mia Mauk

When I did my observation at OECC my CI used a token economy for all the PE classes. At the end of class, my CI would award the class with a sticker under their teachers name if they listen to directions and participated. At the end of the month the class with the most stickers got a reward. This token economy worked well because all the students were able to see how many stickers each class had. Many students worked really hard to ensure their class got their sticker for the week.

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Anne Reynolds Lea

When I worked at Bramlett as a 1st Grade TA, one of the teachers I was paired with used a Charm Bracelet award system for good behavior. She had silicone bracelets that each child got at the beginning of the year. When they were exhibiting a positive behavior, she would call them by name to get a charm. The charms were just cute ones with little things the kids liked like these. When they collected 10 charms, they could take the bracelet home and start again. It was great for reinforcing positive behavior, but it definitely wasn't the greatest tool in terms of working with problem behaviors. I would use this tool but maybe incorporate a more structure consequence ladder or outline exactly what behaviors get you a charm.

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Maddie Bates

Last year when I was student teaching at Pope, the whole school uses the light system. So each teacher has a clipboard with the roster and out to the side they have a list of things a student could do that they are not supposed to (blurting out, not doing work, playing in the bathroom etc.). So when a student does one of these things, it gets written next to their name for that day so example 1b (1 being the place where it happened, b - being the action) so one infraction is they are now on yellow, and if they student does something else that day, now they are on orange. Each color correlates to whether a parent gets contacted, sent to the office, or laps at recess. At the end of the day, if you never got your light changed you were on green, but if your light did get changed you see the teacher and they do what correlates. They have calendars so that day will be colored with what color they ended on. They can also be moved up to purple for doing something really good!

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Heidi Schoeller

When I student taught last year in 6th grade, my clinical instructor assigned classroom jobs in each of her different blocks. I see this as an example of reinforcement because the jobs encouraged positive behavior and consistently supported desired habits such as responsibility, helpfulness, and following class routines. I noticed that students felt valued when they had a role, and many looked forward to their turn. The jobs reinforced teamwork and accountability without my teacher needing to constantly redirect behavior. I also liked how they added a sense of structure and routine to the classroom. My teacher happened to pair these jobs with similar roles to the book they were reading in class, The Giver, so it all seemed to come together full circle.

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Lilli Ford

In the 1st-grade classroom where I student-taught, they used behavior buddies as reinforcements for targeted behaviors. For example, students who were good listeners and followed directions might receive the "Listening Lion" as a reward, which allowed them to sit at their desk for the day. This positive reinforcement helped students work towards behavior goals and held them accountable each day.

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Marley Maharrey

Pizza and Ice Cream

Two of my most effective, albeit most expensive positive reinforcements were to prevent tardies and absences.

At the end of every month, I would calculate the tardy (actually a calculation of punctuality) and average daily attendance for each class period. The class with the best punctuality record got ice cream sundaes. The most present class got pizza.

It was quite successful. The students held their classmates accountable, and the groups celebrated and bonded over a treat once a month if they won. Sometimes I would have more than one class with 100% punctuality, so I bought the ice cream for both. We never had more than one winner for pizza. I did this every month (August-May) for eight years in a row.

If the class won and a student was absent, I got to eat their reward (I bought it, didn't I!?), or I shared it with other teachers.

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Reese Walden- Reese Walden-

During my student teaching placement at New Albany Elementary, I observed the use of positive reinforcement through the school-wide Bulldog Bucks system. Students earned Bulldog Bucks for demonstrating positive behavior, such as following expectations, helping others, or showing responsibility. At the end of each month, they had the opportunity to log into the Bulldog Store and spend their Bulldog Bucks on items of their choice.

This system worked well because it gave students immediate recognition when they earned Bulldog Bucks, while also teaching them the value of saving and making thoughtful choices about how to spend their rewards. It kept students motivated throughout the month, since they knew their daily actions would add up to something meaningful. I believe this is a strong example of positive reinforcement because it consistently encourages students to repeat desired behaviors in order to receive a reward.

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Hannah Guide

During student teaching my UbD, the students played trashketball. (Team basketball, but the ball is a rolled-up piece of paper and the basket is a recycling bin) This was a team study game that everyone participated in at least once. The students who got the most trashkets received an extra couple of points on the test. This is a positive reinforcement because it encourages students to put effort into the review game, and they get rewarded with extra points on the test.

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Libbie-Claire Jones

During my student teaching last year, one of the teachers I got to observe had her students sign a contract at the beginning of the year acknowledging that they had read and agreed to follow the class rules, procedures, and expectations. This was a freshman Algebra I class. She did this in order to have them fully understand what was expected and have a written record of their agreement. If any behavior came up and they had an issue or their parents had an issue with it, then the teacher had receipts of where the student agreed to the rules and understood the expectations. This allowed her to have more control and evidence to support consequences that were given.

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Sadie Keyes

At the school where I student taught there was a positive reinforcement system that had just put into action. "Bolt Bucks" were used as a schoolwide positive reinforcement system to encourage and reward positive student behavior. Students earned Bolt Bucks when they demonstrated behaviors aligned with the school’s expectations (respect, being responsible, kindness, hard work, etc.). Teachers and staff distributed them consistently to acknowledge students’ efforts and choices, which helped build a positive classroom and school culture.

Students could save and redeem their Bolt Bucks for rewards such as small prizes, extra privileges, or special activities. I thought this was such a great system that motivated students to make good choices by having immediate recognition as well as long-term incentives. Bolt Bucks truly are a strong tool to provide encouragement, recognize good behavior, and overall increase desired behaviors. However, I do think there could be some drawbacks to the system and constantly rewarding good behavior. For example, some students might ask for Bolt Bucks or expect to receive them for completing tasks or exhibiting behaviors that they should be demonstrating regardless.

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Rachel Mattox

The 7-12 school that I am teaching at has a token system. It was just implemented this school year by our PBIS team. Students can earn "Blue Bucks" by following or exceeding expectations set by the school and in each class. It has been a great incentive in my class (8th ELA) for volunteering to read and participating in class discussions. I also draw two desk numbers at the end of each period. If the students sitting at those desks followed expectations for that period, they will get a "Blue Buck". This is a way for my more shy or reserved students to be rewarded, as well. They will have a chance to spend their bucks at the end of the semester. Prizes range from candy and school supplies to special privileges or activities.

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Marley Maharrey

When I had a student who was panicked about something that wasn't actually a life/death/emergency situation, I would calmly ask him or her, "What next steps do you want to take?" This made them stop and think about the logical response to what happened and if it was actually serious. It made the hysterical behavior stop for at least a short while, and a plan was created. The students I did this with usually only needed it two or three times throughout the year to then begin the thinking before the panicking.

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The school where I student taught had a school wide token economy, which is an example of a positive reinforcement. When students displayed a goal behavior, they got "Warrior Bucks". These could then be used in the Warrior Bucks store in exchange for prizes. Many students would save up Warrior Bucks for the bigger prizes and it worked well to keep students on task academically and behaviorally.

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Sally Quong

I taught US History to 10th and 11th graders. I used a Classroom Consequence Ladder (see the attachment). It was posted at the front of my classroom. I don't like surprises and neither did my students. We all knew exactly what would happen if the rules were broken. This helped me as the teacher know what the next step was. I was able to keep my cool because I had a plan.