My philosophy regarding classroom management has been shaped by my current work in a Life Skills classroom. In class, both my colleagues and myself are guilty of not always utilizing the A-B-C (antecedent, behavior, consequence) approach readily or consistently. I hope that by constructing my own philosophy of classroom management, I can reference it in the future to make sure I create a productive classroom environment which acknowledges and analyses antecedents and provides an unambiguous system of consequences.
One of the six principles of Applied Behavioral Analysis acknowledges that “the failure to praise desired student behavior when it occurs both reduces the likelihood of its future occurrences and increases the chances that students will engage in undesired behavior if it more predictably results in teacher attention” (Kerr & Nelson 2010). One of my greatest weaknesses as an educator is that I tend focus on the opposite of this principle of Applied Behavioral Analysis by
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Indeed, “if teacher praise is not consistently connected to desired student behavior, it will be less effective” (Kerr, 2010). As I reflect on my system of praise and reinforcement for my 1:1 student, I realize that I have been highly inconsistent. When I began working 1:1 with Steven (not his real name) I developed a fixed ratio reinforcement schedule of three completed worksheets to 5 minutes of computer time. Now, however, I sometimes provide computer time based on the number of worksheets done, the quality of the worksheets completed, or, other times, Steven’s behavior while working in a group. In addition, the reward time spent on the computer varies anywhere from 5-15 minutes. These inconsistencies are most likely baffling and unclear to Steven. Therefore, I will work to develop consistent criteria for reinforcement and communicate my expectations more