The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 1

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities Tanya OLena GSED 595 Capstone Project: Research in Special Education Professor Michael Wischnowski July 26, 2006

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT. 3 CHAPTER 1: LIERATURE REVIEW a.) Introduction..3 b.) Methods of Reinforcement...6 c.) Research Supporting Positive Reinforcement..8 d.) Research Against Positive Reinforcement..17 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHOD..22 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANAYLSIS..25 CHAPTER 4. DISCUSSION...27 REFERENCES30 APPENDIX..34

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 3 Abstract Within many special education classrooms inappropriate behaviors interfere with students. Teachers implement different strategies to effectively decrease undesirable behaviors. One of those strategies is positive reinforcement. When a positive reinforcement system is implemented, a desired behavior is trying to be promoted. Positive reinforcement could be providing praise, giving a tangible reward, or providing a student with an activity that he or she enjoys. There has been controversy around the use of positive reinforcement within classrooms. Some researchers believe that positive reinforcement sometimes turns into negative reinforcement. Kohn (2004) believes that when teachers use positive reinforcement they are actually bribing students to act a certain way. These teachers are just merely delaying students behaviors. When positive reinforcement discontinues, Kohn (2004) believes the behaviors will arise again. On the other hand some researchers for positive reinforcement believe using a reward system will diminish undesirable behaviors. Flora (2004) suggests that when students with behavior disorders have a positive reinforcement system in place, the students will more focused on their academics then their behavior. This study explores the potential impact that positive reinforcement can have in a classroom. Surveys were used to capture different teachers perspectives on this issue. As a result of the two different views of positive reinforcement, the goal of this project is to determine whether or not positive reinforcement is effective for students in a special education setting.

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 4 Introduction The first well known researcher who sought out information about positive reinforcement was Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov was a well known Russian psychologist and physician. He coined the term classical conditioning, which he described as the learning of behavior being paired with a stimulus. The role of the stimulus was to make the subject have a certain response (Pavlov, 1927). Pavlov conducted this experiment with his dogs. He wanted to find out how conditioned reflexes were obtained. He first figured out that dogs salivate when they smell or see their food. The food became the unconditioned stimulus, and the salivation was the unconditioned response. He hypothesized that if the dog was presented with a certain stimulus when he was presented with food, the dog would begin to salivate. The dog would begin to understand that the stimulus was paired with the food. The particular stimulus that Pavlov used was footsteps. When footsteps were heard a few seconds before food was given, the footsteps began to start the salivation of the dog. He determined that a conditioned reinforcement was any stimulus or situation that has reinforcing power after being paired in the animal's or persons environment with an unconditioned reinforcer or an earlier conditioned reinforcer. This began the first development of what is today called positive reinforcement (Pavlov, 1927). In addition to Pavlov, Burrhus Fredric Skinner was a psychologist who sought to understand how behavior works. He was responsible for developing applied behavior analysis. He was one of the first researchers to look at positive and negative reinforcement. Additionally, he was the founder of operant conditioning (Skinner, 1953).

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 5 Negative and positive reinforcement are the keys to operant conditioning. Skinner researched the use of operant conditioning using pigeons. He wanted to see if the bird would raise its head higher if reinforcement was placed in front of it. The reinforcement that Skinner used was food. He first observed the pigeons head rising. After that was established he would open the food tray every time the bird raised his head above a certain level. This continued until the bird figured out that if he lifted his head he would receive his food (Skinner, 1953). B. F. Skinner (1953) stated that, the behavior called raising the head, regardless of when specific instances occur, is an operant and the strengthing of behavior which results from reinforcement is appropriately called conditioning (p. 65). While conducting his experiment, Skinner developed an apparatus called the Skinner Box. This box was used to study operant conditioning. The Skinner box is what he tested the pigeons in. When the pigeon would lift his head above a certain level a tray of food would open. The minimal requirement for having his Skinner box was that reinforcement was delivered (Skinner, 1953) From conducting the pigeon experiment, Skinner came up with the theory of operant extinction. Operant extinction is when the reinforcement is no longer available. For example, when the food was withheld from the pigeon, the pigeon did not raise his head anymore. He also determined that when the reinforcement was taken away, the pigeon became extremely frustrated (Skinner, 1953). However, Skinner (1953) believed that an, organism repeats a response because it finds the consequences pleasing or satisfying (p. 81). He thought that a pleasing item is something that the organism would constantly go towards. Also, a pleasing item could be

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 6 determined by asking the individual likes and dislikes. That information could then be taken and used as the positive reinforcement (Skinner, 1953). Along the lines of positive reinforcement, Skinner discussed behavior modification. Behavior modification is a technique altering an individuals reactions to stimuli through positive reinforcement and the extinction of maladaptive behavior (Behavior Modification, 2006). One major focus of behavior modification is giving compliments, approval, encouragement, and affirmation; a ration of five compliments for every one complaint is found to be most effectual in altering anothers behavior in a desired behavior (Behavior Modification, 2006).

Methods of Reinforcement Even though Skinner was one of the first researchers to study reinforcement, there are many different strategies and techniques used by teachers today that are considered positive reinforcement. Certain types of strategies and techniques are used to diminish unwanted behaviors. One of those strategies is the use of a positive reinforcement system. According to Fouse and Wheeler (1997), reinforcement can be defined as any action or object which follows a behavior and increases the behavior (p.164). There are two types of reinforcements, positive and negative (Fouse & Wheeler, 1997). Positive reinforcement refers to an object or action that follows a desired behavior. There are different types of positive reinforcement that teachers can use in their classrooms. For example, teachers can use sensory experiences, social interaction, a specific activity, or a tangible item (Fouse & Wheeler, 1997).

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 7 Using sensory reinforcers provides students with pleasurable sounds, taste, smell, sight, movement, and touch. Fouse and Wheeler suggest that teachers use preferred music, water play, objects with glitter, bubbles, lotions, body pillows, and vibrating objects. It depends on the student and what type of reinforcement they choose (Fouse & Wheeler, 1997). Furthermore, social reinforcers stem from any communication that a child may choose to earn. Fouse and Wheeler (1997), explain that many times a child will misbehave because he/she is trying to obtain another individuals attention. The authors suggest that, social interactions can be managed by providing positive attention for desired behavior (Fouse & Wheeler, 1997, p. 167). Another type of positive reinforcement is activity reinforcers. These types of reinforcement include, taking part in a preferred activity, preferred toys, and increased independence (Fouse & Wheeler, 1997, p. 172). The authors suggest that when teachers use activity reinforcers, a timer should be used so the student knows when the activity is finished. Activity reinforcers need to have a beginning and an end to them. If an ending time is not presented with this type of reinforcer, the student may change the appropriate behavior to inappropriate behavior (Fouse & Wheeler, 1997, p. 172). Lastly, tangible reinforcers are objects given to a student for reaching a desired. These reinforcements are the most used in classrooms. When teachers use this type of reinforcement, they need to make sure that they are limiting the amount of reinforcement they are providing. For example, Fouse and Wheeler (1997) state, instead of providing a can of soda, present one swallow of soda poured into a small cup (p. 174). By following this guideline, learning is still able to occur for the student (Fouse & Wheeler, 1997).

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 8 In addition to positive reinforcement, token systems are another type of reinforcer that can be used in a classroom. Token systems are objects or visual symbols (Fouse & Wheeler, 1997, p. 176). Token systems can also take the place of behavior charts and track behaviors of students over a period of time. Teachers can use this as a way to monitor a students progress. These reinforcers are provided following a desirable behavior (Fouse & Wheeler, 1997, p. 176). Although, the object or the symbols are not the actual reinforcer, the student would trade in the tokens for the positive reinforcer they have chosen (Fouse & Wheeler, 1997).

Research Supporting Positive Reinforcement There are many researchers who have different opinions regarding positive reinforcement. There are people who are in favor of positive reinforcement, and people who are strongly against positive reinforcement. Additionally, there has been much of research about the use of positive reinforcement and the decrease of undesirable behaviors. Magg (2001) stated that, positive reinforcement is a universal principle that is in effect regardless of the age, gender, culture, or disability of the child (p. 174). Teachers have been ignoring the use of positive reinforcement for decades. Teachers have been more concerned with a punishment that works, instead of setting up a positive reinforcement system. However, teachers may not even realize positive reinforcement is occurring within the classroom. Positive reinforcement occurs naturally in every classroom. Teachers are always giving praise to students for doing a nice job with their class work. Verbal praise is a form of positive reinforcement. Magg (2001) suggests, teachers should try to increase

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 9 appropriate behaviors by using positive reinforcement, rather then punishing problem behaviors (Magg, 2001). Punishment has been seen by teachers as an acceptable way to handle children. This is because some teachers believe children are able to choose appropriate behaviors. Whereas, positive reinforcement is seen by some teachers as a constraint on a childs freedom (Magg, 2001). Researchers have relied on empirical data to convince people about a specific technique. That is why there are so many teachers not using positive reinforcement. Teachers are ignoring certain data because they only want to see what they are looking for. Researchers have found positive reinforcement is very successful to students, yet it has been a hard struggle to try and sway teachers opinions about positive reinforcement. Research has shown that teachers have an established opinion about positive reinforcement before they walk into a classroom (Magg, 2001). There are many effective ways teachers can incorporate positive reinforcement into their practice. The first way is to catch students being good. By praising students for good behavior, children may behave differently in the future. Secondly, understand all students are different, and they should be treated differently. Third, have a group management plan. This includes involving all the students in the classroom. Lastly, prevent behavior problems. This can be easily established by establishing classroom rules, and not letting children with behavior problems sit next to each other. When all of these techniques are incorporated, teachers will have an easier time implementing positive reinforcement (Magg, 2001).

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 10 One investigator conducted research on implementing a positive reinforcement system in a fifth grade class (Cruz & Cullinan, 2001).The teacher was the researcher within this study. Her participants were 11 students in a math group. These children were identified with health impairments, emotional disturbances, and learning disabilities. Their IQs ranged between 75 and 100. This specific math class was for 50 minutes at the end of the day. The classroom structure was the same everyday; they sat down, played a quick game, and started a new lesson, (Cruz & Cullinan, 2001). This teacher had already implemented a token reward system for this specific class. This allowed students to earn tokens for following classroom rules. At the end of each class the points earned were discussed and were exchanged for free time or other activities. This reward system was used as a baseline for her research, (Cruz & Cullinan, 2001). The teacher recorded on task behavior everyday during her math class. She recorded information on every student for about 2 minutes. The information collected was placed on a rating scale created by the teacher. The target behavior and the rating scale were plotted within an A-B design. A, represented how the students behaved before the program began, and B, represented how the children behaved during implementation of the program (Cruz & Cullinan, 2001). The new points system contained 4 levels. Level 1 was the lowest, and was red. Level 2 was blue, level 3 was green, and level 4 was yellow. For each level, there was a different point sheet where the teacher marked each students points. Students had to meet specific requirements in order to stay at their level, or move to the next level. The teacher evaluated the students every 15 minutes. The evaluation made the determination of where

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 11 the child would stand on the scale. As the students progressed through this system, level 4 students received special activities they could participate in, (Cruz & Cullinan, 2001). Overall, after the first few days, some of the students who did not reach level 4 quickly changed their behaviors. All of the students wanted to reach level 4. Most of them became aware of what the on task behaviors were, and how to achieve them. Additionally, the teacher noticed behavior changes with these students in other classes besides hers, (Cruz & Cullinan, 2001). Another observation was with a third grade class. According to Hlggins, Williams, and McLaughlin (2001), the purpose of this research was to uncover whether or not a token system could decrease three unwanted behaviors. The behaviors that were sought out were out of ones seat without permission, talking out of turn, and poor posture (Hlggins et al. 2001). The participant was a 10 year old male, and in the third grade. He is labeled as having a learning disability (Hlggins et al. 2001). The baseline for this research consisted of 20 minute periods where the student was sitting at his desk listening to lectures or working independently (Hlggins et al. 2001). The baseline was in effect for 6-15 days. After the baseline was established, the token economy was put into place. The student received a checkmark at the end of every minute when he was demonstrating appropriate behavior (Hlggins et al. 2001). Once the student had earned all of the checkmarks, he was given 10 minutes each morning to use his reward that he had earned the day before (Hlggins et al. 2001). The results for this research showed that there was an immediate decrease in inappropriate behaviors with the implementation of the positive reinforcement system

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 12 (Hlggins et al. 2001). In Figure 1, the graph shows how drastically the decrease was from the baseline to the token reward system (Hlggins et al. 2001). Furthermore, to support positive reinforcement, McComas, Goddard, and Hock (2002), did a case study on a 9 year old boy who was diagnosed with a learning disability. He was only diagnosed in the areas of reading and mathematics. He attends a parochial school, where he is in a special education class for students who have learning and behavior disorders (McComas et al. 2002). The student had a prior history of being extremely destructive within the classroom. The authors stated that he has engaged himself in long tantrums where he has demolished school furniture (McComas et al. 2002). He has shown to have these outbursts as an attempt to ignore demands from teachers (McComas et al. 2002). Also, the student is often seen drawing, playing on the computer, and talking to his friends (McComas et al. 2002). Specifically for this case study, the students destructive behavior was defined as scribbling on paper, breaking the tip on pencils or other materials, and talking to his peers (McComas et al. 2002). The researchers defined task engagement in two different ways. The first was by the student producing written responses for an assignment, and the second way was having his hands and eyes on the appropriate material (McComas et al. 2002). For the actual procedures for this case study, three conditions were evaluated. The first condition was unstructured play. This was defined as the student having no demands placed upon him, and had continuous access to preferred items. The second condition was positive reinforcement. More specifically, the student was looking for attention. This condition was defined as having a stack of papers, preferred items and one pencil placed upon the students desk. The student was instructed to stay in his seat, however, he could

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 13 still play with preferred activities. The researcher instructed the student to play alone. Lastly, the third condition is negative reinforcement, which is escape from any type of demands. During this condition, the student received a stack of worksheets, and 1 pencil. The researchers used a three step prompt to try and get the student to complete math problems (McComas et al. 2002). Upon looking at the results, destructive behavior did not occur in unstructured play or attention conditions; however, destructive behavior occurred in the negative reinforcement condition. The results suggest that the students behavior is a consequence of negative reinforcement (McComas et al. 2002). Musser, Bray, Kehle, and Jenson (2001) describe an investigation where positive reinforcement reduced disruptive behavior. The case study was conducted using three African American students, two of which were males, and one was a female. All of the students have oppositional defiant disorder, and Attention-Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. They students were in a self contained classroom within an alternative school. The school was designed for people who had serious emotional disorders. Prior to the study, the discipline method for these students was the use of a time out room (Musser et al. 2001). The classroom teacher for these students identified disruptive behavior as haiving a failure to comply with request from adults in 5 seconds, talking out of turn or making noises, being out of their seats, playing with objects, verbal aggression (swearing and name calling), physical aggression (hitting, kicking, and punching), and staring at something other then the teacher. The baseline data was collected for 2, 3 , and 5 weeks for the students (Musser et al. 2001).

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 14 During the intervention phase of this case study, the classroom rules were posted on the students desks. The rules included: sit in your seat unless you have permission, do whatever the teacher asks, look at the teacher when she is talking to you, raise you hand, and do not make noises. The program also contained the use of stickers. Stickers were awarded to these students when they complied with the rules on their desks. The student had to have appropriate behavior for thirty minutes in order to receive a sticker (Musser et al. 2001). Moreover, these stickers were traded in for mystery motivators. Mystery motivators are positive reinforcements that are unknown. The teacher would put the name of the reinforcement in an envelope. The reinforcement was something that was desirable for that student. Musser et al. (2001) explains that mystery motivators have been shown to be effective in modifying inappropriate behavior and are relatively resistant to decay. When combined with a token economy these two strategies prove to be very successful in a classroom (Musser et al. 2001). The students in this study were given their mystery motivator envelop as soon as they had enough stickers. At the end of the day, the student could redeem their reward. However, when one of the target students was not complying with the rules, a sticker was taken away (Musser et al. 2001). During the maintenance phase of this investigation, the classroom teacher removed the classroom rules from the target students desks. The teacher did daily checks to make sure that the students understood all of the classroom rules. During this phase, observations were done for 2 weeks (Musser et al. 2001).

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 15 When all of the results from this case study were viewed, disruptive behaviors tremendously went down. Figure 2 illustrates the difference between the three students. The chart shows the baseline data, intervention, and follow up phases. The concluding results from the researchers suggest that using mystery motivators, token economies, and different classroom strategies is beneficial for reducing emotional and behavior disorders. Furthermore Musser et al. (2001) suggests that multi-component intervention may allow children with SED to experience a less restrictive educational setting because the students disruptive and noncompliant behaviors were reduced to a level that would be acceptable within general education class setting (301). Moreover, Flora (2004) discusses the importance of having positive reinforcement or token economies in a classroom. He states, learning that behavior produces consequences, experiencing reinforcement, and experiencing operant conditioning is one of the most important lessons children will learn (Flora, 2004, p. 127). Flora (2004) believes that when students are not reinforced for appropriate behavior, then the children will wonder why they are doing something. Also, he discusses that using positive reinforcement will strengthen a behavior or self-esteem, whereas using punishment will make the behavior or self-esteem worse. An example of this would be if the teacher asked a student to spell the word cat, and the student incorrectly spelled it k-a-t. Instead of offering positive feedback, the teacher just says no, thats wrong, the student will lose self-esteem and may never try to answer a question again (Flora, 2004). According to Flora (2004), effective teaching of any subject requires copious reinforcement embedded in the lesson coupled closely with student behavior (p. 137).

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 16 The author also suggests that the best educational setting is where excellent behaviors are reinforced. By reinforcing students, their self-esteem will become great and they will excel in school. In addition to self-esteem, when self-esteem is high, students will more likely become intrinsically motivated to learn (Flora, 2004). Flora (2004) states that when a behavior is highly reinforced and built to fluency, as behavior is in direct instruction, it builds self-esteem, and the students enjoy learning (p. 7). Equally important is the matter of behavior. Flora (2004) suggests that when students with behavior disorders have a positive reinforcement system in place, they will more likely to be focused on their academics then their behavior. The author notes a research study that was conducted. The study took place in an upper middle class school. The students who were studied were disruptive fifth graders. Their behavior became so terrible that another teacher had to be added to the class. The researches developed a token reinforcement system that reinforced reading along with worksheets based on reading. The tokens that the students earned during reading could be exchanged for different activities during their recess time (Flora, 2004). According to the study, reading accuracy went from 50% to 85% and disruptive behaviors that had been occurring approximately 40% of the time decreased to 5% (Flora, 2004, p. 146). The results from this study showed that positive reinforcement increased academic achievement as well as decreased problem behaviors (Flora, 2004). Along the lines of inappropriate behaviors, Flora (2004) offered that teachers never have bad students. They have students who have different academic needs and different positive reinforcement histories (Flora, 2004, p. 146). Teachers need to find effective reinforcers for all of their students, and develop goals that are attainable by the

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 17 students. Additionally, teachers need to continually change the reinforcement so that it does not become stale in the childrens eyes (Flora, 2004).

Research Against Positive Reinforcement On the other hand, there are many researchers who challenge the views of positive reinforcement. Mannassis and Young (2001) believe that there are three temperaments that may intervene with positive reinforcement. They are temperamentally rigid children, sensation seeking children, and negativistic children, (Mannassis & Young, 2001). Temperamentally rigid children are inflexible, irritable, and can be withdrawn. These children may have a hard time regulating their emotions. They can not tolerate minor adjustments in their schedule. When adjustments happen, temperamentally rigid children usually respond with explosive behavior. These children are sometimes referred to as perfectionists. One example from this article is about a young girl doing homework. She knew if she completed her homework, she would receive a gold star. The girl became very worried about possibly not receiving a gold star. She could not concentrate in getting her homework done, (Mannassis & Young, 2001). Sensation seeking children need to receive intense experiences. They have a low tolerance, experience boredom frequently, and are restless in a predictable environment. On occasion, children with this type of characteristic begin to resist a positive reinforcement system because it becomes unattractive to them. One example from the book describing sensation seeking children suggests offering them a weekly ballot that has tangible rewards of different values. The authors point out that, The unpredictability and the potential risk

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 18 may increase the attractiveness of the reward system and increase it effectiveness, (Mannassis & Young, 2001, p. 604). Negativistic children are very difficult to motivate. The lack of intrinsic motivation makes it hard for a positive reinforcement system to be effective. An example the authors give is about teachers trying to set up a positive reinforcement system for a negativistic child. The child would agree to the reward system put in place, however when it came down to it, the child would not offer any suggestions for rewards to work for. He would criticize any rewards suggested by anyone else, (Mannassis & Young, 2001). In addition to having a negative outlook on positive reinforcement, Kohn (1999) suggests that when we reward children we are sending them messages. The message that we want them to have is that they have to conduct themselves in a certain way. The author explains that there is nothing wrong with children when they act inappropriately. He suggests that teachers should just let children be themselves, instead of bribing them to behave (Kohn, 1999). Kohn (1999) proposes that people who use positive reinforcement treat children like pets. He suggests this because positive reinforcement has always been tested on animals, and not people. Furthermore, when teachers offer reinforcements for desired behaviors, they are implying that children could not act like this on their own, and that they need some sort of reward to act the way they are supposed to. Also, Kohn (1999) insinuates that when teachers use positive reinforcement systems, they are the people in control, not the children. The authors states, children need to be reminded frequently that they are working for reinforcers, and that a teacher must always keep in mind that the teacher is the

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 19 manager of the classroom (Kohn, 1999, p. 27). Teachers are not there to boost selfesteem, but to make someone do what the teachers want (Kohn, 1999). Along with Kohns (1999) theory, he suggests that when teachers control students through positive reinforcement, the students start to feel threatened. They wonder if they are doing a good enough job to receive rewards. The children constantly are worrying about this during their academic day. The authors also suggests that when students are carefully monitored and watched, they will lose interest in the task at hand and only focus on receiving the reward. Lastly, Kohn (1999) implies that rewards cause students to compete against each other. Often times teachers set up activities so that one student will become successful, and the rest will not. The student who is successful will be given some type of reward, while the other students will not. Students will then lose their intrinsic motivation for completing the tasks (Kohn, 1999). Also, Kohn (1999) argues that positive reinforcement does not change an inappropriate behavior. He suggests that it is easy for a teacher to control behavior when a student relies on you. The rewards are only effective for the teacher, not the student. Additionally, he offers information about how long rewards are effective for. For behaviors to continually stay appropriate, the reinforcement must keep being delivered to the child. When children are no longer given rewards the desired behavior will cease, and the inappropriate behavior will again begin. Kohn proposes that students no longer have a reason to behave; they are no longer receiving anything for behaving (Kohn, 1999). Equally important is the issue of whether rewards improve performance. Kohn (1999) offered some research that has been conducted concerning this topic. One of those studies was conducted on fourth graders. They performed more poorly on a task when they

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 20 were offered rewards. Another experiment was done with a group of students. Some of the students received candy for getting correct answers, and the other group of students did not receive any candy for answering correctly. When the results were looked at, it turned out that the children who received candy got less right than those who did not receive any candy. Lastly, Kohn (1999) states that: Students, who are offered rewards tend to choose easier tasks, are less efficient in using the information available to solve noel problems, and tend to answer oriented and more illogical in their problem solving strategies. They seem to work harder and produce more activity, but the activity is of lower quality, contains more errors, and is more stereotyped and less creative than the work of comparable non-rewarded subjects working on the same problems(p. 48) Furthermore, DeLisle and Hargis (2005) believe that children in todays classrooms are comparable to Shamu, the whale. They compare students to this whale because the whale does tricks in hopes to get the big fish in the end, not for pleasure. Students are driven by the same type of extrinsic motivation. The educational system relies on positive reinforcement to get students to learn. Students are always praised and recognized by ceremonies or awards. Students do not care what drove them to these accomplishments, just as long as they receive the big fish (DeLisle & Hargis, 2005). According to these authors, teachers, administrators, and parents are not focused on whether the child enjoyed the process of learning. The main concentration is based around students intelligence. They want to make sure that the students receive the pay off in the end, no matter what the price is (DeLisle & Hargis, 2005).

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 21 Students are now the victims of a positive reinforcement education system. If a student decides that he/she does not care about the reward that will be received, they are then labeled by the school as the problem student. Once these students are labeled, they lack intrinsic motivation in any academic area. They will no longer enjoy coming to school because they are not interested in catching the big fish (DeLisle & Hargis, 2005). Additionally, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation has become a concern. Poonam (1999) stated that, academic intrinsic motivation has been found to be significantly correlated with academic achievement in students with learning disabilities and without learning disabilities (p. 12). However, it has been shown that students who are learning disabled lack intrinsic motivation. Students who lack intrinsic motivation rely heavily on obtaining rewards or incentives to complete an assigned task. Poonam (1999) believes that students who rely on positive reinforcement have a difficult time retaining concepts and lack confidence in their academic work (Poonam, 1999). Extrinsic motivation can damage the intrinsic motivation of a child. Parents and teacher negatively reinforce motivation through the use of extrinsic motivation (Poonam, 1999). Poonam (1999) states that, if a student is told that she or he will earn a desired reward for participating in or successful completion of a task, that student is less likely to tackle the same task when no incentive is offered (p. 15). Also, when rewards and punishment are used to control a desired behavior the student often feels stressed out. The students no longer feel determined to complete a task (Poonam, 1999). Research pertaining to extrinsic and intrinsic motivation has taken place. However, there is no clear evidence. Some researchers feel that when students are given rewards for completing a task, the students lose interest in that specific task, even though they have

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 22 been successful in completing the task before. Another researcher discovered that when the reward was not specifically related to the task at hand, intrinsic motivation decreased. These specific researchers also found that interest in an activity dropped when a reward was placed upon participation (Poonam, 1999). Poonam (1999) discussed some strategies that teachers can use in their classrooms to decrease extrinsic motivation and increase intrinsic motivation. One of the strategies is respond positively to students questions or concerns. Doing this will enhance students intrinsic motivation. Also, instead of rewarding the students with tangibles, verbally praise the students. When a student exhibits a desired behavior or has completed an assigned task, verbal praise can increase competence and intrinsic motivation. Lastly, when a teacher incorporates stimulating and challenging activities there is no need to have any type of reward. The student will find the task exciting and will become engaged. Therefore, this will lead to intrinsic motivation (Poonam, 1999). From reviewing all of the studies, many researchers did not focus on diminishing undesirable behaviors within special education students. There was a lot of talk about the pros and cons of positive reinforcement, but there was nothing written pertaining to just special education students. There is a lack of research regarding this topic. Method After researching all of the different methods and views of positive reinforcement, I began conducting my own research on this topic. To research this topic I decided to use the method of surveys to collect my data. I decided the most effective place to start my research was at the school that I already work at. I am a summer school teacher at Monroe BOCES #1, Lois E. Bird School. There are 22 summer school teachers at Lois E. Bird.

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 23 Some of the teachers who work summer school do not teach at this school during the regular school year. By using this summer school staff, I will get a variety of different answers because of where some of the people teach. For example, one teacher may teach in Greece during the year, and then come to Lois E. Bird for the summer. I will be able to collect results from all over Rochester, not just focusing on teachers who work at Monroe BOCES #1. After getting approval from IRB, I went ahead and started conducting research. Before delivering the surveys, I decided to write a letter to the participants explaining to them what this survey was about. I explained who I was, what the study was about, and why I was conducting this case study. I wanted them to be informed about the reasoning behind the survey. Furthermore, on the introduction letter, I gave them a deadline for completing the survey. The deadline was July 14, 2006. It was roughly two weeks after administering it. I wanted to give them ample time to complete it where they did not feel rushed to finish it that day. However, I wanted to make the time frame short enough that they did not forget about it either. Additionally, when I administered the survey there was no face to face contact. I wanted these surveys to be completely anonymous. I felt that by having an anonymous survey, teachers would be more inclined to fill it out and hand it back in. There was nothing on this survey that could be traced back to any of the teachers who filled them out. Also, the survey was voluntary. They had the option to participate in the study. I delivered all of the surveys to the teacher mailboxes located in the mailroom at Lois E.Bird. Furthermore, on the introduction letter to the participants it stated that when they were done completing the survey, they were to deliver them to my mailbox located in the

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 24 same place that theirs are. My mailbox is easy to identify because there are names identifying whose mailboxes are whose. The participants would have no trouble locating the correct mailbox. Upon collecting the surveys, I decided to analyze the data, by first sorting out the surveys into categories. The first category was people who use positive reinforcement, and people who do not use positive reinforcement. Once I had them in their group, I decided to look for any trends that occurred between peoples answers. I wanted to first view the peoples responses about why they do not use positive reinforcement. After recording that data, I went onto the groups of people who use positive reinforcement. I looked to see if there were any trends in the information. For example, I wanted to see if some of the reasons for using positive reinforcement were the same, and also what type of reinforcement they used. Moreover, I also wanted to view peoples responses to see if there was a trend in reducing inappropriate behavior using positive reinforcement. I looked to see what was the most common number that people circled. Also, I wanted to see if there was a common theme among reinforcements. For example, did teachers use computer, playground, or swimming as a reinforcer.

Data Analysis After administering 22 surveys, I only received 10 back. From the surveys that I received, all of the teachers use some form of positive reinforcement. All of the teachers had similar reasons for using positive reinforcement. One of the main reasons why teachers

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 25 use a reinforcement system is because it encourages students to make good choices, and maintain positive behavior. These teachers use reinforcement as a means of rewarding positive behavior. Additionally, another teacher commented by writing that positive reinforcement helps build confidence, and motivates students internally, and externally. Furthermore, another response was that positive reinforcement helps visually remind students what they are working for, and helps remind them of positive behavior. On the other hand, one teacher stated that positive reinforcement is a building requirement. When asked what type of positive reinforcement system is used in a classroom, the answers varied. One teacher stated that their classrooms reinforcement is a color system using red, yellow, and green. Other common responses were using a token system where the student gets to choose what he or she is working for, star charts, sticker charts, prize boxes, and play money which can be used to purchase items in the classroom. Moreover, many teachers remarked that the reward is specific to the childs needs, and behaviors. Depending on what behavior the child needs to work on, depends on what type of reinforcer he or she may receive. Many teachers also use immediate reinforcement. For example, when a student is sitting quietly, he or she will receive one skittle for good behavior. In addition, one of the questions asked the teacher to rate on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest) regarding whether or not positive reinforcement reduced inappropriate behaviors. These answers were staggered throughout the surveys. One teacher responded with a 3. That reply was near the lower end of the scale. Two teachers answered with a 6 and 7. These teachers responses were near the average mark. They believe that sometimes positive reinforcement can reduce inappropriate behaviors.

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 26 Towards the higher end of the scale, three teachers answered this question with an 8, and three replied with a 9. There was one teacher who responded to the question with the score of 10. Furthermore, the teachers were also asked to comment on how long a reinforcer takes until it becomes stagnate. Again, these answers were very scattered. The choices for the teachers were that a reinforcer becomes stagnate after 1-6 hours, 2 days, 5 days, or never. One teacher responded with 1-6 hours. Two teachers replied that it takes 5 days for a reinforcement to become stagnate. The majority of the teachers responded with reinforcement never becomes stagnate. However, there were two teachers who did not circle anything. Both of their answers were somewhat different. One of the teachers stated that reinforcement needs to change with the children. Some children need different reinforcements on a daily basis, and other students never lose interest in their reinforcement. The other teacher replied that it depends if the reinforcement is consistent. If it is, the reinforcement will never go stagnate. Lastly, the teachers were asked to write about what types of reinforcement (computer, free time, playground, pool, or food) work best with their population of students. Most of the responses varied among the teachers. Many of the teachers stated that they use free time as a big reinforcer for students. One teacher commented that the students earn their tokens and at the end of the month they get a chance to spend them. This teacher uses a method called delayed gratification. Many teachers also commented that they use computer as reinforcement. Additionally, some teachers focused on the individual child. They commented by saying that it depends on the child. What some children find rewarding is not what other students may find rewarding.

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Discussion After analyzing the data, I realized the importance of having a positive reinforcement system in a classroom. A reinforcement system of some type offers students with disabilities a chance to maintain good behavior and to make choices. This system teaches students that they are in control of their own life. They have a choice to act appropriately or inappropriately. According to the research, Flora (2004) explains that having a positive reinforcement system will strengthen a desirable behavior and the students self-esteem. Also, having a reinforcement system helps students visually see that they are capable of behaving in school. For example, when a student with emotional disturbances is using a sticker board based on appropriate choices, and behaviors, that child will know when he or she is acting in a proper manner. By the student receiving the stickers, he or she will know what behaviors are suitable for a classroom. Additionally, in my experiences this proves to be true for students who have autism. These students need more visual material to learn from rather then hearing a verbal praise. Moreover, there are many different types of reinforcement systems that teachers are using. From conducting the surveys, I realized that teachers use a wide range of approaches. Many of the methods that teachers are using are consistent with Fouse and Wheeler (1997). They consider sensory reinforcers, social reinforcers, activity reinforcers, tangible reinforcers, and token systems to be the main categories of positive reinforcement (Fouse & Wheeler, 1997). One type of reinforcement system does not work for all students. Flora (2004) stated that, teachers never have bad students. They have students who have different academic needs and different positive reinforcement histories (p. 146). A sticker

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 28 chart may work well for one student, but a red, yellow, and green system may work better for another student. It all depends on the child. Every child is different, and should be treated differently based on his or her needs. Furthermore, when teachers use immediate reinforces such as food some children with disabilities needs to have a more frequent reinforcement. Some children are able to be given positive reinforcements after a longer period of time. Again it all goes back to knowing your students and understanding their needs. From researching positive reinforcement, I found it very interesting that most of the teachers did not feel a specific reinforcer would become stagnate. If a teacher is consistent with his or her behavior management and positive reinforcement system in the classroom, assumingly most students will never lose interest in what they are working towards. However, what the student is working for needs to be only kept for that specific time. When the reward is abused or over used, stagnation will occur, and the child will no longer care about working towards an item or reward. Kohn (1999) believes that when teachers do not give reinforcements for desired behaviors, the inappropriate behavior will begin again. This is why teachers and para-educators need to be consistent with their positive reinforcement system. The consistency will help children regulate their own behaviors. When there is consistency in the classroom, the students will understand what they are expected to do, and how they are expected to act. As a new special education teacher, I feel that it is important to go into a classroom with an open mind. If a teacher goes into a classroom and refuses to try a positive reinforcement system, that teacher may be cheating the child. Some children with behavior difficulties may benefit from having this type of system in place, whereas other children

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 29 may not work well with a reward system. It is the role of the educator to do whatever it takes to help a child succeed and become a life long learner. It is also important to remember that every child is a unique individual who has unique set of characteristics that he or she will bring to school. As a teacher, remembering that may help when implementing a positive reward system. In addition, positive reinforcement can be a very powerful tool in eliminating undesirable behaviors, as long as it is not abused. If used for the right reasons, students will eventually realize the appropriate way to act and then become integrated into society.

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The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 30 Behavior modification. (2006). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 18, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavior_modification Biederman, G. B., Franchi, D., Ryder, C., & Valerie, D. A. (1994). The negative effects of positive reinforcement in teaching children with developmental delay. Exceptional Children, 60(5), 458. Abstract retrieved May 5, 2006, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? did=1638924&Fmt=3&clientld=4463&RQT=309&VName=PQD Bray, M. A., Kehle, T. J., Jenson, W. R., & Musser, E. H. (2001). Reducing disruptive behaviors in students with serious emotional disturbances. School Psychology Review, 30(2), 294-304. Cook, D. (1999). Behavior bucks: A unique motivational program. Intervention in School and Clinic, 34(5), 307-308. Cruz, L., & Cullian, D. (2001). Awarding points: Using levels to help children improve behavior. Exceptional Children, 33(3). Abstract retrieved May 10, 2006, from First Search database: http://www.newfirstsearch.oclc.org Dattilo, J., Gast, D. L., & Wolfe, B. D. (2003). Effects of a token economy system within the context of cooperative games on social behaviors of adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 37(2), 124-141. Abstract retrieved May 17, 2006, from ProQuest Web site: http://www.proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? did=411074821&Fmt=4&clientid=4463&RQT=309&VName=PQD

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 31 DeLisle, R., & Hargis, J. (2005). The big fish. Education, 125(4), 702-705. Abstract retrieved June 8, 2006, from ProQuest database: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? did=860698811&Fmt=3&clientId=4463&RQT=309&VName=PQD Flora, S. R. (2004). The power of reinforcement. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Fouse, B., & Wheeler, M. M. (1997). Reinforcement. In A treasure chest of behavioral strategies for individuals with autism (pp. 163-186). Arlington, TX: Future Horizons. Goddard, C., Hoch, H., & McComas, J. J. (2002). The effects of preferred activities during academic work break on task engagement and negatively reinforced destructive behavior. Education and Treatment of Children, 25(1), 103-120. Abstract retrieved May 25, 2006, from First Search Web site: http://firstsearch.oclc.org/images/WSPL/wsppdf1/HTML/03477/3TXBD/0SM.HT M Hlggins, J. W., McLaughlin, T. F., & Williams, R. L. (2001). The effects of a token economy employing instructional consequences for a third grade student with learning disabilities. Education & Treatment of Children, 24(1), 99. Abstract retrieved May 17, 2006, from ProQuest Web site: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? did=74680206&Fmt=4&clientId=4463&RQT=309&VName=PQD Knippen, J. T., & Green, T. B. (1997). Asking for positive reinforcement. Journal of Workplace Learning, 9(5), 163-168. Abstract retrieved June 8, 2006, from ProQuest database: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? did=120582900&Fmt=3&clientId=4463&RQT=309&VName=PQD

The Effectiveness of Positive Reinforcement with Students with Disabilities 32 Kohn, A. (1999). Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, as, praise, and other bribes. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Magg, J. W. (2001). Rewarded by punishment: Reflections on the disuse of positive reinforcement. The Council for Exceptional Children, 67(2), 173-186. Abstract retrieved June 7, 2006, from ProQuest database: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? did=66620413&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=4463&RQT=309&VName=PQD Manassis, K., & Young, A. (2001). Adapting positive reinforcement systems to suit child temperament. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40(5), 603-605. Abstract retrieved June 2, 2006, from ProQuest database: http://proquest.umi.com Operant conditioning. (2006). Wikiedia. Retrieved June 18, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned reflexes. New York: Dover Publications INC. Poonam, D. C. (1999). Intrinsic motivation and academic achievement what does their relationship imply for the classroom teacher. Remedial and Special Education, 18, 12-19. Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York: Macmillan Company. Stockdale, S. L., & Williams, R. L. (2004). Classroom motivation strategies for prospective students. The Teacher Educator, 39(3), 212-230. Abstract retrieved June 8, 2006, from ProQuest database: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb? did=649207301&Fmt=3&clientId=4463&RQT=309&VName=PQD

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Appendix

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Figure 1: Shows the frequency of three undesirable behaviors during baseline, token program, and maintenance

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Figure 2: Displays the percentage of disruptions for each participant during the observation sessions. It compares the differences between the baselines, intervention, and follow up phases.

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Figure 3: Participant 1

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Figure 4: Participant 2

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Figure 5: Participant 3

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Figure 6: Participant 4

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Figure 7: Participant 5

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Figure 8: Participant 6

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Figure 9: Participant 7

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Figure 10: Participant 8

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Figure 11: Participant 9

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Figure 12: Participant 10