Every classroom has its challenges and challenging students. Children are still learning and developing and early childhood is an important period for children need to be taught what
is and isn't appropriate and how to interact with peers and other adults. Teachers need to take the time to ensure that every student is getting the best out of being at school, regardless of how challenging they may be.
Thorndike's theory of learning takes a S-R (stimulus-response) perspective to learning. I agree with Thorndike, in that when a behaviour produces a positive response it is more likely to be repeated and when it produces a negative response, it is likely to be avoided. Click on the link to read about Thorndike's theory and contribution to learning and psychology.
Challenges
I have a student, let's call him Larry, he is 4 and a half years old. I have been teaching him for over a year. Larry often choses not to participate in the lesson and roams around the classroom instead. He sometimes picks on other children by pulling their hair or pushing them. He doesn't really play well with other children, he spends a lot of time by himself.
Affect on student
I feel that Larry isn't getting the most out of his experience in the classroom. A lot of the other children don't like to be around him because they are afraid he will try to push, hit or pull their hair. Teachers often complain about him and he is constantly being reprimanded. Larry also has a lot of extra curricular activities after school, everyday in fact. Due to my limited role in the school, I haven't been able to find out why he has so many after school activities, but my assumption is that his parents are very busy. As a result of his behaviour and possibly other factors, Larry is not well treated by the other students and other teachers, he is often rejected. It is my belief that he chooses to distance himself from everyone, so as to not get rejected. I recently heard that during one of his extra curricular activities, he was being disruptive and the teacher gave him a cookie and told him to sit outside and not go anywhere. Teachers don't take the time to talk to him, understand why he is behaving a certain way and reason with him.
I sometimes find that children are treated as if they do not have the capacity to think and learn new behaviours.
Impact on the class
During the previous school year, Larry was very disruptive in class. He would stand in front of the class or lay on the floor where the other children can see him. This was very disruptive to the lesson because the other children could not concentrate and would constantly try bring my attention to him, like "teacher look, Larry is on the floor". This would put the class on hold and I would try to get him to sit down. Often times when I tell him to sit somewhere, the student that would be next to him would express that they do not want to sit next to him as a result sometimes he will sit down and other times he will walk off. No one really wants to play with him, some of the other children are afraid of him. I've had to break up a few fights between him and another boy. The other children seem more at ease when he isn't participating or sitting with the class than when he is sitting among them. I frequently hear students complaining about him.
Thorndike's law of effect can be seen here. The stimuli is Larry wanting to sit or play with other children, the response would be the children blatantly rejecting him. This then causes Larry to avoid the other students as he experiences negative consequences.
How can these behaviours be addressed?
First and foremost, Larry needs to be sat down and spoken to. It is important to find out what drives Larry and what negatively affects him, especially in the classroom. Knowing and understanding the reasons for his lack of participation can really help to determine how to address those behavioural problems. The other children also need to be spoken to and taught how to respond with compassion towards him and to include him in their play. A different strategy may work best for him, instead of constant reprimanding and punishment as these don't work so well. The problem with how he is dealt with by teachers is that the punishments aren't consistent. Sometimes he will get told off and other times he will be ignored and the other students will also be encouraged to ignore him. Due to this, Larry's responses to the stimuli (punishment) is weak. In this case the law of effect cannot be applied well. Thorndike's law of effect states that if a response produces an unsatisfying effect the behaviour is less likely to be repeated. This means that if Larry is punished or reprimanded (response/consequence) every time he is disruptive, refuses to participate or bullies another student, he is less likely to do those things. Although, these responses to his behaviour need to be consistent. Larry has learned that if he continues with the behaviour, like refusing to participate during the lesson, the teachers will eventually leave him alone, therefore rendering the law of effect irrelevant.
Thorndike's theory proposed three laws. The first is readiness and it states that for learning to take place the student needs to be prepared to learn. Larry's readiness to learn needs to be examined as him not being ready to learn can affect his ability/desire to concentrate and participate. Communication and understanding is vital to addressing Larry's problems. I remember years ago me and my cousin were going out for the night and we asked my sister-in-law to babysit her daughter. The day before and the entire day of my cousin told her daughter that she will be visiting a friend (my niece), she told her how much fun she will have. She got her daughter so excited and ready to go for a sleepover that when we dropped her off she didn't cry and was eager to go in the house and start having fun. I think this is something that could help Larry be prepared to learn and curious about the possibilities. If he is ready and excited about the upcoming possibilities he may be more engaged.
Goals for Larry
Larry needs to learn how to interact with other children and he needs to participate more in the lesson. It's important take small steps, preferably steps that are so small and simple that he won't feel like he is going out of his way. Before class, the homeroom teachers can talk to him and let him know that he will have English class soon. They could talk to him and ask him what he thinks the days lesson will be about and try to peak his interest. To start off with he can be required to only participate during reading and speaking activities and be allowed to play in the back the rest of the time. He is comfortable in his own space, especially when he's playing with vehicles so immediately trying and push him to sit with the class would be too much. He also needs to be encouraged and praised for every attempt he makes, right or wrong (eventually he will only be praised for correct responses, once he has made the relation between participating (stimulus) and praise (response). Next I can set up games that are played in small groups to be played semi-frequently, encourage the children not to reject him and remind Larry not to hit others. Once he sees how well they can play together and feels safe in that environment he can then be encouraged to sit among his classmates during lessons.
Praising him for positive behaviours and encouraging him to interact with others can help make him feel more comfortable and supported. The more he engages in positive behaviours it will become easier for him and he can begin to feel the positive effects of community.
Positive incentives
Various positive incentives can be offered to Larry that will encourage him to participate more. The incentives should be tailored to his interests for the best results. He loves all kinds of vehicles. Sometimes I will buy small gifts for the students, I could buy a vehicle that he can get if he participates fully in 10 lessons. A punch card can be used to track his participation. At the start of each lesson he can be reminded of what's at stake and at the end of the lesson he can be informed whether his participation was satisfactory or not (explain why). Getting his card punched can actually raise positive feelings and drive him to participate more. He can also be allowed to choose between a few vehicles, which he likes more so that he knows what he will be getting and I know that he will definitely like it.
Consequences
Normal punishment has proved to be ineffective in altering Larry's behaviour, therefore a different approach to consequences can be employed. Instead of reprimanding him, it may be more effective to remove a positive consequence. I believe in talking to children, reasoning with them and allowing them to make decisions. When Larry misbehaves too much, I can ask the homeroom teacher to explain to him that his behaviour is not acceptable and he will lose his reward and it will be given to another student. When Larry hurts another child he needs to be encouraged to apologise and if he refuses he will have to speak with that child's parents. The next time he thinks of hitting someone he will remember that he will have to speak with their parents and this will likely make him think twice (as stated in the law of effect avoid the negative consequence).
Communicating with the family.
The family is a part of helping Larry have a better school experience. His parents can help with readiness by getting him excited about school. If the parents understand what his behavioural problems are and how they are affecting his learning and the other children, they are more likely to take the matter seriously. This is something that needs to be communicated delicately as we do not want parents to feel that me or other teachers dislike Larry and think he is a bad child, he is not. Parents can be invited to parent-teacher conferences, one with just teachers and parents and another with Larry present. Parents also need to be reminded that this is a safe space for Larry and he isn't here to be shouted at or punished, we all want to understand and support him. His parents can also offer their own incentives and consequences. In addition, if Larry knows that his parents are invested and support him, this may make him feel more confident to meet the goals set out for him. Every 3-6 months parents can be sat down and given a detailed description of his progress and in between, I can share videos and pictures showing him participating and playing with the other children. Parents can also ask Larry about his experiences at school on a daily basis, this way they can find out whether his attitude towards school is changing and if not we can work together to find a different approach.
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