A Reader Shares... An Explanation for Recognition & Reinforcement - Part 1

In response to the 1/23/2014 post, “An Explanation for Recognition & Reinforcement,” a LYS Assistant Principal shares:

SC,

Thank you. I needed that explanation as well.

SC Response

The research is clear: Teach what you have always taught, teach like you have always taught, but increase the amount of authentic recognition and reinforcement that you provide and your students will give you more. 

To not do this is to give away performance, increase your stress level and rob your students of future opportunities. This reality ought to appeal to both the logical and emotional reasons for attempting to get better at the practice, but it doesn’t.  The perceived difficulty of the practice evidently outweighs the very real and measurable benefits. 

But it doesn’t have to be that way.  From my own experience, my campus discovered that as we began to focus on providing better and timelier recognition and reinforcement that we (the adults) were really bad at it. Comically so.  However, it didn’t matter.  Our students were so starved for anything remotely positive from adults that they ate it up.  Like a starving man eating a cracker.  And their (the students) response then reinforced us to keep it up.  It was a recognition and reinforcement eco-system.  It just needed a catalyst to get it started. 

The catalyst on your campus... It could be you!

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

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