Portfolio Activity Unit 5

DISCIPLINE CHALLENGES 1
UNIT 5: PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY
MUHAMMAD FAROOQ
University of the People
EDUC 5240: CREATING POSITIVE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENTS
OCTOBER 06th, 2022

Evaluate the methods/models introduced in this unit and create a plan for preventing
studentmisbehavior. Explain how you will incorporate it into your future classroom to
minimize classroom disruptions?
There is a fight to find a balance between the wills of the two primary stakeholders in the study
room—the educators and the learners—everywhere in the globe when educators are driven to
impart knowledge and students are attempting to gain knowledge. The means by which teachers
and students can cooperate to promote learning is through classroom discipline. Classroom
management is described by the National Education Association as "helping students to
moderate their conduct in ways that help them learn is a longstanding goal of all teachers." NEA,
National Education Association, n.d. There are always two sides to a story; every educator has
their own method for fostering a supportive environment and culture of learning; in this case,
there are many methodologies used to instill discipline in the classroom, but this essay will only
look at two that may represent the opposite ends of the spectrum: B.F. Skinner's behavior
modification and Jim Fay, Charles Fay, and Foster Cline's love and logic.
B.F. Skinner's Behavior Modification is the first opponent. Behavior modification study by B.F.
Skinner is included in the pantheon of studies done by physicists like Pavlov, Thorndike, and
Watson. These physicists made significant progress in their understanding of how behavior is
taught and rewarded. "Skinner's approach was founded on the idea that classical conditioning
was overly simplistic, and that the best way to comprehend behavior is to look at the reasons
behind an action and its results. He referred to this strategy as operant conditioning. Mcelod
(2018) Operant conditioning is a technique for changing behavior that uses rewards and
punishments to shape and strengthen the behavior.

A teacher can encourage desired actions in the classroom by awarding good points in Class Dojo,
a virtual reward system based on points and avatars that can be tracked by teachers, parents, and
students. Additionally, teachers have the option of subtracting points from students for
undesirable behavior. So that students can see when points are added or subtracted, teachers can
place a monitor in front of the classroom that displays the Class Dojo Monitor Screen. Similar to
Pavlov's dog experiments, there are sound effects that serve as audio cues to aid in changing the
desired behavior. Another illustration of operant conditioning is a system of tokens where
rewards are obtained for engaging in the desired behavior. (i.e., entering the classroom quiet,
sitting down and ready to learn or doing a warmup/ bell ringer).
Tokens earned by students can be used to buy things or activity time from the classroom
commissary or treasure box. On the other side, pupils who engage in unfavorable behavior (such
as speaking out of turn or using derogatory language) may be punished (negative reinforcement),
losing them the tokens they need for the treasure box. According to Skinner, there are three basic
kinds of behavioral responses: reinforcers (responses from stimuli that increase the chance of a
behavior) and punishers (responses from stimuli that decrease the likelihood of a behavior)
(responses from stimuli that decrease the occurrence of exhibited behavior). (See McLeod 2018,
line 5) Operant Conditioning effects, both good and bad The benefit of Skinner's theory is that it
enables teachers to help students transition from an extrinsic motivation perspective to an
intrinsic motivation mindset, allowing students to control their behavior rather than the teacher.
Reinforcers can be positive or negative. The frequency of rewards can be gradually reduced by
the teacher until they are no longer necessary as reinforcers. Behavior modification can give
people the motivation they need to change their behavior so that they engage in constructive
prosocial behaviors rather than engaging in disruptive social behavior.

The drawback of this notion is that occasionally the punishment does not fit the offense. For
example, imagine that a teacher sees young Jonny pulling Sally's pigtails and yells at him in
retaliation. Jonny chooses to have a massive temper tantrum to attract attention away from
himself after being publically reprimanded. What's going on here? Now, the adult and the child
are engaged in a power struggle. Conflicts over power destroy discipline. The teacher must work
to restore control of the classroom since he or she has lost it.
It teaches that every activity, whether positive or negative, has natural consequences. The
positive aspects of Love and Logic methodology is that this modality allows students to grow
and mature at their own pace with minimal interference. The negative aspect of this praxis lies in
its implementation. There are many moving pieces to Love and Logic that the adult must get
correct, or the kids will riot. Case in point, if the teacher forgets to privately correct adverse
behavior by publicly correcting bad behavior; he or she just kicked the socio-emotional learning
out of the classroom and invited a power struggle in.
In conclusion, Love and Logic is the better choice because it considers that a student is a person
that had feelings and emotions. It is these two things that lie at the feet of all classroom
disruptions. The incident with little Jonny, he had a meltdown because his feelings were not
taken into consideration. If the teacher had taken Jonny outside, just whispered into his ear, or
even gave a nonverbal look his direction, it would be unlikely that the tantrum would occur.
References
Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). Performance Counts: Assessment Systems that Support High-
Quality Learning. Washington, D.C.: Council of Chief State School Officers.
McLeod, S. (2018, January 21). Skinner - Operant Conditioning. Retrieved from Simply
Psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/operant-conditioning.html
National Education Association [NEA]. (n.d.). Maintaining Classroom Discipline. Retrieved
from National Education Association:
http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/mf_classdisckansasnea.pdf
Nonviolent Crisis Institute (CPI). (2018). Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Foundation Course
Instructors Guide. In N. C. (CPI), Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Foundation Course Instructors
Guide (pp. 45- 49). Retrieved October 3, 2019

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DISCIPLINE CHALLENGES 1

UNIT 5: PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

University of the People

EDUC 5240: CREATING POSITIVE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENTS

OCTOBER 06th, 2022

minimize classroom disruptions?

management is described by the National Education Association as "helping students to

punishments to shape and strengthen the behavior.

desired behavior. Another illustration of operant conditioning is a system of tokens where

sitting down and ready to learn or doing a warmup/ bell ringer).

enables teachers to help students transition from an extrinsic motivation perspective to an

prosocial behaviors rather than engaging in disruptive social behavior.

to restore control of the classroom since he or she has lost it.

out of the classroom and invited a power struggle in.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). Performance Counts: Assessment Systems that Support High-

Quality Learning. Washington, D.C.: Council of Chief State School Officers.

National Education Association [NEA]. (n.d.). Maintaining Classroom Discipline. Retrieved

from National Education Association:

Instructors Guide. In N. C. (CPI), Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Foundation Course Instructors

Guide (pp. 45- 49). Retrieved October 3, 2019

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