Hello to all who are reading,
Welcome to my blog! After beginning my journey towards receiving my graduate degree in "Effective Teaching and Instructional Leadership" through Buena Vista University in August of 2015, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. My courses end April 29th and I will graduate on May 27, 2017. I wanted to create a blog to share with you what I have learned through my courses and explain the research on how using classroom behavior charts with a focus group helped to improve classroom management strategies, in the area of behavior.
In my study I observed students in my second grade classroom using a behavior clip chart system from September 2015-March 2016.The behavior clip chart is a chart hung on the wall that is about 4 feet tall. On the chart there are five colors. Each day students start on green which says "ready to learn". If good choices are made they could potentially be asked to move their clip up to blue which reads "good choices" or purple which means "great job". If they make poor choices they may be asked to move their clip down to yellow which reads "think about it". If they make another poor choice they could move down to red which reads "parent contact". The observation of this study had results showing that over time the red diminished and the purple increased. This means that students thought about their choices more and more when they had control over them causing them to improve in time.
The study was compared to a control group the second year (September 2016-March 2017) that did not use any behavior system. In this time frame, students who made poor choices even after having several conversations with the teacher, continued to make them. Also, the students who made great choices were not focused on quite as much because there was no option for clipping up. It is important that these students are often reminded by praise on the good choices they make. However, with the control group, this was difficult to maintain in comparison to the behavior clip chart system. So, overall the behavior clip chart system was found to be successful at the second grade level as it was a simple concept students could use that really helped them think about the choices they were making in school.
So, parents reading:
What are some ways that you have seen behavior dealt with in classrooms your children have been in? Did you feel they were successful with your child? Have you ever had a child use the behavior clip chart system? Did you and your child enjoy it?
What other thoughts do you have on this topic?
And, teachers reading:
What behavior systems do you use in your classrooms, if any? What have you found to be successful? What are your thoughts on the behavior clip chart system?
Others reading:
What experience can you recall from your elementary education years with behavior systems in the classroom? Did you think they helped you think about your choices? What feelings did you have towards them?
Thanks for reading!
-Brooke Benschoter
Second Grade Teacher
Looks great Ms. Benschoter!
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ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog! I thought the data was interesting to look at and how it has helped the students make good choices. I like how they have the opportunity to work their way back up, even if they make bad choices.
I have used a variety of behavior systems in my classroom including the clip chart. I am currently using a ticket system to reinforce individuals as well as the class. It seems to work well with my current group of students.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, because it gives them an easy to understand chart of consequences to their actions. A child will often barge into a behavior without thinking and this gives them food for thought before making a choice. I like the "Think About It" tile. I wonder if the clip chart might not have as a big effect on those kids whose parents don't have their own behavior management system in place at home. We didn't have the benefit of something like this when I was in second grade. If we made a bad choice we were subject to public humiliation right away, which caused embarrassment. (i.e. writing on the board 25 times, standing in the corner with gum on the nose that we weren't supposed to be chewing, etc. ) I speak from experience...!
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! I think its a great way to motivate students in a way that is not humiliating and also rewards the students who have shown positive behaviors. Wonderful study!
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful idea! When I was in 2nd grade the way you would be disciplined is mostly by humiliation. This chart not only encourages the student to strive for better behavior but also is a great tool for the entire class to strive for better behavior as a well. Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I remember having to 'cut 10' in elementary school for things like missing homework, tardiness, or poor behavior. However, the behavior chart method praises positive behavior instead of just punishing negative behavior.
ReplyDeleteAs a parent of elementary students I LOVER the behavior chart. We linked it in with home. Good colors received god rewards. Simple things, the child got to pick supper or what movie we watched for a blue....bigger reward for purple. A yellow would have a discussion about what happened. ...what lead to clipping down and what would be changed for the next day to prevent it from happening....also extra chores would be required to be done at home. It has lead to one very responsible mile schooler how has carried straight As through her first year and a upper elementary student working very hard to be the best student he can be.
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