The Importance of Maslow's Hierarchy in the Classroom

In class we discussed Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The four levels at the bottom are the more basic needs and each needs to be met before the person can achieve the next level. This is why I think that schools and teachers need to keep this hierarchy in mind. Since knowledge and understanding is the fifth level, this means that there are four levels that need to be met before a student can even think about learning. If a child is not having their basic needs met, they will not be able to focus on anything in a classroom.

            I think it is important to make sure that students are having their basic needs met, so they can learn and because it is the right thing to do. Programs that provide breakfast and snacks throughout the day are something that many schools are doing now. This ensures that the students are getting food. Schools also need to be a safe environment. If a student doesn’t feel safe, they won’t be able to focus on anything else. This is why the school needs to have an open environment, where the student feels comfortable talking to someone if they feel unsafe. Schools can also incorporate programs that build self esteem. I know companies like Dove have programs that teachers can implement into a classroom that are designed to build self esteem. These are just some of the things that schools can do to help make sure a student’s basic needs are met.

The Third Side

In class we watched a video called, “The Walk from No to Yes,” that featured a concept developed by William Ury. His concept was the idea of using the “third side” when resolving concepts. It is a relatively simple concept that involves introducing a third person into a conflict to provide perspective and insights to the parties involved. He wanted to use this concept to move from hostility to hospitality, and terrorism to tourism. Ury applies this concept to worldwide conflicts. To me this seems like a very simple concept that might not have a larger effect on worldwide conflicts, but I think the third side concept could be applied in some classroom situations.

            I think that the third side would have its greatest effect in elementary school grades. As a teacher, you are the perfect third side; a neutral mediator in any conflict that occurs in your classroom. You can use this position to provide your students with perspective on different situations and conflicts. If you wanted to add an extra dimension of learning and responsibility for your students, you could allow the students to take on the role of the third side. It would have to be a learned process, not a situation you could just throw your students in and expect them to successfully mediate any conflict. But if you could integrate the concept into your teaching, I think that the students may eventually be able to take on the role for themselves and apply it in their lives.

            I think that the third eye is an important concept for anyone to keep in mind because maintaining perspective on a situation or conflict can be useful in coming to a resolution. Also, I think that introducing someone who is neutral to a conflict can help the parties involved gain the perspective that they need to come to a resolution. This is why I think that the concept would be useful in many different situations; the classroom, the workplace, and the family.

The Functional Approach

In class we talked about the functional approach, which is examining a student’s inappropriate behaviour as well as the behaviours antecedents and consequents to determine the functions the behaviour may serve. I think that this is an important idea to use as a teacher. A lot of the time teachers will punish the student for their inappropriate behaviour without attempting to find out the reason for the behaviour. I think that the teacher stands a far better chance in stopping the inappropriate behaviour or changing it if they figure out the causes of antecedents of it.

            If the student is behaving badly just to get attention, punishing them is not going to solve the problem. Rather, this immediate punishment would be giving the student what they wanted. They would assume that if they keep behaving that way they would keep getting attention. What the teacher should attempt is to discover where this need for attention comes from. This is not to say that the behaviour shouldn’t still be punished or that it can be solved, but attempting to understand the behaviour may lead to a solution.

            After discovering the cause of the behaviour, as a teacher it is important to provide positive behaviour support to learn new behaviours and meet the student’s needs. It is important to continue to support good behaviour and if the students have needs to attempt to meet them. A student may have been behaving badly because they can’t focus after sitting in their desk to long. Once you discover this, you can try and put in place a plan so that this child might get up and go for a walk a couple times during class. In the FAT city workshop video we learned that fair doesn’t mean equal. If this student has specific needs, then we should work to make sure they are learning in the best way possible.

Examples of Reinforcement and Punishment

In class we discussed using operant conditioning in the classroom its four aspects; positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment. To better understand each, we were asked to come up with examples of each in the classroom.

            Positive reinforcement is the most effective form of operant conditioning to use in the classroom. An example of this would be to have a marble jar on your desk. Then tell the kids that every time they walk into class and hang up their coats and back packs quietly you will put a marble in the jar. Once the jar is full you will reward them with a fun activity. Every time you put a marble in the jar, specific praise of the behavior that you liked will further enhance this behaviour.

            The next aspect of operant conditioning is negative reinforcement. An example of this would be if you told your class that everyone who handed in their paper a week early wouldn’t have to do the final exam. In both positive and negative reinforcement the change in the direction of behaviour change is up.

            The next aspect is positive punishment. An example of this is to try to decrease behaviour through the potential punishment of a detention. The detention is being added to the situation to decrease certain behaviour.

            The last aspect of operant conditioning is negative punishment. An example of this form of punishment would be to take away one of the marbles from the marble jar when someone in the class is misbehaving. The teacher is taking away something from the situation to decrease bad behaviour.

Operant Conditioning

 

 

This is a clip from the television show, The Big Bang Theory, that demonstrates operant conditioning. Although it is considered to be a funny over the top portrayal, many teachers, as discussed in class, use this technique as part of their classroom management. The video shows Sheldon using both positive reinforcement when Penny behaves like he wants her to, and negative reinforcement when Leonard behaves in a way that he doesn’t want him to. In class we discussed how effective this method is, but that it has negative outcomes as well. I think that using operant conditioning can have a positive outcome, especially with younger kids, because they respond almost immediately to the promise of a reward or punishment. On the other hand I do agree that there could be a negative outcome of operant conditioning that teachers should be aware of.

            If a student is always being motivated by punishment or reward, they will not actually be learning to be self motivated in their behaviour, but instead will always be motivated by the idea of the punishment or reward. This could mean that they aren’t actually learning how to behave or how to be self motivated. This could be a negative aspect of operant conditioning, which is why teachers need to be careful of how often they use this sort of motivation. It might be very appealing to use it quite frequently because of the immediate and positive effects it can have on the management of a classroom. I think that it can be and effective method in some situations, but the teacher needs to be aware of when to use it.

Working With Children With Learning Disabilities

I learned a lot from the video that we watched in class called, How Difficult Can This Be? I think that Rick used a great deal of effective techniques to demonstrate how it feels to be a child with a learning disability. After watching this video I also realized that one of the biggest problems in education is that parents, students, and teachers don’t know what a child with a learning disability goes through or how to help them. It is extremely important to understand what the child is going through in order to help them. I thought that the exercises that Rick had the workshop do were very effective in demonstrating what some students go through and had a lasting effect. Some of the people that commented on the workshop at the end of the video made comments that expressed that they felt confused and stupid during many of the activities. That feeling stays with most people for a long time, and I cannot even begin to imagine how a child with a learning disability gets through school feeling like that all the time.

            I found the video extremely enlightening because I had never really thought to look at the perspective of a child with a learning disability. Now that I am thinking this way, I think it is important to think this way as a teacher. I also found the definition of fair very interesting. I hadn’t thought about the actual definition, and now that I know it, it is something else I can think about in my classroom. I thought the video gave me a lot to think about for my future career as a teacher. I will be encountering students with different learning disabilities and I think it is important to know what they are going through to be able to effectively help them.