Let's drop PBIS...For real, to gain lasting behavior improvement, focus instead on creating a classroom that nurtures intrinsic motivation.

Classical conditioning at its finest: Follow the rules and you will get a prize! Do what is expected to function appropriately in our classroom community and you will be rewarded. Thanks to our school-wide inplementation of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS), my students were expecting prizes simply for doing what they should always do! But the incentives weren't only expected from my first grade students, they were their motivation and driving force. Regularly in my classroom, a student would do something "right" such as pick up a pencil for a friend who just dropped it near them, and that "kind" student would turn to me seeking reinforcement and the opportunity to put their number on our PBIS incentive board. I don't know how many times I would remind my students that I wanted to "catch" them following our three expectations: be respectful, be responsible and be safe without their positive behavior being pointed out to me. Some may think "wow, your students are so well-trained and they are trying their best do follow the expected behaviors" and yes, I would agree with that sometimes. However, is it wrong of me to worry that the prize after the action is the only motivation? Is our sole-focus to get students to do the "right" thing only when there is a prize to be won? This concern brought me to reflect on how quickly I jumped to the prize in my classroom as opposed to a genuine smile, hug, or positive interaction with my students due to their expected behaviors. I want to move away from systems that provide external rewards and stir up attitudes of entitlement and, instead, get back to the basics of healthy, appropriate interaction between two human beings that reinforces the expected behaviors. According to Michael Linsin, there are 4 reasons why general education teachers should not reward students for good behavior:

1. Rewards turn good behavior into work.

Rewarding good behavior sends the message to your students that if they have to be paid for it, then it must be work. They logically conclude that being well behaved must be something difficult or noteworthy. Otherwise, why would they be rewarded for it?

This effectively makes good behavior less desirable… and more like an effort your students deserve to be paid for.

2. Rewards lead to entitlement.

When you offer rewards in return for good behavior, you create in your students a peculiar sense of entitlement. They’ll feel entitled to receive something for merely doing what is expected.

It leads them to believe that they’re behaving and following rules for you, and thus are owed something from you. After all, if they’re getting a reward for it, there must not be anything in it for them.

3. Rewards cheapen the intrinsic motivation to behave.

Being rewarded to behave cheapens the intrinsic merit of being a valued citizen of your class. In other words, it puts a price tag on the priceless.

Have you ever had a student who was uncomfortable or less than thrilled with public recognition, drummed up awards, or excessive praise? This is a person with already strong, deep-rooted intrinsic motivation who would prefer that you didn’t barter with it.

4. Rewards lead to more and more and more.

When you put a price tag on good behavior by offering rewards, your students will demand higher and more frequent payments. Rewards, you see, are not only ineffective in the long term, but they weaken over time.

If you’ve used rewards in the past, you’ve experienced this. What is exciting and fun at first, like extra recess, becomes boring and not a big deal after awhile. Therefore, you have to continue to increase the payment or the frequency of the reward.

Instead of incentive rewards, I want to build up internal motivation of pride in my students when they work hard on an assignment as I simply make eye-contact with a smile and compliment their detailed picture or challenging mathematical thinking!  Piaget believed that young children benefit from social contacts and can learn that there exist certain common processes to socialization. Let's socialize and condition our students to be confident and creative as they take care and pride in their hard work in school while simultaneously reaping the benefits of good friendships and comradery within a classroom community simply because they are kind, respectful, safe, and responsible with one another. As Michael Linsin concluded, "Good behavior is its own reward because it offers students self-respect, confidence, and the wonderful feeling of belonging to a classroom that needs and appreciates them."

References:

https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2011/03/05/rewarding-students-for-good-behavior/