Is the Punishment Worth It?

Classroom management is an important skill for all teachers. The ability to positively impact student behaviors improves student learning and positively impacts the classroom environment. Additionally, teachers that struggle with classroom management are more likely to leave the field. In a time when teacher need is high, especially in rural areas, ensuring that teachers have strong behavior management skills is critical. Classroom management and positive classroom culture is so important it is included in the 22 High-Leverage Practices, the skills all teachers should know and be able to do. The purpose of this poster is to demonstrate how behavioral principles (i.e., positive reinforcement, positive punishment, negative reinforcement, and negative punishment) impact classroom climate and student behavior. Positive reinforcement is giving a student a preferred tangible item or activity to encourage the behavior. Negative reinforcement is taking away an undesired activity or item to encourage wanted behavior. Positive punishment occurs when teachers add a consequence after an undesired behavior is exhibited to reduce the occurrence of that behavior. Negative punishment is taking away a desirable task or activity to reduce unwanted behavior. Effectively incorporating these practices helps teachers develop a positive classroom environment by decreasing unwanted behaviors and increasing desired student behaviors. Examples of how to effectively implement these research-based behavioral principles will be discussed.