A few years back I learned a behavior management technique from my dear friend and accomplished colleague; rubberbands. When a student is having an especially difficult time following directions, being a good listener (usually blurting), or just making good choices I bust out the rubberbands. I place 5 rubberbands on my right wrist. When the targeted student makes a poor choice, I move one rubberband from my right wrist to my left wrist. It is a visual connection for the child to take notice of their behavior. Conversely, when the child makes a positive choice or is simply following directions without additional reminders a rubberband can be moved back to the right wrist. Right now, I'm working with Ella. Her incessant talking has moved beyond not being a good listener and into disrespect toward her teacher and classmates. It's interrupting our learning. This is unacceptable. So I put on the rubberbands and explained to Ella how they would work for her. There is no reward for keeping the rubberbands on my right wrist and no consequence tied to the bands moving over. They are simply a visual cue for her to recognize her behavior and provide her with an opportunity to make a change. At the end of the day we review how many rubberbands are on each wrist, reflect on the day, and set a goal for the next day. Ella always decides that the next day all 5 rubberbands will remain on my right wrist (I appreciate her positive thinking). Things are improving with Ella or quite possibly the behavior of the rest of the class has deteriorated to the point that she no longer stands out. Today was a tough day. Today there were not enough rubberbands and definitely not enough wrists to put them on!
That's a fantastic idea. My littlest is the most challenging of my four children, and maybe that could help! I like the idea of no punishment, no reward. Just responsibility for yourself. Beautiful pictures, too!
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