Want to change your child's behavior?

Here are the basic techniques:

1. Reinforcement is a consequence that causes a behavior to occur with greater frequency.
1. A behavior precedes a favorable stimulus (commonly seen as pleasant) that increases the frequency of that behavior.
2. A behavior precedes the removal of an aversive stimulus (commonly seen as unpleasant) thereby increasing that behavior's frequency. 
2. Punishment is a consequence that causes a behavior to occur with less frequency.
1. A behavior precedes an aversive stimulus, resulting in a decrease in that behavior.
2. A behavior precedes the removal of a favorable stimulus, resulting in a decrease in that behavior.
3. Avoidance learning is when a certain behavior results in the cessation of an aversive stimulus. 
4. Extinction is the lack of any consequence following a behavior that had previously been reinforced, resulting in a decrease in that behavior.
5. Non-contingent Reinforcement is a procedure that decreases the frequency of a behavior by both reinforcing alternative behaviors and extinguishing the undesired behavior.          [http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Operant_conditioning]

Let me break it down...

Children want our attention. So, we really have to consider how much of our energy or attention children get from our response to their behavior. A small reward like McDonalds or punishment such as a stern discussion can be quicker than #4 or #5 but can often lead to inconsistent messages. Our children, quite honestly, can get more attention for doing a undesirable action. How much time do we give someone that's hit a classmate compared to opening the door for a friend? 

Keep your eye on the prize. We want to build a child's natural curiosity for learning, empathy towards others, or foster independence towards their adult years. Please consider how to extinguish (#4 & #5) the undesirable behaviors while nurturing a child's sense of self worth (#5).

Consistency is the key. The more consistent you are with your technique, the more a child sees you as fair and will trust your reaction. Often, there's a trial period at the beginning so stick to your plan.
Posted by Cinnamin Rivers, CAS School Counselor

Anchor Activities

How can one teacher manage a differentiated classroom of learners, where 3 or more different activities may be taking place in 3 or more different groups of students? How can one possibly have time to give students the individual feedback that is so crucial to their growth?

Using Anchor Activities is one way to make this daunting task much less daunting.

Basically, an Anchor Activity is an activity that students can turn to independently if they are finished with the task you've given, or if they are stuck and waiting for your help. You may need to teach it once or twice, but it is something fairly routine that students should get the hang of quickly and be able to do with complete independence. Anchor activities can even be used as a routine to focus students at the beginning of a lesson, but they are really designed to keep everyone productively learning even while you are working with another group or individual. You may decide to keep a really great Anchor Activity throughout the school year, or change it up depending on the unit of study.

Some examples:
Daily journal prompt
Math problem of the Day
Vocabulary puzzle

One Anchor Activity that I've used was "Portfolio Paragraphs". This was a list of prompts in each student's writing folder. They knew that if they were done with something and awaiting further instruction, they could go to that list of prompts and start writing a paragraph response. I was going to assess them, but only at the end of the term. Students could go to that activity as they needed, independently, without asking my permission or interrupting anything else in the classroom.  

Anchor Activities are also really helpful for those last 5 minutes of a lesson where everyone is already done with the task you've given.

Much has been written about Anchor Activities, so if you're interested and looking for more examples or ideas of how they could be used in your classroom, check out this helpful PDF:
Anchor Activities

Or this teacher's blog: http://mrscathleen.blogspot.com/2013/06/anchor-activities.html