Mr. Moreno's Growth Mindset
Positive reinforcement engaging low-income sixth graders in virtual learning
Jose Moreno December 18, 2020
Introduction
Engaging students in Middle Schools has historically been a major concern in economically disadvantaged communities. Today, teachers struggle more often to find ways to engage virtual students in the process of learning in comparison with face-to-face learning. They have reported that their Middle School students lack interest and motivation in virtual classes and the tendency of most students’ learning performance decreased (Rice & Kipp, 2020; Abbasi, Ghanbari & Hossein, 2015; Owo, 2020), being more evident in academics than Pre AP students. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, where it resulted in the rapid adoption of virtual learning (El-Ghandour, 2020). Captivating virtual middle school students from low-income communities is a very difficult task because it requires a combination of multiple strategies to reach learners. Such as reinforcement, engaging families, learning to connect with their peers, feedback (Rice & Kipp, 2020; Owo, 2020), and understanding community challenges and their cultural behaviors.
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Academic engagement refers to efforts from the students to reach academic activities and success (Owo, 2020) and it is measure of how much they are tending to a purpose, task, or activity. In a learning setting, it is influenced by a learner’s level of emotion, learning environment, focus, and cognitive ability. Other factors include online course design and facilitator style teaching. How do teachers engage learners effectively when they are not in person? Researchers identify three major components of learning engagement (behavior, cognitive, and emotional) that work for virtual students, in order to connect them with the course materials, teacher, and with each other (Rice & Kipp, 2020). Which of these components tilt the scale more to engage sixth graders Hispanic low-income on virtual learning?
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The public Middle school where this action research takes place is Title I with 88% Hispanic. Collectively, 82% of the students come from economically disadvantage families, 78 % of them are at risk students, and 42% of them have limited English proficiency. These percentages highlight the adverse economic risk factors and support academic correlations. In 2017 in The United Stated, 57% of Hispanic children live in poor or near-poor households with income 185% below the federal poverty level (Gennetian et al, 2019). About half of Hispanic parents with low income have jobs with nonstandard work schedules. Low-income Hispanic fathers spent 45 minutes on activities with their children, while mothers spent 105 minutes average per day on educational activities, play, health, caring for, and helping their children. Meanwhile, 41% of Hispanic low-income children grow up on single-parent families (Gennetian et al, 2019; National KIDS COUNT, 2020). When many single parents have two jobs in order to cover the bills, it is more difficult for parents to be involved as a key player (teacher-parent-peer) for online learning experiences for their children. Consequently, teachers have an enormous impact on the student’s experience, influencing everything from student’s perceived learning and self-efficacy to their motivation (Borup, 2014). Learning facilitators are responsible for students’ comfort. When students feel comfortable in their learning environment, they are more willing to learn and therefore they are more likely to succeed (Raykhona, 2020). An effective classroom must have an effective teacher who takes part in every process of learning (Mei Lestari, 2020). Under all these circumstances that the students face in this community, the action research believe that the emotional component plays the biggest role over the behavioral and cognitive parts to engage learners. Does positive reinforcement engage sixth graders from low-income in virtual learning in urban area?
Literature review
Reinforcement (stimulus) is a crucial piece to engage students on virtual learning. The reinforcement theory is one the most important theories in learning process, because students learn in proportion to the consequence of their actions (Owo, 2020). It is a powerful process of shaping, directing, and motivating by manipulating the behavior of students and to make them feel accepted and successful. However, teachers must know their students’ needs and consider their daily life, in order for the reinforcement become effective (Mei Lestari, 2020; Owo, 2020).
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Types of reinforcement
Psychologists have identified two types of reinforcements: negative and positive reinforcement (Hoque, 2013; Owo, 2020). This action research will be focus on positive reinforcement only. Teachers used positive reinforcement as the way to appreciate students’ efforts and enthusiasm (Mei Lestari, 2020). The more motivated students are, the more and the better they will learn (Abbasi, Ghanbari, & Hossein, 2015).
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Positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement means positive response (pleasant) by one person to another’s behavior so that probability of that behavior occurring again is increased (Mei Lestari, 2020). It is constructive in helping students to build knowledge from instructional engagement (Terrace & Landrum, 2020); build self- positive concept; develop an attitude of success; enhance instructional motivation (Mei Lestari, 2020), and create an atmosphere that is inviting to learning. It also makes the processes nicer, more efficient, and with higher –impact for improving students’ behaviors (Raykhona, 2020).
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Purpose of positive reinforcement
Positive reinforcement rewards the correct behavior that took place immediately. Consequently, motivating them to do that behavior again (Buehler, 2020) and engage learners’ interests and make them follow the objective of the lesson (Mei Lestari, 2020). As the students repeat the response and is given further rewards, the behavior becomes more firmly establish until it is learned (Raykhona, 2020).
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Effects of positive reinforcement
Students who have emotional issues stated that the teachers need to take into consideration the students’ daily life. Because student’s performance in virtual classes can be affected by the behavior at home and the environment. When teachers create a safe and positive learning environment, students want to show up to class and stay in class (Raykhona, 2020). The positive reinforcement increases the average level of interest, satisfaction, participation, enthusiasm, and grades (Hoque, 2013). The problem teachers face nowadays is that they cannot find practical techniques and methods to apply (Raykhona, B. 2020) on virtual learning. More than half of students agreed with positive reinforcement, because it helped them improve students’ grades, work harder, and perform better (Mei Lestari, M., 2020). On Owo’s (2020) research article, results revealed that the positive reinforcement group (71.5%) is 10% higher than the negative reinforcement group (61.5%), and 20% higher than the control group (56.5%). In the field of education, instructional reinforcement is the application of skills, strategies or activities in the classroom to increase the academic engagement and performance or decrease the undesired academic outcome of learners (Owo,2020).
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Types of positive reinforcement
Teachers used various types of reinforcement. The types of positive reinforcement suggested by Mei Lestari (2020) are five:
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Verbal reinforcement: when the teachers give positive comments, verbally to the student. “Excellent”, “very nice”.
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Non-verbal reinforcement: refers to the use of some physical action in response to a students’ desired behavior. Eye contact, smile, thumb up.
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Vicarious reinforcement: is a reinforcement base on observing others. For example, the teacher said. “I like the way Nathan access the classroom and started to work”
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Delayed reinforcement: is a time delay between the action response and the reinforcement. I believe Carlos can answer this, since he did the review last week.
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Qualified reinforcement: Only occurs when the teacher reinforces what the teacher wants from students. When students answer incorrectly a question, but receive a grade for the effort to answer the question.
Teachers have been using reinforcement strategies like verbal praise, feedback (effort, ability or both), tokens, prizes, and privileges such as extra computer time, free time, positive note home to parents (Owo, 2020; Burnett, 2001). When teachers combined verbal and nonverbal reinforcement it is more effective to show their respect and appreciation to the students, for example “good job with thumbs up” (Mei Lestari, 2020) followed by a specific reason of the reinforcement. Mei Lestari (2020) contrasted two opposite research studies; one presented the tangible reinforcement such us additional score, points, or award certificates are more powerful and effective than social reinforcement, but the frequency of delivery of rewards decreases as students age increases. While the second study said, that verbal reinforcement was the most effective during the teaching and learning process; and promoted academic success, increasing on-task behavior, enhance motivation, resilience, and persistence on challenging assignments (Mei Lestari, 2020). Verbal reinforcement has a positive effect on motivation across all age groups, with more effect on older students (Fefer, DeMagistris, & Shuttleton, 2016)
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Components of positive reinforcement
The process of the positive reinforcement involves three components according to (Burnett, 2001).
-First, personalizing the praise by using the student’s name.
-Second, using a variety of general praise words like nice going, well done, tremendous, and outstanding.
-Third, include a specific description of what the student did to merit praise. (Fefer, DeMagistris, & Shuttleton, 2016) with authenticity, sincerely and truthful. Not inflated compliments, because it can degrade student effort (Finley,2017).
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Statistic of Positive Reinforcement in Secondary School
Some certain forms of reinforcement are good to encourage students to perform a desired task or behavior; material incentives, or rewards should be occasionally used to avoid students to engage on a task only for the reward. The performance score of students in positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and control group differ significantly. Founding that the majority of students were beneficed in academic achievement after receiving reinforcement in the form of rewards and antecedent strategies (Owo, 2020).
Students between 12 and 16 years of age showed differences when receiving the reinforcement (reward and praise), 64% preferred to be praised quietly and privately, 26% preferred loudly and publicly; and 10% preferred teachers to say nothing (Burnett, 2001). Another study indicated the same tendency with 73% quiet verbal praise and 57.8% loud praise. Suggesting that verbal reinforcement from a teacher quiet or loud is preferred by the most of the adolescent students with 58.3 %. Middle School students prefer quiet over loud reinforcement; even with classmates. Older students respond to effort, process, and product related praise. While younger students respond to person focused praised and prefer praise related to ability (Fefer, DeMagistris, & Shuttleton, 2016).
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Positive reinforcement on virtual learning
Although middle school teachers have been using more virtual learning over a year of COVID-19 pandemic, many teachers continue following traditional methods. Because, they are not prepared for this drastic change and have lack of understanding between the differences of traditional and virtual learning environments (Gharbaghi, Aris, & Hamdani, 2011) and struggle to engage learners.
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In virtual learning, it is important to be more specific with responsibility, safe, and respect towards students. For example, “Good morning, thank you for being on time” or “I am proud of you, on how you are focus and work in the class”. Be generous with the positive reinforcement, because it creates a fantastic atmosphere; do not save if for special occasions only. Use intermittent positive reinforcement (random) because it is a symbol to students that teachers are happy with them. Public recognition is very motivating for students; however, it is important to know the students well, especially teenagers. More than 70% of them prefer quiet reinforcement, for example, teachers can write private positive messages through the chat. Last, students prefer fun teachers, it is something that students actually value and want (Mooiman, 2020).
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The positive reinforcement will be more powerful on virtual learning when teachers create a strong relationship, connection, and clear expectations with students and excellent communication with their families. Through immediate and unexpected reinforcement focused on the process, not on the ability (writing to individual student, verbal to the group or nonverbal). The rewards can be individual, as a whole class or as home integration, according to Mooiman (2020).
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Individual rewards: such as points, digital memes, volunteer student can teach the class, student read aloud to the class, student show and tell.
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Class wide rewards: fun Friday, Crazy hair day, digital thank you note, teacher vs students trivia game, listen to a student’s choice music, special guest, student talent in class, teacher read aloud to the class a favorite book or poem.
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Home rewards: where parents participate on the project or activities such as creative math mini-project; going for a measure walk with a parent; cooking together a recipe.
Summary
Engage Hispanic middle school low-income students in virtual learning is a challenge. Because it requires the combination of multiple strategies and knowledge of students and their community. Especially, the emotional component of learning engagement. The most powerful strategy for engaging learners is to use simultaneously different types of positive reinforcement. Where learners can respond to a specific behavior, in order to increase the academic performance.
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Conclusion
To captivate academically middle school students from low-income communities is a challenge for most teachers, specially, on virtual learning. Requiring to apply the most effective strategies of the components of learning engagement (behavior, cognitive, and emotional). The emotional component plays the biggest role to engage Hispanic low-income students. Because most of the parents cannot play a big role on the relation teacher-parent -peer, on virtual learning. While, teachers have a huge impact on the process of learning to give them an authentic learning experience. The positive reinforcement is the most effective type of reinforcement to engage sixth graders low-income in virtual learning. Specially, when combining the types of reinforcements; applying the three positive reinforcement components, and knowing how each learner responds. In order to create a nice learning atmosphere, improve students’ behavior, and make the learning process more efficient. Teachers use most the verbal, non-verbal, and vicarious reinforcement in comparison with delayed and qualified. Learners facilitators need to recognize the big differences of traditional and virtual environments. Humanizing and engaging effectively middle school low-income students with positive reinforcement must be a priority.
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Contributions of this study to education
This literature review of positive reinforcement to engage students on virtual learning will help educators to understand and apply the most effective and powerful strategies to captivate teenagers on remote learning. Where the emotional component is the trigger for success or fail.
Strengths and weaknesses of this study
This literature review, gives readers a clear synopsis of the power of positive reinforcement to engage students and applicable strategies to use on virtual learning. However, the lack of specific research articles of positive reinforcement on Hispanic low-income students affect the argumentation and contrast with the references collected.
Topics for future study
Research the effectiveness of positive reinforcement with verbal persuasion embedded on a learning environment. Teachers of schools from disadvantages communities need to constantly model and internalize the potential and opportunities that the students have to succeed academically.
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References
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