My positive incentive plan is multi-layered. I have class points for each class, which can be earned by student participation. The class points are part of every student's grade (albeit a small percent), and are used to encourage teamwork. Students earn points by volunteering to answer questions (with guidance, if needed), submitting completed homework, committing and accomplishing certain goals, and noticing mistakes that I make.
There are only two ways to lose class points: if students are off-task or misbehaving, I erase points that are earned one at a time off the board until order is established. Students generally pressure their peers into getting back on task or following the rules. The second way is when a student has demonstrated academic dishonesty. The first infraction will result in a zero for the assignment or assessment. The second infraction will result in the erasure of all points earned by the entire class. This is to illustrate that cheating hurts others in society at the benefit of one individual.
I have only had two incidents where I've erased more than 1 or 2 points off of the board. Most issues have been resolved through peer pressure, therefore I do not have to expend energy in pleading students to stay on task. I simply turn to the class points on the board and slowly erase points until the class notices and gets back on task. I have not found empirical evidence that students have cheated, although one student has shown some signs once. This matter was resolved.
I have a class captain each week that is selected by the previous captain. They are responsible for making decisions on behalf of the class (e.g. choosing who answers a question, deciding when the class is ready to move on, choosing to have music or not during independent work, etc.). I award class captains with a choice of their favorite snack (under $5), which I go out and buy personally. They are also responsible for handling specific duties (e.g. reprimanding off-task students, passing out papers, etc.) that help me save time during class.
To save time at the beginning of class and get students engaged, I have a "Red/Yellow/Green" light indicator that tells students how prepared I felt they were when entering class and beginning their work. The warm-up work is always on the board once students enter the classroom, so as soon as I finish taking attendance, I circle around the room and check student work on their bell-work sheets. A timer is running and once it finishes, I determine how prepared students were for the day.
For every green light, the class gets additional class points. Yellow lights constitute a warning. If a class gets two red lights in a row (for two days), I start with a seating chart the next day. If the red light continues, I remove privileges like music during independent practice. I have yet to go beyond the seating chart. Generally, misbehaviors and off-task issues are isolated to one or two students, so by the time the class has reached that point, they have been sent to the Responsible Thinking Room to go through an RTP and negotiate their return to my classroom.
This program has been evolving over a year, and while it has its benefits, there are definitely flaws and loopholes that my students are finding. I may need to include a few adjustments before next semester:
1. I need to be more consistent about enforcing the rule that class points are not awarded for someone answering more than one question. Many of the same students get asked to participate over and over again.
2. I need more short-term incentives. The idea that all of the class points add up to a final percent of everyone's grade is not a strong incentive sometimes. Perhaps setting short-term goals within a time frame will help boost participation and motivation.
3. I need to be clearer about my expectations on what is considered misbehavior and what is not. Sometimes the line gets blurry and students tend to push the limits before it becomes punitive.
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