Case Study - No Response to Reinforcement

Introduction

The case study approach of this module has been designed to create an awareness of the general classroom behavioral problems that may be encountered on a day to day basis. The examples here are generalised and may be applied to situations other than the ones given here. Description of the problem
Andrea never seems to be motivated by anything. Her teacher has tried getting her to complete her independent seatwork. He has tried motivating Andrea with a variety of reinforcers. He has offered her free time. He has offered her good work stickers. He has even offered her food if she will complete her work. Andrea's teacher is frustrated and not sure what to try next. Nothing seems to get Andrea going.

Causes

Unmotivated students are probably extremely discouraged. Reinforcement may not mean anything to these students because they have already given up. They may be saying that they consider themselves to be such losers that nothing really matters they'll fail anyway.

It's also possible that hard-to-motivate children have learned to gain control by not doing what adults want them to do. They may be demonstrating their unwillingness to be controlled by the teacher, no matter what reinforcement the teacher offers.

A factor in failing to motivate this type of child may be that the teacher's expectations for the child are too great. If the expected behavioral change is too great, the student may feel that it's not worthwhile doing what the teacher wants.

Goal

The student will be motivated to work hard and will respond to a variety of reinforcers.

The Plan:

Step 1:
This solution is unique because it does not deal directly with a specific problem. The student does not seem responsive to reinforcers; however, the problem is only partially a 'reinforcement' problem. The specific behavior problems leading the teacher to seek a reinforcer also go unresolved.

Plan to work on one behavior at a time. Do not try to find a reinforcer that will solve all the student's behavioral problems. Choose one behavior as a priority behavior to change. If too many changes are attempted at once, none of the plans will be effective,

The only way to discover whether something is truly reinforcing is to see whether the reinforcer affects the behavior If the frequency of the behavior increases, it is being reinforced. Steps 3 through 5 give suggestions on how to find reinforcers that may work.

Step 2:
Determine whether your initial expectations for changing the student's behavior are too great. The student should be able to see that he or she can earn the reinforcer with relatively little effort. If too much is being expected, the student may become overwhelmed. If this is the case, it will be impossible to tell whether the reinforcers are ineffective or whether the child is simply unresponsive because he or she does not feel there is a chance to earn the reinforcer. Before assuming that the student does not respond to reinforcement, adjust the amount of behavioral change that you are requiring of the child.

Step 3:
Watch the student to get ideas of reinforcers to try. Watch what the student does when he or she is behaving and misbehaving. What the student chooses to do can serve as a guide for what might be reinforcing to the student. If the student constantly does things to get your attention, earning time to play a game with you might be reinforcing to the student. If the student likes to be by himself or herself, it might be reinforcing to earn time to be alone. If the student talks a lot about his or her parents, sending a daily note home with the student might be reinforcing.

Step 4:
Work with the student to determine what might be reinforcing. Often the student will be able to tell you something that he or she would like to work for. Conduct a brainstorming session with the student. Get the student to come up with as many ideas as possible. Do not evaluate the ideas until the student has come up with a number of suggestions. Assume that the child says 'I'd like to work for a trip to Hawaii.' You should write the idea down and say, 'Great, What else would you like to work for?' By responding in this way, you are encouraging the student to generate ideas. However, if you respond to the child's suggestion by saying that it is too expensive, the child may give up. When a number of ideas have been suggested, help the student to through the list to evaluate which of the ideas are reasonable.

Some of the unfeasible ideas may be modified to be potential reinforcers. The suggestion of a trip to Hawaii could be dealt with by encouraging the student to do some research on Hawaii. The situation might be handled this way:

• 'Andrea, I didn't know you were interested in traveling. I wish it were possible for you to work toward a trip to Hawaii, but I'm afraid it would be too expensive for the school to send you. I think it's really neat that you're interested though. Would you like to spend more time with me reading about Hawaii? Maybe you and I could prepare a lesson for the rest of the class on what Hawaii is like. Would you like to do that? . . . Great! I'll tell you what. For each time you [describe behavioral expectation], you will earn five minutes to study about Hawaii with me.'

Step 5:
Watch what the student does not what he or she say. Often a student with Andrea's problem will say that he or she is not interested. Don't worry. Many students have learned that they can rattle the teacher by expressing disinterest. If the student says that he or she doesn't care about something, but you think the reinforcer will work, try it. If the behavior improves, don't worry about what the student says.

Step 6:
Change the reinforcer frequently. The student is likely to tire of a reinforcer very quickly. Plan to change the reinforcer every week for the first month. At the end of the first week, give the student the option of earning the existing reinforcer or earning an alternate reinforcer that you have suggested.

Step 7:
Work on improving the student's self-concept. Remember that the student who does not seem to be motivated by anything is an extremely discouraged individual.