Using Positive Reinforcement to Increase Student Engagement in The Classroom
Abstract
Abstract
One of the most effective teaching methods is positive reinforcement. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the effectiveness of positive reinforcement on student engagement in the classroom academically, behaviorally, and socially for Somali bilingual students. This action research project took place at a kindergarten through twelfth grade school in Minnesota. The school has two sites (K–4 and 5–12) and enrolls approximately 308 students. The participants in the study were teachers and staff in K–12 grades. The research design was a quantitative research project. To collect data, teachers who were taking part in this study received an electronic survey consisting of an informed consent form and a questionnaire regarding their experience using positive reinforcement. The survey consisted of ten (10) questions. Each question was scored on a 5-point Likert scale (e.g., very important = 5, important = 4, moderately important = 3, slightly important = 2, unimportant = 1), and the participants rated these five points by marking one of the responses. The results of the survey show that positive reinforcement increases student engagement in the classroom.
Keywords: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, academic performance, student behavior, and social-emotional learning