Positive reinforcement training...

fuzzie · 11-12-2007, 07:13 PM

...for middle school students! today my science teacher brought out a cup full of sweedish fish for every table. she would say for example to open our books, then immediately give all open book students a fish

! any misbehaving children got no fish, and every section we sat quietly for we got a fish. it was a bit degrading, it worked, I just couldn't stop thinking of training dogs

...

Inga · 11-12-2007, 07:18 PM

cup full of sweedish fish Sorry, I am old. A what? Is that a treat? How did the positive training work? Did the other students try harder to answer questions correctly?

fuzzie · 11-12-2007, 09:38 PM

sweedish fish are little gummy candies. they didn't try harder, but they were quiet when they weren't answering. I was just cracking up inside because that's how dogs are trained. I think our sciense teacher was feeling a bit frazzled by our unruly class.

Dieselsmama · 11-13-2007, 07:04 AM

LOL, don't knock Swedish fish man, they taught my youngest math LOL. We have a country store just up the road from our house that sells swedish fish for a penny a piece, when Zack was in kindergarten I got a phone call at work from his teacher telling me she was referring him for testing for special Ed. because she didn't think he was grasping addition, and money concepts at all and she was concerned something might be wrong. That same evening after picking Zack up from daycare he asks me while we're driving home, "Mom, do you have a dollar?", "I think so" I replied. " Cool, will you stop at the store for me, I can get 100 swedish fish for that" LOL, Needless to say I called his teacher back the next day and suggested maybe she was simply not finding the right motivators because I felt he had a pretty good grasp on the concept for a kindergartener.