Are you looking for strategies to reinforce appropriate behaviors with a student with special needs in your classroom?
In today’s Teacher Tips newsletter, learn about using a reinforcement or working tower, which introduces motivators that the student can earn by practicing appropriate behaviors.
- Create the reinforcement tower (or use the template on the corresponding resource page) and divide it into 8-10 segments or blocks.
- Using a pre-determined list of rewards (they may be a toy or game the student enjoys or a snack), write in a reward every few blocks. This will give your student something to work towards. The reward at the top of the tower should be a “big ticket” item or activity.
- Throughout the day, shade in a block on the tower for each unit of time during which your student achieves the targeted appropriate behavior. You may choose to allow your student to shade in the blocks so he/she can monitor how close they are to receiving a reward.
- Begin this process with rewards incorporated more frequently on the tower. As your student becomes more successful in using appropriate behaviors, you may space out the rewards by adding more blocks between them.
Learn more about using a reinforcement tower to teach appropriate behaviors to students with special needs in the YouTube video below. For more special education resources, visit Watson Life Resources.