APST 4 refers to the creation and maintenance of supportive and safe learning environments. This means supporting student participation, managing transitions and challenging behaviour, and keeping students safe. Managing all of these has been an area of interest of mine, as I’ve yet to have a classroom of my own, I have endeavoured to support the learning environments created by my mentors. Nonetheless when the grade 3 class I assisted in began their living things unit, I had an interesting take on the normal ‘reward’ economy to trial with the students.
The class in question was notable for being quite loud, especially during transitions. At the outset of a new science unit exploring the basic needs of living creatures, the students returned from their break to find a number of them had small plastic eggs on their desks, sealed with a gold star sticker. These were Deskimals. I explained to the class that Deskimals were drawn to students who were quiet, well-behaved and orderly, and that the Deskimal would only hatch if it felt safe (4.2, 4.3). If after the second break, the student had maintained good behaviour, I would ‘hatch’ the egg, releasing a small animal shaped eraser inside. Sometimes it would take longer to ‘hatch’ if the student wasn’t on their best behaviour (4.3).
The Deskimal program is actually ongoing, but has been received very positive feedback. Token rewards have generally positive effects on student motivation (Cameron, & Pierce, 1994). Blind (random) collectible toys are extremely popular with young children, with notable examples being Woolworth’s Ooshies, Coles’ Little Shop, and countless others. Students enter the classroom and are keen to see who has a new egg on their desk, or who has had their egg hatch. I have seen students encouraging others to work quietly or transition more orderly so their Deskimal could hatch (4.4). Some students are frustrated if they go too long without receiving a new Deskimal – I specifically notice that some ASD students struggle when those around them receive eggs and they do not. To accommodate for this, I have given some ASD students a punch-card, to indicate how close they are to their next Deskimal. This helps give them a more tangible representation of how close they are to their next reward (4.1, 4.3). This small adjustment made the program much less frustrating for these students (4.3, 4.4).
The program has been a success so far and would do well implemented in most classes, notably those in younger years.
