Theoretical Foundations

When I was in middle school I had a teacher that used the Behaviorist theory when they were teaching. We would get rewards for bad behaviors like extra time at recess. What middle school kid didn't want more recess time. If we did the behavior that she didn't like that was linked to more recess time we had to sit or stand by the teacher while everyone else got the extra time. I could see me using this in my classroom because it seemed to work for all of the kids. I mean yes some days there were more kids sitting or standing at recess but we hated it when we had to do it.  So, it worked well with us kids. But Ihave also been told you don't get to pick the reinforcer the child does. Because it all depends on what the kids like as a group or individual. what works with one kid might not work with another kid.