Looking ahead...

As the school year begins to wrap up, everyone is thinking about and planning for next year.  Our principal has announced which teachers are switching grade level and classrooms (thank goodness my grade level gets to stick together!) and now it seems most of us are looking to next year.  My assistant and I were discussing some of things about PBIS that we thought had worked this year (including parts of my action research) as well as things that we felt may need to be different for next year.  A huge part of my project was providing students with positive feedback to help guide their behavior choices.  One point my assistant made that stuck out to me was that students only get an incentive at the end of every nine weeks.  She mentioned thinking that this was a long time to wait to receive the ultimate feedback on your behavior.  This got me thinking about next year! I wonder if combined with what I am learning about the effects of positive feedback, plus this great observation from the assistant, should we increase the number of incentives?  I like that at the end of every nine weeks we have a large celebration, but what about every couple weeks having something small, like extra recess or a homework pass for the students that have earned it?  I wonder if this would have a similar effect to the feedback I have been providing.  Obliviously it would not be as immediate but it would a short term goal for the students to work towards.  Just something to think about!