Question at position 23 Melvin is a new third grade teacher. He wants to encourage his students to complete all their assignments and to do well on them. Unfortunately, most of the students fail to complete their assignments even though they were academically capable of doing so. From a behavioral perspective, what should Melvin do?Melvin should separate the class into high and low achieving students and negatively reinforce the low achievers when they fail to complete their assignments.Melvin should reward all the students who get at least a 90% every test.Melvin should schedule appointments and talk with parents.Melvin should punish students who don't complete their work.Melvin should shape students by selectively reinforcing gradual approximations to the desired goal of completing 100% of the assignments.

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question presents a scenario in which a teacher wants to increase assignment completion among third graders using behavioral principles. 
Option 1: 'Melvin should separate the class into high and low achieving students and negatively reinforce the low achievers when they fail to complete their assignments.' This approach is flawed because it relies on negative reinforcement and punishment, and it creates labeling and stigma. It does not guide students toward the desired behavior in a constructive, instructional way. 
Option 2: 'Melvin should reward all the students who get at least a 90% every test.' While rewards can be reinforcing, this option targets only high performers and may not address underlying reasons for incomplete work or create a ceiling effect where only top performers are motivated. It also overlooks gradual progress and the process of completing assignments, focusing instead on outcomes. 
Option 3: 'Melvin should schedule appointments and talk with parents.' Engaging families can be valuable, but on its own it does not specify how to shape or reinforce the daily behavior of completing assignments within the classroom routine. It misses an immediate, in-class reinforcement strategy. 
Option 4: 'Melvin should punish students who don't complete their work.' Punishment may produce short-term compliance but often fails to teach the specific behavior or create lasting change, and can harm motivation, self-esteem, and classroom climate. 
Option 5: 'Melvin should shape students by selectively reinforcing gradual approximations to the desired goal of completing 100% of the assignments.' This option describes shaping: providing reinforcement for closer and closer steps toward the full goal (completing all assignments), which aligns with behavioral theory for gradually changing complex behaviors and building consistent habit formation. 
Putting it together, the options differ in how they apply reinforcement, feedback, and goal-setting. The shaping approach explicitly targets incremental progress toward the full completion goal and uses selective reinforcement to guide behavior, making it the most behaviorally appropriate strategy among the choices.

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