The Best Way to Implement a Token Board

Behavior management is a crucial aspect of creating a positive and effective learning environment, especially for students with special needs. There are many different ways to change behavior, but the best is to use reinfrocement.

A token system is based around reinforcement. Every human’s behavior is driven by reinforcement. Reinforcement can be getting paid for going to work, getting a free coffee on your 12th visit, getting a gift card for your credit card points and more.

One widely used tool in classrooms is the token board, a visual and tangible way to reinforce positive behaviors and motivate students to achieve their goals. Token boards can be highly effective, but creating and maintaining them can sometimes be challenging.

That’s where printable token boards come in. They can be used in a general education or a special education classroom. These ready-made resources offer a convenient, customizable, and cost-effective solution for teachers and parents alike. In this blog post, we’ll explore what printable token boards are, their benefits, and how to implement them effectively. We’ll also address some common arguments against their use and provide you with resources to get started.

What Are Token Boards?

Token boards are visual supports used in behavior management, particularly in special education settings. They are designed to help students understand and achieve specific behavior goals through a system of earned tokens and rewards. Token boards are a type of token economy system.

A token board is essentially a tool that displays a series of spaces for tokens, which can be stickers, checkmarks, or any small item that can be attached to the board. Each space on the board represents a step toward earning a reward. When a student exhibits the desired behavior, they receive a token to place on their board. Once all the spaces are filled, the student earns a predetermined reward.

Couple of important things to remember:

1. Students may not immediately find the tokens reinforcing. This is something you may have to teach. You can teach it through pairing with something already reinforcing, for example giving students a small piece of food each time they get a token. Remember to fade this as soon as possible! 

2. Once students understand the tokens are reinforcing, pair them now with just verbal praise. This is one of the steps you can take to plan to fade the physical token economy and have students work towards a more natural reinforcement, or even becoming intrinsically motivated. Saying something as simple as “great job” when you give the tokens will alert the student that you are giving them one and help pair it. It is that easy!

Benefits of Using Printable Token Boards

Printable token boards offer so many advantages, making them a popular choice for behavior management in both educational and home settings. Don’t forget these can be transported home or even have a copy sent home to help with consistency! This is also a great way to build rapport with the family and support them as well.

Here are some key benefits of using printable token boards:

1. Ease of Use and Accessibility

Printable token boards are simple to use and can be easily understood by students of all ages and abilities. The clear visual representation helps students see their progress and understand the connection between their behavior and the rewards they earn. 

2. Customizability to Fit Individual Student Needs

One of the biggest advantages of printable token boards is their flexibility. They can be customized to meet the specific needs and preferences of each student. Not only can you choose different themes, designs, or types of tokens to match a student’s interests. You can also customize goals and rewards to meet individual behavior targets. You can have one student on a token board system where they only need to earn 3 tokens to get their reinforcement and another who needs 10. You can also target different behaviors for each student which again allows it to be personalized.

3. Use in Various Settings

Probably my favorite benefit of printable token boards is their portability. This is such an effective tool because they can be easily transported and used in different environments, such as classrooms, therapy sessions, or at home. When your student leaves your classroom to go to physical education or music, the classroom management system changes. However, with a token board- students still have their same system that applies to them. Time for speech therapy? Just grab their board and bring it with them! This consistency across settings can help reinforce desired behaviors and provide a seamless transition for students who need structured support in multiple contexts.

4. Easy to Fade 

This is one tool that makes it so easy to eventually fade, which is your ultimate goal. You can do several things to start the fading process. You can add more tokens, but keep giving them on the same schedule. This will allow more time to go by before the student earns their reward. You could also keep the same number of tokens but increase the time in which you give them, again stretching out how fast your student earns the reinforcer.

Implementation of Printable Token Boards

Okay, so you want to use a token board- did you know there is actually a lot of planning that goes into it in order to make sure it is successful and helpful to your students?  Here are some key steps and considerations to ensure effective use:

1. Planning What the Token Board Looks Like

• Design and Layout: Choose a design that is visually appealing and easy for the student to understand. Consider the number of token spaces needed based on the student’s age and attention span. Do you need large tokens for a student who is visually impaired, do you need it to be more tactile etc. If you have older students, you need to consider how to make it look more appropriate for their age as well.
• Personalization: Customize the board with themes or images that interest the student, making it more engaging and motivating. If a student loves dinosaurs- make it dino themed! Cars, make it cars themed. These and more are included with these free token boards, so you can have a variety to hopefully match the students you work with! Although smiley faces are most commonly used, they don’t have to be the one you go with!

2. Where Tokens Are Stored

• Accessibility: Ensure tokens are stored in a place that is easily accessible. This could be a small container, designated area in the classroom, or even the back of the token board. This will depend on your student- are they going to try to put tokens on themselves? Does the adult have to hold onto them? If you have several adults working with the student you need to be sure they are in a central location that everyone knows. Can you keep the board on the students desk or does it need to be kept some where else?
• Organization: Keep the tokens organized to prevent them from getting lost or mixed up. Label the storage area if necessary to help the student find and return tokens independently. I also like to keep extra tokens in case some are lost- this is bound to happen and can make for a headache if you don’t have some back ups.

3. Schedule of Reinforcement

• Frequency: Determine how often the student will receive tokens. This could be based on time intervals (e.g.,about every 10 minutes) or specific behaviors (e.g., every time the student raises their hand). Be sure, again to talk to the team to make sure everyone is using the same schedule for when they see good behavior. 
• Consistency: Stick to a consistent schedule to help the student understand and predict when they will receive tokens. This consistency builds trust and reinforces the connection between behavior and rewards. Don’t give a ton of tokens the first day and then start thinning the schedule immediately, although this is the goal- it is better to get those negative behaviors completely under control before changing it up too much.

4. Target Behaviors

• Clear and Specific: Identify and clearly define the target behavior you want to reinforce. These should be specific, observable, and achievable actions, such as “staying seated during class” or “completing a task without assistance.” These should be specific goals for the student and not generic for all.
• Prioritization: Focus on one or two key behaviors at a time to avoid overwhelming the student. Once the student consistently displays these behaviors, you can introduce new targets.

5. Choosing Appropriate Reinforcers

• Student Preferences: Select rewards that are meaningful and motivating for the student. This could be a favorite activity, a small toy, extra screen time, or a special privilege. This can be difficult for some students. You may have to do something called a preference assessment to get a variety of ideas. If you need a tool for that, this digital download will provide you with several different types of preferences assessments you can do with your students.
• Variety: Offer a variety of reinforcers to keep the student interested and motivated. You can rotate rewards or allow the student to choose from a menu of options. I love using a choice board for this. This helps also let adults know what is available too!

By carefully planning and consistently implementing these elements, printable token boards are a fantastic resource that can effectively reinforce positive behavior and help students achieve their behavior goals.

Arguments Against Token Boards

While token economies can be effective tools for behavior management, they are not without their criticisms. Here are some common arguments against their use and considerations for addressing these concerns:

Potential for Over-Reliance on External Rewards

One concern is that students may become too dependent on external rewards to motivate their behavior. This reliance can make it challenging for them to develop internal motivation and self-regulation skills. If students only behave well to earn tokens or rewards, they might struggle to exhibit positive behavior when the token board is not in use. This is a valid argument. This is why we need to always be planning to fade and pair with verbal praise to then transition to intrinsic motivation. 

Possible Negative Impacts on Intrinsic Motivation

Using token boards can sometimes undermine intrinsic motivation, which is the internal desire to engage in behavior for its own sake. If students become focused solely on earning rewards, they might lose interest in the inherent value of positive behaviors, such as the satisfaction of completing a task or the joy of helping others. Again comes the fading as well as teaching skills. We need to be teaching how behaviors impact others and more appropriate behaviors to do instead.

Compliance Based Intervention

Many individuals who have had a token board as an intervention have said how it was solely based on compliance. That they were not allowed to have freedom and were essentially forced into just complying even if it was not what they wanted to do. This again is a valid argument and something we must listen to, even if we are working with young children. Students should always be able to have autonomy. It is important they learn how to do things such as get out of an assignment when they are frustrated for a minute, such as asking for a break or for help. Without learning these skills we can do more harm than good.

Printable Token Board Templates and Resources

Ready for loads of FREE printable token boards? Well now that you know how to implement them, you need these free resources to get you started! Click here to get your set now! There are so many different token boards included, you are going to find one that works for your student today!

Printable token boards are a versatile and an effective behavior management tool, offering numerous benefits for both educators and parents. They provide a clear visual representation of progress, are customizable to meet individual student needs, and are cost-effective and portable. They can help students reach their full potential. By carefully planning and implementing token boards, you can reinforce positive behaviors and help students achieve their goals.

However, it’s important to be mindful of the potential drawbacks, such as over-reliance on external rewards and challenges in transitioning away from token systems. Balancing the use of token boards with other strategies that promote intrinsic motivation and self-regulation is key to long-term success. 

Don’t leave without getting your free token board!

Need other behavioral supports? Check these out:

–Classroom Wide Behavior Management Support: A visual reward system, similar to token boards- but for the entire class!

-Preference assessment: This printable resource can help figure out exactly what your students are willing for work for!

-Visual Directions: Tired of repeating yourself during independent work? Put these out and the students will be able to know what the expectations are without you repeating yourself hundreds of time!