The first day of class is usually taken up by logistical/housekeeping items such as a welcome, distributing and discussing the syllabus, classroom/lab rules, daily procedures, logging on and checking old passwords, etc. I incorporate one more item—a lesson in good work habits which also sets the boundaries for student behavior in my classroom. Students need to know what they can and cannot do in their lab/classroom. The “Work Habit” ticket, that will be at their workstation every class period, is a checklist for the student and myself that helps promote appropriate work habits in the lab and hopefully put them on the right track as responsible employees. 

It takes at least two weeks of practice before something becomes a habit, and if you are on the block schedule—double that. It may seem time consuming at first, but NOT once you get the hang of it.

Teaching Good Work Habits from Day 1:

1.  Place a work habit ticket at each student station before OR after students come into the classroom. (I happen to have two classrooms and do not always have back-to-back classes.) 
2. As students come into the classroom on the first day, ask them to stand behind their chairs and NOT sit down.
3. Then ask students to look at their workstation carefully before sitting down and not to sign on until directed to do so. 
4. After they sit down follow with your usual welcome, and then ask students to tell you what they noticed about their work stations before they sat down. This is a lead into a discussion about class/lab rules (tickets include some of my rules on the top part of the ticket) and good work habits in the workplace. 
5. Pass out work habit tickets, explain what they are for, and what you expect of them as employees in the workplace.
6. Give them time to do the following: complete the top part of the ticket. The box in the right-hand side is for their computer number and helps me to learn my new students' names and faces when passing them back out instead of fumbling with a seating chart.
7. Students are to use the bottom of the list so they know what you expect them to do BEFORE they leave their station. (I do not have them actually check off as they complete each item because I am the one to check off what they do not do. It is much easier to grade the ticket by checking what they do not do—less checks and easier to count.)
8. At the end of class (the first few days), go down the checklist having them complete each task before leaving.
9. Take notice of stations as students are getting up to leave reminding individual students of things they have forgotten to do.
10. As students are leaving the classroom quickly walk by each workstation, pick up a ticket, notice the work area, check off any violations on the ticket, correcting the violation before moving on to the next station. You will be surprised at how fast you can complete this task before the next class arrives. If students start to trickle in before you get done (this is after the first day), ask them to just stand behind their chairs until you get finished. The kids get so proficient at straightening up their areas after a few days, that 30-45 seconds will be all it will take you. Depending on the class, sometimes, I have the next class help grade their workstation area for the previous class before sitting down.

Why would students want to do this besides the fact you ask them to? 

At this age most students do not appreciate intangible or intrinsic values, and I believe that students should be rewarded for appropriate work habits and penalized for inappropriate ones. Work habits are ten percent of their grade for the first progress report through the end of first quarter. This includes the tickets and other assignments given to them that do not quite fit into other grade categories. Daily tickets can be worth 10 points or more per day. You can choose to deduct points from violations for the whole ticket or just the bottom part. They also receive one "Wildcat Buck" for perfect tickets and can use these bucks to purchase a variety of rewards. For example, they receive one "free" pass per quarter. If a student needs another pass, they must purchase it with five “bucks” or stay after class/school to pay me back for time missed out of class (if they do not have enough “bucks”). 
 

The back of the “Wildcat Buck” lists reward ideas. Have the students help come up with the rewards, but you set the limits. What’s in my treasure chest? I keep pencils, pens, notepads, magnets, highlighters, etc.—anything I can get free from local merchants. The most popular items are pens from prescription drug reps my husband brings home from the hospital. These are big, bright, and just plain “cool.” I also keep a bucket of candy in case they want to use their bucks at the end of class for candy, i.e. three small pieces for a buck. Students are responsible for keeping track of their tickets/bucks (envelope provided). 

Tips:

• Start the “bucks” immediately or wait until after the two-week training period. 
• Students exchange work habit tickets for wildcat bucks when you have the time.
• When they exchange one for a buck, write your initials on the ticket so it cannot be used again.
• Encourage the students to put their name on their “bucks” immediately in case they lose them. 
• Tear up the “bucks” once they are used.
• If a student doesn’t seem to care about the system or consistently does not clean up their workstation, keep him/her after class until they get it right.