Teachers often use reinforcement to teach new skills or to increase appropriate or desired behaviors. Although the ultimate goal is for students to regulate their own behavior by responding to intrinsic motivators (e.g., feeling proud), initially teachers might need to deliver more concrete reinforcers to encourage appropriate behavior and to help students learn how to control their own behavior.
When we think of reinforcement, we typically think of what is referred to as positive reinforcement (e.g., giving a student a sticker for completing an assignment, giving a thumbs up for not talking in the hallway). However, teachers can also encourage a student’s acquisition of skills or desired behavior through negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement should not be confused with punishment, which consists of providing an undesired consequence to decrease a behavior.
Positive reinforcement involves providing the desired consequence after a student engages in the desired behavior, which, in turn, creates the likelihood of increased occurrence of the behavior in the future. Ideally, teachers should try to incorporate positive reinforcement into their daily lessons and activities to encourage skill acquisition and desired behavior.
Positive reinforcers fall into three categories: tangible, social, and activity
In the attached chart, identify appropriate positive reinforcers in the following categories AND grade levels. Your positive reinforcers must be grade-appropriate
Positive Reinforcers (Word Doc)
For each of the three areas, you must identify two reinforcers for each grade level identified. Your total point value for this assignment is 18 points.
