SKILL OF REINFORCEMENT

Reinforcement is a term used in psychology. It is the technique used for influencing the behavior of individuals in the desired direction. This is based on the principle namely an individual tends to repeat the pleasant experiences and avoid the un pleasant ones. So reinforcement is an essential condition of learning.

There are two types of reinforcement.

1.     Positive reinforcement

     2. Negative reinforcement   

The skill of reinforcement may be defined as the art of learning the judicious and effective use of reinforces by a teacher for influencing the pupil’s behavior in the desired direction directed towards maximum pupil’s participation for realizing the better results in the teaching learning process. 

Skill components :

Desirable behaviour

1. Positive verbal reinforcement

Here the teacher gives positive reinforcement through various verbal expressions such as good, very good, excellent, fantastic, marvelous, splendid, right, yes, fine, go ahead, continue etc.,

2. Positive non verbal reinforcement

This type occurs when a teacher being  wants to reinforce a pupil  response. Teacher can use certain non verbal expressions like nodding of head up and down, smiling, moving towards the responding pupil, keeping eyes on the pupil etc., indicating that attention is being paid to the pupils words or any other non verbal action indicating pleasure at the pupils behavior.

3. Extra cues

In this component the teacher gives some catching word to make the students know about something.

4.Repeating and rephrasing

To encourage the pupils participation in the class the teacher asks the students to repeat or rephrase the answers.

5.Writing the pupil’s answers on the blackboard

Teacher should write the pupil’s answers on the blackboard to provide encouragement.

The above components are desirable ones. The frequency of their use is to be increased. These are generally used for correct and appropriate answers.

Undesirable behaviour

1. Negative verbal reinforcement

These are generally used for incorrect and inappropriate answers. Discouraging experiences such as wrong, incorrect, stop it, you don’t know even this etc. are  negative verbal reinforcement.

2. Negative non verbal reinforcement

Some times the teacher may use of non verbal expression to indicate the disapproval of a pupil’s inappropriate behavior or incorrect response to her / his questions. These reinforces may be frowning, raising the eye brows, tapping foot impatiently etc.

 The use of the above two components are to be avoided as for as possible.

Episode

SUBJECT

Topic

Class

Duration

Date

 Teacher : Good  morning students.

Pupil : Good morning madam.

Teacher : Stephen William Hawking is a great cosmologist and physicist. He was   born on 8 th January 1942 at oxford in England.

Who is Stephen William ?

Pupil : Stephen William is a great cosmologist and physicist.  

Teacher : Good. (PVR)  (WPAB) Where was he born?

Pupil :  He was in born in England.

Teacher :Very Good. (PVR)  When was he born?

Pupil : He was   born on 8 th January 1942.

Teacher : (nodding her  head up and down ) (PNVR)  (WPAB).In Which field he did his research?

Pupil : He did his research in chemistry.

Teacher : No. (NVR) (nodding her  head side ways ) (NNVR) Sit down. Do you know the answer?

Pupil : Yes madam. He did his research in COSMOLOGY.

Teacher : Excellent. (PVR) He is also interested in Physics.

Pupil :-------------------------------------------------------

Teacher :Thank you students.

Pupil : Thank you madam.

CODING SHEET

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S.NO	COMPONENTS		TALLIES														TOTAL
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
1 2 3 4 5	DESIRABLE	PVR EC R&R PNVR WPAOB	///	/	/							/				/
1 2	UNDESIRABLE	NVR NNVR	/

S.NO	COMPONENTS		TALLIES														TOTAL
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
1 2 3 4 5	DESIRABLE	PVR EC R&R PNVR WPAOB	///	/	/							/				/
1 2	UNDESIRABLE	NVR NNVR	/