The definition of Reinforcement
While the writer of this article gives the definition of reinforcement and some of the measures that would ensure there is reinforcement, she fails to answer the question initially asked. The author would have started by giving some of the common characteristics of effective reinforcers such as individualism, personalized, frequent, immediate, varied and random. It is after this that she would have looked at some of the effective types of reinforcers.
However, she does analyze some few types of reinforces such as recognition, appreciation and praise which according to Burden, (2010), are applicable at places of work and in schools. In addition, she fails to list the ten sample classroom reinforces such as allowing students to participate in different activities, rewarding them for good performance, and praising them in case they make extra ordinary performances in classroom. Response to Moriah The answer by Moriah has a good start where it defines the term reinforcement as defined in the textbook.
She goes ahead and explains how we can apply this in real life as teacher. This gives us a good base as it helps us in understanding what reinforcers are and how we can make use of them. According to Burden, (2010), there is a difference between reinforcers and incentives. An incentive is a promise to do something in case the other person achieves a set target. This second answer offers an explanation, which helps us to understand the difference between an incentive and reinforcement.
This second answer also offers a list of the ten samples of reinforcers in a classroom. All the samples are reinforcers and this is a clear indication that the author of the article fully understands the difference between reinforcement and incentives. However, even though the author of the article has offered a good explanation of the term reinforcement, she fails to give the characteristics of effective reinforcers, which would assist in better understanding.
References
Burden, R. (2010). Classroom Management: Creating a Successful K-12 Learning Community. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.