Deriving from the word “motivation,” we can understand that it refers to getting someone moving. During the course of self motivation or motivating another, we develop incentives. These incentives can be developed to encourage a positive behaviour or discourage a negative behaviour. Within a classroom setting, it is important for a teacher to be motivating and use various motivational tools to ensure the students perform to the best of their abilities.
B.F. Skinner’s reinforcement theory explains that reinforcement controls how a student will behave. It is derived from Skinner’s study of operant conditioning. There are 2 major types of reinforcement. A positive reinforcement refers to introducing a new stimulus in order to reward a desired behaviour. An example would be rewarding a student with a sticker for getting all his spelling words correct. A negative reinforcement refers to removing a distracting stimulus. An example would be students bringing their books to school knowing that their recess will be shortened if they fail to do so. Punishment is not the same as a negative reinforcement. A punishment is when something is introduced or taken away in order to decrease the likelihood of the behaviour occurring again. For example, sending a student for detention or removing his liberty to use the computer when he fails to pay attention in class. Skinner’s theory provides good foundation on how the human brain responds to different stimuli. Skinner advocates for immediate praise, feedback, and/or reward when seeking to correct or encourage certain behaviour. Critics like Alfie Kohn, an educational theorist, feel that Skinner’s theory focuses on tangible rewards like food, creating a negative impact on self-inspiration. Kohn also feels that the rewards system will train students to expect rewards to an extent that they will not be motivated to carry out the task in the absence of the reward. At this instance, it is important to note that Skinner’s theory...