Reinforcement is the acknowledgement of behavior. Positive reinforcement is acknowledgement of and reward for displaying a desired behavior. The desirable behavior is reinforced with acknowledgement and with the communication that what the student has done is desirable or correct.
In the classroom, teachers might positively reinforce students by telling them they have done a good job, either privately or in front of the class, or by providing a specific reward that both the student and teacher have agreed to previously as part of the teacher's classroom management plan. Regardless of the reinforcement technique, the goal of positive reinforcement is for the student to repeat the desirable behavior.
Praise is a common technique for reinforcing students. Teachers and parents can use verbal praise to reinforce desired behaviors. For example, in the classroom the teacher might acknowledge a student's neat handwriting on an assignment or commend the student for giving extra effort on an assignment. If the praise is given in front of the class, the reinforcement is both verbal and social, as the student's achievement has been acknowledged in front of his peers. The positive response by his peers reinforces the behavior.
No matter what their age or grade level, many students are motivated by rewards. In preschool and elementary school these rewards might be prizes or gifts, such as stickers, pencils or small toys. Older students might prefer rewards such as homework passes or preferred activity time. A homework pass allows a student to skip the night's homework assignment. Preferred activity time is something teachers use in place of "free time," or a break from doing classwork. During preferred activity time, students are given options for doing more desirable or fun activities instead of working on the class assignment. These preferred activities must be educational.
The key to successfully using rewards as reinforcement is to agree to the terms in advance. Students and teachers must agree to how students will earn rewards and when rewards will be given, or available for use in the case of preferred activity time. The teacher must follow-through with providing rewards and must be consistent.
Ideally, students will want to display appropriate and desirable behavior without an expectation of praise or reward. Teachers can foster this intrinsic motivation in students when positive reinforcement naturally follows the display of positive or desirable behavior. For example, a student who helps a classmate by offering her a pencil when she does not have her own might receive a smile and a thank you in return. This can make the student feel good or even proud. This is a natural reinforcement of the student's generous behavior. Because the reinforcement of this action makes the student feel good, she is likely to want to repeat the behavior.