An Education in Motivation

AN EDUCATION IN MOTIVATION

Motivation, Reinforcement, and Student LearningPresented by: Meredith Ouimette, MA, BCBA

WHAT IS MOTIVATION?

Motivation is…The DESIRE an individual has for a given consequence. More specifically an individual is said to be motivated for a given reinforcer when she or he engages in specific behavior to obtain the reinforcer

(Behavior Speak, 2003)

MOTIVATION

Motivation is something that energizes, directs, and sustains behavior; it gets students moving, points them in a particular direction, and keeps them going.

• Examples:• Computer time, social time with friends, alone time

reading a book or coloring, time away from school, dancing, sports, edibles, music, board games, going outside, transportation vehicles, movies, electronics (cell phone or I-pad)

MOTIVATION

MOTIVATION

How is Motivation related to Learning?• Motivation directs behavior towards particular goals• Motivation leads to increased effort and energy• Motivation determines which consequences are

reinforcing and punishing• Motivation enhances performance

(Ormrod, 2014)

Why is it so important to have students motivated?

• Not all students will be motivated by the same items, activities, or in the same way.• Social activities• Objects/Toys• Sports• Being alone doing an activity

• Some forms of motivation will be Intrinsic and others will be Extrinsic• Other outside interests become distracting • What motivates one student may not motivate another

student

How do we figure this all out?

To figure out what motivates a student, keep an open mind and think about what a student likes and doesn’t like. • Communication • Resources• Preference Assessments• Novelty and Variety• Individualize!!!

Use of Preference Assessments

Many things may be reinforcing to one person, but they may be unpleasant for another person.

Preference assessments aim to identify an individual’s favorite things so that they can be used as rewards or potential reinforcers of appropriate and desired behavior.

Types of Preference Assessments

• Interview or questionnaire• Direct observation• Systematic assessment

Preference Assessments

Interview or Questionnaire• Quick and easy way to gather information about what

motivates a student• Open ended questions• Use of Comparison questions• Reinforcer assessment or survey• Information from• Parents• Friends• Teachers (Previous and Current)


Direct observation• Presenting an individual with free access to items he or

she will like and recording the amount of time the person engages with the item.• No demands or restriction• More accurate• More time and effort• Can be done over multiple days or sessions• Determines the strongest preference of items


Systematic assessment• Presenting objects and activities to student• Single item assessment• Paired item assessment (forced choice)• Multiple choice assessment• Determine levels of preference for student• Most effort, most time, and most accurate

Preference AssessmentsIMPORTANT TO REMEMBER:

• Update frequently to avoid boredom with highly preferred items• Consider communication level of student• Consider time available to administer the assessment• Types of preferred items available to use during the assessment

Remember…

“A PREFERENCE IS A REINFORCER IF IT INCREASES THE FREQUENCY OF BEHAVIOR FOLLOWING EACH PRESENTATION” (Toner, 2012)

What is reinforcement?

Reinforcement occurs when a stimulus change immediately follows a response and increases the future frequency of that type of behavior in similar conditions.

(Cooper/Heron, 2007)

Reinforcement Rules

• Individualize• Identify specific behaviors or skills• Reinforcement should be contingent• Provide novelty and variety• Rotate reinforcers and provide choices• Systematically fade reinforcement over time

Helpful hints when using reinforcement?

• Individualize• Limit access• Rotate and vary reinforcers• Try not to mix category types as you are assessing• Be creative, think outside of the box…determine what

motivates everyone

Reinforcement Strategies

• Creating a positive class environment is important in preventing student problem behavior and supporting academic achievement. How a teacher responds to students can set the tone for a classroom.

(Conroy et al., 2009)

Positive reinforcement


• VERBAL (e.g., statements, descriptive feedback)• NONVERBAL (e.g., smile, thumbs up)• PRIVILEGES (e.g., seating choice, free time, additional

recess time, first in line for school lunch)• REWARDS (e.g., stickers or other tangibles)• INCENTIVES (e.g., tokens, tickets for a draw)• INDIVIDUAL PREFERRED ACTIVITIES (e.g., computer use,

time in a special area or doing a preferred job).

Reinforcers and Preference Levels

• High preference• Most powerful and strong reinforcers for a student• The student loves these items• Limit the access to maintain this high preference status• Save these reinforcers for challenging tasks or subject

times

Reinforcers and Preference Levels

Neutral preference • Many times this is overlooked• Not nearly as powerful as the high preference reinforcers• Middle of the road as reinforcers • If a teacher is having a hard time pin pointing reinforcers

make sure these are not being used with the most challenging work- it may not be effective!

Low preference

Low preference • Not an interest for the student• May be an actual item that the student dislikes• Not a favorite item for the students• Should not be used as a reinforcer• Sometimes during the assessment, this needs to be

identified

What is a reinforcer?

• A REINFORCER is stimulus change that increase the future frequency of behavior that immediately precedes it.


POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT CAN BE YOUR MOST POWERFUL TOOL!!!

Reinforcement

“Positive Reinforcement is defined as the contingent presentation of a stimulus, following a response, that increases the probability or rate of the response.” (Alberto & Troutman, 2009)

Therefore, reinforcement should be contingent on the performance of a specific behavior.• Completion of work• A verbal response• Appropriate group behavior

Individual Reinforcement

• Individual reinforcement schedules• Token Systems• Verbal Praise• Natural Reinforcement• Social Reinforcement• Activity Reinforcement• Tangible Reinforcement

Small and Large Group Reinforcement

Token Systems• Tokens or points can be given immediately to be

exchanged for reinforcers later.• Tokens or points act as visual evidence of the progress they

are making• The value of tokens is unaffected by the mood of the

person delivering the tokens.• Students are less likely to satiate on any one reinforcer

since tokens can be exchanged for a variety of reinforcers.• Tokens serve as a reminder to teachers to reinforce

students, therefore students are reinforced more often.


Token Systems• Pinpoint behaviors to be changed: Define and teach the

desired behaviors• Select tokens: Tokens, marbles in a jar, play money, points,

etc.• Select reinforcers: Create a bank for students to choose

from.• Set token values: Set the number of tokens that can be

earned for the desired behavior. Set reinforcer costs: A menu should be posted that is visible to all students.• Arrange a time for students to cash in tokens or points: Daily

or weekly based what is needed


Group Contingencies• Independent: Contingencies are in place for all students,

but the reward is based on individual student behavior• Interdependent: Contingencies are in place for all

student and the reward is based on all student in class reaching a specific level of behavior• Dependent: Contingencies are in place for all students,

but reinforcement of whole class is based on the performance of a few students.


Good Behavior Game (using appropriate/problem behaviors)• Interdependent Group Contingency• Time of day for the game to be played• Define behaviors that will be counted during the game• Determine rewards (idea… class rewards)• 2 to 3 teams• Target behaviors to be scored• Team with the lowest/highest score wins• End of the week reward


Mystery Motivator• Reinforcement based strategy delivering random

reinforcement for appropriate classroom behavior• Select reinforcers and place in sealed envelope• Define target behavior and criteria• Feedback to students on behaviorial performance with

variable reinforcement schedule and reinforcers• Unpredictability of reinforcement schedule supports

more consistent levels of student behaviors

Large group or class-wide reinforcement

Reminders:• Set reasonable expectations for the whole class• Update preference assessment for the whole class to

eliminate boredom and increase motivation• Give behavior specific praise• Give feedback to students for areas of improvement• Be consistent and immediate with reinforcement!!!

Other Classroom Reinforcement Ideas

• Behavior Bingo• Classroom Coupons• Terrific Tickets• Super Hero Stars• Punch Card Systems• Plus many more Classroom Behavior Management

Systems!!!

A FINAL WORD ON REINFORCEMENT

• INDIVIDUALIZE REINFORCEMENT FOR STUDENTS• REINFORCEMENT SHOULD BE CONTINGENT ON A

SPECIFIC BEHAVIOR• ASSESS REINFORCERS AS OFTEN AS NEEDED

QUESTIONS???

Thank you!

For additional questions, contact us at

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