Reinforcement Yes/No

In “Reinforcement in Developmentally Appropriate Early Childhood Classrooms,” the authors discuss the “…behavioral strategy of reinforcement with varying degrees of appropriateness.” The behaviorist idea of reinforcement is praised for its effectiveness in early childhood classrooms. The authors use various examples to provide a positive outlook on the use of reinforcement in early childhood education. Throughout the article, Duncan, Kemple and Smith discuss the need for individualized reinforcement as well as different types of “Positive reinforcement.” They review; social reinforcers, activity reinforcers and tangible reinforcers. According to a quote from the article, social reinforcement is defined by “…interpersonal interactions to reinforce behaviors” (Schloss and Smith, 1998). Teachers using social reinforcement will often use “Positive nonverbal behaviors” (Duncan, Kemple, Smith, 2000) or verbal praise. Positive nonverbal behaviors include nodding and smiling. The authors argue that social reinforcement promotes positive self esteem. Another form of reinforcement is activity reinforcement. Activity reinforcement is when a teacher will give a child “access” to an activity that he or she enjoys. Yet another type of reinforce is tangible reinforcement. A tangible reinforcer is a token or prize of some sort that is given to a child when a positive behavior is performed. Of all the types of reinforcers discussed, the most effective according to Duncan, Kemple and Smith, is social reinforcement; whereas the least effective is the tangible reinforcement.

Within the article; Another View on “Reinforcement in Developmentally Appropriate Early Childhood Classrooms,” author; Charles Wolfgang discusses many criticisms of the Duncan, Kemple and Smith article. He states that the authors of “Reinforcement in Developmentally Appropriate Early Childhood Classroom” come from a behaviorist background, whereas he is from the developmentalist school of thought. He suggests that the behaviorist and developmentalist schools differ in views of developmentally appropriate practice regarding reinforcement; in that the behaviorist school of thought promotes a temporary solution to a permanent problem and the developmentalist school would “attempt to change Rodney’s antisocial behaviors by trying to understand his developmental needs-specifically”(Wolfgang,). Wolfgang argues that reinforcement is not developmentally appropriate practice and that children should take part in positive behaviors because it is the right thing to do.

I believe that reinforcement is needed in the early education classroom, because it promotes the recurrence of positive behaviors. When used together, all forms of reinforcements can be an effective tool in the classroom. Wolfgang suggests aggression diversion, which could possible confuse the child about the socially acceptable times for aggressive acts. Also, the author says that the child acts out because “…he does not yet have the social skills to work with others and to get his needs met.” I feel that a child must have reinforcements to understand even his or her own needs. When I worked as a one on one aid at a school for special needs children, I had the opportunity to see positive reinforcement in action. The children were kept to relatively strict schedule and were given access to fun activities, if and only if positive behaviors were preformed. Reinforcement is necessary to help a child comprehend socially acceptable time for actions and for a child’s smooth integration into society. Many of the children that I have worked with responded well to some sort of positive reinforcement, which in often cases was combined with another type of reinforcement. In many of the classrooms, teachers and aides were notified of a child’s weaknesses and asked to reinforce positive behaviors verbally, as well as with prizes such as stickers and erasers. In conclusion I am a believer in positive reinforcement in the early childhood classroom and think it is appropriate to help a child socially blossom.