This document discusses motivation and reinforcement as they relate to student learning. It defines motivation as the desire for a particular consequence that energizes, directs, and sustains behavior. Motivation is important for learning because it leads to increased effort, determines what consequences are reinforcing, and enhances performance. Preference assessments can be used to identify individual student motivators. Reinforcement occurs when a stimulus immediately follows and increases a behavior. Positive reinforcement using high-preference individual and group contingencies like token systems are powerful tools for changing behavior.

1. AN EDUCATION IN
MOTIVATION
Motivation, Reinforcement, and Student Learning
Presented by: Meredith Ouimette, MA, BCBA

2. 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)

3. 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)

4. MOTIVATION

5. 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)

6. 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

7. 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!!!

8. 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.

9. Types of Preference Assessments
• Interview or questionnaire
• Direct observation
• Systematic assessment

10. 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)

12. Preference Assessments
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

14. Preference Assessments
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

16. Preference Assessments
IMPORTANT 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)

17. 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)

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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)

21. Positive reinforcement

22. 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).

23. 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

24. 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!

25. 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

26. What is a reinforcer?
• A REINFORCER is stimulus change that increase the future
frequency of behavior that immediately precedes it.

27. Positive reinforcement
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT CAN BE
YOUR MOST POWERFUL TOOL!!!

28. 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

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

30. 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.

31. Small and Large Group Reinforcement
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

34. Small and Large Group Reinforcement
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.

35. Small and Large Group Reinforcement
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

36. Small and Large Group Reinforcement
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

37. 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!!!

38. Other Classroom Reinforcement Ideas
• Behavior Bingo
• Classroom Coupons
• Terrific Tickets
• Super Hero Stars
• Punch Card Systems
• Plus many more Classroom Behavior Management
Systems!!!

39. A FINAL WORD ON REINFORCEMENT
• INDIVIDUALIZE REINFORCEMENT FOR STUDENTS
• REINFORCEMENT SHOULD BE CONTINGENT ON A SPECIFIC
BEHAVIOR
• ASSESS REINFORCERS AS OFTEN AS NEEDED

40. QUESTIONS???

41. Thank you!
For additional questions,
contact us at
info@rethinkfirst.com