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ASSESSING THE USE OF REINFORCEMENT ON PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN A SELECTED ORGANISATION IN IBADAN BY ADEGBAJU, PHEBE DAMILOLA MATRIC NO (06/0260) UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, ABEOKUTA OCTOBER 2010 REINFORCEMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Title page i Certification ii Dedication iii Acknowledgement iv Table of contents v List of tables vi Abstract vii CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1.1.1 Types of learning 1.2 Reinforcement 1.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Positive and Negative Reinforcement 1.4 Objectives of the Study 1.5 Broad Objective 1.6 Specific Objectives 1.7 Significance of the Study 1.8 Research Questions 1.9 Definition of Terms CHAPTER TWO 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2 REINFORCEMENT 2.1 Theoretical Framework 2.2 Four contexts of operant conditioning 2.2.1 Thorndike's law of effect 2.3 Teacher 2.4 Critical reception 2.5 Learning Ability 2.6 Children (Ages 7-11) CHAPTER THREE 3.0 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Study Design 3.2 Population of Study 3.3 Selection of Sample 3.4 Study Area 3.5 Brief History Of Oyo State 3.6 History 3.6.1 Climate 3.6.2 Education 3.6.3 Transportation 3.6.4 Geography 3.6.5 Population 3.6.7 Monuments, landmarks, and other locations 3.6.8 Economy 3.6.9 Local government in Ibadan 3.7 Research Instrument 3 REINFORCEMENT 3.8 Procedure for administering the questionnaire 3.9 Data Analysis CHAPTER FOUR 4.0 RESULT AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Hypothesis one 4.2 Hypothesis Two 4.3 Hypothesis Three 4.4 Hypothesis Four CHAPTER FIVE 5.0 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 5.1 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 5.2 RECOMMENDATION 5.4 SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER STUDIES REFERENCES 4 REINFORCEMENT LIST OF TABLES Table 1 SEX Table 2 Type of School Table 3 Age Table 4 Class Table 5 Number in Classroom 5 REINFORCEMENT LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Climate Data of Ibadan Figure 2: Cityscape Figure 3: Sex Figure 4: Type of School Figure 5: Age Figure 6: Class Figure 7 : Number in classroom 6 REINFORCEMENT CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND Learning is acquiring new knowledge, behaviours, skills, values, preferences or understanding, and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves. Vosniadou, Stella (n.d.). UNESCO Human learning may occur as part of education, personal development, or training. It may be goal-oriented and may be aided by motivation. The study of how learning occurs is part of neuropsychology, educational psychology, learning theory, and pedagogy. Learning may occur as a result of habituation or classical conditioning, seen in many animal species, or as a result of more complex activities such as play, seen only in relatively intelligent animals. Learning may occur consciously or without conscious awareness. There is evidence for human behavioral learning prenatally, in which habituation has been observed as early as 32 weeks into gestation, indicating that the central nervous system is sufficiently developed and primed for learning and memory to occur very early on in development Play has been approached by several theorists as the first form of learning. Children play, experiment with the world, learn the rules, and learn to interact. Vygotsky agrees that play is pivotal for children's development, since they make meaning of their environment through play. Process of acquiring modifications in existing knowledge, skills, habits, or tendencies through experience, practice, or exercise. Learning includes associative processes, discrimination of sense-data, psychomotor and perceptual learning, imitation, concept formation, problem solving, and insight learning. Animal learning has been studied by ethologists and comparative psychologists, the latter often drawing explicit parallels to 7 REINFORCEMENT human learning. The first experiments concerning associative learning were conducted by Ivan Pavlov in Russia and Edward L. Thorndike in the U.S. Critics of the early stimulusresponse (S-R) theories, such as Edward C. Tolman, claimed they were overly reductive and ignored a subject's inner activities. Gestalt-psychology researchers drew attention to the importance of pattern and form in perception and learning, while structural linguists argued that language learning was grounded in a genetically inherited "grammar." Developmental psychologists such as Jean Piaget highlighted stages of growth in learning. More recently, cognitive scientists have explored learning as a form of information processing, while some brain researchers, such as Gerald Maurice Edelman, have proposed that thinking and learning involve an ongoing process of cerebral pathway building. 1.1.1 Types of learning Simple non-associative learning Habituation (1994-2010 Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia.) In psychology, habituation is an example of non-associative learning in which there is a progressive diminution of behavioural response probability with repetition stimulus. An animal first responds to a stimulus, but if it is neither rewarding nor harmful the animal reduces subsequent responses. One example of this can be seen in small song birds - if a stuffed owl (or similar predator) is put into the cage, the birds initially react to it as though it were a real predator. Soon the birds react less, showing habituation. If another stuffed owl is introduced (or the same one removed and re-introduced), the birds react to it again as though it were a predator, demonstrating that it is only a very specific stimulus that is habituated to (namely, one particular unmoving owl in one place). 8 REINFORCEMENT Sensitization Sensitization is an example of non-associative learning in which the progressive amplification of a response follows repeated administrations of a stimulus (Bell et al., 1995). An everyday example of this mechanism is the repeated tonic stimulation of peripheral nerves that will occur if a person rubs his arm continuously. After a while, this stimulation will create a warm sensation that will eventually turn painful. The pain is the result of the progressively amplified synaptic response of the peripheral nerves warning the person that the stimulation is harmful. Sensitization is thought to underlie both adaptive as well as maladaptive learning processes in the organism. Associative learning Associative learning is the process by which an element is learned through association with a separate, pre-occurring element. It is also referred to as classical conditioning. Operant conditioning Operant conditioning is the use of consequences to modify the occurrence and form of behaviour. Operant conditioning is distinguished from Pavlovian conditioning in that operant conditioning deals with the modification of voluntary behaviour. Discrimination learning is a major form of operant conditioning. One form of it is called Errorless learning. Classical conditioning The typical paradigm for classical conditioning involves repeatedly pairing an unconditioned stimulus (which unfailingly evokes a reflexive response) with another previously neutral stimulus (which does not normally evoke the response). Following conditioning, the response occurs both to the unconditioned stimulus and to the other, unrelated stimulus (now referred to as the "conditioned stimulus"). The response to the conditioned stimulus is termed a conditioned response. The classic example is Pavlov and his dogs. Meat powder naturally will make a dog salivate when it is put into a dog's mouth; salivating is a reflexive response 9 REINFORCEMENT to the meat powder. Meat powder is the unconditioned stimulus (US) and the salivation is the unconditioned response (UR). Then Pavlov rang a bell before presenting the meat powder. The first time Pavlov rang the bell, the neutral stimulus, the dogs did not salivate, but once he put the meat powder in their mouths they began to salivate. After numerous pairings of the bell, and then food the dogs learned that the bell was a signal that the food was about to come and began to salivate just when the bell was rang. Once this occurs the bell becomes the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the salivation to the bell is the conditioned response (CR). Imprinting Imprinting is the term used in psychology and ethology to describe any kind of phasesensitive learning (learning occurring at a particular age or a particular life stage) that is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behaviour. It was first used to describe situations in which an animal or person learns the characteristics of some stimulus, which is therefore said to be "imprinted" onto the subject. Observational learning The learning process most characteristic of humans is imitation; one's personal repetition of an observed behaviour, such as a dance. Humans can copy three types of information simultaneously: the demonstrator's goals, actions and environmental outcomes (results, see Emulation (observational learning)). Through copying these types of information, (most) infants will tune into their surrounding culture. Play Play generally describes behaviour which has no particular end in itself, but improves performance in similar situations in the future. This is seen in a wide variety of vertebrates besides humans, but is mostly limited to mammals and birds. Cats are known to play with a ball of string when young, which gives them experience with catching prey. Besides inanimate objects, animals may play with other members of their own species or other 10 REINFORCEMENT animals, such as orcas playing with seals they have caught. Play involves a significant cost to animals, such as increased vulnerability to predators and the risk of injury and possibly infection. It also consumes energy, so there must be significant benefits associated with play for it to have evolved. Play is generally seen in younger animals, suggesting a link with learning. However, it may also have other benefits not associated directly with learning, for example improving physical fitness. Enculturation Enculturation is the process by which a person learns the requirements of their native culture by which he or she is surrounded, and acquires values and behaviours that are appropriate or necessary in that culture The influences which as part of this process limit, direct or shape the individual, whether deliberately or not, include parents, other adults, and peers. If successful, enculturation results in competence in the language, values and rituals of the culture. (compare acculturation, where a person is within a culture different to their normal culture, and learns the requirements of this different culture). Multimedia learning The learning where learner uses multimedia learning environments (Mayer 2001). This type of learning relies on dual-coding theory (Paivio 1971).] Rote learning Rote learning is a technique which avoids understanding the inner complexities and inferences of the subject that is being learned and instead focuses on memorizing the material so that it can be recalled by the learner exactly the way it was read or heard. The major practice involved in rote learning techniques is learning by repetition, based on the idea that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the more it is repeated. Rote learning is used in diverse areas, from mathematics to music to religion. Although it has been criticized by some schools of thought, rote learning is a necessity in many situations. 11 REINFORCEMENT Formal learning Formal learning is learning that takes place within a teacher-student relationship, such as in a school system. Nonformal learning Nonformal learning is organized learning outside the formal learning system. For example: learning by coming together with people with similar interests and exchanging viewpoints, in clubs or in (international) youth organizations, workshops. Non-formal learning and combined approaches The educational system may use a combination of formal, informal, and non-formal learning methods. Tangential learning Tangential learning is the process by which some portion of people will self-educate if a topic is exposed to them in something that they already enjoy such as playing a musical instrument. Dialogic learning Dialogic learning is a type of learning based on dialogue. Domains of learning Benjamin Bloom has suggested three domains of learning: • Cognitive - To recall, calculate, discuss, analyze, problem solve, etc. • Psychomotor - To dance, swim, ski, dive, drive a car, ride a bike, etc. • Affective - To like something or someone, love, appreciate, fear, hate, worship, etc. Mayer, R. E. (2001). Types of Learning 1. Intellectual skills: Problem solving ,Higher order rules ,Defined concepts ,Concrete concepts, Discriminations 2. Cognitive Strategies 12 REINFORCEMENT 3. Verbal information 4. Motor skills 5. Attitudes E. L. Thorndike (1874-1949) /Dennis McCallum 2010 Thorndike—Three Laws of Learning Edward L. Thorndike formulated three primary laws of learning: readiness, exercise, and effect. 1. The Law of Readiness. This law simply means that an organism will learn more quickly if it is ready to learn. For example, if you are hungry, not having eaten all day long, and someone invites you to go to a hamburger stand, you are going to respond immediately because of your readiness to do so. In your classroom, if you conduct the class in such a manner as to have the children anticipating with excitement the particular item or principle or event about which they are going to learn, they will be much more apt to learn it. 2. The Law of Exercise. This law, by its very title, gives itself away. Exercise strengthens the bond between stimulus and response. To put it another way, the more one practices a certain response, the more apt it is to be retained. In your classroom, if your students are learning the numbers to be multiplied, such as two times two, or four times four, and then the appropriate answer, the more times this is gone over, the more probable it is your students will retain the results. 3. The Law of Effect. A response (behavior) is strengthened if it is followed by pleasure and weakened if followed by displeasure. That is, of course, the forerunner of B.F. Skinner's reinforcement theory. It is the idea of a reward's strengthening any particular behavior. During middle childhood, with age ranging from7-11 olds (louise,2002), children progressively move from home into wider social contexts that exert important influences on their cognitive, behaviour and social emotional development. Children are in critical period 13 REINFORCEMENT of their life, which is specifically time that is probably controlled biologically, when certain internal and external influences have a crucial controlled on an aspect of development when an individual receives a stimulus and learns from it. The same influences will have no noticeable effect (Akinade, 2001). 1.2 Reinforcement The term reinforce means to strengthen, and is used in psychology to refer to anything stimulus which strengthens or increases the probability of a specific response. For example, if you want your dog to sit on command, you may give him a treat every time he sits for you. The dog will eventually come to understand that sitting when told to will result in a treat. This treat is reinforcing because he likes it and will result in him sitting when instructed to do so. (psychology 101:Learning Theory and Behavioral Psychology). This is a simple description of a reinforcer (Skinner, 1938), the treat, which increases the response, sitting. We all apply reinforcers everyday, most of the time without even realizing we are doing it. You may tell your child "good job" after he or she cleans their room; perhaps you tell your partner how good he or she look when they dress up; or maybe you got a raise at work after doing a great job on a project. All of these things increase the probability that the same response will be repeated. There are four types of reinforcement: positive, negative, punishment, and extinction. We’ll discuss each of these and give examples There are four types of reinforcement: positive, negative, punishment, and extinction. We’ll discuss each of these and give examples. Positive Reinforcement: The examples above describe what is referred to as positive reinforcement. Think of it as adding something in order to increase a response. For example, adding a treat will increase the response of sitting; adding praise will increase the chances of your child cleaning his or her room. The most common types of positive reinforcement or praise and rewards, and most of us have experienced this as both the giver and receiver. 14 REINFORCEMENT Negative Reinforcement: Think of negative reinforcement as taking something negative away in order to increase a response. Imagine a teenager who is nagged by his mother to take out the garbage week after week. After complaining to his friends about the nagging, he finally one day performs the task and to his amazement, the nagging stops. The elimination of this negative stimulus is reinforcing and will likely increase the chances that he will take out the garbage next week. Punishment: Punishment refers to adding something aversive in order to decrease a behaviour. The most common example of this is disciplining (e.g. spanking) a child for misbehaving. The reason we do this is because the child begins to associate being punished with the negative behaviour. The punishment is not liked and therefore to avoid it, he or she will stop behaving in that manner. Extinction: When you remove something in order to decrease behaviour, this is called extinction. You are taking something away so that a response is decreased. Research has found positive reinforcement is the most powerful of any of these. Adding a positive to increase a response not only works better, but allows both parties to focus on the positive aspects of the situation. Punishment, when applied immediately following the negative behaviour can be effective, but results in extinction when it is not applied consistently. Punishment can also invoke other negative responses such as anger and resentment. Reinforcement theory is the process of shaping behaviour by controlling the consequences of the behaviour. In reinforcement theory a combination of rewards and/or punishments is used to reinforce desired behaviour or extinguish unwanted behaviour. Any behaviour that elicits a consequence is called operant behaviour, because the individual operates on his or her environment. Reinforcement theory concentrates on the relationship between the operant 15 REINFORCEMENT behaviour and the associated consequences, and is sometimes referred to as operant conditioning. Behavioural theories of learning and motivation focus on the effect that the consequences of past behaviour have on future behaviour. This is in contrast to classical conditioning, which focuses on responses that are triggered by stimuli in an almost automatic fashion. Reinforcement theory suggests that individuals can choose from several responses to a given stimulus, and that individuals will generally select the response that has been associated with positive outcomes in the past. E.L. Thorndike articulated this idea in 1911, in what has come to be known as the law of effect. The law of effect basically states that, all other things being equal, responses to stimuli that are followed by satisfaction will be strengthened, but responses that are followed by discomfort will be weakened. Marcia Simmering(2010) B.F. Skinner was a key contributor to the development of modern ideas about reinforcement theory. Skinner argued that the internal needs and drives of individuals can be ignored because people learn to exhibit certain behaviours based on what happens to them as a result of their behaviour. This school of thought has been termed the behaviourist, or radical behaviourist, school. 1.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Positive and Negative Reinforcement Positive reinforcement is effective and largely used for two separate reasons. Firstly, it is one of the most powerful techniques available for the direction or motivation of the actions of other people. The second reason which is more philosophical is the versatility of the concept of reinforcement as an explanation of behaviour (Walker. S, 1975). In other words, the question is why do people behave the way they do? The answer will be that it is because they (people) are reinforced for it (Walker. S, 1975). Many companies employ the use of positive 16 REINFORCEMENT reinforcements to increase productivity, decrease absenteeism and workplace accidents. One company tried holding lottery draws ever month and they noticed a significant consistency in attendance. A construction company offered incentives such as a buffet end of each month if the workers maintained an accident free record. True enough, the accident free record was maintained for a good number of months (Mazur J.E.,1986). When positive reinforcements are used, the desired outcome is that the behaviour is reinforced. Subjects understand that the behaviour is desirable and will tend to repeat it for the rewards. In the negative outcome, subjects may take the rewarding for granted. They may repeat the behaviour with the intention of receiving more of the rewards and not understanding that that behaviour is desirable or they may deem the rewards as part and parcel of things. That is that the education part has failed. Some examples of these negative outcomes may be employees who get verbal praises for everything they do, think that it is all lip service. There is no real intention to compliment them for their good work. Another would be a young child plainly doing things to curry praises (Strain P.S., Joseph G.E.). In a similar fashion, a negative reinforcer is a stimulus one would desire to avoid. The act of escaping or avoiding a negative reinforcer is termed as negative reinforcement. Disincentives are punishers. There is a natural tendency to put punishments under the wing of negative reinforcement. However under the definitions of operant conditioning, negative reinforcement is the strengthening of a particular behaviour by the consequence of experiencing a negative condition (http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/proj/nru/opcond.html). Punishment in the operant conditioning sense is to weaken a particular behaviour as a consequence of experiencing a negative condition. Negative reinforcement is used commonly for education or reform. The use of fines, imprisonment is one such example of the use of negative reinforcement to warn of the negative consequences of associating with social ills. Skinner (Skinner,1953) and many others prefers the use of positive reinforcement to 17 REINFORCEMENT encourage good behaviours and do away with the social use of punishment altogether. Advantages of the use of negative reinforcement would be of course ideally the cultivation or strengthening of a desired behaviour after receiving the negative reinforcer. An example would be that an employer informs his or her employee that their work requires some polishing up to meet the customer standards. The employer may go on further to explain that the customer is rather demanding and any negative feedback will tarnish the credibility of the employee. The desired response would be that the employee strives to perform better. Disadvantages of using negative reinforcement would be when the desired behaviour is not achieved. For instance a child was punished for strewing his toys on the floor by facing the wall and repeatedly saying he will not throw his things on the floor. He kept repeating the act and undergoing the punishment but he never understood why he should not leave his things on the floor. That is a negative outcome. 1.4 Objectives of the Study The objectives of the study are divided into: a. Broad objective b. specific objectives 1.5 Broad Objective The broad objective of the study is to find out the effectiveness of reinforcement on the learning abilities of primary school children in selected organisation in ibadan metropolis 1.6 Specific Objectives The specific objectives of the study are to: 1. Identify positive reinforcement that could improve learning ability. 18 REINFORCEMENT 2. Determine negative reinforcement that will improve learning ability. 3. Examine the effect of positive reinforcement on children’s learning ability. 4. Establish the effect of negative reinforcement on children’s learning ability. 5. Determine teacher’s effective use of positive and negative reinforcement in class room. 1.7 Significance of the Study The major significant of this study is to add to already existing research on reinforcement and how it help to improve children of age 7-11 year in relation to how it can improve their leaning ability. The impact of reinforcement will later be appreciated by teachers, caregivers, parents, and school authorities. The result of this research will give a lasting solution as to best method to use to increase children leaning ability and emotional state 1.8 Research Questions 1) What are the positive reinforcement ? 2) What are the negative reinforcement ? 3) What are the effect of positive reinforcement on children learning ability ? 4) What are the effects of negative reinforcement on children learning ability? 5) Positive reinforcement will be more effective than negative reinforcement on children learning ability? 1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS Assessment: the act of assessing, or the evaluation of a student's achievement on a course. Primary School: (from French école primaire) is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Learning: .Behavioural modification especially through experience or conditioning. 19 REINFORCEMENT Learning Ability: mental ability. Primary Education: is the first stage of compulsory education. Reinforcement: The occurrence or experimental introduction of an unconditioned stimulus along with a conditioned stimulus. or The strengthening of a conditioned response by such means. Or An event, a circumstance, or a condition that increases the likelihood that a given response will recur in a situation like that in which the reinforcing condition originally occurred. 20 REINFORCEMENT CHAPTER TWO 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Reinforcement The term reinforce means to strengthen, and is used in psychology to refer to anything stimulus which strengthens or increases the probability of a specific response. For example, if you want your dog to sit on command, you may give him a treat every time he sits for you. The dog will eventually come to understand that sitting when told to will result in a treat. This treat is reinforcing because he likes it and will result in him sitting when instructed to do so. This is a simple description of a reinforcer (Skinner, 1938), the treat, which increases the response, sitting. We all apply reinforcers everyday, most of the time without even realizing we are doing it. You may tell your child "good job" after he or she cleans their room; perhaps you tell your partner how good he or she look when they dress up; or maybe you got a raise at work after doing a great job on a project. All of these things increase the probability that the same response will be repeated. There are four types of reinforcement: positive, negative, punishment, and extinction. We’ll discuss each of these and give examples. Positive Reinforcement: The examples above describe what is referred to as positive reinforcement. Think of it as adding something in order to increase a response. For example, adding a treat will increase the response of sitting; adding praise will increase the chances of your child cleaning his or her room. The most common types of positive reinforcement or praise and rewards, and most of us have experienced this as both the giver and receiver. Negative Reinforcement: Think of negative reinforcement as taking something negative away in order to increase a response. Imagine a teenager who is nagged by his mother to take 21 REINFORCEMENT out the garbage week after week. After complaining to his friends about the nagging, he finally one day performs the task and to his amazement, the nagging stops. The elimination of this negative stimulus is reinforcing and will likely increase the chances that he will take out the garbage next week. Punishment: Punishment refers to adding something aversive in order to decrease a behavior. The most common example of this is disciplining (e.g. spanking) a child for misbehaving. The reason we do this is because the child begins to associate being punished with the negative behavior. The punishment is not liked and therefore to avoid it, he or she will stop behaving in that manner. Extinction: When you remove something in order to decrease a behavior, this is called extinction. You are taking something away so that a response is decreased. Research has found positive reinforcement is the most powerful of any of these. Adding a positive to increase a response not only works better, but allows both parties to focus on the positive aspects of the situation. Punishment, when applied immediately following the negative behavior can be effective, but results in extinction when it is not applied consistently. Punishment can also invoke other negative responses such as anger and resentment. Reinforcement Schedules Know that we understand the four types of reinforcement, we need to understand how and when these are applied (Ferster & Skinner, 1957). For example, do we apply the positive reinforcement every time a child does something positive? Do we punish a child every time he does something negative? To answer these questions, you need to understand the schedules of reinforcement. 22 REINFORCEMENT Applying one of the four types of reinforcement every time the behavior occurs (getting a raise after every successful project or getting spanked after every negative behavior) is called a Continuous Schedule. Its continuous because the application occurs after every project, behavior, etc. This is the best approach when using punishment. Inconsistencies in the punishment of children often results in confusion and resentment. A problem with this schedule is that we are not always present when a behavior occurs or may not be able to apply the punishment. There are two types of continuous schedules: Fixed Ratio: A fixed ratio schedule refers to applying the reinforcement after a specific number of behaviors. Spanking a child if you have to ask him three times to clean his room is an example. The problem is that the child (or anyone for that matter) will begin to realize that he can get away with two requests before he has to act. Therefore, the behavior does not tend to change until right before the preset number. Fixed Interval: Applying the reinforcer after a specific amount of time is referred to as a fixed interval schedule. An example might be getting a raise every year and not in between. A major problem with this schedule is that people tend to improve their performance right before the time period expires so as to "look good" when the review comes around. When reinforcement is applied on an irregular basis, they are called variable schedules. Variable Ratio: This refers to applying a reinforcer after a variable number of responses. Variable ratio schedules have been found to work best under many circumstances and knowing an example will explain why. Imagine walking into a casino and heading for the slot machines. After the third coin you put in, you get two back. Two more and you get three back. Another five coins and you receive two more back. How difficult is it to stop playing? Variable Interval: Reinforcing someone after a variable amount of time is the final schedule. If you have a boss who checks your work periodically, you understand the power of this 23 REINFORCEMENT schedule. Because you don’t know when the next ‘check-up’ might come, you have to be working hard at all times in order to be ready. In this sense, the variable schedules are more powerful and result in more consistent behaviors. This may not be as true for punishment since consistency in the application is so important, but for all other types of reinforcement they tend to result in stronger responses. 1) positive reinforcement - give an organism a pleasant stimulus when the operant response is made. For example, a rat presses the lever (operant response) and it receives a treat (positive reinforcement) 2) primary reinforcer - stimulus that naturally strengthens any response that precedes it (e.g., food, water, sex) without the need for any learning on the part of the organism. These reinforcers are naturally reinforcing. 3) negative reinforcement - take away an unpleasant stimulus when the operant response is made. For example, stop shocking a rat when it presses the lever (yikes!) ** I can't tell you how often people use the term "negative reinforcement" incorrectly. It is NOT a method of increasing the chances an organism will behave in a bad way. It is a method of rewarding the behavior you want to increase. It is a good thing - not a bad thing! 4) secondary/conditioned reinforcer - a previously neutral stimulus that acquires the ability to strengthen responses because the stimulus has been paired with a primary reinforcer. For example, an organism may become conditioned to the sound of food dispenser, which occurs after the operant response is made. Thus, the sound of the food dispenser becomes reinforcing. Notice the similarity to Classical Conditioning, with the exception that the behavior is voluntary and occurs before the presentation of a reinforcer. 3. Principles of Reinforcement 4. Schedules of Reinforcement 24 REINFORCEMENT a) Fixed Ratio (FR) - reinforcement given after every Nth responses, where N is the size of the ratio (i.e., a certain number of responses have to occur before getting reinforcement). a) Skinner identified two types of reinforcing events - those in which a reward is given; and those in which something bad is removed. In either case, the point of reinforcement is to increase the frequency or probability of a response occurring again. b) Skinner also identified two types of reinforcers b) Variable Ratio (VR) - the variable ration schedule is the same as the FR except that the ratio varies, and is not stable like the FR schedule. Reinforcement is given after every Nth response, but N is an average. 1. Break down the task into small steps. c) Fixed Interval (FI) - a designated amount of time must pass, and then a certain response must be made in order to get reinforcement. 3. Principles of Reinforcement AlleyDog.com.1998-2010 Mitzi Brooks, 2008 Operant conditioning is the use of a behavior's antecedent and/or its consequence to influence the occurrence and form of behavior. Operant conditioning is distinguished from classical conditioning (also called respondent conditioning) in that operant conditioning deals with the modification of "voluntary behavior" or operant behavior. Operant behavior "operates" on the environment and is maintained by its consequences, while classical conditioning deals with the conditioning of reflexive (reflex) behaviors which are elicited by antecedent conditions. Behaviors conditioned via a classical conditioning procedure are not maintained by consequences. 25 REINFORCEMENT 2.2 Four contexts of operant conditioning Here the terms positive and negative are not used in their popular sense, but rather: positive refers to addition, and negative refers to subtraction. What is added or subtracted may be either reinforcement or punishment. Hence positive punishment is sometimes a confusing term, as it denotes the "addition" of a stimulus or increase in the intensity of a stimulus that is aversive (such as spanking or an electric shock). The four procedures are: 1. Positive reinforcement (Reinforcement): occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by a stimulus that is rewarding, increasing the frequency of that behavior. In the Skinner box experiment, a stimulus such as food or sugar solution can be delivered when the rat engages in a target behavior, such as pressing a lever. 2. Negative reinforcement (Escape): occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus, thereby increasing that behavior's frequency. In the Skinner box experiment, negative reinforcement can be a loud noise continuously sounding inside the rat's cage until it engages in the target behavior, such as pressing a lever, upon which the loud noise is removed. 3. Positive punishment (Punishment) (also called "Punishment by contingent stimulation"): occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by a stimulus, such as introducing a shock or loud noise, resulting in a decrease in that behavior. 4. Negative punishment (Penalty) (also called "Punishment by contingent withdrawal"): occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by the removal of a stimulus, such as taking away a child's toy following an undesired behavior, resulting in a decrease in that behaviour. 26 REINFORCEMENT 2.2.1 Thorndike's law of effect Operant conditioning, sometimes called instrumental conditioning or instrumental learning, was first extensively studied by Edward L. Thorndike (1874–1949), who observed the behavior of cats trying to escape from home-made puzzle boxes.[5] When first constrained in the boxes, the cats took a long time to escape. With experience, ineffective responses occurred less frequently and successful responses occurred more frequently, enabling the cats to escape in less time over successive trials. In his law of effect, Thorndike theorized that successful responses, those producing satisfying consequences, were "stamped in" by the experience and thus occurred more frequently. Unsuccessful responses, those producing annoying consequences, were stamped out and subsequently occurred less frequently. In short, some consequences strengthened behavior and some consequences weakened behavior. Thorndike produced the first known learning curves through this procedure. B.F. Skinner (1904–1990) formulated a more detailed analysis of operant conditioning based on reinforcement, punishment, and extinction. Following the ideas of Ernst Mach, Skinner rejected Thorndike's mediating structures required by "satisfaction" and constructed a new conceptualization of behavior without any such references. So, while experimenting with some homemade feeding mechanisms, Skinner invented the operant conditioning chamber which allowed him to measure rate of response as a key dependent variable using a cumulative record of lever presses or key pecks. Biological correlates of operant conditioning Domjan, Michael, Ed (2008).The first scientific studies identifying neurons that responded in ways that suggested they encode for conditioned stimuli came from work by Mahlon deLong. and by R.T. "Rusty" Richardson and deLong. They showed that nucleus basalis neurons, which release acetylcholine broadly throughout the cerebral cortex, are activated shortly after a conditioned stimulus, or after a primary reward if no conditioned stimulus exists. These 27 REINFORCEMENT neurons are equally active for positive and negative reinforcers, and have been demonstrated to cause plasticity in many cortical regions. Evidence also exists that dopamine is activated at similar times. There is considerable evidence that dopamine participates in both reinforcement and aversive learning. Dopamine pathways project much more densely onto frontal cortex regions. Cholinergic projections, in contrast, are dense even in the posterior cortical regions like the primary visual cortex. A study of patients with Parkinson's disease, a condition attributed to the insufficient action of dopamine, further illustrates the role of dopamine in positive reinforcement. It showed that while off their medication, patients learned more readily with aversive consequences than with positive reinforcement. Patients who were on their medication showed the opposite to be the case, positive reinforcement proving to be the more effective form of learning when the action of dopamine is high. Prem Verma and Harbans K. Nijhawan (1976)The effects of anxiety, reinforcement, and intelligence were studied on the learning of a difficult task (paired associates with 1% association values) in 252 subjects studying in class IX in Chandigarh schools (mean age, 14.7 years). A 2 × 3 × 3 factorial design was used with two anxiety groups (high and low), three reinforcement conditions (praise, reproof, and praise + reproof), and three levels of intelligence (high, middle, and low). In general, the results were in line with the Sarasonian theoretical framework that anxiety shows its debilitating effects under certain conditions, but not all. At upper levels of intelligence, neither anxiety nor reinforcement was found significant. At lower levels of intelligence, anxiety was found to interfere with learning under all the reinforcement conditions. It was found further that the most affected group was the middle intelligencehigh anxiety group. This group performed better under praise than under praise + reproof and reproof alone. Ormrod, J.E. (1999 28 REINFORCEMENT 1. Contemporary theory proposes that both reinforcement and punishment have indirect effects on learning. They are not the sole or main cause. 2. Reinforcement and punishment influence the extent to which an individual exhibits a behavior that has been learned. 3. The expectation of reinforcement influences cognitive processes that promote learning. Therefore attention pays a critical role in learning. And attention is influenced by the expectation of reinforcement. An example would be, where the teacher tells a group of students that what they will study next is not on the test. Students will not pay attention, because they do not expect to know the information for a test. rom notes on Ormond's Human Learning LAURENCOX(2010) "Clearly there are major differences between mice and humans in terms of motivation and how we behave, but very simple processes still stay true," said Sheryl Smith, lead author on the paper explaining the findings published Friday in the journal Science. "We know that we all have the same kinds of brain chemicals."art of the brain called the hippocampus during puberty. Before puberty, the hippocampus has very few GABA receptors, then the numbers swell during puberty. Smith said the number of GABA receptors diminishes again in adulthood, but never falls to pre-pubescent levels. A GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid receptor) receptor works in complex lock and key system within the brain. The GABA receptor sits in a brain cell called a neuron, and when it sees a neurotransmitter called GABA, it puts a brake on brain activity. For some reason, and Smith could only guess why, the presence of the GABA receptors in the teenage brain blocks a specific learning ability. 29 REINFORCEMENT "It's special kind of learning," said Smith, who gave the example of learning how to spot openings in a moving basketball game, or memorizing a location of a shop when driving around town. "But it could be something as simple as remembering where you put the keys when you set them down," said Smith. "For a mouse, it might be something as simple-minded as your parents teaching you how to remember to find the nest." Smith tested the mice's learning ability by putting them on a round, movable surface which had a specific section designed to give an uncomfortable jolt should the mouse set foot there. She found the young mice easily learned where the jolt was coming from and how avoid it in one or two tries, but the mice going through puberty never learned how to avoid the jolt on the moving surface. Why Do We Lose Learning Ability? 2.3 Teacher Patrick, B.C., Hisley, J. & Kempler, T. (2000) .In education, a teacher is a person who provides schooling for others. A teacher who facilitates education for an individual student may also be described as a personal tutor. The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out by way of occupation or profession at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher at state-funded schools must first obtain professional qualifications or credentials from a university or college. These professional qualifications may include the study of pedagogy, the science of teaching. Teachers will have to continue their education after they receive their degree from a college or university. Teachers may use a lesson plan to facilitate student learning, providing a course of study which covers a standardized curriculum. A teacher's role may vary between cultures. Teachers teach literacy and numeracy, or some of the other school subjects. Other teachers may provide instruction in craftsmanship or vocational training, the Arts, religion or 30 REINFORCEMENT spirituality, civics, community roles, or life skills. In some countries, formal education can take place through home schooling. Informal learning may be assisted by a teacher occupying a transient or ongoing role, such as a parent or sibling or within a family, or by anyone with knowledge or skills in the wider community setting. Teaching may be carried out informally, within the family which is called home schooling or the wider community. Formal teaching may be carried out by paid professionals. Such professionals enjoy a status in some societies on a par with physicians, lawyers, engineers, and accountants (Chartered or CPA). A teacher's professional duties may extend beyond formal teaching. Outside of the classroom teachers may accompany students on field trips, supervise study halls, help with the organization of school functions, and serve as supervisors for extracurricular activities. In some education systems, teachers may have responsibility for student discipline. Around the world teachers are often required to obtain specialized education, knowledge, codes of ethics and internal monitoring. There are a variety of bodies designed to instil, preserve and update the knowledge and professional standing of teachers. Around the world many governments operate teacher's colleges, which are generally established to serve and protect the public interest through certifying, governing and enforcing the standards of practice for the teaching profession. The functions of the teacher's colleges may include setting out clear standards of practice, providing for the ongoing education of teachers, investigating complaints involving members, conducting hearings into allegations of professional misconduct and taking appropriate disciplinary action and accrediting teacher education programs. In many situations teachers in publicly funded schools must be members in good standing with the college, and private schools may also require their teachers to be college peoples. In other areas these roles may 31 REINFORCEMENT belong to the State Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the State Education Agency or other governmental bodies. In still other areas Teaching Unions may be responsible for some or all of these duties. n education, teachers facilitate student learning, often in a school or academy or perhaps in another environment such as outdoors. A teacher who teaches on an individual basis may be described as a tutor. GDR "village teacher" (a teacher teaching students of all age groups in one class) in 1951. The objective is typically accomplished through either an informal or formal approach to learning, including a course of study and lesson plan that teaches skills, knowledge and/or thinking skills. Different ways to teach are often referred to as pedagogy. When deciding what teaching method to use teachers consider students' background knowledge, environment, and their learning goals as well as standardized curricula as determined by the relevant authority. Many times, teachers assist in learning outside of the classroom by accompanying students on field trips. The increasing use of technology, specifically the rise of the internet over the past decade, has begun to shape the way teachers approach their roles in the classroom. The objective is typically a course of study, lesson plan, or a practical skill. A teacher may follow standardized curricula as determined by the relevant authority. The teacher may interact with students of different ages, from infants to adults, students with different abilities and students with learning disabilities. Teaching using pedagogy also involve assessing the educational levels of the students on particular skills. Understanding the pedagogy of the students in a classroom involves using differentiated instruction as well as supervision to meet the needs of all students in the classroom. Pedagogy can be thought of in two manners. First, teaching itself can be taught in 32 REINFORCEMENT many different ways, hence, using a pedagogy of teaching styles. Second, the pedagogy of the learners comes into play when a teacher assesses the pedagogic diversity of his/her students and differentiates for the individual students accordingly. Perhaps the most significant difference between primary school and secondary school teaching is the relationship between teachers and children. In primary schools each class has a teacher who stays with them for most of the week and will teach them the whole curriculum. In secondary schools they will be taught by different subject specialists each session during the week and may have 10 or more different teachers. The relationship between children and their teachers tends to be closer in the primary school where they act as form tutor, specialist teacher and surrogate parent during the course of the day. This is true throughout most of the United States as well. However, alternative approaches for primary education do exist. One of these, sometimes referred to as a "platoon" system, involves placing a group of students together in one class that moves from one specialist to another for every subject. The advantage here is that students learn from teachers who specialize in one subject and who tend to be more knowledgeable in that one area than a teacher who teaches many subjects. Students still derive a strong sense of security by staying with the same group of peers for all classes. Co-teaching has also become a new trend amongst educational institutions. Co-teaching is defined as two or more teachers working harmoniously to fulfill the needs of every student in the classroom. Co-teaching focuses the student on learning by providing a social networking support that allows them to reach their full cognitive potential. Co-teachers work in sync with one another to create a climate of learning. Rights to enforce school discipline School discipline and School punishment 33 REINFORCEMENT Throughout the history of education the most common form of school discipline was corporal punishment. While a child was in school, a teacher was expected to act as a substitute parent, with all the normal forms of parental discipline open to them.Medieval schoolboy birched on the bare buttocks. In past times, corporal punishment (spanking or paddling or caning or strapping or birching the student in order to cause physical pain) was one of the most common forms of school discipline throughout much of the world. Most Western countries, and some others, have now banned it, but it remains lawful in the United States following a US Supreme Court decision in 1977 which held that paddling did not violate the US Constitution. 30 US states have banned corporal punishment, the others (mostly in the South) have not. It is still used to a significant (though declining) degree in some public schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Private schools in these and most other states may also use it. Corporal punishment in American schools is administered to the seat of the student's trousers or skirt with a specially made wooden paddle. This often used to take place in the classroom or hallway, but nowadays the punishment is usually given privately in the principal's office. Official corporal punishment, often by caning, remains commonplace in schools in some Asian, African and Caribbean countries. For details of individual countries see School corporal punishment. Currently detention is one of the most common punishments in schools in the United States, the UK, Ireland, Singapore and other countries. It requires the pupil to remain in school at a given time in the school day (such as lunch, recess or after school); or even to attend school on a non-school day, e.g. "Saturday detention" held at some US schools. During detention, students normally have to sit in a classroom and do work, write lines or a punishment essay, or sit quietly. 34 REINFORCEMENT A modern example of school discipline in North America and Western Europe relies upon the idea of an assertive teacher who is prepared to impose their will upon a class. Positive reinforcement is balanced with immediate and fair punishment for misbehavior and firm, clear boundaries define what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Teachers are expected to respect their students, and sarcasm and attempts to humiliate pupils are seen as falling outside of what constitutes reasonable discipline. Whilst this is the consensus viewpoint amongst the majority of academics, some teachers and parents advocate a more assertive and confrontational style of discipline.[citation needed] Such individuals claim that many problems with modern schooling stem from the weakness in school discipline and if teachers exercised firm control over the classroom they would be able to teach more efficiently. This viewpoint is supported by the educational attainment of countries—in East Asia for instance—that combine strict discipline with high standards of education. It's not clear, however that this stereotypical view reflects the reality of East Asian classrooms or that the educational goals in these countries are commensurable with those in Western countries. In Japan, for example, although average attainment on standardized tests may exceed those in Western countries, classroom discipline and behavior is highly problematic. Although, officially, schools have extremely rigid codes of behavior, in practice many teachers find the students unmanageable and do not enforce discipline at all. Where school class sizes are typically 40 to 50 students, maintaining order in the classroom can divert the teacher from instruction, leaving little opportunity for concentration and focus on what is being taught. In response, teachers may concentrate their attention on motivated students, ignoring attention-seeking and disruptive students. The result of this is that motivated students, facing demanding university entrance examinations, receive disproportionate resources, while the rest of the students are allowed, perhaps expected to, 35 REINFORCEMENT fail. Given the emphasis on attainment of university places, administrators and governors may regard this policy as appropriate. Teacher Enthusiasm Since teachers can affect how students perceive the course materials, it has been found that teachers who showed enthusiasm towards the course materials and students can affect a positive learning experience towards the course materials. On teacher/course evaluations, it was found that teachers who have a positive disposition towards the course content tend to transfer their passion to receptive students. Teachers cannot teach by rote but have to find new invigoration for the course materials on a daily basis. Teachers have to keep in mind that they are teaching new minds every term or semester.Otherwise, teachers will fall into the trap of having done this material again and start feeling bored with the subject which in turn bore the students as well. Students who had enthusiastic teachers tend to rate them higher than teachers who didn’t show much enthusiasm for the course materials. Teachers that exhibit enthusiasm can lead to students who are more likely to be engaged, interested, energetic, and curious about learning the subject matter. Recent research has found a correlation between teacher enthusiasm and students’ intrinsic motivation to learn and vitality in the classroom. Controlled, experimental studies exploring intrinsic motivation of college students has shown that nonverbal expressions of enthusiasm, such as demonstrative gesturing, dramatic movements which are varied, and emotional facial expressions, result in college students reporting higher levels of intrinsic motivation to learn. Students who experienced a very enthusiastic teacher were more likely to read lecture material outside of the classroom. There are various mechanisms by which teacher enthusiasm may facilitate higher levels of intrinsic motivation. Teacher enthusiasm may contribute to a classroom atmosphere full of 36 REINFORCEMENT energy and enthusiasm which feed student interest and excitement in learning the subject matter. Enthusiastic teachers may also lead to students becoming more self-determined in their own learning process. The concept of mere exposure indicates that the teacher’s enthusiasm may contribute to the student’s expectations about intrinsic motivation in the context of learning. Also, enthusiasm may act as a “motivational embellishment”; increasing a student’s interest by the variety, novelty, and surprise of the enthusiastic teacher’s presentation of the material. Finally, the concept of emotional contagion, may also apply. Students may become more intrinsically motivated by catching onto the enthusiasm and energy of the teacher. Research shows that student motivation and attitudes towards school are closely linked to student-teacher relationships. Enthusiastic teachers are particularly good at creating beneficial relations with their students. Their ability to create effective learning environments that foster student achievement depends on the kind of relationship they build with their students. Useful teacher-to-student interactions are crucial in linking academic success with personal achievement. Here, personal success is a student's internal goal of improving himself, whereas academic success includes the goals he receives from his superior. A teacher must guide his student in aligning his personal goals with his academic goals. Students who receive this positive influence show stronger self-confidence and greater personal and academic success than those without these teacher interactions. Students are likely to build stronger relations with teachers who are friendly and supportive and will show more interest in courses taught by these teachers. Teachers that spend more time interacting and working directly with students are perceived as supportive and effective teachers. Effective teachers have been shown to invite student participation and decision making, allow humor into their classroom, and demonstrate a willingness to play 37 REINFORCEMENT Theory of multiple intelligences The theory of multiple intelligences was proposed by Howard Gardner in 1983 to analyse and better describe the concept of intelligence. The theory also addresses the question whether traditional IQ tests are truly scientific. Gardner argues that the concept of intelligence as traditionally defined in psychometrics (IQ tests) does not sufficiently describe the wide variety of cognitive abilities humans display. For example, the theory states that a child who learns to multiply easily is not necessarily more intelligent than a child who has stronger skills in another kind of intelligence. The child who takes more time to master simple multiplication 1) may best learn to multiply through a different approach, 2) may excel in a field outside of mathematics, or 3) may even be looking at and understand the multiplication process at a fundamentally deeper level. Such a fundamentally deeper understanding can result in what looks like slowness and can hide a mathematical intelligence potentially higher than that of a child who quickly memorizes the multiplication table despite a less detailed understanding of the process of multiplication. The theory has met with mixed responses. Many psychologists feel that a differentiation of the concept of intelligence is not supported by empirical evidence, but many educationalists support the practical value of the approaches suggested by the theory. The multiple intelligences Gardner has articulated eight basic types of intelligence to date, without claiming that this is a complete list. Gardner's original list included seven of these; in 1999 he added a naturalist intelligence. He has also considered existential intelligence and moral intelligence, but does not find sufficient evidence for these based upon his articulated criteria,which include: • the potential for brain isolation by brain damage, • its place in evolutionary history, • the presence of core operations, 38 REINFORCEMENT • susceptibility to encoding (symbolic expression), • a distinct developmental progression, • the existence of idiot-savants, prodigies and other exceptional people, • support from experimental psychology and psychometric findings. The theory's nine currently accepted intelligences are: Robert Slavin. 2009, • Spatial • Linguistic • Logical-mathematical • Bodily-kinesthetic • Musical • Interpersonal • Intrapersonal • Naturalistic • Existential Spatial This area deals with spatial judgement and the ability to visualize with the mind's eye. Careers which suit those with this type of intelligence include artists, designers and architects. A spatial person is also good with puzzles. Linguistic This area has to do with words, spoken or written. People with high verbal-linguistic intelligence display a facility with words and languages. They are typically good at reading, writing, telling stories and memorizing words along with dates. They tend to learn best by reading, taking notes, listening to lectures, and discussion and debate. Those with verballinguistic intelligence learn foreign languages very easily as they have high verbal memory and recall, and an ability to understand and manipulate syntax and structure. 39 REINFORCEMENT Careers that suit those with this intelligence include writers, lawyers, policemen, philosophers, journalists, politicians, poets, and teachers. Logical-mathematical This area has to do with logic, abstractions, reasoning, and numbers. While it is often assumed that those with this intelligence naturally excel in mathematics, chess, computer programming and other logical or numerical activities, a more accurate definition places less emphasis on traditional mathematical ability and more on reasoning capabilities, abstract patterns of recognition, scientific thinking and investigation, and the ability to perform complex calculations. It correlates strongly with traditional concepts of "intelligence" or IQ. Careers which suit those with this intelligence include scientists, physicists, mathematicians, logicians, engineers, doctors, economists and philosophers. Bodily-kinesthetic The core elements of the bodily-kinesthetic intelligence are control of one's bodily motions and the capacity to handle objects skillfully (206). Gardner elaborates to say that this intelligence also includes a sense of timing, a clear sense of the goal of a physical action, along with the ability to train responses so they become like reflexes. In theory, people who have bodily-kinesthetic intelligence should learn better by involving muscular movement (e.g. getting up and moving around into the learning experience), and are generally good at physical activities such as sports or dance. They may enjoy acting or performing, and in general they are good at building and making things. They often learn best by doing something physically, rather than [by] reading or hearing about it. Those with strong bodily-kinesthetic intelligence seem to use what might be termed muscle memory - they remember things through their body such as verbal memory. Careers that suit those with this intelligence include: athletes, dancers, musicians, actors, surgeons, doctors, builders, police officers, and soldiers. Although these careers can be 40 REINFORCEMENT duplicated through virtual simulation, they will not produce the actual physical learning that is needed in this intelligence. Musical This area has to do with sensitivity to sounds, rhythms, tones, and music. People with a high musical intelligence normally have good pitch and may even have absolute pitch, and are able to sing, play musical instruments, and compose music. Since there is a strong auditory component to this intelligence, those who are strongest in it may learn best via lecture. Language skills are typically highly developed in those whose base intelligence is musical. In addition, they will sometimes use songs or rhythms to learn. They have sensitivity to rhythm, pitch, meter, tone, melody or timbre. Careers that suit those with this intelligence include instrumentalists, singers, conductors, disc-jockeys, orators, writers and composers. Interpersonal This area has to do with interaction with others. In theory, people who have a high interpersonal intelligence tend to be extroverts, characterized by their sensitivity to others' moods, feelings, temperaments and motivations, and their ability to cooperate in order to work as part of a group. They communicate effectively and empathize easily with others, and may be either leaders or followers. They typically learn best by working with others and often enjoy discussion and debate. Careers that suit those with this intelligence include sales, politicians, managers, teachers, and social workers. Intrapersonal This area has to do with introspective and self-reflective capacities. People with intrapersonal intelligence are intuitive and typically introverted. They are skillful at deciphering their own feelings and motivations. This refers to having a deep understanding of the self; what are 41 REINFORCEMENT your strengths/ weaknesses, what makes you unique, you can predict your own reactions/ emotions. Careers which suit those with this intelligence include philosophers, psychologists, theologians, lawyers, and writers. People with intrapersonal intelligence also prefer to work alone. Naturalistic This area has to do with nature, nurturing and relating information to one’s natural surroundings. Careers which suit those with this intelligence include naturalists, farmers and gardeners. Existential Ability to contemplate phenomena or questions beyond sensory data, such as the infinite and infinitesimal. Ideal career: cosmologist, philosopher. Use in education Traditionally, schools have emphasized the development of logical intelligence and linguistic intelligence (mainly reading and writing). IQ tests (given to about 1,000,000 students each year) focus mostly on logical and linguistic intelligence as well. While many students function well in this environment, there are those who do not. Gardner's theory argues that students will be better served by a broader vision of education, wherein teachers use different methodologies, exercises and activities to reach all students, not just those who excel at linguistic and logical intelligence. Many teachers see the theory as simple common sense. Some say that it validates what they already know: that students learn in different ways. On the other hand, James Traub's article in The New Republic notes that Gardner's system has not been accepted by most academics in intelligence or teaching. 42 REINFORCEMENT George Miller, the esteemed psychologist credited with discovering the mechanisms by which short term memory operates, wrote in The New York Times Book Review that Gardner's argument boiled down to "hunch and opinion" (p. 20). Gardner's subsequent work has done very little to shift the balance of opinion. A recent issue of Psychology, Public Policy, and Law devoted to the study of intelligence contained virtually no reference to Gardner's work. Most people who study intelligence view M.I. theory as rhetoric rather than science, and they're divided on the virtues of the rhetoric. The application of the theory of multiple intelligences varies widely. It runs the gamut from a teacher who, when confronted with a student having difficulties, uses a different approach to teach the material, to an entire school using MI as a framework. In general, those who subscribe to the theory strive to provide opportunities for their students to use and develop all the different intelligences, not just the few at which they naturally excel. A Harvard-led study of 41 schools using the theory came to the conclusion that in these schools there was "a culture of hard work, respect, and caring; a faculty that collaborated and learned from each other; classrooms that engaged students through constrained but meaningful choices, and a sharp focus on enabling students to produce high-quality work."[6] Of the schools implementing Gardner's theory, the most well-known is New City School, in St. Louis, Missouri, which has been using the theory since 1988. The school's teachers have produced two books for teachers, Celebrating Multiple Intelligences and Succeeding With Multiple Intelligences and the principal, Thomas Hoerr, has written Becoming a Multiple Intelligences School as well as many articles on the practical applications of the theory. The school has also hosted four conferences, each attracting over 200 educators from around the world and remains a valuable resource for teachers interested in implementing the theory in their own classrooms. 43 REINFORCEMENT Thomas Armstrong argues that Waldorf education organically engages all of Gardner's original seven intelligence 2.4 Critical reception The definition of intelligence One major criticism of the theory is that it is ad hoc: that Gardner is not expanding the definition of the word "intelligence"; rather, he denies the existence of intelligence as traditionally understood and instead uses the word "intelligence" whenever other people have traditionally used words like "ability". This practice has been criticized by Robert J. Sternberg (1983, 1991), Eysenck (1994), and Scarr (1985). Defenders of MI theory argue that the traditional definition of intelligence is too narrow, and thus broader definition more accurately reflects the differing ways in which humans think and learn. They would state that the traditional interpretation of intelligence collapses under the weight of its own logic and definition, noting that intelligence is usually defined as the cognitive or mental capacity of an individual, which by logical necessity would include all forms of mental qualities, not simply the ones most transparent to standardized I.Q. tests. Some of these criticisms arise from the fact that Gardner has not settled on a single definition of intelligence. He originally defined it as the ability to solve problems that have value in at least one culture, or as something that a student is interested in. However, he added a disclaimer that he has no fixed definition, and his classification is more of an artistic judgment than fact: Ultimately, it would certainly be desirable to have an algorithm for the selection of an intelligence, such that any trained researcher could determine whether a candidate's intelligence met the appropriate criteria. At present, however, it must be admitted that the selection (or rejection) of a candidate's intelligence is reminiscent more of an artistic 44 REINFORCEMENT judgment than of a scientific assessment. (Gardner, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, 1985) Gardner argues that by calling linguistic and logical-mathematical abilities intelligences, but not artistic, musical, athletic, etc. abilities, the former are needlessly aggrandized. Certain critics balk at this widening of the definition, saying that it ignores "the connotation of intelligence...[which] has always connoted the kind of thinking skills that makes one successful in school."[8] Gardner writes "I balk at the unwarranted assumption that certain human abilities can be arbitrarily singled out as intelligence while others cannot"[9] Critics hold that given this statement, any interest or ability is now redefined as "intelligence". Thus, by adopting this theory, studying intelligence becomes difficult, because it diffuses into the broader concept of ability or talent. Gardner's addition of the naturalistic intelligence and conceptions of the existential and moral intelligences are seen as fruits of this diffusion. Defenders of the MI theory would argue that this is simply a recognition of the broad scope of inherent mental abilities, and that such an exhaustive scope by nature defies a simple, one-dimensional classification such as an assigned IQ value. They would claim that such one-dimensional values are typically of limited value in predicting the real world application of unique mental abilities. Andreas Demetriou suggests that theories which overemphasize the autonomy of the domains are as simplistic as the theories that overemphasize the role of general intelligence and ignore the domains. He agrees with Gardner that there indeed are domains of intelligence that are relevantly autonomous of each other. In fact, some of the domains, such as verbal, spatial, mathematical, and social intelligence are identified by most lines of research in psychology. However, in his theory, one of the neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development, Gardner is criticized for underestimating the effects exerted on the various domains of intelligences by 45 REINFORCEMENT processes that define general processing efficiency, such as speed of processing, executive functions, and working memory, and hypercognitive processes underlying self-awareness and self-regulation. All of these processes are integral components of general intelligence that regulate the functioning and development of different domains of intelligence. In fact, a 2006 study by Visser and colleagues which was designed to test the autonomy of Gardner's intelligences showed clearly that most of them are heavily dependent on the general factor of intelligence.[10] Thus, it is argued that the domains are to a large extent expressions of the condition of the general processes. At the same time, the domains may vary because of their constitutional differences but also differences in individual preferences and inclinations. Moreover, their functioning both channels and influences the operation of the general processes. Thus, one cannot satisfactorily specify the intelligence of an individual or design effective interventions programs unless both the general processes and the domains of interest are evaluated (Demetriou & Kazi, 2006; Demetriou, Mouyi, & Spanoudis, 2010). Lack of empirical evidence The theory has been critiqued as tautologous and thus unfalsifiable;[13] yet other critics have sought to prove it false by showing that many of Gardner's "intelligences" actually correlate with the g factor, supporting the idea of a single dominant type of intelligence.[14] A critical review of MI theory argues that there is little empirical evidence to support it: "To date there have been no published studies that offer evidence of the validity of the multiple intelligences. In 1994 Sternberg reported finding no empirical studies. In 2000 Allix reported finding no empirical validating studies, and at that time Gardner and Connell conceded that there was "little hard evidence for MI theory" (2000, p. 292). In 2004 Sternberg and Grigerenko stated that there were no validating studies for multiple 46 REINFORCEMENT intelligences, and in 2004 Gardner asserted that he would be "delighted were such evidence to accrue" (p. 214), and he admitted that "MI theory has few enthusiasts among psychometricians or others of a traditional psychological background" because they require "psychometric or experimental evidence that allows one to prove the existence of the several intelligences" (2004, p. 214)." (Waterhouse, 2006a, p. 208). The same review presents evidence to demonstrate that cognitive neuroscience research does not support the theory of Multiple Intelligences: "the human brain is unlikely to function via Gardner’s multiple intelligences. Taken together the evidence for the intercorrelations of subskills of IQ measures, the evidence for a shared set of genes associated with mathematics, reading, and g, and the evidence for shared and overlapping “what is it?” and “where is it?” neural processing pathways, and shared neural pathways for language, music, motor skills, and emotions suggest that it is unlikely that that each of Gardner’s intelligences could operate “via a different set of neural mechanisms” (1999, p. 99). Equally important, the evidence for the “what is it?” and “where is it?” processing pathways, for Kahneman’s two decision-making systems, and for adapted cognition modules suggests that these cognitive brain specializations have evolved to address very specific problems in our environment. Because Gardner claimed that that the intelligences are innate potentialities related to a general content area, MI theory lacks a rationale for the phylogenetic emergence of the intelligences." (From Waterhouse, 2006a, p. 213). A number of articles have surveyed the use of Gardner's ideas and conclude that there is little to no academically substantiated evidence that his ideas work in practice. Steven A. Stahl found that most of the previous studies which claimed to show positive results had major flaws: 47 REINFORCEMENT Among others, Marie Carbo claims that her learning styles work is based on research. {I discuss Carbo because she publishes extensively on her model and is very prominent in the workshop circuit...} But given the overwhelmingly negative findings in the published research, I wondered what she was citing, and about a decade ago, I thought it would be interesting to take a look. Reviewing her articles, I found that out of 17 studies she had cited, only one was published. Fifteen were doctoral dissertations and 13 of these came out of one university—St. John’s University in New York, Carbo’s alma mater. None of these had been in a peer-refereed journal. When I looked closely at the dissertations and other materials, I found that 13 of the 17 studies that supposedly support her claim had to do with learning styles based on something other than modality. To date, the current No Child Left Behind high-stakes test legislation does not encompass the multiple intelligences framework in the exams' design and/or implementation 2.5 Learning Ability During age 7-11 year olds, children progressively move from home into wider social contexts that exert important influences on their cognitive, behavioural, and socio-emotional development. in particularly .the commencement of formal schooling initiates of series of new life experience for children. school experiences encourage the development of Intellectual and interpersonal competencies and introduce the child to new social roles wherein status is conferred based on competence and performance.(Roblyer,2003). According to Erickson (1968.),the accomplishment of the “sense of industry” in school during these years, well as a sense of co-operation and mutually in social interactions with peers and adults outside home, is critical to healthy development. If children fail to develop these skills and thereby, meet the challenges of adaptation associated with entry into formal schools, Erickson suggested that a “sense of inferiority” 48 REINFORCEMENT would develop, that could exert long-lasting consequences on children’s intellectual , emotional and interpersonal well-being. Zolten and long (1997) states unfortunately, children are not born with the learning habits needed for them to succeed in school they must learn them. very often children being school without skills they need to do well. Gagne ,(2003) is known for his major contribution, in the area of behaviourism including events of instruction, types of learning, and learning hierarchies. Gagne’s events of instruction consist of nine guidelines that teachers can follow in order to create an improved learning environment. Also, gagne realised that children use different types of learning environments. He showed how the event of instruction could be modified to accommodate or direct different types of learning. Learning hierarchy is gagne’s theory that skills are used as building blocks when learning the more complex skills. Dewey(2001) can be thought of as the grandfather of constructivism. He was closely related to progressive education movement. Dewey believed curriculum should arise from students interests. He favoured a “pedocentric” strategy for education. Curriculum topics should be integrated, rather than isolated from each other. To dewey education meant growth. Education is a way of helping students understand their roles in the society. Education occurs through its connection with life . He felt that social consciousness was the aim of all education.. he believed that meaningful learning resulted from students working together on tasks that were related to their interest. Ley vygossky(2000) was a Russian philosopher who felt that cognitive development was directed related to based on social development. He believed that children can be brought up to a higher level of showing graphic examples and by giving them real life experiences relevant to their individual need. Jean piaget’s theories(1999) were also based on cognitive de4velopment and functioning. He believed that all children go through four stages and ages that typically occur in, are sensorimotor (birth-2), preoperational (2-7),concrete operational 49 REINFORCEMENT (7-11) and formal operational(12-15). Brunner (2003) was interested in children’s stages of cognitive development. He described development in three stages. • Enactive stage (from birth to about age 3) • Iconic stage (from about age 3 to about age 8) • Symbolic stage (from about age 8) He was credited with the idea of discovery learning. This is an approach to instruction through which children interact with their environment. Behaviourist learning theory of “habit” formation. Habits are formed when learners respond to stimuli in the environment and subsequently have their responses reinforced, so thsat they are remembered. Consequently, children’s lkearning acquisition was viewed as the habit formation through the process of stimulus and response 2.6 Children (Ages 7-11) Most developmental psychologists define age 7 to 11 as middle childhood (cole and cole,1996). Compressive theories of development have suggested that children might be particularly well prepared to learn to regulate emotions during ages 7-11 years. Freud (1999) characterized children ages 7- 11 as the latency stage during which children are relatively unperturbed by sexual impulses. Also, piaget (19830 described these children as in the cognitive developmental stages of concrete operations, as being able to solve real world problems using logical mental procedures. Piaget (2003) theoretical framework based around the concept of ages and stage described ages 7-11 as the period of concrete operations. Children can now perform mental operation of reversibility and can overcome egocentritism by attending to several aspects of a situation at once. Erickson(1980) portrayed children ages 7-11 years as the conflict between industry and inferiority, a time when children week to gain competence in multiple domains. In one of the few attempts to theorize more specifically about emotion regulation in older children, 50 REINFORCEMENT gottman and mettetal (1986) proposed a developmental account based on careful observation of interaction between peers. The characterization of children ages 7-11 years as using rules to manage emotion expression fits with a large body of research demonstrating that these children value conformity, rules and regulations. Other research and theory has suggested not only that these children are using explicit rules in their play to manage affect but, they are also are starting to appreciate and obey the largely rules for expressing and controlling emotions (Lawrence and temis-le monad,1999). 51 REINFORCEMENT CHAPTER THREE 3.0 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Study Design The study adopted an investigative survey design on assessment of effectiveness of reinforcement on learning ability of primary school children in Ibadan metropolis. 3.2 Population of Study The population for this research comprised of 120 respondents who are the Caregivers, Teachers, and children in ibadan metropolis. 3.3 Selection of Sample The study sample was selected using random sampling technique. 3.4 Study Area The research work was carried out in ibadan north local government which comprises of the following selected school..sonbeam preparatory new bodija,Methodist primary school,olabisi nursery and primary school u.i ,st Thomas primary school and Akinyele Local Government,which comprises of the following selected school. Akingbinle-oluana public primary school, excel nursery and primary school, divine heritage nursery and primary school, The Administrative Headquarters of Ibadan North Local Government Area is situated at Bodija. It is one of the five Local Government Area carved out of the defunct Ibadan Municipal Government in 2991. The Local Government Area covers a landmass of 132.500 square kilometers with a population density of 2,626 persons per square kilometer. Using a growth rate of 3.2% from 2006 census, the 2010 estimated population for the Local Government area is put at 347,998. 52 REINFORCEMENT Akinyele and Lagelu Local Government Area bound it to the north, Egbeda Local Government to the east, Ibadan North West to the west and Ibadan North East to the south. There is little or no serious farming activities in the area being an urban centre. Most of the Agriculture crops planted outside the area are being processed in the Local Government Area. It is also a home for small, medium and large-scale industries. Trading and other commercial activities are also predominant in the area. It has the highest concentration of virtually all different tribes and ethnic groups in the country. Two notable Federal Institutions in its domain, the University of Ibadan and the University College Hospital (UCH) are located in the area. 3.5 Brief History Of Oyo State Ibadan (Yoruba: Ìbàdàn or fully Ìlú Ẹ̀ bá-Ọ̀dàn, the town at the junction of the savannah and the forest) is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria by population after Lagos and Kano according to the 2006 Nigerian census. Ibadan is also largest in geographical area At independence, Ibadan was the largest and the most populous city in Nigeria and the third in Africa after Cairo and Johannesburg. It is located in southwestern Nigeria, 128 km inland northeast of Lagos and 530 km southwest of Abuja, the federal capital and is a prominent transit point between the coastal region and the areas to the north. Its population is 1,338,659 according to census results for 2006. Ibadan had been the centre of administration of the old Western Region since the days of the British colonial rule, and parts of the city's ancient protective walls still stand to this day. The principal inhabitants of the city are the Yoruba people. 3.6 History Ibadan came into existence in 1829 when Lagelu, the Jagun (commander-in-chief) of Ife and Yoruba's generalissimo, left Ile Ife with a handful of people from Ife, Oyo and Ijebu to found 53 REINFORCEMENT a new city, Eba Odan, which literally means 'between the forest and plains.' According to HRH Sir Isaac Babalola Akinyele, the late Olubadan (king) of Ibadan (Olu Ibadan means Lord of Ibadan), in his authoritative book on the history of Ibadan, Iwe Itan Ibadan, printed in 1911, the first city was destroyed due to an incident at an Egungun (masquerade) festival when an Egungun was accidentally disrobed and derisively mocked by women and children in an open marketplace full of people. In Yorubaland, it was an abomination for women to look an Egungun in the eye because the Egunguns were considered to be the dead forefathers who returned to the earth each year to bless their progeny. When the news reached Sango, the then Alaafin of Oyo, he commanded that Eba Odan be destroyed for committing such abominable act. Lagelu was by now an old, frail man; he could not stop the destruction of his city, but he and some of his people survived the attack and fled to a nearby hill for sanctuary. On the hill they survived by eating oro fruit and snails; later, they cultivated the land and made corn and millets into pap meals known as oori or eko, which they ate with roasted snails. They improvised a bit by using the snail shells to drink the liquefied eko. Ultimately, Lagelu and his people came down from the hill and founded another city called Eba'dan. The new city instantly grew prosperous and became a commercial nerve centre. Shortly afterwards, Lagelu died, leaving behind a politically savvy people and a very stable community. The newly enthroned Olubadan made a friendly gesture to the Olowu of Owu by allowing Olowu to marry his only daughter, Nkan. Coming from a war campaign one day, the raging Odo Oba (River Oba) would not allow Olowu and his army to cross until a human sacrifice was performed to appease the angry river. The chosen sacrifice was Nkan. The Olubadan was infuriated at hearing of Nkan's death; he sent an emissary to inform the Alafin of Oyo. Yoruba kings and rulers such as Alake of Egba, Agura of Gbagura, Ooni of Ife, Awujale of Ijebu and others formed a formidable coalition with Eba'dan against the powerful 54 REINFORCEMENT Olowu of Owu. After the defeat of Owu, many of the warriors that participated in the coalition refused to go back to their towns and cities except the Ijebu warriors. They began attacking the neighboring towns and hamlets, and also marauded across Eba'dan thereby making the indigenes fearful of them. Finally, they took over the political landscape of Eba'dan and changed its name to Ibadan, as we have come to know it. Ibadan was historically an Egba town. The Egba occupants were forced to leave the town and moved to present-day Abeokuta under the leadership of Sodeke when the surge of Oyo refugees flocked into the towns as an aftermath of the fall of Oyo Kingdom. Ibadan grew into an impressive and sprawling urban center so much that by the end of 1829, Ibadan dominated the Yorùbá region militarily, politically and economically. The military sanctuary expanded even further when refugees began arriving in large numbers from northern Oyo following raids by Fulani warriors. After losing the northern portion of their region to the marauding Fulanis, many Oyo indigenes retreated deeper into the Ibadan environs. The Fulani Caliphate attempted to expand further into the southern region of modern-day Nigeria, but was decisively defeated by the armies of Ibadan in 1840. The Ibadan area became a British Protectorate in 1893 and by then the population had swelled to 120,000. The British developed the new colony to facilitate their commercial activities in the area, and Ibadan shortly grew into the major trading center that it is today. 3.6.1 Climate Ibadan has a tropical wet and dry climate, with a lengthy wet season and relatively constant temperatures throughout the course of the year. Ibadan’s, wet season runs from March through October, though August sees somewhat of a lull in precipitation. This lull nearly divides the wet season into two different wet seasons. The remaining months forms the city’s dry season. Like a good portion of West Africa, Ibadan experiences the harmattan between the months of November and February. 55 REINFORCEMENT Figure 1 Climate data for Ibadan Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record 37 high 39 38 38 35 33 31 31 36 33 34 35 35 °C (99) (102) (100) (100) (95) (91) (88) (88) (97) (91) (93) (95) (95) (°F) Average 33 high 34 34 33 32 29 28 27 29 30 32 33 31 °C (91) (93) (93) (91) (90) (84) (82) (81) (84) (86) (90) (91) (88) (°F) Average 21 22 23 23 22 22 21 21 22 22 22 21 22 low °C (°F) (70) (72) (73) (73) (72) (72) (70) (70) (72) (72) (72) (70) (72) Record low 10 18 18 18 18 16 16 17 18 14 14 16 (50) (54) (64) (64) (64) (64) (61) (61) (63) (64) (57) (57) (61) °C (°F) Precipitatio 8 n 12 23 76 125 145 163 132 74 170 152 43 10 1,121 mm (0.31 (0.91 (2.99 (4.92 (5.71 (6.42 (5.2 (2.91 (6.69 (5.98 (1.69 (0.39 (44.13 (inches) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) 76 71 75 78 82 86 88 88 86 84 80 76 81 2 5 9 11 12 12 10 15 12 4 1 94 170 198 170 170 170 141 85 57 85 141 198 198 1,783 % Humidit y Avg. precipitatio 1 n days Sunshine hours Source: BBC Weather [3] 56 REINFORCEMENT 3.6.2 Education The first university to be set up in Nigeria was the University of Ibadan today with over 12,000 students. Established as a college of the University of London in 1948, and later converted into an autonomous university in 1962. It has the distinction of being one of the premier educational institutions in Africa. The Polytechnic Ibadan was the first technical institute and is considered to be the best in Nigeria. There are also numerous public and private primary and secondary schools located in the city. Other noteworthy institutions in the city include the University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital also known as University College Hospital (UCH) which is the first teaching hospital in Nigeria; the internationally acclaimed International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA); Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER). Also Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), and the Institute for Agricultural Research & Training (IAR&T), all under the auspices of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria; the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria. Ibadan and its environs before the dissolution of the Western Region, Nigeria was the home of the most sophisticated and liberal scientific and cultural community on the continent of Africa; as personified by the immortalized Ibadan School. In 1853, the first Europeans to settle in Ibadan, Reverend Hinderer and his wife, started Ibadan's first Western schools. They built churches and schools and the first two-storey building in Ibadan, which can still be found today at Kudeti. The first pupils to attend an elementary school in Ibadan were Yejide (female) and Akinyele (male) -- the two children of an Ibadan high chief. 3.6.3 Transportation Ibadan has an airport, Ibadan Airport, and was served by the Ibadan Railway Station on the main railway line from Lagos to Kano.(No longer operating). Poorly-maintained roads are 57 REINFORCEMENT particularly problematic in the rainy season. What are called interstate highways in the United States are called carriageways in Nigeria. There are not many miles of divided highways in Ibadan. The primary routes go from Ibadan to Lagos and to Benin City. Adding to the weather and terrain, roads typically have few or no speed limit signs or warning signs to alert the motorist of curves, hills, intersections or problems with the road itself such as large potholes or eroded road beds. In-town transportation comes in a variety of forms. Modes of transportation include, taxis, taxi-vans commonly called danfos, private cars that are hired out by the day with a driver, personal family cars, scooters, and walking. All fares are negotiable depending upon the number in the party and the distance to be traveled. The average taxi is a small car, which seats four people and the driver. A danfo is a van, meanwhile, which seats seven people and the driver. This does not mean that more people will not be accommodated; often both taxis and danfos carry as many passengers as can squeeze into the vehicle. Danfos have an additional staff member. He is the "conductor," who arranges fare agreements and keeps track of delivery points. He is often to be seen holding onto the frame of the van while hanging out the door in order to locate potential fares. In December 2008 Governor Alao Akala Commissioned 55 brand new buses for interstate transport service which is to be used by Trans City Transport Company (TCTC) Eleyele, Ibadan with a promise to commence intracity transport service very early next year. 3.6.4 Geography Ibadan is located in southwestern Nigeria about 120 km east of the border with the Republic of Benin in the forest zone close to the boundary between the forest and the savanna. The city ranges in elevation from 150 m in the valley area, to 275 m above sea level on the major north-south ridge which crosses the central part of the city 58 REINFORCEMENT 3.6.5 Population Until 1970, Ibadan was the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa . In 1952, it was estimated that the total area of the city was approximately 103.8 km2 However, only 36.2 km2 was built up. This meant that the remaining 67 km2 were devoted to non-urban uses, such as farmlands, river floodplains, forest reserves and water bodies. These “non-urban land uses” disappeared in the 1960s: an aerial photograph in 1973 revealed that the urban land-scape had completely spread over about 100 km2. The land area increased from 136 km2 in 1981 to 210-240 km2 in 1988-89 (Areola, 1994: 101). By the year 2000, it is estimated that Ibadan covered 400 km2 . The growth of the built-up area during the second half of the 20th century (from 40 km2 in the 1950s to 250 km2 in the 1990s) shows clearly that there has been an underestimation of the total growth of the city. In the 1980s, the Ibadan-Lagos expressway generated the greatest urban sprawl (east and north of the city), followed by the Eleiyele expressway (west of the city). Since then, Ibadan city has spread further into the neighbouring local government areas of Akinyele and Egbeda in particular. Figure 2 Cityscape A panorama taken from Mapo Hill. 59 REINFORCEMENT 3.6.7 Monuments, landmarks, and other locations There is a museum in the building of the Institute of African Studies, which exhibits several remarkable pre-historic bronze carvings and statues. The city has several well stocked libraries, and is home to the first television station in Africa. Dugbe Market is the nerve center of Ibadan's transport and trading network. The best method to move about the city is to use reference points and notable landmarks. The city also has a zoological garden located inside the University of Ibadan, and a botanical garden located at Agodi. The Bower Memorial Tower to the east on Oke Aàre (Aare's Hill) ("Aare" in Yoruba means commander-in-chief or generalissimo), which can be seen from practically any point in the city; it also provides an excellent view of the whole city from the top. Another prominent landmark, Cocoa House,was the first skyscraper in Africa. It is one of the few skyscrapers in the city and is at the hub of Ibadan's commercial centre. Other attractions include Mapo Hall – the colonial style city hall – perched on top of a hill, "Oke Mapo," Mapo Hill ("oke" is hill in Yoruba), the Trans-Wonderland amusement park, the cultural centre Mokola and Liberty Stadium, the first stadium in Africa. The first citadel of higher learning, University of Ibadan (formerly the University College of Ibadan), and the first teaching hospital in Nigeria, University College Hospital, UCH, were both built in this ancient but, highly important city. Ibadan is also home to the legendary Shooting Stars FC -- a professional Football Club. There are some good golf courses: the Ibadan Golf Club is a large 18-hole challenge and the Barracks course has just been extended to 18 holes. The most challenging and exclusive is the IITA Golf Club based on the 1,000 hectare premises of IITA. 3.6.8 Economy With its strategic location on the non-operational railway line connecting Lagos to Kano, the city is a major center for trade in cassava, cocoa, cotton, timber, rubber, and palm oil. The main industries in the area include the processing of agricultural products; Tobacco 60 REINFORCEMENT processing and Cigarette (Manufacture); flour-milling, leather-working and furniture-making. There is abundance of clay, kaolin and aquamarine in its environs, and there are several cattle ranches, a dairy farm as well as a commercial abattoir in Ibadan. 3.6.9 Local government in Ibadan Akinyele Local Government Egbeda Local Government Ibadan Central Local Government Ibadan North-East Local Government Ibadan South-West Local Government Ibadan South-East Local Government Ibarapa Local Government Ido Local Government Ifedapo Local Government Lagelu Local Government Iyamapo/Olorunsogo Local Government Oluyole Local Government Orelope Local Government Orire Local Government Ona-Ara Local Government 3.7 Research Instrument The instrument used is a well structured questionnaire designed by the researcher to elicit responses from the respondent. The questionnaire asked questions on the effectiveness of reinforcement on learning ability of primary school.the questionnaire conveyed series of well-designed close – ended questions(desired answer option are provide from which the 61 REINFORCEMENT respondent is allowed to choose). The respondents were asked to express their views on a “yes” or “no” response basis. The questionnaire contain the introductory part that explained why the researcher carried out the survey,section A was used to collect demographic characteristics of the respondents,section B was used to collect data centered on teacher’s positive reinforcement,section C centred on teacher’s negative reinforcement ,section D dealt with questions on positive learning ability and section E dealt with questions on negative learning ability. VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF INSTRUMENT A pilot study was carried out by the research before the actual study was carried out. In the pilot study, all the procedures necessary in the research study are followed and results aqually analyzed. Results for reliability analysis were as follows: Coefficient alpha=alpha 0.955, guttman split –hsalf 0.645 unequal –lengthspearman –brown 0.768. 3.8 PROCEDURE FOR ADMINISTERING THE QUESTIONNAIRE Before administering the questionnaires, a reconnaissance survey that encompasses letter of introduction, selection of schools and student’s survey were carried out. The survey was carried out within a selected local government in Ibadan. On the first day, the questionnaire was administer to the pupils in Ibadan north local government from different schools which are Sonbeam preparatory new Bodija, Methodist primary school, Olabisi nursery and primary school University of Ibadan, St. Thomas primary school and The pupils were instructed to circle their choice of answer and some of the question were explained to the pupils. Two 62 REINFORCEMENT weeks was used to administer the questionnaires. The third week was stated for Akinyele Local Government, which involve children from the following schools, Akingbile-oluana public primary school, Excel nursery and primary school, Divine heritage nursery and primary school. 3.9 Data Analysis Descriptive statistic was employed for data collation. The primary data were further subjected to impact statistic of t-test to determine the differences between the variables and a simple regression analysis was adopted to find the causal effect between the variables. 63 REINFORCEMENT CHAPTER FOUR 4.0 RESULT AND DISCUSSION Respondents age, gender, type of school, class, number in a class room, teachers positive reinforcement, teachers negative reinforcement, children positive learning ability and children negative learning ability were analysed descriptively and the results are presented thus. Frequency of the respondent Frequency Table Table 1 Sex Cumulative Valid Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Male 56 46.7 46.7 46.7 Female 64 53.3 53.3 100.0 Total 120 100.0 100.0 64 REINFORCEMENT Table 2 Type of School Cumulative Valid Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent Private 56 46.7 46.7 46.7 Public 64 53.3 53.3 100.0 Total 120 100.0 100.0 Table 3 Age Cumulative Valid Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent 7 4 3.3 3.3 3.3 9 28 23.3 23.3 26.7 10 40 33.3 33.3 60.0 11 16 13.3 13.3 73.3 12 16 13.3 13.3 86.7 13 12 10.0 10.0 96.7 14 4 3.3 3.3 100.0 Total 120 100.0 100.0 65 REINFORCEMENT Table 4 Class Cumulative Valid Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent 3 20 16.7 16.7 16.7 4 24 20.0 20.0 36.7 5 52 43.3 43.3 80.0 6 24 20.0 20.0 100.0 Total 120 100.0 100.0 Table 5 Number in Classroom Cumulative Valid Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent 15 - 20 36 30.0 30.0 30.0 21 - 25 60 50.0 50.0 80.0 26 - 30 24 20.0 20.0 100.0 Total 120 100.0 100.0 . 66 REINFORCEMENT Bar Chart 67 REINFORCEMENT Fig 3 68 REINFORCEMENT Fig 4 69 REINFORCEMENT Fig 5 70 REINFORCEMENT Fig 6 71 REINFORCEMENT 4.1 Hypothesis one Will the use of positive reinforcement in private and public primary schools in the study area differ? Frequency of Responses to Teacher’s Positive Reinforcement The frequencies and the percentage are given below for each of the questions and the group statistics was also given t-test of Teacher’s Positive Reinforcement The table below show that there is no significant difference in the use of teacher’s positive reinforcement in private and public primary schools. Since the t-calculated value is lesser than the t-tabulated value and the probability is greater than 0.05 level of significance. Therefore the decision was to accept the null hypothesis. 72 REINFORCEMENT Table 6 One-Sample Test Test Value = 0 t My teacher always give me sweet 31.246 whenever I pass well than others. My teacher always 62.797 encourage me to be the best in all I do My teacher always praise me whenever I 39.999 answer quiz question correctly 4.2 (2- Mean Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper df Sig. tailed) 119 .000 1.267 1.19 1.35 119 .000 1.033 1.00 1.07 119 .000 1.100 1.05 1.15 Hypothesis Two Will the use of negative reinforcement in private and public primary schools in the study area differ? The Table below shows Frequency of respondents to Teacher’s Negative Reinforcement. t-test of Teacher’s Negative Reinforcement The table below show that there is no significant difference in the use of teacher’s negative reinforcement in private and public primary schools. Since the t-calculated value is greater than the t-tabulated value and there is a mean difference between the private and public school. Therefore it was concluded that the use of teacher’s negative reinforcement differs. The decision is to reject the null hypothesis. 73 REINFORCEMENT Table 7 One-Sample Test Test Value = 0 t My teacher always tell my classmate to woo 32.726 me whenever I fail my classwork and I hate it My teacher always draw my head and eyes 36.974 whenever I fail my homework and I hate it My teacher always beat me whenever I don't 31.553 answer question correctly and I hate it My teacher always says, you can never 59.902 make it when I don't understand my classwork and I hate it My teacher always shout at me when I 40.468 don't answer question correctly 4.3 df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper 119 .000 1.500 1.41 1.59 119 .000 1.633 1.55 1.72 119 .000 1.433 1.34 1.52 119 .000 1.867 1.80 1.93 119 .000 1.700 1.62 1.78 Hypothesis Three Will there be any effect of the use of teacher’s reinforcement on children’s positive learning ability in private and public schools? Frequency of Respondent to the effect of teacher’s use of reinforcement towards children’s positive learning ability in private and public primary schools. 74 REINFORCEMENT t-test of Children positive learning Ability The table below show that there is no significant difference in the use of teacher’s positive reinforcement towards children’s positive learning ability in private and public primary schools. Since the t-calculated value is lesser than the t-tabulated value and there is no mean difference between the use private and public primary schools. Therefore we accept the null hypothesis since the p-value is greater than 0.05 Table 8 One-Sample Test Test Value = 0 t Since the time my teacher has started 62.797 praising me my work has improved Since the time my teacher has started 62.797 encouraging me I have been doing well in the class My learning ability has improved as a result of 62.797 my teacher's encouragement in class df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper 119 .000 1.033 1.00 1.07 119 .000 1.033 1.00 1.07 119 .000 1.033 1.00 1.07 4.4 Hypothesis Four Will the children negative learning ability differs in both private and public school? Frequency of Respondent to the effect of teacher’s use of reinforcement towards children’s positive learning ability in private and public primary schools. 75 REINFORCEMENT t-test of Children Negative learning Ability The table below show that there is significant difference in the use of teacher’s negative reinforcement towards children’s negative learning ability in private and public primary schools. Since the t-calculated value is greater than the t-tabulated value and there is mean difference between the private and public primary schools. Therefore we reject the null hypothesis since the p-value is greater than 0.05 and conclude that the children negative learning ability differs in both private and public school. Table 8 One-Sample Test Test Value = 0 t Sig. (2-tailed) Mean Difference 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper .000 1.967 1.93 2.00 .000 1.967 1.93 2.00 119 .000 1.733 1.65 1.81 119 .000 1.933 1.89 1.98 df I hate to go to school because my teacher 119.516 119 will beat me I don't do my home work because my 119.516 119 teacher does not give me sweet I don't pray to be a teacher because my 42.758 teacher always allow the class to woo me My learning ability has not improve as a result 84.549 of my fear for my teacher's abusive words 76 REINFORCEMENT CHAPTER FIVE 5.0 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS The variations in the use of positive reinforcement in both private and public primary schools were due to different teaching skills of reinforcement used by the teachers. It was deduced that children in both private and public schools cherished the bus of positive reinforcement. This assertion was supported by the findings of cotton (2004) she showed that reinforcement strengthens or increases a giving behaviour. it also corroborate with their finds of Genovese (2005) who affirmed that primary school children who are praised for their present learning ability relative to their past performance, improve academic gains result than when they are praised relative to the performance of their classmate. In comparison of the result of the use of teacher’s positive reinforcement in private public primary schools, result showed there was no significant difference in the use positive reinforcement allied in both schools. Although the mean score in private school showed the use of more positive reinforcement than public primary school in this community. The responses of the children revealed a high percentage declined in the use of negative reinforcement in the classroom. However, results reveal that teacher’s in both school applied punishment, which may reduce the children’s learning ability. This is consistent with research findings by marten and miller (1990) who found out that the object of punishment may overtime show a drop in positive attitudes towards schools (resulting in poor attendance and work performance), have a more negative perception of teacher, and adopt a more punitive manner in interacting with peers and adult. A difference was experienced in private and public schools in the issue of kneeling down. a larger percentage of public primary school student indicated the use of this punishment technique when they forget their homework exercise book. 77 REINFORCEMENT The t-test for comparing the means of private and public primary school children indicated that there was a significance difference in the use of negative reinforcement in the school. 5.1 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Having studied the effect of reinforcement on children of private and public primary schools of different local government in Ibadan, it was deduced that praise is the type of reinforcement most commonly use by teachers in both schools. On the other hand negative reinforcement describes negative consequences imposed on the children when they misbehave. 5.2 RECOMMENDATION Based on the research findings the following are recommended for the use of positive and negative reinforcement to improve children’s learning ability. The government should ensure that before teacher are employed to take the foundation classes (i.e. primary classes) they most have an understandings of psychology in childhood It is therefore advised that teacher at all level should adopt the use of positive reinforcement in classroom management so as to improve the children learning ability. The ministry education private owners of school and educators should incorporate an evaluations process to access teachers, caregivers on the use of reinforcement in classroom management. 5.3 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY Due to the short length of the study it was difficult to assess other schools and proper procedure were jumped. 78 REINFORCEMENT 5.4 SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER STUDIES I will suggest that the research work should been given more time in other to carry the caregivers, teachers, and parents along to know about reinforcement techniques. 79 REINFORCEMENT REFERENCES Akinade, E. A (2001) modern concise dictionary of psychology. Pumark nig ltd. 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