Rewards: Positive Reinforcement or Long-run Punishment? “Great job Heather!” This is a phrase most people would think I would be happy to hear at any time and at any place. In today’s schools, the idea of positive reinforcement is used to foster and increase a student’s particular behavior that in turn leads that student to learn any given theory. It is a key concept in behavior analysis and is said to have occurred …showed first 75 words of 657 total…

…showed last 75 words of 657 total…all, but rather they are manipulating the child’s behavior. Such critics, like Alfie Kohn, believe that “children are likely to become enthusiastic, lifelong learners as a result of being provided with an engaging curriculum; a safe, caring community in which to discover and create; and a significant degree of choice about what (and how and why) they are learning. Rewards--like punishments--are unnecessary when these things are present, and are ultimately destructive in any case.”