POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IN TUTOR-TUTEE RELATIONSHIP  by

B.F. Skinner‟s Positive Reinforcement in Tutor -Tutee Relationship Building

Richael Francis C. Mangibin

Ateneo de Manila University

Abstract

This paper aims to give an explanation to the process in building a relationship between a tutor and a tutee. This paper also aims to prove that the process is an application of B.F. Skinner‟s Operant Conditioning Theory with a specification to the concept of Reinforcement. The successin the building of such relationship will give way to a tutee‟s development that goes beyond the academic.

Keywords:

Tutoring, Tutor, Tutee, Reinforcement, Operant Conditioning, Relationship

 

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IN TUTOR-TUTEE RELATIONSHIP 3

The Application of Skinner‟s Positive Reinforcement

 In the Building of a Tutor-Tutee RelationshipTutoring is a newly developed method of teaching. Deviating away from the common classroom setting in institutions, tutoring is devised to provide a more personal way in teaching various subjects to students, or tutees. Given this fact, one of the most vital steps in thedevelopment of the tutor-tutee relationship concerns exactly that, creating a relationship (Chin,Fahimian, and Rabow, 1999). Building a relationship with the students beyond the academic, a tutor must have the ability to connect with them in aspects that they can relate with. According to Chin, Fahimian, and Rabow (1999), “Creating a personal relationship with your tutee is vital. Without it, a tutor can, at best, scratch the surface of a student‟s need” (p. 30). which means to say that a tutor need not only touch a student‟s educational needs but go somewhere more profound and personal; if not, a tutor is no more different

from a common classroom teacher. As a student‟s personal educator , the tutor plays a role perhaps more than that of an ordinary classroom teacher; it is the job and objective of the tutor to find ways that will unleash the tutee‟s full potentiat not only as a student, but also as an individual because, “the best tutor will find ways to use children‟s natural curiosity and interest to motivate them to want  to master challenges and learn” (Chin, Fahimian, and Rabow, 1999). As discussed by Rabow, Chin, and Fahimian (1999) in their introduction, “Tutoring draws on our natural abilities to teach and explain, but it is also a unique situation that calls for new attitudes and adjustments. Tutoring requires the tutor to realize that learning enriches the whole student mind, motivation,curiosity” (p. xxi); in this light, a tutor need not only enrich the tutee academically, but also what goes beyond that. In this light, a tutor can move toward nurturing the true and total intelligence of their tutee (p. xxiii). However, tutoring, as easy as it may seem, is not an easy task to do so.

 

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IN TUTOR-TUTEE RELATIONSHIP 4Tutoring is based on an individual relationship (p. xxiii), which is why a tutor must always be flexible in dealing with different tutees. Tutors are on hand to provide not only answers tostudents but [also] moral and emotional support and to ferret out exactly what areas the studentsneed help in (p. 30). In this light, a tutor must be able to build relationship with the tutee in orderto find a way to close the gap between [the tutor] and the child, even if it has nothing to so withacademics (p. 31)

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IN TUTOR-TUTEE RELATIONSHIP 5 tend to strengthen behavior or increase the probability of a recurrence of that response constitute a powerful force in the control of human behavior” (p. 89). In light of a stimulus that rewards or provides pleasure to a student, it would lead to the increase of the recurrence of their behavior that led. This, according to the Operant Conditioning Theory, is what should be focused on to “attend carefully to the reinforcers” (Brown, p. 89).

Reinforcement

.

In its general definition „reinforcement‟ is the process of encouraging or

establishing a belief or pattern of behavior, especially by encouragement or reward

(Reinforcement, 2010). Skinner‟s

concept of Reinforcement from his Operant Conditioning

Theory is not far along from this definition. „Reinforcement‟ is the process which results when

reinforcers are delivered (Blackman, 1974, p. 30). This indicates that reinforcement refers to the influencing of a behavior in

order for it to change. Further more, Derek Blackman (1974) further

states that, “in deciding which pattern of behavior is to be associated with a reinforce, the

experiementer is essentially establishing a teaching situation (p. 31). In dealing with such facts, Reinforcement can be considered as an influential manipulation that results in the change of ones pattern of behavior. A reinforcer is said to increase and maintain the frequency of behavior with which it is associated (p. 32) that indicates the fact that a reinforcer is an influence that creates, increases, then maintains a pattern of behavior whenever it manifests.

Positive and Negative Reinforcement.

In Stephen Ray Flora‟s (2004) explanation of

reinforcement, he states in his introduction

that, “quite simply,

a reinforcer is a consequence that increases the frequency of the behavior that preceded the consequence. Reinforcement is the

process of increasing the rate of behaviors with reinforcing consequences” (p. x); with this,

he gives emphasis to the two types of reinforcement

–

positive and negative

–

and states that, “both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement increase behavior” (p.x). According to Flora

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IN TUTOR-TUTEE RELATIONSHIP 6 (2004), Positive reinforcement occurs when an events or stimulus is presented (positive) as a consequence of behavior and the

behavior increases (reinforcement); while negative reinforcement occurs when the rate of behavior increases (reinforcement) because an aversive event or stimulus is removed (negative). In short, positive reinforcement comes from rewards and praises or any good event that results in the increase of that behavior; negative reinforcement, on the other hand, refers to the increase of a behavior if a certain event is removed from the environment. For example, if a person reads a novel and doing so can make a person relaxed, than the frequency of reading a novel is positively reinforced and will, hence, increase; on the other hand, if a person reads a novel just to escape an unfortunate event

–

perhaps the death of a special someone

–

then the frequency will increase as it was negatively reinforced.

Reinforcement in Education.

In the same book by Flora, he creates a chapter on the relationship, and application, of Reinforcment in Education. According to Flora (2004), although reinforcement and education are not synonymous, successful formal education is virtually impossible without copious systematic reinforcement (p. 127). It only means to say that reinforcement, consciously applied or otherwise, is abundantly present in any form of educational setting

–

the influence of the presence of the teacher alone is a good example for this.

Flora states that, “the earlier a child experiences behavior

-consequence events the larger a head start the infant wil

l have in education and in life” (p. 127). This statement is very congruent with

the study at hand as it goes beyond the education sphere and captures the bigger picture into context. In the same chapter, Flora (2004) further gives more emphasis to Positive Reinforcement in the cont

ext of Education by saying that, “behavior and reinforcement exist in a dynamic exist in a dynamic ever flowing stream of interaction, ideally in a seamless manner […] and the

success can be increased with the optimal use of posi

tive reinforcement in school” (p. 135

-156).

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IN TUTOR-TUTEE RELATIONSHIP 7 Also according to Flora (2004), beginning in infancy, the use of positive reinforcement can

prepare children for formal schooling… (p. 135), this only means to say that the earlier positive

reinforcement is applied onto children, the better their development will be

–

both in education

and in their individualistic capabilities. “Positive reinforcers typically facilitate the flow of behavioral stream” (Flora, 2004, p. 136) knowing so, it serves as a key element in a student‟s academic performance; while, simultaneously, a child‟s personality is also being shaped –

one being his self-

esteem which is very essential. According to Flora (2004), “meaningful self

- esteem is a product of reinforced behavioral performances, not unconditional approval. A child who is gently corrected, has the spelling effort reinforced but is prompted for correct spelling, is, in the long run, more likely to succeed and have high self-

esteem” (p. 142). This only means to say, that in Flora‟s

example of using a spelling correction

–

when it is positively reinforced or gently just telling a child the correct spelling of a word, he is more likely to be more successful in getting it correct than if he is reprimanded after making the mistake. The aforementioned related literature poses essential significance to the study, as their concepts are the foundation in which this study was based upon. With these information at hand, the researcher was able to conduct the study using the concepts as basis for the synthesis of the result and conclusion made.

The role of positive reinforcement, as established by Skinner, in the building of the relationship between a tutor and a tutee lies in the adjustment and the adaptation of the tutor‟s approach to the tutee; also, positive reinforcement manifests on the establishment of certain rules the tutor during the tutorial sessions. These led to the change in the pattern of the tutee‟s behavior. Commonly, established rules and adapted behavior refer to “short cut” methods ormnemonics that the tutor teacher the tutee to make learning more efficient and convenient  the establishment of the relationship follows through the way the tutee opens up to the tutor andeventually acquires skills and characteristics that have been hindered, if not totally absent, before the tutorial program began. The presence of a positive reinforcer the awarding of a break after a good performance led to the increase in the motivated performance of the student; another reinforcer would be the singing of the alphabet song that led to the increased usage whenever confounded with the random asking of a certain letter in the alphabet. Both reinforcers led to the building of the relationship between the tutor and the tutee the eradication of the reluctance and the presence of the outgoing and cheerful personality that led to the eventual performance development of the tutee. Such situation goes to show that Reinforcement, as defined by Skinner in this Operant Conditioning Theory  is an essential factor in the building of the relationship between a

tutor and a tutee as this relationship is the initial step to fully maximize the tutee‟s full potential. In this study, as was reflected by the progress reports and the explanation of the processes done throughout the tutorial sessions, the application of reinforcers played a major role in the development of the tutee; in this way, it can be concluded that Skinner‟s Reinforcement is an effective key in the building of the tutor-tutee relationship and in doing so, the development of the tutee follows. The study is a good case where the focus deviates from the common classroom setting of teaching. Abundance of the tutorial and one-on-one teaching methods are slowly increasing and yet not much study to this approach of teaching are conducted nor developed. This study can

 

POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IN TUTOR-TUTEE RELATIONSHIP 14serve as a good contribution to the few studies made in the past so as to it being a stepping-stone into dealing with this method of study. Therefore, the researcher recommends further study in terms of various theories where such situations can be applied to or even a comparative study between theories; another would be an age-varied study where a theory be applied to tutee ofdifferent stages where their effects can be compared and contrasted. Also, further researches can make third party observations of other one-on-one tutorial and with a longer tutorial program, as well a quantitative response from the tutee - such as scores from worksheets, exams, and etc. to make the empirical evidence more plausible and accountable. All of these recommendations fall onto the eventual development of good tutoring techniques to make the learning process of a tutee more dynamic and effective.

http://www.academia.edu/6168723/The_Application_of_B.F._Skinners_Model_for_Positive_Reinforcement_in_Building_Tutor-Tutee_Relationships