23 corrective feeedback consists of prompts, probes and giving direction Brown,
1975. It can be combined by positive reinforcement. He adds that the teacher may praise the student at the beginning and give the student information or
feedback as a corrective to hisher behavior Brown, 1975. Cooper 1982 says that giving feeback directly is more effective and one of the reinforcement
techniques that is used to increase the students’ participants. In the discussion of theories and results, the researcher would emphasize both positive and negative
reinforcement since the focused teaching skill is reinforcement.
b. The Principles in the Use of Reinforcement
There are some bases of rules to conduct reinforcement skill. The students’ behavior change is dependent on the implementation of the principles. There are
five important rules in the principles of reinforcement as Walker, et al. 2007 state.
1 Reinforcement is dependant on the exhibition of the target behavior. The teachers must reinforce only certain students’ behavior that is expected
and only after it is exhibited. 2 The target behavior is to be reinforced immediately after it is exhibited.
When attempting to establish a new behavior or to increase the frequency of an existing behavior, the teachers must reinforce that behavior as soon
as it occurs. 3 During the initial stages of the behavior change process, the target
behavior is reinforced each time it is exhibited. The behavior that is not
24 habituated cannot be sustained if it is not reinforced after it exists. The
consistency of the reinforcement is essential during the initial stages of the students’ behavior.
4 When the target students’ behavior reaches a satisfactory level, reinforce it intermittently. It will maintain the behavior in satisfactory level. If a
student whose behavior is changed does not know when his teacher gives him reinforcement but he knows he will perceive it, he will continue at
that satisfactory level. 5 If the tangible reinforcers are applied, the social reinforcers are always
applied with them. If the tangible reinforcers such as gifts, stars, points, good reports, they must be followed by other social rewards such as a
smile, a pat on the back or praise. After the tangible and social reinforcers can increase the desired students’ behavior, the teachers should eliminate
the tangible ones so there will be left the social reinforcers only. McNamara 2000 adds the idea of a schedule of reinforcement. To increase the
desired behavior showed by students, they need to be reinforced immediately, consistently and frequently.
According to Turney, et al. 1973, they share the understanding on the principles in the use of reinforcement. They state four points based on his idea.
These are the following general principles of reinforcement skill. 1 Warmth and enthusiasm. Rosenshine 1970,1971, as cited by Turney, et
al., states that both components play an important role when the teacher
25 deliver reinforcement. A reinforcer that is given enthusiastically can give
more effective quality compared to expressionless and boring one. 2 Avoidance of negative reinforcement. As cited from Lipe and Jung 1971,
even though negative reinforcement and punishment are effective methods but this is still controversial in psychological study. Meacham and Wiesen
1969 suggest using positive rather than negative reinforcement because its effect is more predictable. The emphasis is on the positive
reinforcement to students’ correct or appropriate performance. 3 Variety of usage. The teacher should provide the flexible and various
manners to develop the reinforcement skill. A repetition of verbal or token stars can lessen the effectiveness of the reinforcement. The teachers can
distinguish the reinforcement for the whole class group, sub-group or personal.
4 Meaningfulness to pupil. To reach an effective point, the teacher must know how to direct the reinforcement so the students can perceive and
relate it to the behavior exhibited, also they find the reinforcement meaningful. Having wrong time and form in delivering reinforcement lead
the students to interpret praise insincere and inappropriate rather than reinforcing.
Initiating discussion of the specified action to be reinforced, there is a term of student behavior. A lot of behaviors in the classroom are relevant to lesson
activity during teaching and learning process. Turney, et al. 1973 cover the behaviors that can be as target of the reinforcement as follows.
26 1 Attention to teacher, peers and objects under discussion
2 Study behavior, book work, reading and chalkboard work 3 Work output completed pages, assignment sheets
4 Work quality neatness, accuracy, aesthetic qualities, thought content 5 Work improvement in quality, output or appearance
6 Behavior categories task appropriate and inappropriate, verbal, physical and written
7 Independent work development of self-directed and managed behavior and self-initiated work activity
B. Theoretical Framework
The researcher conducted research that aims to find out Microteaching students’ perception on the use of reinforcement skill in Microteaching class and
their suggestions on the use of reinforcement skill in Microteaching class. The researcher used several theories as the base to answer those problem formulations.
The first is the theory of perception. According to Altman 1985, perception is the way of an individual reacts to the stimuli from the surrounding environment
and interprets it into a meaning to be understood. Altman also describes the process of occurring perception through this
figure.
Figure 2.1 The Perceptual Process
Sensor’s selection of
stimuli Perception,
organization, and interpretation of
stimuli Behavioral
response Stimuli
